Giving up sugar in 2018

[Fabianthefabulous]

Tomorrow I am giving up sugar.

The plan is not to eat anything with sugar or sweeteners as an ingredient but I will be focusing on sweet tasting things, so will concentrate my efforts on foods with more than 5g sugar per 100g and not beat myself up if I eat a few savoury things with small amounts of sugar (eg crackers).

I am expecting my coke zero addiction to be one of the hardest things to stop but I want to loose the taste for sweet things not just replace sugar with sweeteners so it has to go!

Anyone want to join me?

I know there was a long running 'giving up sugar' thread from earlier in the year but I thought it would be good to have a new thread for those of us just starting (or restarting).

Would love some buddies or any advice or encouragement from anyone who has managed to give up sugar already.

Can I just butt in to say that in all the previous times I have tried to lose weight I've been focused on trying to keep sugar, or at least sweet things, in my diet as much as possible and looking for diet-friendly alternatives (eg 10-cal jellies, "light" cereal bars). I really struggled to shift any weight and if I managed a pound a week I was doing really well, but a lot of weeks I barely lost anything despite counting calories.

In January I just went cold turkey with sweet things and decided I'd only have them if I was out for coffee and cake with a friend or similar. I still drink milk and eat fruit, though. As for other carbs, if I can avoid them I do (eg if I'm having a casserole I don't have potatoes alongside it) but I do have a small portion of pasta or brown rice a couple of times a week and I always have a slice of multigrain bread with my soup. I have a treat meal once a week when in theory I can have pudding if I want but I rarely do because I no longer crave a sweet thing at the end of a meal. So since January I've probably eaten cake or dessert two or three times in total (when before it was every day, at least once).

It has been a revelation. The weight is falling off me twice as fast as it ever did - I'm losing 2 lbs a week no problem, I have bags more energy, I never feel bloated and I find myself eating much much less in general. My appetite seems to be shrinking and I think I've knocked the sugar craving on the head.

I realise now that looking for diet-friendly versions of sugary things was just feeding the habit, then it was all too easy just to move back to the normal round of cake, puddings, biscuits etc and put the weight back on.

@lurkingfromhome
that's a really good post. I couldn't tolerate zero complex carbs - a bit of brown rice and Vogel sugar-free grain toast feels healthier than none at all.

Please can I join in, late in the day? I'm doing sugar free Lent, but starting a day late due to Valentine's Day. So that's 40 days with zero added sugar or sweeteners. The only sugar I'll have is in fruit.

Absolutely - I didn't want to cut out carbs altogether as it was my sweet tooth that was my biggest worry, so I thought that knocking that on the head would be a big enough challenge!

I can't see that my weight loss is suffering at all from having a bit of bread/pasta/rice a few times a week as long as I keep a strict eye on portion size (which was another issue, it must be said).

honeyroar - thank you for asking about my mum, it is a slow progress but there is progress, I took her along with my teenage daughter to see a showing of Paddington 2 at a local theatre and she laughed a lot so that is a good sign.

I have only cut out sugar (other than some fruit and that which is in milk) - I am not really a bread person but I still have wholemeal pasta and brown rice. I am trying to have half my plate as veg, about 30% and protein based stuff and 20% as brown carbs - I am not being really strict and measuring, just approximate. Beating the sugar is the important thing to me.

You lot are amazing. I’m finding it hard to stick to. Went for a coffee with friends and the kids yesterday, totally without thinking I added sugar to my drink. It’s rare that I have coffee but still.

I think what isn’t helping me is that I’ve not been training much in the last two weeks (two triathlons coming up in the next few months). So I haven’t been as focused. And I’ve been at home more (where the biscuit tin calls me). Half term treats for the kids are my other excuse.

However, if I keep following this it will remind me and remind me. And some effort is better than none surely. I’m not overweight particularly (although I’d love to be half a stone lighter) but I do have family history of heart disease and diabetes. I need to look after myself.

Also did anyone see the body coach on channel 4 the other night. I was only half watching but the end results were amazing. I didn’t notice how much, if any, sugar he included in his recipes. Did anyone else pay more attention than me?!

To be honest I think doing triathlons is pretty amazing Igottastartthinkingbee , I certainly couldn't do that.

Haha I hadn’t thought of it like that oddboots so thanks! Horses for courses I guess. The first triathlon should be fine but the second one is a biggie which I’m not sure I’ll be able to complete!

Haven't even bothered this week (half term and away, full.of cake etc) but when I'm back, going to begin in earnest. Dreading the first few days.

Following!

I'm doing this for Lent (at the least). Hoping to carry on!

I'm back on it and determined again!
lurking That sounds like a very sensible approach.
My first major test will be this afternoon as we are having some friends round for coffee and cake...I'm just planning to quietly have no cake and hope that no one notices!
How do you all manage social situations? I am very wary of becoming a food bore and don't want to suddenly appear rather joyless...not that I think any of you sound joyless! But I hope you know what I mean...

I'm nearly a week in and I'm bored! I had the headache phase and I'm still in the stuffing-face phase. When will I start to feel better and see some results? Please tell me that this is worth sticking to!

@smallmole have you gone completely cold turkey? That sounds like quite a strong reaction.

We've all given up sugar for Lent but we're still eating fruit, including small amounts of dried fruit. Just zero processed sugar: no cakes, biscuits, processed foods, jam etc. So far I haven't had any bad side effects. The only thing i've noticed is that veg tastes much sweeter.
I had hopes that it would stop my exhaustion swings but i still get those. Probably need to stop all the caffeine too but one thing at a time...

Houndsoflove I will have a tiny bit of the least damaging dessert when out with friends, or cheese, so I don't turn into that diet bore! So I might have an ice cream or something, but not the full on dessert, and just tell them I'm quite full!

It's strange how some people get headaches/symptoms and others don't. I didn't seem to get them, yet was such a sugar addict.

Thank you for your reply? I'm still eating fruit - just no processed sugar. I've got my period too - so it's possible that some of the symptoms are more cycle related. I suppose I'm just bored of thinking about it - but there's still a lot of Lent left!

Argh! I meant to thank you but I accidentally hit the question mark and now I look like I don't know if you replied or not!

That's a good way of approaching it, honeyroar.
smallmole I've had terrible headaches, body aches and have felt generally quite unwell. In a way it is spurring me on as I think I am clearly someone who is very receptive to sugar.
Those of you who are now sugar free: how long did it take for the cravings to go and for you to start feeling 'better'?

Oh duh. I've just come down with fluey symptoms and so has DS2 who is quite a sugar addict. I wonder if we've caught a cold or this is our bodies reacting to the lack of sugar.

Hi everyone! Hope you don’t mind me joining in, I’m in my second sugar free week. Ive got 5 stone to lose and hoping to do it by Christmas. I weigh on a Monday and I’ve lost 7lb so far xx

Well done EC22 - are you starting to feel the benefits of no sugar yet?
I've had a good week - I've not managed 'totally sugar free' but have managed 'dramatically less' and am happy with that at the moment. I've lost 8lbs since the start of the year, which I am really pleased with.

I don't want to jinx this by feeling smug but I'm really enjoying it. I had a surge of energy and happiness yesterday and today, after three days of fluey symptoms. My appetite has gone down.

Like lots of other people I've not cut it out entirely and am still eating fruit, even small quantities of dried fruit. But absolutely zero processed sugar. And it's so refreshing. Today after doing a big load of housework, I caught myself thinking: I'll have a cup of tea and listen to something on you tube as a reward, instead of guzzling down eight ryvita with strawberry jam or raiding the kids' snack cupboard.

It's lovely to have reduced cravings. Last night I went to bed without any snacking after dinner. Just wasn't in the mood. Didn't feel hungry.

Don't think I've lost any weight yet though.

Brilliant, well done all.

Did you measure yourself? Last year I lost inches before weight.

I'm still bobbling along. I've lost 7lbs since Jan 5th, so slowly but surely. I didn't think I'd lost inches, but I've just called on my sister in law, who I haven't seen since Boxing Day and she thought I looked much slimmer. I changed my uniform last week at work, my last one was baggy, this one is the same size but skin tight, so I still felt fat in it, so that didn't help!

May I join you please? I'm on day 8 now. Sitting here wondering what to do with myself as I would have normally been snacking by this time of night, then I remembered mumsnet and thought I might find some company! Removing added sugar has been a big change but not trying to cut out or cut down on other stuff has helped, and I'm enjoying feeling more in control of myself.

I haven't lost any weight or any inches. In fact my legs seem to have swollen and got bigger. Though I've not been having substitue snacks. And I do feel much more in control. No cravings. Less desire for second helpings or a glass of wine etc. Bit hacked off that the weight just won't go anywhere though.