Just cut out sugar?

[Nuffaluff]

I would like to lose a few vanity pounds. I’m at the top end of my healthy bmi, so losing a few pounds would be good for my health too.
I’m very active but I make poor food choices when I have snacks. I eat healthy meals and fruit, but it’s the extras that are stopping me from losing weight. I’ve tried MFP, but when I have some calories to eat, I’ll always choose 50 calories worth of biscuit over 50 calories of veg sticks.
I can’t stand the thought of a too restrictive diet.
So my thought is this. What if I stop calorie counting and just give up refined sugar? Eat when I’m hungry, but no sugary shite. I’m not cutting out fruit - it’s healthy. I will eat a packet of crisps as it’s not sugary. Has anyone tried this and lost weight just by doing this alone?
I’ve managed it for one day. I’m going to see if I can last through the weekend. I love sugary stuff so it’ll be hard for me. Also any ideas for alternative snacks?

[Redcrayons]

I find that if I cut out the sugary shite I'm far less likely to binge and therefor I lost a little weight. I'm never going to eat 4 bananas in one sitting, but I can eat 4 chocolate digestives without even thinking about it.
Sugary shite for me = biscuits, chocolate, cake and sweets. I hadn't thought about crisps containing sugar tbh.
I still have to MFP to lose weight, the 'perks' of being peri-meno

[JayeAshe]

No snacks normally.

Pickled gherkins, a few nuts , cup of bouillon or one-fifth of an Options sachet in coffee (=8kcal) if desparate.

Keep as active as possible.
Best of luck.

[thenewaveragebear1983]

Do you exercise^ Nuff? I ask this because I find that provided I run (although I do run 30-40km a week) and do some weight bearing exercise every week, I can basically eat what I want and maintain my weightloss- I estimate some days I eat 3000 calories. But^ it has to be low carb/high fat. As soon as I eat sugar (and I have a murderous sweet tooth and terrible binge eating tendencies so when I eat it, oh boy, do I eat it!) or eat heavy white carbs, bread, etc, I gain weight very rapidly. So I don't calorie count, but it very much seems to be the type of foods I eat that have effect.
I think it's the ability to overeat carbs that I struggle with. If I have none, I don't want them (I do eat veg etc) but if I have a small amount of sugar I want it all, I have no off switch.

A Mediterranean style diet with some degree of time restriction might be enough to work for you, with no calorie counting

[JayeAshe]

I cut out wheat, sugar, white rice and potatoes (all forms) to lose a muffin top / spare belly fat over 3 months.

Because of my advanced age and other slow metabolism factors I suspect it only worked because (apart from breakfast

[Nuffaluff]

I just hate dieting and depriving myself. I can’t be doing with weighing and thinking about what I’m eating all the time. It’s boring.
I didn’t eat any sweets, cakes, biscuits, etc yesterday. I normally eat at least one or two (or three or four). I’m doing it again today.
I just wondered if anyone has done this themselves and found it successful.

[Nuffaluff]

Thank you.

[thenewaveragebear1983]

You say crisps aren't sugary but I think you're misinformed. Your body does the same with the sugars in a peeled, sliced, cooked potato (and often seasoning has sugar in it too) as it does with the sugars in sweets. On a molecular level, the sugars are the same. When we talk about 'refining' sugars, we mean stripping away the elements that makes that sugar less easy to digest and therefore slows the rate of absorption (eg fibre) so for example a baked potato, skin left on vs. A peeled potato, cooked and mashed. The 'refined' version will be digested and absorbed quicker and will produce a greater metabolic response (insulin = fat storage)

Personally I think you need to cut out most rapid acting carbohydrates (flour, potato, sugar, possible even very glucose heavy fruit eg bananas) but yes, in theory you could do this in isolation and probably notice you lose weight. If you increase your fat consumption alongside reducing these sugars you will also most likely notice a reduction in cravings and as a result, eat less overall and lose weight.