Today is my first day back to not eating sugar again...so hope you all have room for one more here It hasn't been too hard today, but I have worked through temptations. There is no sugar in the house, I stopped buying it a long time ago, but my son gets candy at preschool everyday, but when is bad and gets sticks pulled I don't let him have it. Today he had all 5 sticks pulled, and I know that candy is in his backpack. I have been eating it when he doesn't get it, telling myself "it's just one tiny little piece" but it gives me horrible cravings and I have that eating rampage feeling the rest of the day. I have not opened his backpack because I know it's in there and I have to somehow not talk myself into eating it. I think I'll just give it to my daughter real quick since she's home now...just have her stand there while I open the bag and immediately hand it to her. it would be easier for me if my son would just be good every day and then it wouldn't be an issue, he'd be eating it before we even got home!
I also have to avoid pasta and bread, though I don't like bread much anyway. Pasta of any sort, even the whole wheat kind, is just like sugar to me, I go way overboard and get cravings. I can have whole grain bread and feel good, but not the "white" whole grain kind.
julzchiki: I think you have to find out what your trigger foods are for yourself. I can eat fruit and not have cravings at all, everyone will have different triggers. Maybe try some fruit on a day you're not having a lot of cravings and see what happens for you. If you think it will help to take it, then do it! Your friend is trying to help I know, but you have to find your own way, what works for you will be different from someone else. I also buy sugar free things sometimes to substitute when I am really having cravings...mostly things with splenda. I also eat nonfat yogurt (with splenda), cheesesticks, and little carrots for snacks. It's good to have fresh veggies sometimes, I can munch away on them all day and it doesn't set me back...I don't count calories from fresh veggies, so a "freebie" salad is always there for me if I am hungry and out of calories, or just needing to munch at something. But, I think you have to just learn to get through certain circumstances without ruining your plan. It takes committment, NOT WILLPOWER, true committment will get you through.
I wouldn't mind trying to cut back on sugars. I don't think I'd ever cut out natural sugars like in fruit though. My mother is diabetic, as were both of my grandfathers, so I know it's something I should watch. While I don't eat sugary foods often, when I do get a craving, I can definitely overdo it. What are some of your favorite snack foods to substitute for sugary ones, especially when you're having a craving? I'm big on substitution, and it works for me, so I'm all ears if you have suggestions that might help me get on that track.
What are some of your favorite snack foods to substitute for sugary ones, especially when you're having a craving? I'm big on substitution, and it works for me, so I'm all ears if you have suggestions that might help me get on that track.
substitution works for me as well, or I'd never be able to give it up! I like Breyers no sugar added ice cream (still have to watch calories though), SF jello and pudding cups...I had to get used to the taste of the jello, and still don't like it real well, but the SF pudding tastes just like the real thing to me. I like sugar free cool whip on either, or try SF jello mixed with SF whipped cream and canned fruit cocktail (in water or 100% fruit juice, with splenda or plain water)...I make a thing of that up when cravings are hitting and put it in fridge overnight and kids love it as well. I make the jello, then just stir in the cool whip and fruit, breaking the jello up so it's a big mess...yum!
I cannot eat the sugar free cookies, for some reason I have the same issues stopping with those and they still give me cravings. They are just too good I guess? I'm interested in hearing others ideas on this! I know some eat real dark chocolate, but I unfortunately only like the smooth milky light chocolate.
Please HELP! I just posted a thread on needing to give up sugar. I do so great with only eating when I am truely hungry...but my weightloss is soooo slow. I just kinda feel a panic when I restrict food in any way. But I know I feel an inner guide (God) directing me to completely give up sugar.
Any tips? I have done so good...I am so strong-willed...I just can't seem to kick the sugar. I think one thing for me also..I don't use/like artificial sweetners..so sugar free goodies would be out for me also.
Strangely, sugar is not a problem for me. I don't think I have a sweet tooth at all. Unfortunately I do have a carb issue, big time. I've been switching to all whole grain stuff, brown rice etc for the last few months and it wasn't that hard. I would always pick chips or crackers over cookies. Of course those aren't good for you either! I wish I could be like my husband, he only eats to stay alive, has never had a craving! Life is not fair LOL
I put the cookies away in their boxes and I haven’t touched them since.
Thank you for your kind words about my post. I would strongly urge you to throw the cookies away! I used to have such guilt feelings about getting rid of food until I realized that, eventually, I will get rid of it anyway. Whether I toss it in the trash or toss it in my mouth, it's not doing anyone any good. It's just a matter of trying to limit the bad.
As for the fruit, I don't binge on it, and since it tends to be full of fiber and nutrients, I am choosing not to exclude it. Of course, we each have to make our own choice, but the reality is that if we read enough books and talked to enough people and chose not to eat anything that someone thought was bad for us, there would be nothing left to eat! Surely, that would be worse.
Good luck to all of us in dealing with our sugar issues!
Last edited by LaurieDawn; 03-13-2008 at 12:21 AM.
LaurieDawn: You are right, if we avoided EVERY food folks thought was bad for us, we'd be skinny 'cuz we're starved! LOL No one I know got fat eating fruit, either!
Okay y'all, due to my bad lack of planning I ended up eating junk last night! So I have started over from today.
i used to eat 2 jumbo boxes of hot tamales everynight and 2-3 bags of jolly ranchers a day. and anything else candy like i could get my hands on. honestly i cant believe i'm not diabetic. but then i quit, got a little moody, and a couple of headaches later the desire to eat sugar is gone. i now get my sugar from fruit (never knew how sweet it really is!).
feeling much better now. goodluck
Avoiding sugar is a vegan thing, right, Soulbliss? 'Cuz they use animal bones to make the sugar or something? I don't remember why sugar is not vegan, but I have heard something about it.
It's finally warm enough to walk at my house, so my daughter and I walked the two blocks to the park this morning. I saw some Skittles on the ground, all squished and wet from the melting snow, and I had to stop myself from wanting to pick them up. How disgusting is that? I didn't really want to eat them, but it was like a compulsion. Days One and Two were fairly easy, but Day Three is kicking my butt!
julzchicki, there are a couple of ways you can go about reducing or getting rid of sugar. You can cut back, cut out certain things, or do a detox. I did a detox because I was on South Beach plan. One advantage to it is that you lost the cravings for sweet stuff. Yes, it's hard to believe but it's true. I would never have believed it myself before I did it. The first few days are tough, but once you are through that it will really get much easier. The reason to avoid refined sugars is because it sends your blood sugar very high very fast, your body pumps out insulin to deal with the sugar, which makes your blood sugar levels go too low, and then you end up starving and craving something else sweet to get your sugar levels back up. That is a very non-scientific explanation based on my understanding of the process.
But by the same token, alcohol, and refined starches do the same thing to blood sugar levels, so you may want to avoid them also.
This is why on South Beach you don't eat any sugar, alcohol, or anything made with refined flours, and during the detox phase you also avoid fruit. I don't own stock in South Beach and am not pushing that plan, it's just the one I'm familiar with. I know Atkins and Sugarbusters deal with this issue too.
It truly is about finding what works for you personally. I wish you luck!
Day Three gone! And I do have to confess that when I made my commitment, I really meant candy, cookies, cake, high-sugar cereal, etc., as well as white flour. I eat a low-calorie teriyaki tuna steak that I love, and that has some sugar in the sauce. I also eat protein bars sometimes, and they have some sugar in them as well. When I realized that, I thought about giving them up, but at this point, I don't feel the need to be a purist, especially since I don't use sugar substitutes. So, my commitment is to avoid high sugar foods, especially those with no nutritional value. Maybe I'll get more hard-core later. Maybe not.
So, given those parameters, I have finished day 3 successfully! I saw some chocolate raspberry Special K bars, and I was really tempted because that's my absolute favorite flavor combination, they were on sale for a good price and they have fairly low calories, but sugar was the second or third ingredient. So I just said no. That's something, right?
I went off plan the past 2 days (planned to be off plan--March 12 was that one-year anniversary of the day Jeff proposed to me, and March 13 was the 4-year anniversary of the first time we met in person). I'm back on today, though. I'm about to go make myself some egg whites (I would typically eat the whole egg, but I'm at work, so I just bought a carton of egg beaters for the sake of convenience) with some 2% fat cheese and turkey sausage. I'm thinking of putting it on a whole wheat English muffin, but I'm contemplating whether I should try to avoid carbs as much as possible to recover from the past 2 days.
What's weird for me is that I really don't get sugar cravings often at all. I crave fatty foods MUCH more often (greasy chips, heavy cheesecake, anything with LOTS of gooey melted cheese, etc.). It's really easy for me to pass on things like cookies, candy, cake, most pastries (except those cheese danishes--I'm a sucker for cream cheese), sodas, sugary juices, and things like that. So when I reduce my sugar/carb intake, it is purely for the health and weight loss benefits, not to help me to overcome cravings. It does make me feel less sluggish, though, which I love.
I get this thread through my email and last night I replied only to find my reply never got posted. Does anyone else get the thread through email? I'm wondering if I just click on reply if it will get posted or if I need to do something else to get it there. How very strange! Does anyone know about this sort of thing?
I typed up a whole response yesterday but now I'm too tired to do the same thing all over again. :P Basically I was happy that I stayed away from sugar yesterday. Woohoo. What was strange is that I felt less bloated and gas-y (don't mean to be gross) and my pants kept falling down. I haven't stepped on the scale but I'll take the possibility that my ab area might be a little smaller as a good sign.
On to day 4. I haven't cut down on whites yet but my main goal right now is to just eliminate the processed sugar. I'm keeping the fruit. It's natural sugar with benefits (fiber, nutrients). I don't think fruit is a trigger for me.
It hasn't been too hard today, but I have worked through temptations. There is no sugar in the house, I stopped buying it a long time ago, but my son gets candy at preschool everyday, but when is bad and gets sticks pulled I don't let him have it. Today he had all 5 sticks pulled, and I know that candy is in his backpack. I have been eating it when he doesn't get it, telling myself "it's just one tiny little piece" but it gives me horrible cravings and I have that eating rampage feeling the rest of the day. I have not opened his backpack because I know it's in there and I have to somehow not talk myself into eating it. I think I'll just give it to my daughter real quick since she's home now...just have her stand there while I open the bag and immediately hand it to her. it would be easier for me if my son would just be good every day and then it wouldn't be an issue, he'd be eating it before we even got home!
I just kinda feel a panic when I restrict food in any way. But I know I feel an inner guide (God) directing me to completely give up sugar.
Good to see others who are avoiding it too.
