Just wanted to peek into this forum to see who all are sugar busting around here.

My basic diet of choice has typically been low carb, but I seriously believe my biggest problem is sugar. Low carb just helps keep the sugar cravings at bay so I don't end up eating junk or overeating starches.

Anyway, I am hoping to be able to poke around a bit to get some good ideas and possibly recipes to help fend off the desire to eat junk. Maybe offer support to others who are struggling.

Hi Heather . . . and welcome to this Forum, also . . .

The low GI/GL plans are not so much anti sugar as they are pro healthy and low GI carbs in general -- the kind that provide lots of nourishment without spiking your blood sugar.

Thank you for the welcome.

I really am not as anti-sugar as I may sound in my post. Actually, the GI type way of eating has made a lot of sense to me in that blood sugar control is a huge part of why low carb works so well and that appears to be a main focus of GI/GL eating as well. Overall, I like that I rarely feel hungry for sugar or other junk when LC, but when I am able to eat a greater volume and variety of veggies, fruits and even some grain, I do much better in the long run. It seems healthier to me, too to include large amounts of fresh produce no matter what the eating style. I guess, looking back, even as a 'low carb' dieter, I tended to eat way more veggies and fruits than a 'typical' LCer does. At least, that is what I had gathered from reading posts on various other sites. It never had a bad effect on my weight loss/maintenance, which made me happy because I really enjoy all the variety.

It shocked me one day to realize how many extra calories, fat and carb grams I had eaten over what I need when I finally noticed I had mindlessly noshed my way through half a batch of brownies.

For me, sugar isn't so much 'evil' as it is super easy to abuse. And eating very much of it messes with my moods and seems to drain my energy. so I think my real need is not so much that I have to control total carb intake, but rather make sure the foods I eat are mainly nutrient dense and natural--with sugary foods and other empty calorie items being few and far between.

Yep . . . the old sugar is very easy to abuse . . . like you, I don't think I ever met a brownie I didn't . . . nothing too good in there. From my point of view as a Diabetic, they are one of the worst things I could pig out with since they have more sugar than flour for heaven sakes. From a GI point of view the flour is probably even worse for spiking blood sugar than the sugar.

Sounds like you are on the right track . . . . . . Let's both vow to stay away from those brownies.

LOL! Well, I can't promise I will never eat another one, but it is definitely in my best interest to consciously stay away from whole batches!

A while back, I saw a recipe for flourless brownies made with black beans and agave syrup instead of flour and sugar. The pictures look like regular brownies and of course I was salivating over them. And I was telling myself that beans are good for me and agave has a low GI rating..... That is another prob. I have. The idea of 'dieting' automatically makes me feel deprived--even when it has only been a day or two in I find myself crawling the net for reasonably similar 'healthier' versions of my favorite garbage foods. Can we say 'junkie'? For that reason alone, I feel it is worth it to make my main objective to concentrate on eating well rather than simply cutting out stuff to lose weight. The more satisfying the overall eating experience, the less likely I am to want to binge on bad for me stuff.

Yah! I find cutting things out just to make me binge more. But finding alternatives that take care of those cravings.. and eventually get rid of cravings help so much!

There are some great recipes in 'living the GI DIET' by rick gallop. I found good recipes to take care of my cheese cravings, chcolate cravings, mexican food cravings.. everything!! good luck!!

I just avoid all candy and dessert products. Its hidden in many foods which makes it a challenge to be completely 'sugar free'- though I think it would be healthier for me to be so! :P