Giving up sugar for January, maybe longer

[GrumpyOldBag]

I have decided to try giving up sugar.

Anyone else tried this?

I am going to continue eating fresh fruit, but not dried or juice.

No processed foods containing sugar.

And obviously no fizzy drinks - but don't drink those anyway.

Anyone tried doing this? Can I have honey on my porridge?

I think dry wine & vodka OK?

Anyone got any advice to share? Thanks

So I am a week in and I have lost 5lbs but I am also calorie restricting. For me it is no added sugar, no artificial sweeteners and no alcohol. I am also reducing other carbs and not having them at every meal.

I am still eating fruit though 1-2 pieces per day, I'm not sure I want a way of eating were I can't enjoy fruit. Also I seem to be able to regulate how much I eat, if I open a packet of biscuits there is a danger I will eat them all but I am never going to consume a bag of oranges in one sitting😀.

I have been a bit hungry at times but feel very motivated at the moment.

I finally got my bike out today for the first time in about 3 years. I didn't go very far - only 35 mins- but it felt great and I'm now sitting at my danger snacking time not wanting anything sweet at all (too thirsty, just want water and herbal tea!). I'm going to cycle on a Wed, Fri & Sun.

Lucked I'm also eating fruit. I'm looking at this as a cut all the crappy sugar (chocolate, biscuits etc) and caffeine, reduce my portion sizes a bit, up the vegetables and do a bit more exercise. This is how I used to live and I'm not quite sure how I ended up so sedentary and with a bad diet!

Can I join please? 3 stone to lose

First day of no sugar today and I've got a banging headache. Can't remember the last time I haven't stuffed myself with chocolate/sweets every night. Need to break this addiction!

Honeyroar, that's great that you can feel the benefits already and don't have indigestion anymore.

Noofly, well done for getting the bike out!

I really thought I would struggle without carbs but am managing well so far. I do however think I may need to cut out dairy as I have had diarrhoea for 2 months and cutting gluten hasn't helped. Cutting dairy seems a step too far at the moment!

Some great losses this week! I would love to have a few pounds off at the end of the week.

I'm eating fruit too, quite a lot of it, but I'm not knocking it, it's a good swop from all the biscuits, chocolate and crap I've given up.

Well I made it through the flight without eating any of the desserts, snacks or hot sweet nuts (all of which I would have tucked into previously, and which my colleagues were all eating). I caved in and ate two dried dates with the arabic coffee, but I'm not going to beat myself up too much for that. I have a 200 mile drive to work, and can often eat crap on the way down, so I put a tub of grapes and bits of fruit in the car and stuck to that. This hotel does a gorgeous free breakfast for us when we arrive, there are tables and tables of things, some good, lots not good. I managed to avoid the beautiful, sugary pastries and had fresh melon, two tiny brown bread rolls with a tiny bit of honey on and a fresh omelette with loads of veggies in it. I'm pleased with my willpower, as I don't have a lot of it usually, however I'm always good at the start of a diet!

Well done everyone.

honeyroar buffets and self service are so dangerous, I loose all control so well done.

ASD have you seen the doctor about your change in bowel habit, 2 months is a long time to be dealing with that. Hope it sorts itself out soon.

Little victory today as I wore a blouse that I had to put away in December because my tummy had got so big the buttons were pulling. Very pleased as I think my stomach is shrinking quicker than normal on this diet/change.

Lucked - yes I have, started with a bout of norovirus start of November and hasn't got back to normal.. He's referred me to a gastro as I tests showed inflammation in my gut which along with the other poor results is why I need a change in diet.

I weighed my self this morning and I have lost 6lbs! So that's 11lbs in 2 weeks. I definitely going to continue to stick to the plan!

Wow, ASD that's a great weight loss!

I'm going to try to pretty much stick permanently to no sugary crap but am going to allow myself a treat on Saturday evenings. I'm not going back to the caffeine though- not ever! That was my downfall.

Second cycle today. There was a killer headwind wind and I was very slow. Very very slow, but I still did it. 53.5 minutes on a route that used to take me 45 so I have a fair bit of work to do. It really does help me stop thinking about sugary snacks and hopefully will help to tone me (I will always have large thighs/bottom compared to the rest of me).

Hello everyone! I hope you don't mind me joining you. I also gave up sugar as a new years resolution, as I was so sick of my appetite getting the better of me and constantly thinking of food. I've cut back on carbs a bit and replacing the lost calories with a bit of extra (healthy) fat and my appetite seems to have stabilised which I'm enjoying.

I haven't had any since new years eve and despite being a bit of a chocaholic, I don't miss it! I really thought I would. I find it a little harder when I'm surrounded by people eating a dessert or snacking etc, but not as bad as I thought it would be.

I've not bothered trying to replace it with anything too, so when I've cut out sugar before I've used sweetener etc, but this time I really haven't found I've needed it. I've told myself it's there if I get a craving for something sweet, but I'm not going to bother with it for the sake of it.

I have lost 5lb since new year and don't need to lose anymore, but I am not really doing it for the weight loss. I would like to get to a point where I don't eat sugar unless I really want it on a special occasion (birthday, Christmas etc).

Looking forward to having some company on this sugar free journey!

Hello everyone, also planning on joining you if that's ok?
I'm on day 10 of a clean eating programme. Basically I've been working really hard in the gym since Sept and all my body stats (fat, muscle mass etc) are moving in the right direction and really improving. But there's very little difference on the outside! Got talking to another lady who trains there, who's heavily into nutrition and persuaded me to try eating "clean" eg. cutting out all refined sugars, wheat and packaged / processed foods.
Ten days in and I'm so much less bloated and feeling totally fine, despite usually being a carb / sugar monster

I'm an "all or nothing" kind of person so doing things in moderation never works for me. I'm not really missing sugary stuff, but suspect I will at some point and would love any recipes that would satisfy my sweet tooth, without waking up the monster!

Lots of inspiring stories on here so far, thank you all for sharing and hope to share my own successes here too.
I didn't really set out to lose weight but so far, despite eating lots of food including full fat milk, greek yoghurt and cheese, have lost 6lbs and down a notch on my belt!

I'd love to join this thread as I have a big sugar addiction. I eat so much chocolate and cake. However I desperately need to gain weight - at least a stone. Can this be done while cutting out sugar? Does anyone have any advice on how I could do this?

Definitely heavenscent. Sugar is pure rubbish and is by far the worst thing to gain weight on. Focus on adding more fat to your diet, things like nuts and seeds, avocado, butter on veggies, cheese etc.

And focus in ensuring your calorie intake is sufficient. It might sound silly to say that but i had a friend who always talked about how hard it was to gain weight but clearly didn't eat enough.

I have tonsillitis and feel rotten. All I want is a hot chocolate or some lovely custard. :( Cravings not fun when ill

Oh no HuckleberryGin, that's not good, hope you feel better soon. X

Huckleberry, hope you feel better soon. If you really need a hot chocolate you can buy 100% dark chocolate which has no sugar and is low in carbs - could be added to hot milk for hot choc. www.waitrose.com/shop/DisplayProductFlyout?productId=506172. I tried eating some today and it wasn't a pleasurable experience!

I haven't been sleeping well, and yesterday I was really craving a big piece of carrot cake for some reason.

I have gone back to snacking on handfuls of cornflakes, which isn't good. Need to curb that one.

On the positive side, I discovered Sainsbury's sells a low sugar granola - Lizi's - which makes an OK breakfast on mornings when there isn't time to faffs round with porridge.

Feeling fat again. Probably the cornflakes, & too much bread & avocado.

Yes, I have done this and I felt and looked great. I was pregnant with borderline GD which spurred me on to do it. I was very strict about it and didn't even allow myself natural sugars such as honey. I did eat fruit and carbs but restricted refined carbs and ate potatoes in moderation. Sweet potatoes were fine to eat, however. It took a few weeks for my tastebuds to adjust but thereafter I didn't want anything sugary. I was back to my pre-pregnancy weight very quickly and vowed to stick to the plan but hadn't counted on the raging hunger that comes with breastfeeding. So I fell off the wagon pretty quickly and am now looking a bit chubby again! Am now trying to cut all sugar from my diet again but am finding it harder this time around. I will persevere though as I know how much difference it can make.

Oh and hot chocolate is completely fine if you make it with full fat milk and unrefined cacao. It's good for you ! After a short while you become used to the lack of sweetness.

I am so joining you, my sugar addiction is the main reason for my weight gain since giving birth 7 months ago.
I have realised how much I consume! I'm trying to drink fruit tea instead of squash right now and I have bought no unhealthy snacks in my food shop this week... Small start! Just under 3 stone to loose!

I've lost 13lbs since 3rd January. You do have to check labels though it's in everything!

I had a disaster this morning. I accidently got washing up liquid all over my porridge this morning (don't ask!) and didn't have enough milk to start again. I had to have some of DH's Special K. I didn't realise how nasty that stuff is - it was like eating cardboard! Wish I'd just thought to make another batch of porridge with water. I'll probably be starving well before lunch too.

How many people are going to stick with this past January? I'm going to add a treat in on Saturday evenings, but otherwise and going to try to make this pretty much a permanent change.

I'm planning on keeping off sugar for good if I can. I haven't missed it so I see no reason to reintroduce it. I would worry that having something once a week would quickly escalate to more, but you may have more willpower than me!

I'm planning on keeping going after January, I've loads to lose.

I lost two pounds this first week, which I was a tad disappointed with, as I lost it in the first few days, then it stuck while I went away. But my uniform skirt feels a lot looser, so I'm focusing on that, and seeing what next week brings.

I'm flying tomorrow again, it's a five day trip and long flights. Trying to plan ahead again and work out how to keep on the rails.

My weight seems abit stuck this week but I am sure it will pick up again soon. I am in this for the medium to long term. When I get to my goal weight I may maintain on a No S type diet but I will have to be careful as I have a sweet tooth.

Going out for an Indian meal tonight so it will be a big meal but at least I don't like Indian desserts and I am not going to drink.