The "I Quit Sugar" (by any method) support thread

Goldiegirl

june89 wrote: »

Goldiegirl - I would join a low salt thread! I don't need to watch mine for medical reasons but I don't like it at all. So I add salt to nothing and avoid anything like crisps that taste salty. But even I can struggle to stay under guidelines some days just due to hidden salts. Especially if I have something like a chilli with a few tins of tomatoes and beans in it.

M&S do/did salt free crisps, which are a good savoury treat. But last time I looked for them, they weren't there, so I hope they haven't stopped doing them.


With things like tinned tomatoes, kidney beans and passata, it's worth checking the labels. Some brands have quite a bit of salt, others have very little

june89

Goldiegirl wrote: »

M&S do/did salt free crisps, which are a good savoury treat. But last time I looked for them, they weren't there, so I hope they haven't stopped doing them.


With things like tinned tomatoes, kidney beans and passata, it's worth checking the labels. Some brands have quite a bit of salt, others have very little

I usually stick to value/basics ones, I've found they tend to be lower than the brand names anyway - certainly for baked beans, at least! Around the same as the pricey "reduced salt and sugar" varieties. But checking labels is always a good tip, I have to do it for allergies anyway so will have to remember to check the salt too. :money:

VfM4meplse

thelurch wrote: »

On the subject of eating fat, I mentioned my friend at work who has eaten zero sugar/carbs for 20 years. His motto is only eat it if it had legs.(humans excluded)
He goes to the butcher and gets the fat trimmings from the steaks in a bag, freezes then in little chunks and eats them like snacks.

He also eats mince raw too, and his colesterol levels are completely normal.

I won't go that far to be honest!

:eek::eek::eek:

Does he take worming tablets too? :rotfl::rotfl::rotfl:

Day 18, not even 8am and have had a really poor start to the day (lost a load of data through my own kindness). Yet my instinct is not to run out for something sweet.

Ladykernow

VfM4meplse wrote: »

I would recommend substituting every teaspoon of sugar for a croissant on the side

I love your thinking! :rotfl:

VfM4meplse

Day 19 for me. Yesterday was lovely, went to a birthday lunch and didn't have any urge to indulge in the sweet goodies, including birthday cake!

Ladykernow wrote: »

I love your thinking! :rotfl:

Actually I'm coming off the croissants too now! Am looking to swap some of the fat for protein. Started on iced coffee using skimmed milk yesterday, always a good hot weather drink. I saw this advertised yesterday, has anyone tried it?

jackieblack

Hi everyone :wave:
Have been following this thread for tips as I am trying to cut out refined/added/ 'unnecessary' sugar and be more aware of/limit natural sugars.
I've always read labels and try to follow a balanced diet, but have lapsed over the last 18 months following marriage break up and need to get back on track and drop some of the extra weight I've put on, plus a bit more
I don't eat cake or biscuits because I just don't really like them. I find it easier to cut out chocolate and sweets completely, because I can't have 'just a little bit'

The advice given out by our Practice Nurse was that wholemeal bread is 'better' than white bread, but on checking labels in the supermarket, I was surprised to find that there was more sugar in the wholemeal bread I was looking at (http://www.tesco.com/groceries/product/details/?id=291376410) than in the white bread with seeds which I've been buying for the last year or so (http://www.tesco.com/groceries/product/details/?id=285060405), not a lot more, but more nonetheless.


There also appears to be some confusion about fruit/veg :huh:
Practice Nurse says all fruit and veg, apart from grapes, are fine.
Diabetic friend says he's been told to avoid bananas, carrots, peas, parsnips because they are high in sugar :huh:


So now I'm questioning everything else I've been told and everything I think I know


Can anyone help clarify things a bit please?

VJsmum

jackieblack wrote: »

Hi everyone :wave:
Have been following this thread for tips as I am trying to cut out refined/added/ 'unnecessary' sugar and be more aware of/limit natural sugars.
I've always read labels and try to follow a balanced diet, but have lapsed over the last 18 months following marriage break up and need to get back on track and drop some of the extra weight I've put on, plus a bit more
I don't eat cake or biscuits because I just don't really like them. I find it easier to cut out chocolate and sweets completely, because I can't have 'just a little bit'

The advice given out by our Practice Nurse was that wholemeal bread is 'better' than white bread, but on checking labels in the supermarket, I was surprised to find that there was more sugar in the wholemeal bread I was looking at (http://www.tesco.com/groceries/product/details/?id=291376410) than in the white bread with seeds which I've been buying for the last year or so (http://www.tesco.com/groceries/product/details/?id=285060405), not a lot more, but more nonetheless.


There also appears to be some confusion about fruit/veg :huh:
Practice Nurse says all fruit and veg, apart from grapes, are fine.
Diabetic friend says he's been told to avoid bananas, carrots, peas, parsnips because they are high in sugar :huh:


So now I'm questioning everything else I've been told and everything I think I know


Can anyone help clarify things a bit please?

My own (unqualified) view / take on it all is - no bread is better than any bread, but i compromise with sourdough i make myself.

Any fruit and veg is fine as long as you balance it all. If you want grapes, have grapes but don't eat a punnet a day :eek: Things are different for diabetics, I am sure, but for the rest of us then balance is the key.

I go with Michael Pollen's mantra of "eat food, not too much, mostly plants" ("food" means natural, unprocessed)
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/01/28/magazine/28nutritionism.t.html?_r=0

jackieblack

VJsmum wrote: »

My own (unqualified) view / take on it all is - no bread is better than any bread, but i compromise with sourdough i make myself.

Any fruit and veg is fine as long as you balance it all. If you want grapes, have grapes but don't eat a punnet a day :eek: Things are different for diabetics, I am sure, but for the rest of us then balance is the key.

I go with Michael Pollen's mantra of "eat food, not too much, mostly plants" ("food" means natural, unprocessed)
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/01/28/magazine/28nutritionism.t.html?_r=0

Thanks
I only eat two slices of bread a day. I can happily live without lots of things but just cannot function without my standard breakfast of toast and marmalade with black coffee. It's my 'worst' meal of each day, but nothing else does it for me.
My two slices of toast = 3.2g sugar and a tablespoon of marmalade = 8.8g, so 12g in total. I've tried other things for breakfast (cereal, porridge, eggs etc), but end up feeling hungry again mid-morning and snacking.
I know that the marmalade is the worst thing in my diet, but it's pretty much my one indulgence. I'm going to start reducing the amount of marmalade I have gradually, but don't forsee being able to cut it out entirely.

After black coffee (no sugar) with my breakfast I only drink water the rest of the day. The rest of the sugar I consume after that comes only from natural sugars, mainly fruit, veg and dairy products.
I eat very little pasta or rice and limit the amount of potatoes I eat.

I'm sure there's some 'hidden' sugar in some of the things I eat, but I'm trying to be more aware of these.

tgroom57

I read your first post about giving up refined sugar & thought we might have that in common, but I'm not sure where 'unrefined cane sugar' comes on your scale of badass. But that's what I've had for the past 2 decades, I haven't bought the white stuff at all. And when Tesco jacked up the price of unrefined cane sugar to double I didn't buy any sugar at all for 4 months. Usually there's a shortage in January.

I've found I can drink unsweetened tea if I'm chatting to a good friend, but not otherwise.

My normal is coffee & marmalade / toast for brekkie. Sandwich for lunch, cooked tea. No chocolate, biscuits, crisps, chips, processed snacks, or artificial sweeteners. I was having bagels topped with fruit for breakfast til I read the bagel ingredients. I'm not planning on giving up the lemon & lime marmalade- I'm sure I read somewhere that the essential oil in the peel is good for you.

Good luck all.

VfM4meplse

VJsmum wrote: »

Any fruit and veg is fine as long as you balance it all. If you want grapes, have grapes but don't eat a punnet a day :eek: Things are different for diabetics, I am sure, but for the rest of us then balance is the key.

Actually, it's not! Yes it gets a bit more complicated for insulin users, but the basic rules are the same. It's well worth flicking through a copy if this book: