I'm addicted to sugar. If I stop eating it will the weight fall off?

[RedNailsAndRedDress]

As in the title really!

I have an extremely sweet tooth and am now a good three stone oversight

My main meals are always completely healthy. it's just sugar in the crap afterwards that is my downfall. If I cut it out then will the weight fall off?

"But cutting back calories is essentially the way to do it."

In my opinion, cutting back on sugars and having more healthy fat in moderation and more leafy vegetables and unsweet fruit to replace it, is the way to do it.

Most people are becoming overweight from going on general, calorie controlled diets.

pick - Thank you for explaining! I totally get that, I am the same! The thing that confuses me is how that "addiction" works. It can't be an addiction to the actual substance, can it? Because the carbs you had in your sandwich are pretty quickly metabolised to the same sugar and they didn't 'trigger' you (and don't trigger me either). Maybe it's some psychological effect of sweet things?? (I'm not denying it's absolutely powerful in saying this - trust me, I know it is from personal experience! Just asking awkward questions )

Distance the theory about cutting back on calories is far more obvious than the practical reality, though. This is the main thing that makes different ways of eating attractive to people.

If my TDEE is 1800kcal and I've been consistently eating 2000kcal and slowly ended up overweight (this is pretty much how it happened for me) then it's all very well deciding to eat 2/3 as much food to get the weight off, but cutting down proportionally, but if I'm eating foods that aren't hunger satisfying to start with, then eating less of everything is simply going to leave me feeling hungry and likely to fail. Much better, in my case, to eat less of the unsatisfying food and keep all the nutritious, filling stuff. This is sustainable for me, too because I haven't deprived myself of anything that I can't wait to get back to.

Low carb diets are an extreme version of this. I don't get on with them but they work great for some, for as long as they're following the principles.

For others, a couple of VLC days per week, or restricting all calorie intake to an 8 hour window, each day, is more helpful when it comes to compliance.

Any further benefits of intermittent fasting or low carbing are debatable and yet to be unequivocally proven, but compliance is, for most people, the biggest hurdle to losing weight.

shovetheholly Wed 14-Dec-16 12:13:25
I don't understand the sugar thing. Surely it means you have to give up all carbohydrate, since it is metabolised to the same thing? How is that even possible - I'm not just talking about living entirely without bread, pasta, potatoes, but about the amounts of carbohydrate in things like fruit and veg? What can you eat except steak and eggs?

IT is not about giving up all carbohydrates at all, but of choosing more of a different kind.

It is just that some particularly load the body with sugar. So eating lots of vegetables like broccoli, spinach, cabbage, green beans, lettuce, peppers, with a little olive oil or even a little butter with some protein instead, definitely makes you feel very full but at the same time not put on weight.

A whole green pepper with half a pot of humous, for example, makes you feel full, for a lunch or snack.

With fruit it is a case of not guzzling sweet fruit juice, smoothies and lots of wine, but choosing more berries and moderately sweet fruits like apples, and if grapes just a few.

Pulses are especially good because they already have very moderate carbohydrate and protein too. So pulses with vegetables and a little oil is a good meal.

Some grains have lower carbohydrates and more protein like quinoa, and others I do not know off hand.

Kinddogs - See THAT makes sense to me. Because you're basically creating the sensation of fullness on low calories - it's old-fashioned calorie control meets healthy eating, and is about the avoidance of calorie-dense foods (some of which are high sugar). It's the only method that has ever worked in getting the weight off for me. I've found that when I eat that way, I feel loads better and more energetic. But I am still consuming sugar (in the shape of things like bananas) just in limited quantities.

Most people are becoming overweight from going on general, calorie controlled diets.

That's impossible. If calories are controlled, you don't become overweight (unless you have a thyroid condition or a similar medical condition, of course).

This is very old news, but diets don't work because they are impossible to maintain in the medium term and are incredibly unappealling. Reaching and keeping a sustainable weight is a long-term thing - a matter of creating better habits. And usually this involves having smaller portions, yes.

Distance
(for example, you have one KitKat bar after a salad for lunch).

I understand your point aboutfit being a good idea to factor in a treat so as not to feel deprived or to break a resolve.

However, and I am not meaning this confrontationally, but having a salad with inadequate protein, ( and was it loaded with dressings, and maybe pasta too?) followed by a kit-kat, you are setting yourself up for an inadequate diet, mood swings and more sugar cravings.

Adequate protein alongside vegetables and fruit is the key for every meal and snack even if it is a few nuts and and apple or a match box size of cheese and an apple.

And yes, of course, it's very important to listen to your body. Different foods work differently for different people. Some people can't do without chocolate, other people have no problem not having it. Ultimately, it's a matter of not eating thoughtlessly, for the rest of your life (with occasional lapses, of course, we're all human).

It really does tie in with slimming world to cut out REFINED sugar. You can replace this with sweetener options/fruit (fructose) if you are like me and need that sweet fix.

DistanceCall Wed 14-Dec-16 13:23:04
Most people are becoming overweight from going on general, calorie controlled diets.
That's impossible. If calories are controlled,

How long will they be controlled for, though? Time after time people on WW lose weight only to put it all back again plus more.

By that calorie logic eating a Mars bar and counting the points is the same as equal points of avocado or nuts. But there are totally different metabolic effects on the body according to which is eaten, and in the longer term, the first leaves a person in a state of bad nutrition, (& maybe leading to diabetes) and craving more food. The second makes them feel satiated and full of energy.

Time after time people loose a lot with WW only to put it on and more, because they have not re-balanced their whole body to a state of well being.

I was about to post what Aki23 posted. I was a refined carb addict. I tried a low carb high fat diet. It did work really well, I lost quite a bit of weight but I only managed for 8 weeks before I fell off the waggon and gained it all back I've tried WW in the past, found it too restrictive. I've been doing SW for a while now and I'm doing really well. It's not just about cutting down on calories, it's about encouraging a more balanced diet - you 'syn' refined carbs, you're supposed to a certain amount of fibre but then syn anything else. My only gripe is the encouragement of substituting sugar with sweetener (yuck). Instead I either avoid it or count it. I get up to 15 syns a day which I use so I feel like I still get a sweet treat but actually I'm having a balanced diet with plenty of veg and some fruit, very little refined carbs. My carb binges have stopped. I've lost 16lb in 9 weeks and I'm not worried about falling off the waggon because I'm actually finding it very easy! My

Its very surprising how sweet things taste when you give up sugar

Confused

KindDogsTail I did say that diets don't work and cannot be sustained in the long term. What is needed is something that can be sustained in the long-term. And it's different for everyone, because, as you say, metabolic effects are different (and so are preferences).

Losing a load of weight by cutting out an entire food group is madness, as you'll just put it back on. But you can eat fewer biscuits, less chocolate, less sugar, smaller portions of bread and pasta, fewer cakes, etc. on a permanent basis.

I have to say that low carb/high fat has worked for me over the last 8 months. I'm nearly 70, and have slowly gained weight (middle-age spread??) over the last 10 years, and at 5' nothing weighed 11 stone 3lbs back in April. I had a blood test 2 years ago, which showed I was about to become pre-diabetic, but still in the "normal" range, so nothing was flagged up at the time, and I didn't suspect anything wrong. But I had a lot of digestive problems - acid reflux, bloating and pain after eating, and a bit of research showed this could be caused by high blood-sugar levels and problems digesting carbs - insulin resistance, so I embarked on LCHF, and felt so much better. I also started to lose weight, slowly, and have now lost over a stone in weight, which delights me!
It's a bit daunting to begin with - cutting out potatoes, bread and other carby food, although I'd never eaten them in large amounts, but it becomes a way of eating which feels so much healthier, and cuts the risk of diabetes dramatically. You DO lose your desire for sweet things, it just takes a bit of perseverance. Plus you can eat plenty of the good fats - cream, butter and cheese, which keeps you satiated, and stops the hunger pangs. I don't really miss the carby foods, but allow myself the odd treat occasionally.

as this is trending and therefore fair game, some boring old facts:

Mccall's book wibbles on about low sugar and then suggests chucking maple syrup on things. Bottom of the class, Davina. (or whoever actually wrote it)
as someone mentioned, low-fat versions of products have more sugar added as otherwise they would taste even worse.
you can't cut out sugar totally. What most of us need to do is eat fewer biscuits, cakes, sweets and so on. Pigging out on dried fruit won't help either.
complex carbs and simple carbs are different chemicals and are handled differently by the body.

Ooh discussion of the day! Going to read all these posts after work

Distance
Though everyone is different, the metabolic effect of consuming a lot of sugar is well described in a number of books now, and while everyone is different, it could generally be assumed as a general rule, that if sugar and carbohydrates form too a high a proportion of people's diets, there may well be problems like weight gain, mood swings, head aches, diabetes, lack of energy, constant colds, polycystic ovary syndrome, at worst; and in general craving yet more sugar (caffeine, alcohol, diet coke, raw coke).

If a person does not crave sugar all the time, because of eating the right balance of other sorts of food, then it is less likely to feel like a restrictive diet and be dropped. It can be a way of life.

Good French, Spanish and Italian food for example, relies on fresh fruit, vegetables, nuts and oils, a little meat and fish, and live cheese and yogurt rather than piles of special K, cornflakes, frosties, rice, chips, pizza, pasta in giant bowls as a main course, bread, toast with butter and jam, extra high sugar bars etc.

Look at the people at people from these countries at continental airports and then compare them to the English. They are physically very different but probably not feeling deprived, because their food is good.

Shoveholly
re; sugar and addiction
Because the carbs you had in your sandwich are pretty quickly metabolised to the same sugar and they didn't 'trigger' you (and don't trigger me either).

The sandwich had fish in it, and she said the bread was seedy. I think if you eat protein, like fish, then a small amount of 'sugar', as in that little bit of seedy bread which might have had more protein in it than other sorts, it is usually OK and not so triggering for more sugar.

I think some of the sugar addiction element is really physiological, some habit, some association and comfort; some is real hunger trying to get a quick satisfaction from the sugar that won't work.

That is why, when you feel like a snack is is worth trying to eat something other than sugar first as this will solve the hunger properly. If you still want a sweet thing afterwards, at least you'd have had the actual food before hand and so may not go on to crave more and more sugar.

Remember that low carb doesn't mean no carb.

I still eat potatoes, squashes, lentils and there's lots of carbs in veg. So dinner could be baked sweet potato, a steak and a big spinach and feta salad. Lots of dressing.

The carbs to avoid are the crap ones : basically stuff made with white flour.

If you eat a source of carbs with a portion of healthy fats and protein the insulin response is lower/more stable blood sugar as a result than if you just ate carbs alone, hence something like a sandwich causing less cravings and hunger than eating jam and toast.

I do not follow a low sugar diet by any stretch but I decided to give up yogurt when I saw how many spoonfuls of sugar were in it!

However, I eat a lot of vegetables and fruit - eg carrots are quite sweet.

I have porridge with almond flakes and agave syrup rather than maple syrup.

But other than that I am rubbish and eat loads of sweet things - cake once or twice a week. Some sweets. A glass of wine 4-5 evenings a week. But it is all in moderation so I don't think I am too bad.

However, in 2012 I had a health assessment and was shocked that my blood sugar levels were only just below the level that is considered pre-diabetic. Everything you can do to lower your sugar intake is good even if it is just giving up sugar in tea.

As oldlaundbooth says, it is low carb: usually 20g or less per day is recommended. That's plenty for veg, a bit of the less-sugary fruit if you want it (berries etc).

If you are like me and don't do well with cold turkey or deprivation, switch up how you get your sugar. A 25-calorie hard candy can last as long as a 200 calorie cookie or candy bar, for instance. Or frozen grapes work for some people!

Some people always seem to take this to the extreme and say you have to give up carbs and fruit as well as they are digested as sugar. This isn't the point at all. The problem is all the added sugar that you can eat without realising. Added sugar in drinks, yoghurts, etc that's before you even think about obvious sugary stuff like biscuits, biscuits and sweets. If you think about this stuff, you can lose weight while eating normally and without feeling terribly deprived.