sugar in diet

D

diane

Active Member
I very rarely post---but I read the forum daily. I read with interest the freestyle thread and the talk of what a "clean" diet is. I decided to get serious about cleaning up my diet---I have at least 40 pounds to lose. I am very motivated with exercise, in fact I probably over do it quite often! Today I gave up sugar. I am amazed how well I felt! I have been suffering from low sugar levels, or I was always hungry even if I ate only a hour ago. I did not have a single low- nor did I get the extreme hunger just before lunch. This is what I ate today -oatmeal and cottage cheese for breakfast, toss salad, broccolli tomato and boneless chicken breast for lunch with light mayo as dressing & egg white and an apple. The calories was only around 1000 maybe a little less. I still had the energy to come home and exercise! I expected to have some kind of withdrawl from sugar, but it hasn't happened. I just wanted to thank everyone for posting all the great advice--
Diane:D :9 ;) :) :) :D
 
Hi Diane! I'm giving up sugar this week... I have 40-65 pounds to lose to so I hope it will be a nudge in the right direction. I'm glad you still have energy!
 
>Hi Diane! I'm giving up sugar this week... I have 40-65
>pounds to lose to so I hope it will be a nudge in the right
>direction. I'm glad you still have energy!

Hi Jenne
I feel like such a big dummy! I have been trying to lose weight for years, I have had some success, but not long term. I had a spoiled child attitude about I can have anything I want-in moderation. The only problem with that is for me, sugar triggers my eating--and I just keep eating! It is only day one for me, so hopefully the energy will still be there next week. I am also doing the freestyle training on my legs---I will need alot of energy for that. It sounds like we have similar goals. I am 45 years old---and am experiencing peri menopause---so hopefully when my next pms cycle hits I can avoid the sugar.

How have you felt this week without sugar? I wish you the best of luck.
Diane
 
Not only cutting sugar, but making sure every meal and snack has a good protein source made a big difference for me... I used to be the carb/sugar queen and wondered why I was hungry all the time.
 
>Not only cutting sugar, but making sure every meal and snack
>has a good protein source made a big difference for me... I
>used to be the carb/sugar queen and wondered why I was hungry
>all the time.

Great advice! I will continue to eat good protein with my meals. LOL I was a true carb sugar queen. I love the way this feels.
Diane
 
Looking for a good book on how to reduce sugar in your diet. Check out Ann Louise Gittlemans book 501 ways to get the sugar out. You'd be amazed on exactly how much sugar is in every day things.
Kim:*
 
I quit eating sugar in 1997 after years of binging. The question, of course, is what do you mean by "sugar". In 1997 I quit eating the obvious stuff -- desserts and the like (as well as caffeine and alchohol which caused similar reactions as far as my desire TO EAT went). A couple of years later I went further -- I quit eating things like muffins (which are really cake is disguise) and all artificial sweeteners, which I found caused me to want more sugar, just like the real stuff. It was hard and I did go through withdrawal. But after a while, sweet stuff wasn't even tempting because it doesn't taste good anymore -- it just tastes disgustingly sweet. Yuck! Even better, the pounds melted off.

So stick with it. It is worth it.

vlm
 
How long did it take to be rid of the withdrawal symptoms? 10 days? 30 days? 6 months?

Things are so much easier for me if my family does it too.
I'm on my own with cutting out sugar and keep failing/falling off the wagon. :(

I want to encourage anyone who has made it just 24 hours, to STICK WITH IT! BE TOUGH!

Why doesn't my own advice work for me?!?!?
 
>I quit eating sugar in 1997 after years of binging. The
>question, of course, is what do you mean by "sugar". In 1997
>I quit eating the obvious stuff -- desserts and the like (as
>well as caffeine and alchohol which caused similar reactions
>as far as my desire TO EAT went). A couple of years later I
>went further -- I quit eating things like muffins (which are
>really cake is disguise) and all artificial sweeteners, which
>I found caused me to want more sugar, just like the real
>stuff. It was hard and I did go through withdrawal. But
>after a while, sweet stuff wasn't even tempting because it
>doesn't taste good anymore -- it just tastes disgustingly
>sweet. Yuck! Even better, the pounds melted off.
>
>So stick with it. It is worth it.
>
>vlm

Hi Vim
Hmmm I can't give up coffee---I get up at 3:30 am for work. It is my lifesaver. I only drink 2 mugs a day though. I have given up on sugar in the coffee, sweetened cereals, donuts, puddings ect ect. I will have to get the book mentioned above to furthur explore this. I have never eaten articial sweetners and I don't plan on starting. I just know that I have been able to keep my calories at or below 1500 these last few days without starving or having a low sugar attack. I have not had any bad withdrawls so far.

Thanks again for all the great advvice---I hope the pounds will melt away for me to!

Diane
 
I eat very "clean" but I still drink coffee. I drink it black, but I do drink it. I also drink black tea with soy milk in it. It doesn't cause me any cravings.

As far as how long it takes for cravings to go away, I think 3 or 4 days for the physical stuff and variable lengths of time for the psychological part.
 
Hi Diane! I also get up at 3:30am for work, so giving up caffeine won't be easy! I'm on day two now of no caffeine, no sugar. I'm only giving up caffeine temporarily, though, unless I have terrific benefits.

Other than a slight headache and tiredness, I don't think I've had bad withdrawals either.
 
Hello all,
I've been reading this with great interest.
I have been struggling with this sugar/desserts thing after falling off the wagon a while ago (like more than a year) I am currently 'in the gutter' when it comes to indulging my sweet tooth.

I agree with Mogambo 100% about the length of time for the physical and psychological cravings. I believe this same amount of time is true for alcohol consumption and cigarette smoking.

I can say this. For me, and maybe for those like me (RhiannonW based on your posts you may be like this) the psychological cravings take YEARS (if ever) to go away. I really think, given enough time, you 'forget' them --at least temporarily--but they never really go away and any chance you have to 'remember' them puts you back at the beginning of the psychological "getting over them" period of time.

Or another way of saying that is when you break the behavioral habit chain it is easier not to think of eating sweets (or smoking a cig or having a drink) so you have to be careful not to reforge that link.

looking back at what I wrote, I hope this make sense (to someone other than me LOL)
-joy
 
I think it takes longer than 3 or 4 days to lose the physical cravings for nicotine for most people. If you were able to quit smoking that fast, you are very fortunate! :D

I think for cigarettes it's two weeks of absolute hell, then it tapers off. If you make it 4-6 weeks you are probably going to make it, but it sometimes takes a year before the psychological part leaves (urges to smoke when others do, when you have a drink, when you're on the phone, whatever your favorite times were)

I smoked in my early twenties and quit when I was pregnant. It was hard! But I don't know how anyone manages to smoke now!! When I was young, you could smoke on planes, in restaurants, in the grocery store, in the hospital, in college classes if you sat near the window and the professor didn't mind, etc, etc. Now God help you!

Anyway, sorry to go off-topic, I just didn't want any smokers to get their hopes up, and also the cravings for nicotine far exceed any pizza or sweets cravings I personally have ever experienced.
 
You know, Mogambo, I wouldn't argue the point of two weeks v 4 days physical cravings for cigs. That length of time (to me) is still very minor to the psych thing. I don't remember when I quit for the third or fourth time - sometime in the mid 80's - but until a few years ago I would regularly (2-3 x a month) dream that I was smoking. Now it only happens 2-3 x a year. I also know that if I had just one cig, I'd be a 2 pack a dayer again- even after 15 or so years of abstinence.

Back to the topic, I would love to hear opinions here on how fruit factors in to this equation. Oh and the dreaded white bread and pasta...
-joy
 
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