@jesse1354 TL;DR - It's been 3 years for me. Yes, you can "quit sugar". You can overcome cravings. It's not too restrictive, it's a lifestyle change with a balance that you can find. Sugar is a sneaky bastard that pops up in the most ridiculous places in our foods. *shakes fist at food industry* Only you can decide what is right for you
There was a book called I Quit Sugar, by Sara Wilson. That started me on my sugar free journey. Somewhere in the title in says "sugar detox" which I completely detest the word "detox" (healthcare provider here, detoxes are unnecessary) but I think they were going for more of a marketing term with it there. Anyway, she recommends an 8 week cut of all sugar, I believe starting the second week was to even cut out fruit and add it back it later towards the end. Oh, I should add, this is the sugar Fructose, it's part of what's in the white/brown baking sugars that you think of when you think of sugar, not cutting out lactose or glucose. Basically, you're trying to get yourself through the craving period and reset your tastebuds a bit.
I took the book and her advice with a grain of salt, but I did find it very helpful. For about 6 weeks, I had cut every added sugar. I was meticulous about everything we bought in the store. I think that was the most helpful part of this adventure, simply learning how much sugar is added to every GD thing we buy. Seriously, it's disgusting(uhh speaking from experience in the US anyway, not sure where you are). It is absolutely possible to find foods without added sugar, it just takes digging. The beginning was hard because it meant a lot of standing in grocery stores reading labels, throwing my hand in the air and yelling "Why must every marinara have sugar added!" "Who needs sugar in their tortillas!". But eventually I found great replacements for our old staples. It got me reading all of the ingredients in products, because man, do they sneak that stuff in there.
Finally, it helped. I can say I rarely, have hardly ever craved sweets since. It was hard during the process though. I think week 2 was where it was the hardest for me. The cravings, my god, I was almost sweating I was craving sugar so bad. I was most disgusted by that, this hold that sugar had over me. But I didn't break, and each week got easier and easier. We have mostly kept it up since then too. We keep no sugar at all in the house(so sorry to our guests that have visited, I forgot people put that in their coffee). We still have chocolate on occasion(we're not monsters, haha) but we buy the darkest that we can find. Honestly, overly sweet things kinda make me nauseous now. I had a small desert here and there while visiting family for Christmas, but really I wasn't craving any of it, more of a "Someone worked hard on this so I will partake". And it was fine, I didn't gorge myself, I didn't binge 6 cookies and then feel shame. It's been very liberating - I believe we're 3 years now on this journey.
I think everyone needs to strike their own balance and find what works for them. I read what Sara Wilson had to say, but I also did my own research. She advises against things like honey and maple syrup, meh, I do my own thing. I don't crave sweets like I use to so I find no harm in small quantities of them on occasion, they're just no longer a major part of my diet.
"You do you" is probably not really the advice you're looking for. So, maybe start with getting sugar out of the house, if it's not there you're not tempted. Start looking at the foods you're buying and search for foods that don't have added sugars, try sourdough breads from the bakery sections of the market, I found they're usually the safest bet on no sneaky sugars added. Get rid of everything sweet in the beginning, focus on savory meals with good fats. Those cravings in the beginning, try to quench it with a nice fatty snack, like avocado. Idk, that helped me in the beginning. A good snack filled me up and quieted the sugar monster. Explain to your loved one how you feel about this and why you feel this is important to you. You don't want someone bringing you home ice cream and cupcakes and derailing your efforts. My husband might have thought my efforts were a little crazy in the beginning, but he doesn't cook or shop, so he came along for the journey. He feels the same liberation from the cravings that I do. We can walk through the candy store, look at all the cute candies and walk right back out. We don't crush 2-3 toblerone bars per week anymore. Like anything, if it's going to stick, I believe it needs to become a lifestyle change. Along the way, you'll find the balance that works for you.
