De-sugaring

[Rural]

I've been interested in this concept for a while and I've reduced sugar considerably, but I'm unsure I'm doing it right. Are you still eating foods that are naturally rich in sugars, such as dried fruits?

 I've been eating fresh fruit, but not dried other than raisins.


Fell off the wagon today, however. I've been throwing up, and nothing helps like Coke. I discovered that Diet Coke doesn't.  Imagine that I probably won't really have to count the sugar very much, since most of it came back up, too.


Sorry for TMI.

[YogiKitti]

This is something that I struggle with and I am making it a goal this month. Fruit is allowed, but I need to give up my addiction to desserts. I hate that I crave sweets. What makes  it worse is that I am surrounded by sweets on a daily basis and must watch people eat and enjoy them. ( I work in a school)

[use2betrix]

Good to see a lot of people here are on board with the thought process regarding the amount of sugar in fruits. There's a reason why when diabetics have low blood sugar they are often given orange juice to bring it back up.

I just skimmed through the thread, but sugar has a lot of negative effects on energy, fat storage, and increased appetite. There's really little to no need for them in the diet. They spoke blood sugar levels and then crash quickly, thus creating a loss of energy and increased appetite. Total opposite of good complex carbs such as oatmeal.

I typically stay away from most sugars. Most days I go with nearly zero sugar and don't think twice. I will have ice cream maybe once a week.

I am very into bodybuilding and at one point was having an incredibly hard time gaining weight. I was about 200lbs and around 10% BF on my 5'10 frame, and stuck. I used candy and such to push me over the jump because I simply couldn't consume any more "healthy" food. I was having 300g protein/day and 300-400g carbs/day all from oatmeal, rice, and potatoes. That is a LOT of food. I started adding in about 200g carbs/day of starbursts. Over the year or so it took, I got up to about 220lbs with the same body fat. However, I underestimated the effects the sugar would have on my body. I started experiencing some incredibly scary blood sugar crashes. I thought it was anxiety at first until I got a blood sugar monitor. Needless to say, that had to stop. I don't experience those anymore as I don't have much sugar, but it was still a very eye opening experience.

[FrugalShrew]

Yeah, I stopped using sweet fruits as a replacement for refined sugar when I heard that there was a zoo that didn't feed its monkeys bananas because they have too much sugar!

(Apparently our modern-day supermarket fruit has been bred to be sweeter and juicier than fruit found in the wild, so it's a lot less healthy. It makes sense, but it's pretty disturbing). http://www.bbc.co.uk/newsround/25741853.

Also, it's been a month and a half that I've been successfully off sweets! I think I may be compensating with increased carb consumption, though, so I still have some work to do.

[Orvell]

I think... I'm going to commit to reducing sugar for a week.
I know that sounds like nothing, but for me, the idea of a longer commitment is just too much right now.
I've been feeling like I binge eat sugar items for ... a while now... and this is a good excuse to kick that behavior. It's unhealthy for a lot of reasons. :)
So today (Day 1!) I'm committing to not buying a box of cookies even though I feel stressed because my cat is sick.

Edited to add that the comments here have been really inspiring. :)

[NewPerspective]

I want to de-sugar too!  I went for a month in September but then fell off the wagon.  Unlike others, I don't seem to have gene that tells me something is too sweet.  I had no trouble just diving back in and chowing down on chocolate cake and ice cream.  :-)

During my month off, I did allow myself to have fruit.  I also went easy on myself when it came to eating chips.  I think this time around, I'll avoid fruits and really restrict the other junk food.

I told myself I'm starting again today so this thread is fortuitous. 

[lbmustache]

I'm gonna join too! I have been eating way too much sugar lately. :(

[grenzbegriff]

Reporting in, two months since I ate a dessert, and now two weeks eating under 10g of total sugar a day.  I eat one square of dark chocolate a day, and vegetables have a little sugar in them.

I've never felt better.  The cravings aren't as bad as they used to be, and I sleep well, don't get tired or hungry during the day, and have consistent energy all day long.  My workplace has free desserts and sweet snacks everywhere, I'm just learning not to think of them as something I can eat.

The last two weeks I've been doing very low carbs, maybe 20-30g of carbs a day.  I don't know if I'll want to keep that up long term but I might.  It really limits what I can eat, but I do feel amazing, so that's the tradeoff.

I'm almost convinced that I'll be able to skip desserts for this holiday season too.  I spend a week at home with my family, usually eating sugar at every meal... but I could do this and feel so much better.  Anyone else planning to go sugar free through the holidays?

[Rural]

I'll be doing no sugar for the holidays. If I can handle our family reunion in the summer, I can deal with the holidays.


My Coke-for-nausea treatment the other day was a blip, by the way. Got right back to it afterwards. Did have a couple sips of my husbands Coke on the way home today, but again, for nausea (sometimes I have no choice but to take the prescription painkillers, but they really don't agree with me - they caused the vomiting both times. At least I don't have to worry about addiction!)

[YogiKitti]

Anyone else planning to go sugar free through the holidays?

DH and I are. We aren't really pie people anyways, so Thanksgiving shouldn't be hard. The problem is all the potlucks we will be invited to. My go-to is usually a dessert, so I will have to start bringing something else.

[Rural]

Anyone else planning to go sugar free through the holidays?

DH and I are. We aren't really pie people anyways, so Thanksgiving shouldn't be hard. The problem is all the potlucks we will be invited to. My go-to is usually a dessert, so I will have to start bringing something else.

 Not necessarily; just because you're not eating it doesn't mean you can't cook it. I took a blackberry cobbler to that family reunion this summer where I ate no sugar – just got my husband to taste test it.

[cats]

I'm drinking a hot chocolate made with no sugar right now--just whole milk and cocoa powder.   It's surprisingly sweet, which I'm taking as a sign that my de-sugaring, while not as full-on as I might like, has indeed resulted in a nice change in my taste buds and how I perceive sweetness.  The milk sugars are really feeling like an awesome sweet treat right now!

[YogiKitti]

Anyone else planning to go sugar free through the holidays?

DH and I are. We aren't really pie people anyways, so Thanksgiving shouldn't be hard. The problem is all the potlucks we will be invited to. My go-to is usually a dessert, so I will have to start bringing something else.

 Not necessarily; just because you're not eating it doesn't mean you can't cook it. I took a blackberry cobbler to that family reunion this summer where I ate no sugar – just got my husband to taste test it.

I don't think I am able to bake desserts without wanting to eat them. One day I will be on your level.

[Rural]

Anyone else planning to go sugar free through the holidays?

DH and I are. We aren't really pie people anyways, so Thanksgiving shouldn't be hard. The problem is all the potlucks we will be invited to. My go-to is usually a dessert, so I will have to start bringing something else.

 Not necessarily; just because you're not eating it doesn't mean you can't cook it. I took a blackberry cobbler to that family reunion this summer where I ate no sugar – just got my husband to taste test it.

I don't think I am able to bake desserts without wanting to eat them. One day I will be on your level.

Oh, I wanted to eat it, don't get me wrong!:-)

[Orvell]

I think... I'm going to commit to reducing sugar for a week.
I know that sounds like nothing, but for me, the idea of a longer commitment is just too much right now.
I've been feeling like I binge eat sugar items for ... a while now... and this is a good excuse to kick that behavior. It's unhealthy for a lot of reasons. :)
So today (Day 1!) I'm committing to not buying a box of cookies even though I feel stressed because my cat is sick.

Edited to add that the comments here have been really inspiring. :)

I'm on day three! Thanks to everyone in this thread who mentioned the That Sugar Movie; I watched it last night and enjoyed it loads. It's not "science" but it's very compelling, and supports most of what I already know. And it was the perfect thing to set me on track to keep this up. :)

Question for the group: I enjoy baking whole wheat bread, often with some oatmeal thrown in etc. Prior to this I'd throw in a bit of sugar and molasses. How do you handle the sugar requirement for bread making? Bananas? Just no sugar and crossing your fingers and turning around three times?

[Jeddy]

Anyone else planning to go sugar free through the holidays?

DH and I are. We aren't really pie people anyways, so Thanksgiving shouldn't be hard. The problem is all the potlucks we will be invited to. My go-to is usually a dessert, so I will have to start bringing something else.

Not necessarily; just because you're not eating it doesn't mean you can't cook it. I took a blackberry cobbler to that family reunion this summer where I ate no sugar – just got my husband to taste test it.

You can also cook some no-sugar-added/sugar-free desserts. Recipes that have very little sugar-content (only sugar coming from honey and/or lower-sugar fruits) - my wife and I made these up (links are to our unfortunately-inactive-for-right-now blog):

Strawberry-Rhubarb Crisp - sweetened with honey (and naturally sweetened with rhubarb and strawberries) - this has quite the 'autumn' feel to it and you could easily substitute any berry or berries for the strawberries

Apple cookies/muffins - sweetened with honey (and naturally sweetened with apples). Apples always scream 'autumn', so these could be a good addition

Berry Crumble - sweetened with honey (and naturally sweetened with berries). This has a good 'autumn' feel as well

Chocolate Cake Cookies - these are sweetened with mashed banana - my wife made half a batch with some high-cocoa-percentage chocolate chips for just a tiny 'sweet-fix'. These don't have much of an 'autumn' feel, but could make a good Christmas holiday cookie

Popovers with Cinnamon-Lemon-Honey Butter - These would make a perfect addition to any Thanksgiving table - the butter adds just enough sweetness and they are incredible easy to make

All of these I feel would be a good addition to any holiday spread and I think any of them would appeal to more than just those who are going without sugar

[Orvell]

You can also cook some no-sugar-added/sugar-free desserts. Recipes that have very little sugar-content (only sugar coming from honey and/or lower-sugar fruits) - my wife and I made these up (links are to our unfortunately-inactive-for-right-now blog):

Strawberry-Rhubarb Crisp - sweetened with honey (and naturally sweetened with rhubarb and strawberries) - this has quite the 'autumn' feel to it and you could easily substitute any berry or berries for the strawberries

Apple cookies/muffins - sweetened with honey (and naturally sweetened with apples). Apples always scream 'autumn', so these could be a good addition

Berry Crumble - sweetened with honey (and naturally sweetened with berries). This has a good 'autumn' feel as well

Chocolate Cake Cookies - these are sweetened with mashed banana - my wife made half a batch with some high-cocoa-percentage chocolate chips for just a tiny 'sweet-fix'. These don't have much of an 'autumn' feel, but could make a good Christmas holiday cookie

Popovers with Cinnamon-Lemon-Honey Butter - These would make a perfect addition to any Thanksgiving table - the butter adds just enough sweetness and they are incredible easy to make

All of these I feel would be a good addition to any holiday spread and I think any of them would appeal to more than just those who are going without sugar

I think you are a saint. *SAVES ALL OF THESE*

[Jeddy]

I think you are a saint. *SAVES ALL OF THESE*

That is a wicked nice thing to say! I appreciate it! :)

I read your previous post about committing for a week - my wife and I read I Quit Sugar by Sarah Wilson and went about starting the same way she recommends - ween yourself from sugar instead of going cold turkey. Start slow - eliminate a little sugar this week, more next week, and over the course of however many weeks you feel comfortable doing, you eliminate it completely. Then find the recipes and/or foods that you like that can satiate that craving - whether it's the chocolate cake cookies, or a bowl of granola (my wife and I posted about our granola recipe - in the early stages of quitting sugar, this was our go-to snack - either as a cereal, a handful to satiate a craving, or thrown on top of oatmeal/fruit/yogurt - it took care of the urge to eat something sweet and it was actually good for us), or a handful of raspberries or a fruit smoothie - anything that you can reach to and not feel bad about when you get that craving.

Good luck and keep us all posted!

[Orvell]

I think you are a saint. *SAVES ALL OF THESE*

That is a wicked nice thing to say! I appreciate it! :)

I read your previous post about committing for a week - my wife and I read I Quit Sugar by Sarah Wilson and went about starting the same way she recommends - ween yourself from sugar instead of going cold turkey. Start slow - eliminate a little sugar this week, more next week, and over the course of however many weeks you feel comfortable doing, you eliminate it completely. Then find the recipes and/or foods that you like that can satiate that craving - whether it's the chocolate cake cookies, or a bowl of granola (my wife and I posted about our granola recipe - in the early stages of quitting sugar, this was our go-to snack - either as a cereal, a handful to satiate a craving, or thrown on top of oatmeal/fruit/yogurt - it took care of the urge to eat something sweet and it was actually good for us), or a handful of raspberries or a fruit smoothie - anything that you can reach to and not feel bad about when you get that craving.

Good luck and keep us all posted!

I'm going over to my girlfriends house later today, and we're definitely going to make one of the above links. Now to just pick which one...

And thanks for the advice! I know for me personally, cold turkey actually works better for stuff like this. I tend to binge eat things like cookies, so I have a hard time with the 'just a little' mindset; it sometimes turns into 'the whole box.' My brother is an alcoholic, so probably these compulsive issues are stuck inside me deep, lol.
I'm on day 6 of no added sugar and things are going good! :D Being able to find replacement items like smoothies and granola is a great idea that I'm totally going to implement. ^__^

And if you have time, you should get your blog rolling again! It seems like a really useful resource. PS I was impressed by your DIY window dressing. A+

[Jeddy]

Thanks Orvell!

Getting the blog rolling again is in the plans! Thanks for the kind words! :)

[Orvell]

>___>
<___<
It has been over a week of (~basically) no refined sugar!
Can I just say how weirdly easy it is? I wish I had a scale at home because I'm curious what weight effects it will have, but I don't, lol. My gf does, and is trying to lose weight, so maybe I'll hop on hers later this week to get a baseline.

Ya'll are awesome.

Jeddy: I made the berry crumble and also the pumpkin/protein powder pancakes from your blog - both delish!

[Kitsunegari]

You can also cook some no-sugar-added/sugar-free desserts. Recipes that have very little sugar-content (only sugar coming from honey and/or lower-sugar fruits) - my wife and I made these up (links are to our unfortunately-inactive-for-right-now blog):

Strawberry-Rhubarb Crisp - sweetened with honey (and naturally sweetened with rhubarb and strawberries) - this has quite the 'autumn' feel to it and you could easily substitute any berry or berries for the strawberries

Apple cookies/muffins - sweetened with honey (and naturally sweetened with apples). Apples always scream 'autumn', so these could be a good addition

Berry Crumble - sweetened with honey (and naturally sweetened with berries). This has a good 'autumn' feel as well

Chocolate Cake Cookies - these are sweetened with mashed banana - my wife made half a batch with some high-cocoa-percentage chocolate chips for just a tiny 'sweet-fix'. These don't have much of an 'autumn' feel, but could make a good Christmas holiday cookie

Popovers with Cinnamon-Lemon-Honey Butter - These would make a perfect addition to any Thanksgiving table - the butter adds just enough sweetness and they are incredible easy to make

All of these I feel would be a good addition to any holiday spread and I think any of them would appeal to more than just those who are going without sugar

But if those recipes have honey, is it so much better than 'real' sugar?

[Jeddy]

>___>
<___<
It has been over a week of (~basically) no refined sugar!
Can I just say how weirdly easy it is? I wish I had a scale at home because I'm curious what weight effects it will have, but I don't, lol. My gf does, and is trying to lose weight, so maybe I'll hop on hers later this week to get a baseline.

Ya'll are awesome.

Jeddy: I made the berry crumble and also the pumpkin/protein powder pancakes from your blog - both delish!

Fantastic to hear!

[swick]

Hi Guys! Popping in after a long, long absence on this thread!

I tried to quit sugar several times and had zero luck. Much like Orvell, addiction runs in my family and turns out the standard "wean yourself off" advice DID.NOT.WORK for me. I thought you know, staying away from refined sugar was doing a good job. but no, still addicted, still compensating with all those carbs that, essentially, break down in your system just like sugar.

So, I invited people to do a "whole 30" with me, it's a challenge, it's only 30 days! Turns out it was enough to completely reshape my relationship with sugar on an emotional, psychological and mental level. t is awesome!

Thread is here is anyone is interested: http://forum.mrmoneymustache.com/throw-down-the-gauntlet/whole-30-starting-sept-8th-want-to-join-us/

Several of us are starting another round, so perfect time if anyone wants to jump in with us!

[Jeddy]

But if those recipes have honey, is it so much better than 'real' sugar?

Strawberry-Rhubarb Crisp - 3 Tbs honey for a whole 12 inch pie

Cinnamon-Apple Cookies - 2/3 cup honey for 24+ cookies

Berry Crumble - 1 Tbs honey for two ramekins

Chocolate Cake Cookies - no honey

Cinnamon-Lemon-Honey Butter for the popovers - 1/4 cup of honey per stick of butter - I'd wager very little is used per popover

Beyond the relatively minute amount used per recipe, I think honey has many other properties (trace elements, more complex sugars, no preservatives/additives, etc.) that make it a beneficial sweetener, rather than useless/garbage, which is what I would lump 'real' sugar as. As with all sweeteners (and everything else), I think moderation is key. But if you want a 'sweet', I think something like a strawberry-rhubarb crisp that only uses 3 Tbs over a 12 inch pie would be a better choice than a box-mix of cookies that takes 2 cups for 18 cookies.

[Orvell]

Swick: I've thought about the Whole30 thing, thanks for posting it.
However, I'm not game to give up everything on the list. Beans, for example, are my buddy. :) It's awesome it's working for you though!

[swick]

Swick: I've thought about the Whole30 thing, thanks for posting it.
However, I'm not game to give up everything on the list. Beans, for example, are my buddy. :) It's awesome it's working for you though!

It is only for 30 days :) I would say it is worth it just so you can discover how foods affect you, then you can make a conscious decision if you want to eat them. I discovered it was wheat/gluten that triggers my Fibro flare-ups - which Doctors haven't been able to pin point the cause of. I discovered all my chronic sinus issues and stuffiness is dairy related. I will probably go back to eating beans eventually, bot for now, it is working and life is good :)

[YogiKitti]

I also couldn't ween myself off. I had to quit cold turkey. I've been having a cup of tea in the evenings when my cravings for dessert usually occur. It's been since the beginning of the month of the tea, and now I don't crave sugar!

[Orvell]

I also couldn't ween myself off. I had to quit cold turkey. I've been having a cup of tea in the evenings when my cravings for dessert usually occur. It's been since the beginning of the month of the tea, and now I don't crave sugar!

That is EXACTLY what I've been doing! Current tea I'm blasting through is a yummy ginger:D Replace one ritual with another! That's awesome that it's working so well!

[Jeddy]

I also couldn't ween myself off. I had to quit cold turkey. I've been having a cup of tea in the evenings when my cravings for dessert usually occur. It's been since the beginning of the month of the tea, and now I don't crave sugar!

That's what we've found to be the best thing about quitting sugar - as hard as it is at first, it gets substantially easier as you progress. You'll hit a point where you won't want the sugar/sweets and if/when you have a sweet, you probably won't like it. It's also fun to find all the little interesting treats that you'll use (like the tea!) when a craving arises.

[FrugalShrew]

When I was at my absolute best in regulating sugar, even cough drops were too sweet! I never did find a good replacement for them, and ended up going a few years without using cough drops. (I don't use "sugar-free" alternatives that have fake sugar. They tend to make me feel ill).