I gave up sugar 11 months ago

[CarrieWillard]

One of the best things I've ever done.

- Effortless weight loss - at 41 with 7 kiddos, I weigh the same as my 13-year-old daughter.
- The puffiness in my face, hands and feet went away FOREVER - I always thought I wasn't drinking enough water/eating too much salt, but nay, it was the sugar!
- The achiness in my hands and knees went away. Thought I was developing arthritis (runs in the family), but nope, it was the sugar!
- After struggling with this issue ALL MY LIFE, I now have NO problems in this area and poop like a teenage boy.

Anyone else given up sugar and want to post to feel smug too, or take on the challenge? I can share stevia-sweetened recipes. I don't do artificial sweeteners, but stevia keeps me from cheating and it does come from a plant, so I consider it natural.

[expatartist]

Congrats! Did you eliminate honey as well or cut down on your fruit intake? I've been reading the Whole30 thread with a lot of interest and becoming more aware of all the sugar I consume. Not that I've tried to cut it out or anything....yet.

[acroy]

Interesting!
DW is baking kid 7 as we speak - congratulations on your brood!

Do you still eat carbs - i.e. bread etc? or give up 'only' straight sugar?

[ender]

What does "giving up sugar" mean?

Presumably you do not mean "I stopped eating any sugars" unless you gave up fruit.

[CarrieWillard]

I do eat small amounts of fruit, thanks for asking for the clarification. No honey. I don't eat bread because I have gluten allergy (I was actually tested. Had to poop on a paper plate and everything.)
I do eat sweet potato and rarely, white potato.
I realize that the carb/sugar thing is controversial and experts differ in their opinions, but for me the litmus test is how I feel physically and emotionally. And my life is better with no sugar, but not low carb, because then I get hypothyroid symptoms, which happens to some on a diet with no carbs.
Peace.

[swick]

Congrats! Did you eliminate honey as well or cut down on your fruit intake? I've been reading the Whole30 thread with a lot of interest and becoming more aware of all the sugar I consume. Not that I've tried to cut it out or anything....yet.

A few of us are starting another round in November, you should join us!

[marty998]

What does "giving up sugar" mean?

Presumably you do not mean "I stopped eating any sugars" unless you gave up fruit.

I would assume added or refined sugar (such as what you find in donuts, or soft drinks etc).

Can't eliminate all sugar, but by getting rid of the nasty stuff (like 42grams in a can of coke) you can make a lot of good progress.

[Hotstreak]

I do eat small amounts of fruit, thanks for asking for the clarification. No honey. I don't eat bread because I have gluten allergy (I was actually tested. Had to poop on a paper plate and everything.)
I do eat sweet potato and rarely, white potato.
I realize that the carb/sugar thing is controversial and experts differ in their opinions, but for me the litmus test is how I feel physically and emotionally. And my life is better with no sugar, but not low carb, because then I get hypothyroid symptoms, which happens to some on a diet with no carbs.
Peace.

Awesome!  Sounds like you found a really good balance for yourself.

[expatartist]

Congrats! Did you eliminate honey as well or cut down on your fruit intake? I've been reading the Whole30 thread with a lot of interest and becoming more aware of all the sugar I consume. Not that I've tried to cut it out or anything....yet.

A few of us are starting another round in November, you should join us!

Thanks Swick! Will join your monster of a thread when closer to taking the plunge  I'm thinking Jan or Feb, when I'll have 6-8 wwwks with no travel or long-term guests. As I stock up the pantry in a new city, I'm adding WF30 - compliant -ish   ingredients.

[swick]

Congrats! Did you eliminate honey as well or cut down on your fruit intake? I've been reading the Whole30 thread with a lot of interest and becoming more aware of all the sugar I consume. Not that I've tried to cut it out or anything....yet.

A few of us are starting another round in November, you should join us!

Thanks Swick! Will join your monster of a thread when closer to taking the plunge  I'm thinking Jan or Feb, when I'll have 6-8 wwwks with no travel or long-term guests. As I stock up the pantry in a new city, I'm adding WF30 - compliant -ish   ingredients.

Plenty of time to read the whole thread then :D Really though, if you just want to jump right in at the end, that's cool too. There is lots of good info sprinkled throughout though!

Cutting out Sugar (sorry to derail your thread op!) is really a great place to start!

[mm1970]

This is great!

Two years ago I was trying to lose baby weight from baby #2.  I was 42 when he was born.  So it was stubborn weight.  I think I lost the same 15 pounds 3 times.

Anyway, in 2014 I was steadily losing it.  Was down about 15 pounds.  September and October I lost 2 lbs each month.  At that point, my carb intake was about 2 servings of "carbs" a day, plus two pieces of fruit.

I decided to change it up for November and do a "NOvember" - no wheat, no sugar, no alcohol, no fried foods.  For me, this meant:
- no sugar, no honey, no  maple syrup, etc. But a little stevia in my coffee is fine.
- no wheat means no pizza, no bread, no pasta, no crackers
- both of these meant no dessert really, but if I felt like a chocolate fix a smoothie is fine (choc. flavored protein powder, no sugar).
- no fried food mostly was to avoid tortilla chips
- no alcohol
- I didn't worry about "incidental ingestion" because there are no allergy issues here - if a sauce was thickened with flour, or there were a few bread crumbs in something, that's fine. Salad dressing with a little honey?  Fine.  I wasn't a label reader.  My goal was to avoid major sources of all of those, not drive myself crazy.

I lost 7 pounds that month, AND I didn't change the calories or number of carbs.  The crazy thing is, I wasn't eating much of those 4 items anyway, maybe a total of 4-5 servings a week combined.  Instead of pasta - rice or corn tortillas or potatoes.  Popcorn for a snack.  Beans and corn instead of a burrito.  A couple of dates instead of chocolate.

Anyway, did the same thing last year, lost about 5 pounds (really near goal weight at that point) before I got the stomach flu.  (Ended up losing about 12 pounds, and that was not pretty.  Looked like a deflated balloon.  A bunch of it came back, thankfully.)

So it's November 1, and here I am again!  My weight right now at the start is about 2 lbs over my goal weight. I'm pretty happy here though. I look fine, feel good, easy to maintain.  The goal now for NOvember isn't so much losing weight anymore, it's about just:
- resetting to a healthier diet and getting rid of the crap
- avoiding holiday weight gain - the Halloween Candy comes out in mid-October, and then it's a straight eat-fest until January.  This makes it EASY to say no to leftover candy.
- increasing variety in my diet.  Busy-ness causes a stream of pasta/ pizza/ sandwiches.  It's good to get out of that rut.