Giving up sugar...

Katiehound

If you want to cut down on sugar then reduce your fruit intake and increase the veg.. I know, not as tasty but still very healthy.However berries are best. I also have very sweet tooth as I discovered when doing Atkins- the first few days were dire.

never buy any low fat anything- it's pumped full of sweeteners!
If you use real tasty butter on things you can miss out the jam etc.

To make boring plain water more paletable try a slice of orange or lemon in it. I don't drink much ( alchofrolic I mean because often I am driving) so altho I would like a J20 I try to go for water with ice and lemon. I don't drink tea or coffee but like a wide selection of fruit teas- both hot and cold.

niftythrifty33

Thanks Katie, I'm just cutting out all manufactured sugar, things with sugar added, not natural sugars like fruit etc.

Good idea about adding lemon to water and I love berries so will be eating lots of those (if I can afford them!).

Today is proving difficult and I'm craving sugar due to drinking last night!

System

I would very much like to cut out processed sugary snacks, but I like them too much. I need something sweet mid-morning or after lunch or I get fatigued and light-headed. It also lifts my mood and gives me a bit of energy.

I am not overweight and my cholesterol is very low, so these health issues aren't a problem for me, but eating very sweet sugary things several times a day is probably not very good for you and it's a habit I'd dearly love to give up.

Clutterfree

niftythrifty33 wrote: »

Thanks for your reply BargainBetty.

So it's now day 4 with no sugar and it's been surprisingly easy, apart from last night, we went out with friends and I had G&T's and some Cava. I can't think of a solution to the drinking? I don't drink very often and I don't want to be T total. Do other people that give up sugar just not drink alcohol ever?

Some strange things have been happening (before last night). Positives: I've lost 4 lbs in 4 days :j which is great as I have a lot to lose. I've only felt like eating when I'm actually hungry not for the sake of it. Not snacking between meals as all my usual snacks contain sugar. I'm getting used to tea without sugar.

Negatives: I felt very low on quite a few occasions. Lacked energy and motivation to get stuff done. I've had tummy ache on and off and quite a few odd things happening IBS related (too grose to discuss!).

Although I feel slimmer, when I eat carbs I get very bloated. Does this mean I might be gluten intolerant or wheat? It's mainly after eating noodles, I LOVE noodles

Hi,
Try googling The Harcombe Diet, I think it will ideal for how you want to eat now.
Good luck!

PasturesNew

niftythrifty33 wrote: »

...next step is weetabix with banana instead of 2 tablespoons of brown sugar

That's a monstrous amount!! I sprinkle a teaspoon of sugar over 2 weetabix!

niftythrifty33

avogadro wrote: »

I would very much like to cut out processed sugary snacks, but I like them too much. I need something sweet mid-morning or after lunch or I get fatigued and light-headed. It also lifts my mood and gives me a bit of energy

This is exactly what I was doing. In my old work I would literally go around the office and kitchen looking for anything sweet, I would even eat sugar off a spoon basically I was just tired and probably not eating a proper meal beforehand. I haven't had that feeling over the last few days, it's all a bit of an eye opener.

Thanks clutterfree, I will try the Harcombe diet. I think I've already read about it and thought about trying it before.

PasturesNew, I meant 2 teaspoons not tablespoons...but they were heaped teaspoons

Maybe giving up sugar will mean I have teeth like this when I'm old

niftythrifty33

The one good thing about keeping a diary is that I can see exactly how long it takes for me give up a new plan...10 days ago was my last post which means I've been back on the sugar for 8 days. I've put on the 4lbs I lost and have felt very bloated.

I started back on it as I really wanted sugar in my tea one day and it was downhill from there :mad:

I actually had chocolate cake for breakfast yesterday :eek:

I feel quite unmotivated to start cutting it out again but I know I'll have to as I need to lose weight and I really want to try the Harcombe diet just to see whether I can stick to it and I think it will be great for my IBS.

I will keep the diary going anyway as It's good to look back on.

Edwardia

I know nothing abt IBS but I have Type 2 diabetes and OH gets really bloated unless gluten free.

Table sugar (sucrose) is 50% glucose 50% fructose. The glucose goes straight unto your bloodstream and if unused for energy by your cells, is laid down as fat.

Anyone having 2 tbsps of sugar (colour is immaterial)on Weetabix is really asking for sugar highs followed by low sugar crashes. If that person has most of their fat on their stomach, they are already developing insulin resistance.

Insulin is the hormone which pushes excess blood glucose into your cells. If you become resistant, that means the excess sugar is floating around in your blood, thickening it and causing damage. Insulin is also the hormone which regulates fat as part of the survival mechanism.

High sugar = high insulin
High insulin = body holding onto fat

It's not just sugar though, carbs are transformed into glucose too. So if you eat a lot of pasta, rice, noodles, potatoes, chips, crisps, baked goods - thin of all of that as double sugar because only 50% of ordinary sugar is glucose.

For noodles, rice, fettucine etc look for konjac or shirataki from Holland & Barrett, larger supermarkets, Japanese shops. Zero carbs, zero fat, chewy but they mean being able to eat Italian, Chinese, Indian and Japanese food and keep it low sugar and gluten free.

You don't need to be an actual coeliac to get bloating from wheat, OH gets it from tiny amounts. That could be a contributing factor.

sazaccount

Hi,

I have "possible/probable" IBS have you heard of the low FODMAP diet? its been developed by Stanford uni theres some really good items online about it it apparently helps 7 out of 10 IBS suffers. I'm a bit too scared myself to cut out everything all at once so have started with wheat/gluten it seems to be helping.

There is a really good facebook group for IBS support it does make me giggle at times but it is really supportive as well.

xx

pogofish

sazaccount wrote: »

Hi,

I have "possible/probable" IBS have you heard of the low FODMAP diet? its been developed by Stanford uni theres some really good items online about it it apparently helps 7 out of 10 IBS suffers. I'm a bit too scared myself to cut out everything all at once so have started with wheat/gluten it seems to be helping.

There is a really good facebook group for IBS support it does make me giggle at times but it is really supportive as well.

xx

What makes me "giggle" a little is that you are punting an essentially high sugar diet on a thread about reducing/giving-up sugar!