Quitting sugar --- healthy or too restrictive?

[dawn16]

@jesse1354 If you have been “binging” on all types of sweets lately, the much more likely effective change to make, is to Stop snacking on sweets. Then Cut out candy entirely. Try to diminish you sugar intake.

You eat tons of sugar and the sustainable way to change that is through progression, so you can actually keep the gains in discipline you’ve made.

People always want to go all out and do everything at once. Friend is concerned he might have gained a few pounds so instead of just trimming the edges of his diet he goes on full 100% keto cold turkey and loses 10 pounds but then obviously stops and gains it all back.

Whenever we notice a fault in ourselves we create these absurd over zealous plans to completely smother the problem with overload perfection instead of just focusing on making an improvement.

 

[cleon83]

@jesse1354 I look at sugar as if it were poisonous (kinda is) but I quit it cold turkey 5 months ago and haven’t gone back. It is very addictive though so I’ll be lying if I said I didn’t have cravings. Just gotta be strong!

 

[dawn16]

@jesse1354 I never set out with the intention of quitting sugar.

As I improved my diet two things happened. I started valuing food based on nutrient content and what type of response my body was going to have. High sugar left me tired and weak after a crash. I started opting for different foods. A banana and peanutbutter tastes sweet, has a pick me up factor, and has a much slower crash than a hershey's bar. The other thing that happened was that the less sweets I had the less I wanted. At first I was standing in the candy isle lusting for some sweets. I'd talk myself out of it, and have a better snack. Now I don't even bother going down that isle. Now I'm looking at some cheap Walmart cookies and telling myself "that's trash. It's high calorie, high sugar, nutritionally worthless, and doesn't even taste that great. It's not worth it."

But, some things are worth it. Every now and then I'll go enjoy some real high quality something. I eat sweets so rarely I'll pay 7 dollars for a slice of some amazing cake. And it's even better because I'm not eating sweets much. That cheap crap just isn't tempting anymore.

It's taken time. I've been improving for 4 years now. I don't think quitting sugar is the answer. I think consciously choosing to reduce your daily, weekly, and monthly intake is much more livable.

And I still do dumb stuff every now and then. Like get depressed and stressed out and eat an entire box of cookies and then throw up because it's too rich and my tummy can't hang no more.

Also, if you're finding yourself craving sweets check your fat intake. Naturally I don't eat a lot of fat, I have to try to get enough. If my fats are low I crave sweets. Bad. Took me a minute to learn what was happening.

 

[jakehostetler]

@jesse1354 KETO. Flat out.

Suck it up, quit sugar for one week and you'll never want it again.

Be careful, pretty much everything has sugar in it. Just eat real food.

 

[my01lightning]

@jesse1354 I want on a no sugar (honey was okay, up to 1 tbsp) diet for health reasons for about six months. It was useful in that it made me realize how much everything has sugar. But it also made me eat way more of everything else.

I prefer a more intuitive eating mindset now, but I can see how a short period of no added sugar can be helpful for some people. If you have any tendency to binge, I'd avoid any sort of good rules.

 

[unsophisticated]

@jesse1354 What’s happening at 5pm every day that you’re getting a sugar craving? Are there other triggers besides the time being 5pm that make this craving start? If you are healthy carbs at the same time would it satisfy that craving? If not, it’s probably not about your body wanting carbs.
Find a new habit for 5pm that satisfies that same craving.

 

[justtrying25]

@jesse1354 I tried the '21 day sugar detox' in an attempt to 'cold turkey' my cravings away. I did it, then binge ate 3 regular size kit kat bars 2 days later. It didn't 'work'.

To echo everyone else saying "if you ban it, you'll want it more", it's not worth it. Learn to enjoy other snacks, eat small squares of really rich dark chocolate, eat larger portions of meals so you don't want dessert, and the number one tip: don't buy the stuff at the store or have it on hand. If you really have a craving, you can go out and get a nice high quality ice cream cone from a local ice cream shop instead of digging the spoon into a meh pint of supermarket ice cream.

 

[samantha77]

@jesse1354 I used to eat a ton of sweets like cookies and cake and drink a lot of soda too. The initial reason I cut it out was because I’d get migraines and the doctor said cutting that out of my diet may help. It did help, so when I got into fitness I made it an even bigger point to not have those things. But similar to you, I found myself craving it more when I told myself I wasn’t “allowed” to have it. Now I’m not as restrictive - I’ll drink coffee and add some sugar or I’ll drink Starbucks every few days, sometimes I’ll have a few cookies after dinner. But what I find does work is not allowing myself to have the sweets for example if I haven’t eaten healthy that day, or if I didn’t make it to the gym, or if i went out drinking the night before.

I find this way I can still get the sweets I crave but ONLY if I’ve been “good”. If that makes sense lol. For me that’s a great way to balance and it also kind of forces me to eat healthy/go to the gym regularly. That being said I don’t eat an entire pack of cookies at once, I just have a few. But allowing myself to have sweets every few days or in very small amounts is what keeps me from binging on a lot at once.

 

[drummersownyou]

@jesse1354 One thing that works is only buying single portions. Ex. If you're craving a cookie, buy only a single serving in a packet and run out of the grocery store before you can go back and buy more. If you go cold turkey, you might just go nuts after a while. I hope this helps

 

[tiredorange]

@jesse1354 I decide on times when I’m allowed it. I don’t eat any chocolate or cakes that people bring into work, but save myself for what I’m allowed when I’m home. After one or two hard weeks resisting I now have no interest in this food at work.

I also track my calories so if it’s something like cake being offered and I don’t know what the calories are then I don’t want to eat it if I’m not sure it can fit within my daily calorie limit.

 

[nateskate]

@jesse1354 I "quit" sugar, firstly for lent and them I kinda just carried it on (until Christmas when I took a break).

I don't think it's too restrictive at all. The recommended daily upper limit for free sugar consumption is pretty damn low (5% daily total energy) and remember that you will be eating foods that contain added sugar without even realising. Hellman's mayonnaise contains added sugar for example. And all that contributes toward your 5% without you realising.

I allow myself to eat sugar on Sundays as a little concession to the lent rules, and I also allow myself a slice of birthday cake at friends/family's birthdays so I don't miss out. But I personally was surprised by how quickly the cravings disappeared. And it's definitely led to healthier habits, because I don't take sugar in my coffee anymore.

Also it makes you appreciate the sugary treats you do get a lot more. Before I'd cram any old crap down my face whether I actually enjoyed it or not, but when you only allow yourself one treat a week it makes you think "actually this tastes like shit, I'm not wasting my one treat on this."

One thing I would say is make sure you understand the difference between free sugars and other sugars before you start.

 

[dawn16]

@nateskate

The recommended daily upper limit for free sugar consumption is pretty damn low (5% daily total energy) and remember that you will be eating foods that contain adder sugar without even realising.

I think this is the best point made so far. The recommendation is TINY (I think it is something like a tablespoon of added sugar based on my BMI) and when you consider the "staples" that a lot of people eat so many of them have added sugar when you'd never think to look because they are not sweet foods. Then people treat themselves with sweets and desserts thinking they've been on-plan all day.... but really they are consuming a ton of sugar in those healthy "snacks", etc.

 

[gomez2219]

@jesse1354 I have a terrible sweet tooth as well. I just get rid of any major processed sweets in my house that I happen to have if it gets to bad (did a small purge last week of some left over christmas stuff).

Otherwise, I don't completely eliminate, some people can and it works for them, but if you know it will only make your cravings worse, don't. I would suggest, as others have, keeping some dark chocolate around, or getting some protein bars that have some good flavours as a snack. That way it kills your craving, but you are getting minimal sugar, and some protein as well.

I also like to mix protein powder and greek yogurt together with some cocoa, and that makes a filling treat, while again, getting some protein and minimal sugars.

 

[infojluna]

@jesse1354 I personally feel a lot better mentally and physically when I cut out sugar. I find myself more focused and motivated, and I don’t crash in the afternoon. It is difficult for the first few days, but the cravings subside for me usually around day 4-5. Oddly, salty foods helped me the most. I ate a lot of pickles and salt and vinegar almonds. Also, fresh berries with a little sugar free whipped cream is my go to when I can’t kick the craving. Good luck!

 

[littleone4316]

@jesse1354 I quit sugar for Lent once. It was bloody hard work - checking ingredients on every bit of pre made food was less fun than you might think. However, my rule was no pure or processed sugar, meaning fruit is fine. I discovered a deep and abiding love for Greek yoghurt with all kinds of fruit.

It wasn't the lowest calorie diet ever, to be honest, but it was, by necessity, predominantly fresh fruit, veg and salad with simply cooked fish, eggs, etc. So yes, very healthy in terms of nutrition. And, over time, as I got used to the lack of sugar, my cravings dropped and my portions became smaller.

In short, I'm a fan, but not sure I could do it forever.

 

[dav]

@jesse1354 I go cold turkey from added sugar (fruit and stuff don't count in my eyes). I find the first week or 2 is tough but once you get past the huge mental hurdle of not having the sugar you start to stop craving it. Like you really don't want it anymore. Granted, I occasionally relapse and that's okay too! I don't beat myself up for relapsing but then I remind myself hey, the more you indulge the harder it will be to cut it out again.

I did notice I felt so much better once I was off the sugar. I felt healthier, didn't have crazy crashes throughout the day, skin was better and lost some weight!

 

[hsomers]

@jesse1354 For me, it has to be cold turkey. If I have a little bit of sugar, I just want more. And that includes processed foods because there is SO much of it in there.

 

[ally777]

@jesse1354 I was pre-diabetic. I was fat. I was miserable and emotional and ate anything I could when I was hungry.

My fasting glucose was 113 first thing in the morning. I had crazy insulin spikes after meals and it took longer than usual for my insulin levels to drop after a normal meal.

My Ha1c climbed from 5.4 to 5.9 in one year. (This is the percentage of red blood cells that are coated in sugar. It happens when your blood sugar goes high and stays high too long.)

I went ketogenic to remove all sugar from my diet. At the beginning I felt like a zombie, a very cranky hormonal zombie.

After the third day I felt almost normal. I had switched to black coffee and was fasting while at work. It is easier for me to say as a goal, I am not eating now so i can later.

I treated myself to dark 85% chocolate after dinner. Or raspberries mashed with heavy cream.

Bonus improvements: I feel my taste adapted and I appreciate the sweetness in veggies. After a bit I didn't crave baked sweets. I do crave fruit, fresh strawberries are amazing. Not the fake huge ones in the supermarket. I mean the small alpine strawberries.

I had insulin resistance. There is are risks associated with pre diabetes that I did not want to experience. Kidney damage is a huge risk, peripheral vascular disease, vision loss, etc.

I no longer have insulin resistance. My Ha1c is 5.2. My AM fasting glucose is 83 avg and I no longer have to test. My insulin levels are normal.

There are people that look normal, eat healthy, and are at risk for diabetes complications.

 

[bene]

@ally777 I’m reading this with interest, as I’m type 1 diabetic, so as much as I’d like to, I CAN’T give up sugar! As I need it to balance my blood sugar levels when they become too low. It can be frustrating if I’ve been really healthy all day (I am most of the time) then have to drink a bottle of Lucozade I don’t even want!

Although I naturally have a sweet tooth, I quit dairy over a year ago (mostly for ethical reasons) and it was a revelation when it came to chocolate. Because I wasn’t comfortable with eating milk chocolate anymore (and each to their own, this is just me personally) I no longer wanted it. I just eat a few squares of dark chocolate here and there, as opposed to the giant bags of Dairy Milk buttons I used to go for!

I do think there’s something in the idea of making sure you get all the calories you need from healthy foods, and this reduces cravings. Maybe up your calorie intake?

 

[couragetobe]

@jesse1354 I eat a little bit everyday (usually a square of dark chocolate after lunch and dinner) and have an actual desert a few times a week. Probably 70% of my diet or more is made from scratch with no added sugar so I don't worry about consuming it in moderation.