Giving up sugar. Have you done it?

bitofabind

Has anyone done this?

With Christmas / party season on the horizon I've finally decided to address my toddler-like addiction to all things sugary and fatty and terrible and maybe drop a dress size or two.

I've not eaten any chocolate / cake / sweets / sugary terrible coffee for one week now and how do I feel? Angry. Really angry. And sick of everyone's bs. Work has been a struggle without the kick of sugary coffee to perk me up for a few hours and food has been largely a boring and frustrating exercise I've suffered through like a sulky teenager, white knuckling through plates of vegetables and salads and daydreaming about how much easier a processed sandwich from Marks n Spencers would be.

Which pretty much confirms on a scale of 1 to 10 sugar-addicted, I'm probably about a 63 and so it must be a worthwhile endeavour.

Has anyone ever kicked the habit before?

PsychoPete

I have not and I will not

banie01

I did a severely restricted calorie diet for @10weeks starting at the end of January as part of the Newcastle Diet for diabetes T2.

Prior to that, I haven't added sugar to anything for quite a few years and tended to try and substitute alternative sweeteners for sugar, glucose, fructose, syrups.

The diet was hard, 800kcals a day 2 shakes and some green veg.
It was very much worth it though.
I have been insulin free now for 8 months and my BG levels are maintaining the same HbA1c as when I was taking upto 60units of lantus a day.

I dropped 16kg and it's stayed off, I'm eating a normal diet since April and it's not really bothering me to skip sugar.

Now I did it for medical reasons and other medical supervision.
Its not something anyone should try without support.

In the normal course of things, everything in moderation is a fine approach IMO.

Did no sugar September
Was grand
Was dying for some sugar toward the end tho

Pac1Man

Yes about 90%, it's not too bad at all. Any sugar I take consume is in the form of fruit.

About once a month I get a huge craving for a big bar of chocolate which I indulge in, then it's back on the wagon.

bitofabind

banie01 wrote: »

I did a severely restricted calorie diet for @10weeks starting at the end of January as part of the Newcastle Diet for diabetes T2.

Prior to that, I haven't added sugar to anything for quite a few years and tended to try and substitute alternative sweeteners for sugar, glucose, fructose, syrups.

The diet was hard, 800kcals a day 2 shakes and some green veg.
It was very much worth it though.
I have been insulin free now for 8 months and my BG levels are maintaining the same HbA1c as when I was taking upto 60units of lantus a day.

I dropped 16kg and it's stayed off, I'm eating a normal diet since April and it's not really bothering me to skip sugar.

Now I did it for medical reasons and other medical supervision.
Its not something anyone should try without support.

In the normal course of things, everything in moderation is a fine approach IMO.

Fair play Banie, without meaning to sound trite, that's quite inspiring.

My Dad was diagnosed with Type 2 about ten years ago so there's a history there and in his case a severe sugar addiction that he's definitely passed onto me as I'm a fiend for all things sweet - so there's a benefit to this for me beyond looking like a proper ride in my Christmas get-up in a few months.

bitofabind

Pac1Man wrote: »

Yes about 90%, it's not too bad at all. Any sugar I take consume is in the form of fruit.

About once a month I get a huge craving for a big bar of chocolate which I indulge in, then it's back on the wagon.

Did you have a sweet tooth prior to cutting it out?

I seem to meet so many people who don't have a hankering for the sweet stuff at all, whereas for me, before I started this I couldn't remember the last day that passed when I didn't eat chocolate / sweets / baked goods. So it's been bloody tough!

waffleman

I gave up sugar no problem.

Salt is much harder to give up imo.

ArchXStanton

I switched to sweetener, I hate needles and the thought of injecting myself everyday was a no for me

banie01

bitofabind wrote: »

Fair play Banie, without meaning to sound trite, that's quite inspiring.

My Dad was diagnosed with Type 2 about ten years ago so there's a history there and in his case a severe sugar addiction that he's definitely passed onto me as I'm a fiend for all things sweet - so there's a benefit to this for me beyond looking like a proper ride in my Christmas get-up in a few months.

I was diagnosed 13yrs ago, was a "good" diabetes patient in that my HbA1c was always good always followed the rules.
That said the nature of the disease is progressive and time just leads to more issues and more meds.

It can take away a lot of your sense of control.
When I started on the diet, I was Insulin and 2 oral meds.
Now I'm on one med, and all the associated issues are much, much better.
It gives back a sense of control, of ownership that by making an effort, that by forcing a little willpower.
That you can actually see near immediate changes, even as a "good" patient.

It really has given me a huge sense of achievement.

Pac1Man

bitofabind wrote: »

Did you have a sweet tooth prior to cutting it out?

I seem to meet so many people who don't have a hankering for the sweet stuff at all, whereas for me, before I started this I couldn't remember the last day that passed when I didn't eat chocolate / sweets / baked goods. So it's been bloody tough!

Not really to be honest. It would never take a lot to satisfy it anyway. Have you tried substitute the craving with fruit? I know it sounds dull but the next time you want something, guzzle about 3 or 4 ripe strawberries and see if the craving is still there.

is_that_so

waffleman wrote: »

I gave up sugar no problem.

Salt is much harder to give up imo.

I'm the complete opposite, apart from adding it to taste rarely take salt. Been like that for years. Sugar varies for me and try to use lots of fruit to combat the urge.

Squall Leonhart

ArchXStanton wrote: »

I switched to sweetener, I hate needles and the thought of injecting myself everyday was a no for me

Diabetes brought on by over consumption of sugar is type 2.

It's type 1 you inject for.

Back to the sugar

lalababa

If you are going the home cooked/prepared route then make sure you get a good few recipes from the net esp. for vegetables. With the right recipe veg. can be glorious. Then it takes awhile to adjust, and then awhile to 'go off' the sugary processed stuff.
We like what we know. Like a guy who's drank Budweiser all his life will choose a pint of piss over an aromatic IPA.

bitofabind

banie01 wrote: »

It really has given me a huge sense of achievement.

Fair play on prioritising your health, it sounds like you've really taken control of it and are all the better for it. My Dad is what you'd call a "bad patient" as he breaks all the rules and eats some amount of junk, he's on a cocktail of medications that would put a pharmacy to shame as a result. He's pushing 70 too so it's not like he can afford to be bold with it. :mad:

So part of me hopes that making some of my own changes might catch on with him in time too.

Pac1Man wrote: »

Not really to be honest. It would never take a lot to satisfy it anyway. Have you tried substitute the craving with fruit? I know it sounds dull but the next time you want something, guzzle about 3 or 4 ripe strawberries and see if the craving is still there.

I haven't, I'm what you could call a Stage 5 sugar addict so nothing can "Replace" it for me. Cold turkey is the plan for now, though I am drinking quite a bit of herbal tea in place of my old trusty sugar-laden lattes and keeping my evenings busy with exercise classes.

banie01

Squall Leonhart wrote: »

Diabetes brought on by over consumption of sugar is type 2.

It's type 1 you inject for.

Back to the sugar

Even with T2, you eventually end up on insulin.

T2s also tend to have far higher rates of Heart Disease, Kidney Disease, Stroke, Circulation issues, Amputation and Blindness....

So carefully consider any return to full sugar

banie01

bitofabind wrote: »

Fair play on prioritising your health, it sounds like you've really taken control of it and are all the better for it. .

Age does play a part, pushing 40 and fearing blindness played a bigger.
Your Dad is at an age where he may think, feck it!
Can enjoy the time I have left eating, drinking and being merry...
Or miserable munching a stick of celery.

waffleman

is_that_so wrote: »

I'm the complete opposite, apart from adding it to taste rarely take salt. Been like that for years. Sugar varies for me and try to use lots of fruit to combat the urge.

Im not talking about cutting down on adding salt to your food. Thats like saying i gave up sugar by only putting in my tea sometimes. Im taking about eliminating all salt or sugar from your diet except naturally occurring sodium or sugar.

Squall Leonhart

banie01 wrote: »

Even with T2, you eventually end up on insulin.

T2s also tend to have far higher rates of Heart Disease, Kidney Disease, Stroke, Circulation issues, Amputation and Blindness....

So carefully consider any return to full sugar

Ah I know, I was being facetious

You're right of course. I've a major sugar and processed food problem, I'd call it an addiction by now. I eat plenty of freshly prepared home meals with nothing processed, but it's the snacking and binging outside of this

bitofabind

Squall Leonhart wrote: »

Ah I know, I was being facetious

You're right of course. I've a major sugar and processed food problem, I'd call it an addiction by now. I eat plenty of freshly prepared home meals with nothing processed, but it's the snacking and binging outside of this

Join the club Squall! I'm a week in on no junk food whatsoever though and haven't murdered anyone (yet). It can be done!

is_that_so

waffleman wrote: »

Im not talking about cutting down on adding salt to your food. Thats like saying i gave up sugar by only putting in my tea sometimes. Im taking about eliminating all salt or sugar from your diet except naturally occurring sodium or sugar.

Which is what I said, natural flavour only or whatever salt comes in food. With the solitary exception of a rare occasional sprinkle on big bag of chips never use salt.

wakka12

Squall Leonhart wrote: »

Diabetes brought on by over consumption of sugar is type 2.

It's type 1 you inject for.

Back to the sugar

Type 2 diabetes is NOT caused by over consumption of sugar. That is one of the most widely believed myths about the disease. It is very significantly correlated with obesity(over 80% of T2's are fat) and most obese people consume too much sugar, that is the link .The other biggest contributor is lack of exercise.
Diabetes.org.uk

With Type 2 diabetes, though we know sugar doesn’t directly cause Type 2 diabetes, you are more likely to get it if you are overweight. You gain weight when you take in more calories than your body needs, and sugary foods and drinks contain a lot of calories.

So you can see if too much sugar is making you put on weight, then you are increasing your risk of getting Type 2 diabetes. But Type 2 diabetes is complex, and sugar is unlikely to be the only reason the condition develops.

https://www.diabetes.org.uk/guide-to-diabetes/enjoy-food/eating-with-diabetes/diabetes-food-myths/myth-sugar-causes-diabetes

ytpe2r5bxkn0c1

I stopped sugar in tea or coffee and no longer put it on breakfast cereal. I try to stick to diet soft drinks in recent years. But, I have a sweet tooth and will eat at least a half dozen biscuits each morning and a bar of chocolate most nights.

Princess Calla

I had gestational diabetes on both my pregnancies . The first time I've ever been on a diet was when I was pregnant... Something very cruel about that!

It wasn't fun and I struggled alot. (put it this way himself has said he doesn't think he could handle another pregnancy... Bless him )

Yogurt and fruit is where I got my fix and I'm not a great eater of either....to be fair I've a shocking diet.

You will notice food starting to taste different too...I noticed a big difference between milk brands...I never noticed before the diet.

Best of luck, I don't envy you Though fair play to your will power.

Obvious Desperate Breakfasts

waffleman wrote: »

I gave up sugar no problem.

Salt is much harder to give up imo.

I think salt is overly maligned too.

waffleman

is_that_so wrote: »

Which is what I said, natural flavour only or whatever salt comes in food. With the solitary exception of a rare occasional sprinkle on big bag of chips never use salt.

Arguing with you must be fun. You can say anything you like if you follow it up with exceptions.

I think you either give something up or you dont. No exceptions.

AllForIt

I gave up starchy carbs and sugar about 5 months ago. I lost **** loads of weight since without much effort or exercise. I expect to be pretty lean in about 6 months time. I'm fitting back into winter clothes I haven't worn in a couple of years this month which is nice.

I found eating fruit after meals was great in the initial stages and that just naturally stopped as a daily thing after about 3 months. I don't crave or desire any sugar now whatsoever even when I see it. I'm fortunate that I never liked sugary drinks, I always found them disgusting. Gloopy sticky yuck. My weakness was biscuits and candy bars. I do have sugar free sweets now, sugar free polo mints and Diablo's. As an occasional dessert treat I like cream with berries, sucralose and a drop of vanilla essence. Or greek yoghurt instead of cream.

Some ppl say sugar is not addictive. For me it is highly addictive and it is not about the 'taste'. The problem is not so much it's bad in itself it's the quantity you will eat i.e. over eating as a result of meals not being satiating enough. I go hours now without feeling hungry where before I could be peckish again within an hour. My food bill has significantly reduced and that is reflective of the decreased volume of food I now consume.

soirish

You can do it and your body will be grateful!

There is an easy way to replace sugar - just eat sweet fruits like pineapples, mangos, pears, raisins, etc.

Every time you hit the sugar rush try to grab healthy food like nuts.

Would suggest to read the labels on all food you buy from the supermarkets. Nowadays they put sugar even in the frozen spinach.

is_that_so

waffleman wrote: »

Arguing with you must be fun. You can say anything you like if you follow it up with exceptions.

I think you either give something up or you dont. No exceptions.

Isolated exceptions prove rules! I'm good on nuance and as I don't take salt I'm also happy with where I stand! My regular sodium intake is quite low from what I eat, at the best of times anyway.

Church on Tuesday

Pineapple1

If you're on Instagram, theres a great woman on it under the name makemesugarfree...all her stuff is really good and colourful looking and easy to make. The woman behind it is a qualified nutritionist so she is well qualified in understanding sugar addiction and has written about it.

Obvious Desperate Breakfasts

I don’t hold back on sugar because my health is already fooked so there’s no point. Kinda like dying people enjoying their cigs. Plus, it’s actually really helped keep my weight up at times when my appetite was practically non-existent. One of the few times sugar, as a calorie-dense food, is useful. Fat is more calorie-dense but I don’t like really greasy food.

But I have a natural sugar-eating barrier. I get really grouchy and itchy when I eat too much of the stuff.

Wibbs

Used to take it in my tea, but knocked that on the head a few years ago. Took about a week for me to go from murderous missing it, to grand without it and now I couldn't stomach the taste of it in tea. I'd drink a soft drink maybe four or five times a year(sugar free). Not a big fan of juices TBH(people can forget that cartoon juice can often be higher than some soft drinks). I'd drink a glass of Red vino a couple of times a week, the odd pint of beer. I'd add about a half teaspoon of sugar to a bowl of porridge. I tend to eat plain foods, meat veg, some fruit, mostly berries with no sauces so I'd say my sugar intake is fairly low?

Trigger Happy

New Year’s Day 2011. I decided to have a clean January and quit the booze, smoking and all sugar treats and sweets.
The treats and sweets were the hardest oddly enough, would not be going cold turkey like that again.

Signore Fancy Pants

Recently gave up added sugar and fizzy pop for 3 months. I didnt have any major withdrawals thankfully. Did feel a lot better at the time too. Coffee without 14 sugars was the hard bit.

Slipped back into old habits though. Will be trying again soon.

beejee

Like clockwork, I give up on sugarz during the colder monthzzz. Bz. It can be tough going, literally dying for a bit, and sometimez people offer me some of the fake stuff to keep me buzzzzing. But itzz no good for me really. Come summerzz time I start back on it, binging azz much azzzz I can. Bzzzz.

bitofabind

Trigger Happy wrote: »

New Year’s Day 2011. I decided to have a clean January and quit the booze, smoking and all sugar treats and sweets.
The treats and sweets were the hardest oddly enough, would not be going cold turkey like that again.

Woah. Fair play! Did you notice a big difference in your health and general wellbeing?

Trigger Happy

bitofabind wrote: »

Woah. Fair play! Did you notice a big difference in your health and general wellbeing?

God yes. Was bouncing out of bed in the morning. But life was boring!

rossie1977

Giving up sugar is pretty easy. Even if you crave it fruit is filled with natural sugars anyway

Now try giving up salt. 99% of all non fresh food has salt in it. Everything served in restaurants/fast food joints is filled with salt if it's not a salad that hasn't been dosed with some kind of dressing.

tamara25

Another complete sugar addict here. I’m fairly ok for the first half of the day but it is the evening time where my willpower goes out the window... biscuits, chocolate buns mostly. I switched from black tea to green tea back in February & it was hard in the beginning now I love my cuppa of green tea. It’s so addictive that’s the problem. I think I’ll give it another shot & cut down on the carbs also.

tamara25

Allforit what did you replace your starchy carbs with? Looking for tips!

wakka12

What do people mean when they say theyre giving up 'sugar'? Just sweets and chocolate? Theres many healthy foods like whole grain carbohydrates and legume and starchy vegetables and fruits which have some amount of 'sugar' so does it include limiting these healthy foods for no reason too or what?

rossie1977

wakka12 wrote: »

What do people mean when they say theyre giving up 'sugar'? Just sweets and chocolate? Theres many healthy foods like whole grain carbohydrates and legume and starchy vegetables and fruits which have some amount of 'sugar' so does it include limiting these healthy foods for no reason too or what?

Giving up processed sugar and salt should be enough. Removing natural sugars from diet would limit your choice of food to very few items I would imagine.

There are still tons of things with processed sugar in them but much easier to avoid those foods than the ones with processed salt in them outside your own kitchen.

Alun

rossie1977 wrote: »

Giving up sugar is pretty easy. Even if you crave it fruit is filled with natural sugars anyway.

All sugar is natural.

wakka12

rossie1977 wrote: »

Giving up processed sugar and salt should be enough. Removing natural sugars from diet would limit your choice of food to very few items I would imagine.

There are still tons of things with processed sugar in them but much easier to avoid those foods than the ones with processed salt in them outside your own kitchen.

Yeh salts hard to avoid. As far as I know, the main health issue with salt is that it raises your blood pressure, but if your blood pressure is normal then it shouldnt be too big an issue??

ArchXStanton

Mr.S wrote: »

You can still have sugar in moderation without the fear of diabetes...

Yeah but I was taking 3 spoons in a cup of tea or coffee... And about 6-7 cups a day, I actually prefer the sweetener now, not much of a difference

rossie1977

Alun wrote: »

All sugar is natural.

Naturally occurring in food. Sucrose is naturally found in some food. Refined sugar from cane and beet is processed and added to stuff like cakes, biscuits, sweets and sold in packets.

wakka12 wrote: »

Yeh salts hard to avoid. As far as I know, the main health issue with salt is that it raises your blood pressure, but if your blood pressure is normal then it shouldnt be too big an issue??

Salt kills my skin. Any consumption of food with salt seems to badly irritate my eczema.

ILoveYourVibes

I did once for about 3 months. I did have natural sugar though and i didn't go mad about reading what was in a yoghurt.

I gave up cakes sweets etc all junk though. I felt fantastic.

Then old habits crept in.

bitofabind

wakka12 wrote: »

What do people mean when they say theyre giving up 'sugar'? Just sweets and chocolate? Theres many healthy foods like whole grain carbohydrates and legume and starchy vegetables and fruits which have some amount of 'sugar' so does it include limiting these healthy foods for no reason too or what?

What I mean is the processed stuff. Junk food and crap and adding it to my coffee. I don't eat much fruit anyway and I've been mostly eating lean protein, eggs and vegetables this last week, which I think will be sustainable for the foreseeable. Once I stop daydreaming about pain au chocolat and frothy lattes!

Shybride2016

Another one here who gave up sugar a few months ago.

I was a complete sweet tooth sugar addict, chocolate, sweets, biscuits, cake etc etc.

First three weeks were tough, my head was lifting most days from the banging headaches and the cravings for sugar were unreal. Now though I’ve more energy, I’m sleeping better and my jeans actually fit me properly for once.

I occasionally have one of those Jacobs chocolate wafer biscuits which does me, whereas before I’d need to eat the whole packet. I definitely believe sugar is totally addictive and for a complete sugar fiend I’m actually surprised at my willpower to avoid it as much as possible.

Alun

rossie1977 wrote: »

Naturally occurring in food. Sucrose is naturally found in some food. Refined sugar from cane and beet is processed and added to stuff like cakes, biscuits, sweets and sold in packets.

True, but the point I was making was that it's exactly the same stuff, i.e sucrose. Refined sugar is as natural as the sugar found in sugar beet, or indeed most root vegetables, the "processing" is minimal, just extraction really.