[Closed] Giving up sugar.

Why just a month? i gave it up a couple of years ago along with any processed carbs and the booze. Also go to the gym twice a week plus biking.
It's changed my life for the better, i'm more confident now i'm in good shape, was even groped by a younger women at work the other day, couldn't get my hat on. 😀

Give up cake and biscuits - are you kidding me?

signed: chubby sugar lover!

😉

if you go cold turkey expect to be very grumpy/irritable for a while! Plenty of high fat and/or high protein things to snack on if it's just a case of replacing sugary snacks (obviously don't go overboard and start scoffing kilos of cashews, etc though!)

I'm also not going to cut out fruit or some condiments and such like but will try to avoid high sugar processed stuff.

trying and failing miserably.

(half way through a packet of ginger nuts as i type)

I use xylitol a fair bit . Well , I say a fair bit , not much . But if we do use sugar we use that and I can't tell the difference . Apart from the price.

May I also be so bold as to recommend Daisy Lowe's cookbook . For many, many many reasons 😯

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Beer.

Replace it with beer.

Mmmmm sugary goodness
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No but very, very tempted! Let us know how it goes!!

Did it in January, lost 9lbs. No booze, no processed food. Bought a bread maker and made sugar free bread, in fact still do.

howsyourdad1 - Member

May I also be so bold as to recommend Daisy Lowe's cookbook . For many, many many reasons

Nice erm, oh, er, baked goods? (Dammit - can't think of a suitable innuendo!)

Why just a month

Going for a month seems a nice bite size target. In January I stopped drinking alcohol for the month. At the end the health benefits convinced me to stop full time(mostly, I've had a few beers but less in the year so far than I'd have in a week).
This possibly accounts for the increase in sugar consumption.

Some of good tips so far,I like the mustard for ketchup idea. I'm guessing my favourite pink lady apples will be in the sweet pile.

"You can take away our sugar, but you'll never, take away, my CRIIISSSSPPPPSSS!!!!"

said William Wallace yesterday in Asda.

I'd rather die than give up cake. Although I must be addicted as it's physically impossible for me to have a brew without sweet accompaniment these days.

Might see what Daisy's up too in that book though!

it’s easy, you just don't eat sweet things.
i still have the odd cake/brownie but don’t eat chocolate apart from the 75-80% stuff just look at the labels and don’t buy anything with more than 13-15% sugar. i have some jam in porridge but buy the french grape juice based one that doesn't use cane sugar (it’s still 45-50% sugar though)
no fruit juices, still eat biscuits i like digestives (16.6g/100sugar)

been eating like this for ages and don’t really think of it as a kind of diet, just means there are large sections of the supermarket you don’t walk down. still have christmas pud, still have sticky toffee pudding when eating out just not every night like those fat families on that gogglebox program.

no real reason apart from a family history of late onset type 2 diabetes and the fact that refined white sugar, plain white flour and refined fats are not exactly good for you. some people see a donut, i just see refined empty calories that taste artificial.

if i was to eat a mars bar now it would probably make me puke.

I'm guessing my favourite pink lady apples will be in the sweet pile.

I think that you had it right the first time around, fruit is ok! High sugar content but also high on dietary fibre (especially any 'hard' fruit like apples!)

So what would be your ground rules? You may find that once you cut out the crazy sweet stuff (chocolate, cake, um sweets obviously!) then stuff like tomato ketchup tastes a bit funny anyway!

I went sugar-free about 5 years ago which coincided with a sharp uptake in exercise effort - I lost around 70lbs.

The sugar craving is intense for the first few days - but I promise you, it goes away completely. Suddenly, youre left wondering why on earth people eat so much sugar because you simply no longer crave it.
You'll walk into supermarkets/pertrol stations/swimming baths/anywhere and realise that the blindfold has been removed and you can suddenly see the cheap sugar/HFCS conspiracy at every turn.

However, IMO you have to pretty much avoid white carbs (bread/pasta/rice) AND fruit/fruit juice in order to properly break the sugar habit. Any of the above are simply processed and will peak your insulin levels.

My best advice, read up on low GI foods - stick to the plan.

Essentially, think of carbs and sugar as the same bedfellows and you'll be on the right path.

If all the above sound too dull then remember, Eggs and bacon are your best friend.
And homemade chilli beans will change add super spicy musical delights to your life.

FWIW, I went through a very stressfull period around 3 years ago and hit the chocolate. I've now managed to put on virtually every pound in weight and I am finding ravenous carb cravings so hard to beat this time around. I have occasional dizzy spells and turn a shade of grey when my blood sugars drop.
I'm sure theres a moral to this story.

Good luck.

I'm on my GPs naughty step after being borderline T2 diabetic on routine screening.

Stopped eatig chocs & sweets at work (pretty much only that - admittedly, it was fairly heavy consumption 😳 ) and have lost 7-8 kilos since (90 to about 82). No idea what my blood tests say but so far I'm convinced.

My brother did it two or three months back. He's always been super fit anyway but did it to support his mrs and even he has lost weight and is riding better than ever.

Agree with what SlimJim says about avoiding bread/pasta etc to get the full effect.

and while you are at it give up salt too!
there is no salt in the house as there is enough in other foods, took me 2 weeks, had to have it on chips and then had to have it on egg but that only lasted another week. you do not need it to ‘season’ food, the only reason people add it is because their taste has been dulled by too much salt in processed food.

I don't use salt too much, bread probably a bit more than I should and pasta is very occasional.

So what would be your ground rules?

Cut out the pure stuff, sweets,biscuits, cakes and puddings. Start looking at labels and choose lower sugar alternatives. Trying to keep it simple at the moment and refine it as alternatives become apparent. I will keep the fruit for now. If I eat an apple instead of a twirl I'll put it down as a win.

I'm thinking keeping the fridge stocked with tasty savouries will be key, also having some stuff at work instead of digging into the vending machine or pile we normally have in the control room.

If I eat an apple instead of a twirl I'll put it down as a win.

also having some stuff at work instead of digging into the vending machine or pile we normally have in the control room

Its hard to express how diferent you will feel if you really do eliminate sugar/carb craving.
Cold turkey is the simplest and best way to achieve lack of craving Nirvana. (the philosophy, not the dead bird. Although, the dead bird would be a pretty great low GI food source)

and while you are at it give up salt too!

there's increasing amounts of evidence that's showing no link between salt and heart disease

there's increasing amounts of evidence that's showing no link between salt and heart disease

Interesting! (Genuinely!!) Source?

I cut out biscuits, cake, muffins, sweets and sugar in tea. I didn't notice any ill effects but when I have a sugar item now especially on a hungry stomach I get a sugar spike/crash 🙁

I gave up sugar in drinks on cereal etc in 1982. Just went cold Turkey. You will feel a bit odd for a while as body will have got used to it.

I would try and identify where you are taking in sugar and focus on a few key areas to start with.

Some interesting stories above.

you can suddenly see the ... HFCS conspiracy at every turn.

Are you American? HFCS is a massive problem in the US, but it's relatively rare in the UK (consumption is 25kg / person / year in the US, about a third of a kilo (ie, a gram a day) here).

If you exercise alot or sit in a sauna you NEED increased salt intake. Same with calcium (milk).

Cyclists leech calcium out through sweat so need to replace it.

Sauce:

https://www.diabetes.org.uk/Research/Research-round-up/Behind-the-headlines/High-fructose-corn-syrup-fuelling-diabetes/

In the UK, consumption of HFCS is negligible (0.38kg per person per year), whereas in the US it’s 65 times higher (24.78kg per person per year).

what do people eat for snacks mid ride to boost energy?
i presume gels are not allowed.

If you exercise alot or sit in a sauna you NEED increased salt intake. Same with calcium (milk).

Cyclists leech calcium out through sweat so need to replace it.

The RDA of salt is usually covered by bread/sauces/any processed food. I use nuun tablets in the summer. You don't need to add salt to food to get enough salt.
I'm not walking across the Sahara or working in a foundry.

You say that, but I sweat like Lee Evans when on the bike in summer.

[url= https://www.bhf.org.uk/news-from-the-bhf/news-archive/2015/january/no-link-between-salt-and-cardiovascular-disease-risk-for-older-people-with-same-blood-pressure ]BHF article about salt [/url]

[url= http://www.scientificamerican.com/article/its-time-to-end-the-war-on-salt/ ]Scientific American[/url]

However, limiting your salt intake is generally agreed to benefit health. But there's no need to cut it out entirely

thought this was a thread about THE APPRENTCE srtarting soon on bbc

there's no need to cut it out entirely

Ok let's park salt, I still have salted chips post ride in Summer. Calcium. I.e Osteoporosis in cyclists. I didn't realise this before.

what do people eat for snacks mid ride to boost energy?
i presume gels are not allowed.

I tried just eating proper food like sandwiches, etc, but they just make me tired (probably the bread) plus it's easy to eat too much whereas the bars are just enough to keep you ticking over.

Osteoporosis in cyclists. I didn't realise this before.

Are you American?

No, but in my defence I did quote both HFCS and sugar. My point being that 'sugars' in general are killing us in 'the west'.
The HFCS origin story itself makes interesting reading to say the least.

Gave up sugar, processed carbs, milk a few weeks ago.

Lost 6kg. Feel a lot better. Mores to go so I'll only feel betterer as time passes..

Not missing race, pasta, bread, sugar in coffee. Miss beer a bit but have developed an intetest in gin....

So, what would one have as a packed lunch on a no sugar diet? Assuming some bicycle commuting will be done at each end of the day.

Leftovers from whatever I'd cooked the night before (or earlier & stuck in the freezer)

What if you don't cook the type of things that have leftovers?

Cook something different.

The one thing that there should be less of in this world is probably my cooking

I've always thought that 'cutting down' was a more sustainable strategy than 'giving up'. By all means break the habit's back with a month's fast but in the long run you'll need to limit yourself to X amount of sugar/booze/crack per month.