Reducing sugar intake with a very sweet tooth

[cyclerunmum1]

Hi,

Wasn't sure whether to put this on here or general health as losing weight is not the main aim for me.

I could do with shifting a few pounds, but am a healthy weight, if a little too close to the top end of my ideal BMI range than I would like, but am considering giving up/reducing my sugar intake as I think it is affecting my general health too.

I eat lots of sugar, have a really sweet tooth so this will be very hard for me. But I am constantly tired, lethargic and grumpy and it's getting worse! I am fit enough (for a 42 year old mum!), and run 3 times a week on average 20 to 25 miles in total, so that is not a concern, but still I feel I am not fully 'well' if that makes sense.

My diet is one area I can really improve on so has anyone successfully given up/reduced their sugar intake (when they previously had loads)?

I also suffer headaches (have done all my life) but they last 3 days at a time and I am getting them more frequently. I have medication for them, but I feel I need to find the cause not just treat them when they arrive.

Sorry for such a long post, but I need advice from those who have done this, and how much better do you feel if you have been successful? How long did it take to notice a difference? Oh and where on earth do I start?

Thanks!

I wouldn't advise cutting out sugar altogether as is one of the current fads.

A good first step would be to still allow yourself a sweet treat every day but have it as dessert after a main meal (I believe research has shown that our body deals with sugar better as part of a meal and you are less likely to crave more sugary things after eating it as part of a meal).

If you drink fizzy drinks I would gradually reduce them until you only have them as a treat once in a while. I'd avoid the temptation to replace them with artificial-sweetener laden 'diet' options.

Do you have sugar in tea/coffee?

You should notice a difference within days if you can make a substantial reduction. Sugar affects everyone differently. For me, I find my stomach is noticeably more settled when I'm not having too much sugar. I ate a whole bag of Haribo bears yesterday and felt disgusting for the rest of the day. I don't do that sort of thing very often now whereas I used to get through tons of sweets/chocolate.

Thank you,

The gradual thing sounds good for me. I have a can of diet drink every other day ish, but mainly drink tea (no sugar in tea or coffee).

I just snack on sugar laden biscuits/cake/sweets so I guess it will just be cut them out completely. Is fruit a bad idea for a replacement snack everything I read seems to say it is not good as is still sugar?

Fruit is good for us. Yes, it has naturally occurring sugars but when we eat fruit we are also eating the fibre etc. that the fruit has which means that it is more filling and we don't get the sugar rush associated with things with added sugar.

It's fruit juice that's not good because the fibre is generally removed leaving us with the sugary bits of the fruit.

Fruit is also packed with useful vitamins.

I love cake and sweets. What I'm doing at the moment is allowing myself a treat if I'm out for a coffee or whatever. The thing I'm trying to cut out is a daily afternoon piece of cake/biscuits just because I'm in the habit. If I'm out for a meal I'll enjoy a dessert. If I'm at a friend's house I'll accept a biscuit if offered; but the thing I'm trying to avoid is the mindless shovelling into my mouth of multiple portions of cake/biscuits/chocolate which I can easily do without evening thinking about.

It's good that you don't have sugar in tea as this is something people find very difficult to cut down on.

If you're struggling with headaches it might be worth limiting your caffeine intake to maybe 2 cups of tea a day and seeing if that makes a difference.