Eliminating Sugar From Your Diet

[tuttyfruit]

about 3 years ago i decided to stop w/ my bad eating habits: fast food, sweets... and i didnt know sugar was 'bad'.. when i knew it was bad if i had too much of it, but its bad to have too much of everything.. since then i started trying to eliminate sugar from my diet. ive stopped consuming real sugar ever since.. but now i have this sugar phobia.. i never sweeten my tea or coffee, or juice or lemonade or whatever drink. im always checking out labels to see the sugar content. i havent drunk regular soda ever since but i sometimes drink diet soda. i try to avoid chocolate and other sweets as much as possible. idk why im so anal about it now but it has stuck in my mind that sugar is bad and period. but i havent completely eliminated sugar b/c seemingly most things have sugar. i hate high fructose corn syrup... when i see bottles of it in the racks in the supermarket i get disgusted...

as much as im 'afraid' of sugar, sometimes i have super bad cravings... i can have severe sweet tooths.. and sometimes i literally binge on chocolate (thats the only sweet that i crave from time to time). i dont eat chocolate that often but when i do i eat like 4 bars of choc in one sitting... i just cant have enough of it when im craving it
but lately ive managed to eat it in moderation but now im addicted to frozen yogurt.. the plain/tart taste from pinkberry.. well its at least much better than regular ice cream..

the only sugars that im not guilty of consuming is from fruits. i dont eat fruits everyday though.. just once in a while but lately ive been addicted to korean grapes.

nowadays im trying to eliminate flour and fried stuff from my diet. most of the time i eat super healthy but sometimes i mess up...

 

[fashionista-ta]

^ Don't know if this is true in your case, but I have read that chocolate cravings can result from not getting enough protein. I personally think chocolate is pretty good for you though

 

[mariemaud]

I've often read that the best time in the day (in terms of body needs) to eat sugar is by the evening, around 5 pm...
and fat much more needed in the morning... and I tend to believe it's true, at least on me it works...
I'm used to eat cheese or salmon in the morning and it gives me such an energy whereas sugar meals like jam etc. doesn't give me so much energy...

 

[Dizzydi]

I don't believe in eliminating sugar completely from your diet, refined sugar, yes, but not sugar all together.
I denied myself refined sugar for a couple of months this summer. The first week I was exhausted, had headaches ect. I ate dried fruit to get through the cravings. I slowly began to eat more fresh fruit (it's easier in the summer). After four weeks I tasted some sort of candy and it was way too sweet for me. It was disgusting. Weird that your senses can change so quickly.

I'm eating candy and sugar again, but planning on stopping. I think it's going to be more difficult in the winter, with all the delicious christmas food, but I'm gonna try.

 

[songbirdsel]

^ THats so true I remember i stopped eating chocolate for a couple of months (I dont know how!) and after, the chocolate was far too much. Im slowly finding that with normal coke, i can actually taste the sugar in it.

 

[Ianastar]

as part of my eating healthy NY resolutions I am cutting sugar.

Im only going for raw sugar, or things made from cane sugar, or maple syrup used as a sweeting agent.

 

[Yanka]

Another reason to quit sugar - AGEING. This is from Discovery website, good interview I thought.


Shun the Sugar for Sweeter-Looking Skin
By Tamar Nordenberg

An Interview with Nicholas Perricone, M.D. Yeah, right — now it's rice cakes that can be the downfall of your diet? Yes, that is right, according to dermatologist Nicholas Perricone, M.D., an expert on facial rejuvenation and best-selling author of The Wrinkle Cure and The Perricone Prescription. The doctor's Rx for winning skin (and, by the way, for staying thin) calls for staying away from sugar and high-glycemic carbohydrates, which the body rapidly converts to sugar. Discovery Health Online asked the doctor to share what he knows about sugar's destructive effects on the skin, and about the complexion-complimenting effects of staying away from the sweet stuff, as well as some foods you once considered to be stay-healthy staples.

Q: Does the fact that you eat too much sugar really show on your face?
A: Absolutely. I believe that inflammation is at the basis of aging in all organ systems, including the skin. One of the reasons inflammation occurs is from a rapid rise in blood sugar, which causes biochemical changes in the cell that result in accelerated aging. You can have deterioration of the brain or the heart muscle, and likewise of the skin. Of the internal causes of inflammation, one of the big ones is diet. In addition to biochemical changes, sugar causes damage to the skin in another way: When blood sugar goes up rapidly, sugar can attach itself to collagen in a process called "glycation," making the skin stiff and inflexible. Losing this elastic resilience of young skin will give you deep wrinkles and make you look old.
Q: Is it the standard sweets — like candy bars and chocolate cake — that sap the skin of its youthful resilience?
A: It's those, and it's what people eat that they don't realize is converted rapidly into sugar — pasta, bread, potatoes, rice. Even when people think they're being conscientious, they could be taking in high amounts of cell-aging sugar. Quite often, a patient will come into my office, very proud that all they had for lunch was a baked potato with nothing on it. What they don't realize is that the plain potato converts into large amounts of sugar — as much as a couple of candy bars.
Q: What steps can sugar junkies take to save their skin?
A: People will experience a rapid rise in blood sugar from eating skin-destroying sweets and carbohydrates, but what goes up must come down, and their mood will soon crash and give them a real addiction craving for more sugar. The best thing a sugar addict can do to deal with their cravings is to very carefully control their blood sugar and insulin by staying away from the bad carbohydrates and eating more protein for just a few days. At the same time their skin is becoming firm, their blood sugar will stabilize and their cravings will go away. They're free! Then they might have a piece of chocolate once in awhile, but it's based on their free will instead of "I have to have it." Read more about sidestepping sugar to keep your skin dazzling — it's in Chapter 3 of The Perricone Prescription.

 

[J.M.L]

I don't believe the potato conversion thing.

 

[cosmogrl5]

^ I think it might be true for white potatoes, but sweet potatoes are so good for you. I eat them all the time.

 

[Fabulyss]

I recently tried Agave Syrup, which has been recommended as a healthy, all natural sugar substitute as opposed to dangerous artificial ones like Splenda, Aspartame, etc. I recently did some research on the latter and it's absolutely frightening!

Anyways, it's yummy and delicious (tastes sweet enough, a bit like maple syrup), but there is only so much I can use it for - perhaps baking, or to add to my oatmeal.

 

[cosmogrl5]

^ That sounds really interesting. Did you get it at a health food store? I am starting to become very aware of how bad artificial sweeteners are for the body. In fact, I have lupus and recently read that sweeteners are linked to lupus!

 

[Fabulyss]

^Yes it's quite scary. There is a whole chapter on it in that popular book Skinny b*tch (including the dubious ways Aspartame slipped through the FDA). The authors of the book are very extreme in terms of health but the there are endless reasons to be suspicious of the stuff, and that was enough for me to reconsider. I highly recommend doing some research on it.

Anyways I actually found Agave Syrup at my mom's local Kroger in a small town in Michigan (in the healthy aisle)!! So it can be found anywhere I suppose The only problem is it's no substitute for Starbursts and Twizzlers!

 

[J.M.L]

Omg, I need to do some research because my family has sugar packets everyday with our tea!!!

What about sugar in the raw?

 

[cosmogrl5]

^Yes it's quite scary. There is a whole chapter on it in that popular book Skinny b*tch (including the dubious ways Aspartame slipped through the FDA). The authors of the book are very extreme in terms of health but the there are endless reasons to be suspicious of the stuff, and that was enough for me to reconsider. I highly recommend doing some research on it.

Anyways I actually found Agave Syrup at my mom's local Kroger in a small town in Michigan (in the healthy aisle)!! So it can be found anywhere I suppose The only problem is it's no substitute for Starbursts and Twizzlers!

Not much could ever replace those things! I'll definitely be on the look out for agave syrup. I might go to my health food supermarket after work. I am on a huge health kick (and am actually reading Skinny b*tch right now).

 

[misstarshine]

I think i'm going to try eliminating sugar but not cold turkey, a little at a time.

 

[Fabulyss]

Not much could ever replace those things! I'll definitely be on the look out for agave syrup. I might go to my health food supermarket after work. I am on a huge health kick (and am actually reading Skinny b*tch right now).

I see that you live in Charlotte (My brother lives in Matthews), I think they recently opened up a Trader Joe's there - it's the greatest grocery store ever! And I'm pretty sure they sell Agave Syrup. Anyways, if anyone's interested I can type up snippets from Skinny b*tch regarding sugar...??

 

[cosmogrl5]

^ Too funny! I used to live in Matthews but now I am in Ballantyne. I haven't made it to the new Trader Joe's yet, unfortunately. Maybe this weekend! I'll definitely pick up some Agave Syrup.

 

[marylauda]

Recently I've decided not to eliminate, but cut back on, my sugar intake. I've been taking small steps, but my "inspiration" (if you could call it that) was brought on by the horror that I felt after reading the nutrition information for caramel macchiatos at Starbuck's. Since then I haven't had any type of latte, just regular coffee, and I have gradually been using less sugar and less cream. The thought of having a sweet, syrupy latte actually physically repulses me now. I work at a Chinese restaurant, so needless to say, I don't have the best diet and I feel as though I've really thrown my body out of whack these past few months. So now when I am at work, instead of having several glasses of sweet tea, I have one glass of sweet tea that is half sweet and half unsweet, and for the rest of the day I have water with a bit of lemon, or some Chinese tea. I'm also eating more fruits and (sadly) less chocolate. I've already begun to feel slightly better these past few days, I hope it gets even better!

 

[J.M.L]

I've never heard that it makes people gain weight - are there any studies to back this up?!

Sugar is a carbohydrate, so when it's not burned off for energy, it's stored as fat.

 

[shoegal2183]

Also, if you are a raw foodist, you'll come to find that the more fat in your diet, the more you crave sugar. Maybe it is the same with the rest of you?

Sugar is evil. I don't need it anymore cos of dates and raw cheesecakes and all sorts of natural yummies. Maple Syrup of grade B/C is awesome and even better is Agave Nectar. Goodbye spots, dark cirles and a physical crutch. I am not perfect yet, but I am getting there.

Can you describe what a raw cheesecake is, please?