I did it! I gave up sugar in October last year and it was liberating! I finally shifted the excess weight from 2 pregnancies and got back into my pre-preg clothes, ditched the sugar induced mood swings and high/low sugar cravings and felt generally healthier and more energetic.
I highly recommend giving it a go. I had always tried to keep away from sugar with the idea that it was generally not very good for health but slipped into some pretty sad habits with babies and kids (pretty common story I imagine). I found it hard to find the motivation to stick at being 'good' with food but after reading the book I had a new understanding of the hidden sugars which would undo any efforts I might make in getting off sugar. My new enthusiasm made it easy to avoid temptation although I didn't go cold turkey as the book recommends, just gradually reduced my intake and changed brands where necessary to avoid products with too much added sugar. Pretty soon I was happily passing up cake with my coffee, mayo on my sandwich and ice cream with the family without even a hint of second thought. Liberating!
I have relaxed my stance since but I still don't have any sugar in my tea (a weak point previously) I can't stand products with sugar added and can still turn down dessert without a problem. I guess I just enjoy the food I want to eat now without being attracted to the stuff over sweetened so my palate has changed for the better. I don't think about it much anymore and am so glad I gave the theory a go.
I say go for it Epacris, I will be cheering you on from the sidelines!
Actually in the book he says women do better cutting down the sugar and men to better going cold turkey. Interesting to hear your experience with that. And your “before” story sounds just like me too, hopefully (for me) our “after” stories will match as well.
Fructose can be more harmful than glucose for a couple of reasons...
When glucose enters the bloodstream it is regulated by insulin but fructose is processed by the liver. The liver can't process too much so it turns it to fat and sends it into the bloodstream as a trigylceride. This in turn can result in liver disease, heart disease, insulin resistance and type two diabetes.
High fructose diets also contribute to weight gain because they bypass hormonal controls which tell your body you are satisfied when eating.
Excellent! I think that approaching it with a strong motivation is helpful as sugar is a pretty hard habit to crack. It is also nice to know that being militant in the short term is worthwhile as you can relax a little later and still benefit. (Of course I am not talking eat a packet of tim tams relax )
I just remembered there was a thread about this earlier, you may find some more support here.
Oops Thanks for that thread jackrose, I should have done a search before posting this one. Lots of reading for me there.
MadB – just anything with sugar, but sooooooooo much stuff has sugar in it.
Yeah, fruitcake, I can't give that up, no way. I’m cooking my birthday fruitcake this week, the fruit is soaking in brandy right now. I wonder if I’ll actually want to eat it come my birthday (in September).
Last edited by Epacris; July 19th, 2011 at 10:31 PM.
BellyBelly Life Member - Love all your MCN friends
Jun 2004
The Festival State
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i was raised in a high sugar household, and my grandparents were even worse (i think they were raised before refridgeration was common, so back when salt and sugar were commonly used (overused) to extend the life of fresh food). Even though i realised my mother used alot LESS sugar than my grandma, i still ended up with a huge sweet tooth. I use less sugar than my mother, so three generations on, RELATIVE to how i was raised, i'm using less, but still, for what is healthy, i'm sure i use way too much.
In the last year, my progress has been
- to give up Iced Coffee (used to drink a 600ml every time i left the house, used to have the 3L bottles in my fridge in newborn baby days, lived on the stuff). so going cold turkey, this is one thing i'm very pleased to have accomplished
- using yogurt instead of cream, in layered birthday cakes, in butterfly little cakes
- using yogurt instead of icecream
(but i'm not using Greek yogurt, this is still the fruit flavoured yogurt, so some progress, but more to go)
- using icing mainly as feature details, instead of covering whole cake (birthdays)
- using honey on weetbix, to replace sugar
- when making baked goods, reducing sugar component, subbing part of sugar for sultanas, dates (fruit).
There are many substitutes, like apple sauce, corn syrup, stevia etc. I either haven't understood how to sub them, or worried about the expense - so haven't used these.
- using raw sugar, as opposed to white sugar (less processed).
I'm trying to get more fruit and veg into our diets, so the thought of restricting fruit, not sure about that. Esp with bilby, she eats so little of anything already, if i have to cut out the tinned pears she DOES eat, i cannot contemplate her eating zero fruit.
i must go and listen to the link (is Richard Fidler, the guy who used to be in the Doug Anthony Allstars?)
Have never gone and seen a naturopath, as i'm scared i will get told to give up everything i enjoy (sugar, coffee, choc). i know the more i'm told i CAN"T have something, the more i will crave it. I try to limit what i eat, by telling myself, i can have whatever, so that takes away my desire for it.
Maybe reading a few "things to avoid", will help me make healthier choices in the supermarket.
thanks for posting this Ecapris, it's exactly what i need, ways to cut out sugar.
PS can you think of fruitcake as a birthday, xmas, celebration thing? or are you used to having it weekly? If you make it really well, it would be harsh to go without it forever Ecapris.
Gigi, you are going to HATE me for telling you this..... but dried fruit and honey are both big no nos. So is raw sugar... You may as well eat whit sugar!!
I have been diagnosed with "fructose malabsorption", which basically means by body can't process the stuff.
(TMI warning) Basically, I get the runs BIG TIME just from eating just an apple!
The scary thing is when you find out just how many products have fructose or HFCS in them!
Giving up juice, and dried fruit was the most difficult for me tho!
There's lots of info on the net about what fruit and vegies to avoid and of course check labels on all your canned goods etc too.
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because your fruit cake is the best. Maybe you could save up your 10g a day for an annual blowout...?
Thanks for that thread jackrose, I should have done a search before posting this one. Lots of reading for me there.
I’m cooking my birthday fruitcake this week, the fruit is soaking in brandy right now. I wonder if I’ll actually want to eat it come my birthday (in September).
but dried fruit and honey are both big no nos. So is raw sugar... You may as well eat whit sugar!!
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