The 'Towards a Sugar-Free Future' Challenge

~FlowerPot~

Hi honey-bear, sorry to hear that your finding it hard. I am 100% more disciplined eating nothing and then having a set window of time for eating. If i know i cant eat anything, then i dont, otherwise im constantly thinking about what could i eat! Still need to work on improving food choices during eating window, but thats step 2!!!

Makingabobor2

I was only thinking this morning to come on here and see how everyone is doing, not heard much for a while, and then suddenly here you are.  I'm still having good days and bad days. Not helped by the fact that we were away for 11 days this month, and we did eat a lot of cakes....oh dear!  I am trying extra hard now and trying to keep having the extra protein and more fruit & veg. I wonder sometimes if I just eat chocolate and biscuits etc out of habit and wonder if I am actually hungry at all, I think that may be the problem. Is it even a craving? Or do I just go to the tin/cupboard etc because I am bored?  I certainly notice that when I am busier I eat less crap, so think this might be the way forward, to try and get more of a routine going of things to do.  
Anyway, we'll see. Good luck to those that are struggling, and well done to those who are doing well. We can only do as much as we can do, and even 1 step forward is better than nothing. 

lianne1984

I didn't have any sugar free days in June but Im definitely going to aim for some in July

Honey_Bear

Well done Making.  Any days that anyone can manage are a huge victory as far as I'm concerned and I'm full of admiration for everyone that's managing them. 

Lianne - I feel your pain!  I've had one or two sugar-free days in June but completely by accident and definitely not by design.  The only way it happens at the moment is if I'm so busy mid-afternoon that I forget about eating anything and the moment passes by without me being tempted.  Once I've thought about a biscuit or chocolate - that's it.  I'm sunk.

Keep trying everyone.  We'll get there eventually.

Makingabobor2

How are you all getting on? Been very quiet on here.
I've come to the conclusion my problem is just chocolate. Its not sugar in general, as I've quite easily cut down cakes, biscuits etc, but find it hard to cut out the dark chocolate. But I need to try & keep it to a minimum as it plays havoc with my digestive system.  I know they say 1 or 2 squares a day is good for you, but I can easily eat half a bar. 1 day is ok, but then it builds up & the results are not good.
At least I have got into the habit of reading how much sugar is in stuff, & I refuse to buy anything with too much. 
Hope everyone else is doing ok. 

~FlowerPot~

morning, i shouldnt really post as ive just eaten a mini mars bar!! but in my excuse i have been awake in pain most of the night and its much harder to resist choc when tired !!!

i clearly still have ALOT of work to do!!!

Honey_Bear

Makingabobor2 said:

I've come to the conclusion my problem is just chocolate. Its not sugar in general, as I've quite easily cut down cakes, biscuits etc, but find it hard to cut out the dark chocolate.

This.  It's chocolate with me, and once I've had sugar I want more.  That, it seems, won't change.  I need to get back to this, and I'm sorry I haven't been posting but I lost heart.  However, although I haven't weighed myself recently I'm pretty sure the pounds are piling on again because of the amount of chocolate and then dessert after supper.  Must do better.

Post away Flower Pot!  We're all struggling and eating carp otherwise we'd be posting about how well we're doing, but at least we're thinking about a way of cutting down, so that's the first step.

To be honest, if I didn't think I could say anything helpful I wouldn't be posting now, but something new happened recently.  I walked Hadrian's Wall earlier this month and ate a gargantuan amount while doing so - huge full English breakfast, couple of rounds of sandwiches for lunch and whatever I wanted or could get hold of in the evening - not always that easy in some places.  What I found really interesting, to me anyway, was that I wasn't in the slightest bit tempted by anything sweet at all.  Not at breakfast, not at lunch, not at dinner and certainly not as a snack while hiking.  I took them with me, cocoa date bars, protein ball (chocolate and raspberry flavour etc), had them in my pack every day - didn't touch any of them.  Not in the slightest bit tempted.  Just no appetite for sugar at all.  Fruit, yes, apples and oranges and anything else that anyone put in front of me, but I didn't crave it.  What I craved was fresh, crunchy green vegetable type stuff.  The first evening meal I chose when I had access to a proper cold cabinet choice in a supermarket was hummus, mangetout, mini sweetcorn and that kind of thing as dippers.  The next day I found a YS bunch of asparagus and ate the whole lot raw.  I think I've been cutting down on food that I should be eating more of, and that's where the sugar cravings come from. 

As of tomorrow I'm starting this Challenge again, and I'm going to start with either eggs for breakfast or yoghurt and fruit or maybe even all of that, and then have a lentil/rice thing I've got in the freezer for lunch.  I want to see how I feel at teatime after a few days of eating more at breakfast and lunch, but proper food, not processed stuff. 

I may not be sugar-free tomorrow but I'm going to have one day sugar-free this week, two next week etc and go back to this system again. 

Anyone care to join me?

~FlowerPot~

Hi Honey_Bear lovely to hear from you. I am not going to join you just now. I have given up on the fasting too. I am just trying to survive at the moment. I am having terrible face ache from the nerves in my face and It is literaly taken over my life. I need to take neurfen when I get up and so that breaks the fast. boo! And then at the end of the day I will reach for anything to emotinally give me a boost.!!

Honey_Bear

So sorry to hear you're having such a horrible time Flower Pot, and I quite understand why just getting through the day is as much as you can manage.

Btw, I don't fast.  I never have.  I'm sure it's a great system for those that do it, but it's not for me.  Far too complicated.  All I do is cut added sugar out for one day a week, then two days, then three etc.  Other than that I just eat whatever I want when I want, but mainly at mealtimes. 

Makingabobor2

Interesting. I found that when we were on holiday and walked a lot further, I ate a lot more healthily....apart from the odd cake. And also when I exercise more at home. I sometimes wonder if its just boredom. I am having good days and bad days at the moment, but am going to try again from tomorrow to really cut down. I am certainly eating more fruit at the moment, so hoping that will stop my chocolate cravings.  Good luck