Well I have a new idea which I started yesterday.. I am giving up sugar for the next few months.. that means no cakes, cookies, frosting, candy, granola bars, animal crackers.. but I am still eating fruits, breads, pastas, and yogurt.
I realized that I am addicted to sugar! I had to make cupcakes for a party and had to make a special trip to the store to buy frosting b/c the frosting I originally bought to make them, I ate the entire container in 2 days! Who does that? For 3 days I was on a binge.. I ate hershey kisses, caramel santas, etc. And like any good junkie, I can hide the evidence.. I wouldn't throw out wrappers at school so people wouldn't know I was pigging out!
I had a Christmas party yesterday and I tell you.. it is so much easier to avoid eating the desserts if you make a decision to avoid eating useless sugary crap. In the past, I would try one or two things, but that would just send me on a binge to eat more and then before I knew it, I would eat one or two platefuls of desserts (and probably raid the fridge once I got home).
Just wanted to share. Anyone else give up somthing like this and have success??
Jessie Cat: I realized that I am addicted to sugar! I had to make cupcakes for a party and had to make a special trip to the store to buy frosting b/c the frosting I originally bought to make them, I ate the entire container in 2 days! Who does that?
LOL, I have done that and even worse than that before. I am sure many others will identify with you too.
I haven't given up sugar but I have greatly reduced my intake of it. I have found that I also can very much enjoy other foods too--not just the crap anymore.
I am glad you are looking for answers and sharing something so honest. You are in a good place.
Last edited by Thighs Be Gone; 12-17-2008 at 09:51 AM.
I think it's a good idea. I've given up sugar, almost. In my coffee and tea I no longer use sugar, I use splenda. I no longer drink regular sugary pop, I drink diet pop. I mean if the situation arises and I happen to eat something with sugar in it, I don't beat myself up. I just purposely do not induldge in sugar anymore.
Its within the last month, I've given up frozen yogurt, regular peanut butter, and granola bars all of which I was eating like crazy. I was ending up using my calorie allowance on these foods instead of fruits, veggies, and whole grains. I think you are on to something by avoiding it altogether. I like sugar, especially high fructose corn syrup containing things but I avoid them and thats what I think is making the difference.
Jackie, I so agree with you in regards to HFCS. I stay away from it too. I think there need to be more studies (longterm and longitudinal) regarding this ingredient by someone other than the HFCS industry! I love the Kashi bars but they are 180 calories and I know I can have more fruits and vegetables than I care to eat in it's place. I still indulge occasionally though--love the pumpkin flax.
Good for you! Avoiding triggers is a great plan, because once you open the door to them, they can be hard to resist. I read someone on the forum say it's easier to resist the first cookie than the fourth cookie, and I totally agree.
WOW, that is a huge commitment! Good for you for recognizing sugary things as your "trigger" foods and making the conscience choice to change your eating habits. That takes a lot of strength and guts. Though I have to recommend that if you find that it's reeeeeally incredibly challenging for you, don't beat yourself up if you can't totally quit cold turkey. The only reason I say that is cuz a lot of times when you try to cut yourself off from something completely, that just makes you crave it more and want to binge on it after a while--not saying that that's what you'd do, of course, but it is pretty common. So even if you just aim to cut down on a LOT, but still have a Hershey's kiss or something really small every once in a while, that's a huge accomplishment! Best of luck to you with everything!
I know that I really should give up sugar, too, but I don't know if I ever could, LOL! I just love it! And I've already (willfully!) given up tons of unhealthy things for my WL, so the occasional sugary treat is one of my last few guilty pleasure!
I never cut out sugar 100%, but I cut waaaaay back, right up front (in Aprl). I had maybe 1/2tsp sugar in coffee or tea (which very soon became even less), and only had dessert about once a week, and stayed away from highly processed / HFCS commercial sweet things almost entirely. It's made a huge difference. It's made me a dessert snob. I find the crappy stuff pretty easy to resist. And then in the last couple months, my sweet tooth changed even more. I had a sliver of pecan pie at Thanksgiving, and almost gagged it was so sugary to me. I had some peanut M&Ms and could only have a few, so so sugary. That feels amazing. Now I have a little agave syrup in my coffee (and only because I use unsweetened soymilk, so the sugars I think are overall still less than with an equal amount of cow milk). I can have a square of dark chocolate any night I want without wanting more. I stick to some kind of actual dessert about once a week and find that that keeps my sweet tooth happy but calm .
I'm finding that sugar is one of my triggers too... just a little bit can send me into a tail spin. I CRAVE it after dinner, but find that if I keep myself occupied it passes and I'm happier that I didn't. Plus I don't start craving other craziness either.
When I gave up sugar, I lost 7 pounds in a week and a half... gives you an idea what kind of a sugarholic I am! Maybe I should join in with you! I am thinking of limiting myself to one treat a week, rather than totally cutting it out. I have to be realistic, because when I cut it all out, and introduced it into my diet again, I gained all that weight back and then some. Try to make it realistic, so it can be a lifestyle change rather than a punishment or a restriction. It'll be a much more attainable goal if it can be a lifestyle change you are making. And it's easier to commit and stick to!
I don't really eat sweets anymore, although it was never a resolution- they were just too high calorie for me to fit them into my daily calorie count and be able to fit foods that would fill me up, so they were sacrificed. I used to be a crazy sugarholic- I would seriously go out and buy those family sized packs of candy and eat one or more WHOLE BAGS in a day. reeeaaallly gross.
I would recommend that once you get past a certain time period when you're no longer craving sugar all the time (two weeks, a month, up to you), that you add in a couple of small sweets a week. I have an occasional candy cane, or light Popsicle, stuff like that, and it's nice.
Thank you girls so much for the awesome support!
rubbytummy- I like that you said the first cookie is easier to resist than the fourth. Sooo true. If it is off limits completely, it is so much easier to pick something else. I just cannot handle limiting myself to one serving.. I really do think I am addicted to it.
carcar- I am sorry you gained back all the weight but I am glad you shared that! If I can do this for a few months and I feel better about sugar, then I will slowly introduce it back into my diet. I know I can't avoid sugar forever!
Sugar is really the only thing I binge on... usually ice cream and candy bars. I am not that into fast food like other people.. usually if I go to McDonalds I get cookies and a milkshake or at Wendy's a frosty!
So far so good. And thank you seriously for the support! I love this forum!
Giving up Sugar!
Though I have to recommend that if you find that it's reeeeeally incredibly challenging for you, don't beat yourself up if you can't totally quit cold turkey. The only reason I say that is cuz a lot of times when you try to cut yourself off from something completely, that just makes you crave it more and want to binge on it after a while--not saying that that's what you'd do, of course, but it is pretty common. So even if you just aim to cut down on a LOT, but still have a Hershey's kiss or something really small every once in a while, that's a huge accomplishment! 
Best of luck to you with everything!
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