How did you give up sugar?

[Starbear]

I know the way forward for me is to give up the amount of sugar I have. I relax very much like a smoker with a cuppa with 1 sugar & a biscuit or chocolate. I don't really enjoy herbal teas. I also enjoy puddings & cakes. How do I replace my cuppa & routine.
I have about 6-7 cuppas a day. I don't drink tea after 7pm as I am also an insommic. I have skimmed milk instead.
How did you cut your dependance on sugar?

no advice really just sympathy. i am having to go through the same thing. i have just gone cold turkey i have been having tea with no sugar for 48 hours now and its getting easier. and have replaced biscuits and chocolate with mullerlights. sugar is a real addiction so good luck in which way you try to stop having so much of it

I gave up sugar last year, my advice would be stock up on loads of delicious non sugar food and be kind to yourself for the first week - ie eat what ever you want as long as no sugar. So I stocked up on cheese, ate oatcakes with butter, nuts, sugar snap peas etc. etc.

It's very important to be very strict for the first 2 weeks - check the labels of everything and only eat savoury food - the key is to completely retrain your taste buds so don't eat anything sweet. Also things like soy sauce, baked beans, some bread etc. contain sugar so make sure you cut them all out to start off with. Once you've lost your taste for the sugary snacks you can slowly add these back in.

Good luck - it's so empowering once you've done it. I've slipped back a bit but am still eating a lot less sugar than I was a year ago

Have you lost much weight prinnie? due to cutting it out.

I have cut out sugar and carbs ..well processed carbs which act the same as sugar . It was hard for the first week..felt like shit tbh. But drinking lots fo water helped and snacking on protein .
I have lost stone already.

I agree with Prinnie about 'retraining taste buds'.... People who routinely eat a lot of sugar are what is known as 'sugar tolerant'. Means they need a lot of sugar in something before they can taste it. People who don't eat much sugar can taste it in relatively small amounts and find big amounts quite sickly and unappetising.

I remember giving up sugar in tea & coffee. For the first few days they tasted pretty awful but gradually I came to like the real taste of the drink. Now if I get either with sugar in by mistake I almost feel like spitting it out because it's disgusting!

As well as avoiding sugary foods I'd also suggest avoiding artifically sweetened foods for the same 'tastebud retraining' reason. And even keep your fruit consumption light...

If you're interested in weight-control it's helpful to eat a lot less sugar (rather than none at all which is probably unrealistic). Not only is sugar high in calories it's also instrumental in triggering the overproduction of insulin that leads to hunger-pangs and sugar-cravings.

Give it a whirl... what have you got to lose?

I think you have to go cold turkey on sugar in tea. It'll taste horrid for about 3 days, but after that you'll wonder why you didn't do it sooner!

I've gone cold turkey for sugar in foods but when I gave up sugar in tea (3 spoons) I cut down half a spoon full a week and noticed the taste at first but it was bearable and now if I accidentally take a sip of DH's 2 sugar tea I have to spit it out as it tastes too sweet.

Do agree with whats been said before about hidden sugar - its so prevalent - especially in "low fat" food - the lack of taste is compensated for by sugar / sweetener.

I haven't lost much weight, but I definitely don't put weight on very quickly anymore - one or two days of indulgence used to take their toll where as now I can indulge from time to time with little effect.

I would also reiterate cutting out artifically sweetened things to retrain the taste buds - no yogurts (unless plain), fruit or anything for the first week or two - it actually makes it easier in the long run. Oh - and no alcohol either it's another form of sugar.