5 ms·

About 6 weeks ago I stopped ingesting sugar, to the extent that is practically possible. No candy & cakes, no sweet drinks and very diligent reading of labels o

by praptak 10y ago

About 6 weeks ago I stopped ingesting sugar, to the extent that is practically possible. No candy & cakes, no sweet drinks and very diligent reading of labels on the non-obvious stuff. I do eat fruit but not processed into juice. Dropped 4 kg, everything tastes better, no energy drop at 4pm and the cravings disappeared within first two days. Friends report similar results. This was also much easier than my previous attempts at "cutting down" sugar.

microcolonel 10y ago
I think this should be the most obvious dietary advice for the overweight. Cut out entire classes of sugar intake such as soda and candy, except perhaps once per month or week. Sadly, people can't take simple advice.
- mattmanser 10y ago
  What a disgusting attitude you have. If it were as easy as you say, everyone would just do it. 36% of US adults are considered obese. It's obviously a lot more complicated and harder than taking "simple" advice.
  - bhouston 10y ago
    I think sugar is additive, like tobacco, and with lots of bad health outcomes and because it is additive that is why it is hard to cut it out. Watch the movie Sugar Coated for one take on this line of reasoning. It likely is as easy as cutting sugar out, just like smokers should cut cigarettes out, it is just hard to do because of the additives qualities of the drugs. And like cigarettes, cutting down isn't really as effective as cutting it out nearly entirely, because a little bit of an additive drugs primes you for more.
  - throwaway5834 10y ago
    Hold on, you have a giant non sequitur. For example, suppose the conversation were about entrepreneurship, and your parent comment maintained that anybody coudl start a corporation "easily" and for about $100. Now, suppose you replied: >If it were as easy as you say, everyone would just do it. 97% of US adults have never owned a company. >It's obviously a lot more complicated and harder than taking "simple" advice. First, why am I using this example. Because we can all agree that actually, yes, anyone can pretty much start a corporation for $100. It's true. It's also true that 99% of people don't. That doesn't make starting a corporation 'harder'. It takes certain steps, and you have to go through with it. Whether 1%, 5%, 10%, or 75% of people have tried starting companies, has no impact on its difficulty. Likewise, whether 20%, 30%, 50%, or 90% of people are obese, does not influence the dfificulty of not being obese. Perhaps in the future only 1/10 people will be able to maintain an athletic, fit, weight. Perhaps they will have to throw away 80% of what they're served at restaurants, because they simply cannot order anything that does not have 2500 calories, whereas they want to eat 500. This is not far from the status quo in America. So, while it is certainly "easy" in a sense not to overeat, it's only "easy" in the same way as starting a corporation is "easy". It's easy on paper. If your parent argues that people should 'just do it' -- he's probably right.
  - toasterlovin 10y ago
    That 36% of US adults are considered obese does not make it obvious that losing weight is any more complicated than cutting sugar & carbs. First, "common sense" dietary advise is that fats are bad. That's why you see foods marketed as low-fat. Because common sense dietary advice has been focused on the wrong thing (fat instead of sugar/carbs), most people's conception of "eating healthy" is wrong. Second, the route to being financially healthy and stable is incredibly simple: spend significantly less that you make. Yet some how a huge percentage of people in the US spend beyond their means. Could it not also be the case with cutting sugar & carbs that even if people actually knew what they needed to do, they still would not do it?
eximius 10y ago
I've cut out 90% of my sugar intake (no more soda), but I still hover around the same weight. :/
- danthewireman 10y ago
  Have you tried cutting out more carbs? Dropping bread, pasta, rice, and white potatoes helped me a lot.
  - jahnu 10y ago
    You probably just reduced your calorie intake. There is scant evidence that those sources of carbs matters at all in the sense that they are somehow worse than other sources of calories. But fair play to you for doing something. It's genuinely admirable.
    - dominotw 10y ago
      >There is scant evidence that those sources of carbs matters at all in the sense that they are somehow worse than other sources of calories. what about glycemic index? Surely foods with high GI are demonstrably worse?
      - jahnu 10y ago
        As far as I'm aware there are no studies that clearly show that replacing potatoes bread etc with equivalent calories in other forms results in weight loss.
    - chillwaves 10y ago
      One type of macro food group affects insulin resistance. Carbs. All calories are not created equal, just ask any diabetic (and there are many many of them to ask).
      - jahnu 10y ago
        We're talking about cutting out a food category and presumably replacing it with another. I don't know of any convincing evidence this results in weight loss. Open to information of course!
mrfusion 10y ago
I always get thrown off that plan by things like yogurt. Even plain yogurt lists a ton of sugar. I can't wait for the new labels that show added sugar.
- maxerickson 10y ago
  In the US, plain yogurt would show any added sugar in the ingredients list (it would not reflect the amount). But it starts from milk, so there is lots of sugar it in.
  - mattzito 10y ago
    There has been new legislation passed that starting..next year?..labels will have to show total sugar and added sugar, so you can realistically get a sense of how much is original vs. additive.
    - maxerickson 10y ago
      Yeah I get that, it's just that you can already tell if something like plain yogurt has added sugar or not. In my experience, most brands list milk and the bacteria cultures. I guess varying the preparation of the yogurt can still result in a wide range of sugar content.
  - mrfusion 10y ago
    That's a great point. I just checked and it doesn't list it. I don't know why I never thought of that.
- hristov 10y ago
  The natural sugar that is in milk is lactose and that is not really a problem (as long as you are not lactose intolerant of course). The problematic sugar is refined fructose. That is the stuff cannot be properly processed by the body and causes all kinds of chaos for your metabolism. Even naturally occurring fructose, such as in fruit, is ok. But once you concentrate it into crystallized sugar or HFCS, it becomes a slow acting poison.
amelius 10y ago
Yes dropping sugar is the first step. But then after a while, you want to take it further, and you start exercising. And suddenly, you need sugars again!
- NDizzle 10y ago
  Yeah, sugar from fruit. Not refined sugar.
- tim333 10y ago
  You don't need actual sugar. Some carbs that the body turns to sugar perhaps.
- azdle 10y ago
  Anecdotally, I completely disagree. I've been eating a ketogenic diet (less than ~20 net grams per day) almost exclusively since May 2013 and have been lifting for the last 8 months and haven't needed for any carbs. While it's possible after a certain level some well-timed carbs can help you lift heavier than without, those won't be the kinds of sugars most people are eating. But, since I'm not looking to become a body builder I'll probably never need to worry about that.
  - amelius 10y ago
    Well, you have to admit that a ketogenic diet is something else entirely. That is impressive, I personally don't know any people who could stick to it for such a long time.
- chillwaves 10y ago
  Why do you need sugars?
dominotw 10y ago
how much sugar were you eating perviously?
- praptak 10y ago
  Good question. I did not track the intake but it was dessert after lunch, something sweet to soften the 4pm energy low, something sweet to go with morning coffee, sweetened muesli or jam for breakfast. Small things that probably added to unhealthy amounts.
tapan_k 10y ago
Last year, I started taking LCHF lifestyle [0] seriously. The primary influence was Prof Tim Noakes [1] and his relentless tweets about how sugar is at the root of widespread obesity, and the diseases associated with obesity. I stopped having sugar and carbohydrate rich food, and my weight dropped rapidly. I went from being heaviest in my life to 10kg lighter in a span of 6 months. And I felt great. Now I know the secret sauce of weight loss, and feeling great at the same time, but the only thing that knocks me off this diet and lifestyle is stress. When under work related stress, I end up eating carbohydrate rich food which results in quick weight gain. I am in the process of figuring out a way to stay on LCHF because I long to going back to the feeling that I have experienced while on LCHF. [0]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Low-carbohydrate_diet https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Low-carbohydrate_diet [1]: https://twitter.com/ProfTimNoakes https://twitter.com/ProfTimNoakes

by praptak 10y ago

microcolonel 10y ago

I think this should be the most obvious dietary advice for the overweight. Cut out entire classes of sugar intake such as soda and candy, except perhaps once per month or week. Sadly, people can't take simple advice.

mattmanser 10y ago
What a disgusting attitude you have. If it were as easy as you say, everyone would just do it. 36% of US adults are considered obese. It's obviously a lot more complicated and harder than taking "simple" advice.
- bhouston 10y ago
  I think sugar is additive, like tobacco, and with lots of bad health outcomes and because it is additive that is why it is hard to cut it out. Watch the movie Sugar Coated for one take on this line of reasoning. It likely is as easy as cutting sugar out, just like smokers should cut cigarettes out, it is just hard to do because of the additives qualities of the drugs. And like cigarettes, cutting down isn't really as effective as cutting it out nearly entirely, because a little bit of an additive drugs primes you for more.
- throwaway5834 10y ago
  Hold on, you have a giant non sequitur. For example, suppose the conversation were about entrepreneurship, and your parent comment maintained that anybody coudl start a corporation "easily" and for about $100. Now, suppose you replied: >If it were as easy as you say, everyone would just do it. 97% of US adults have never owned a company. >It's obviously a lot more complicated and harder than taking "simple" advice. First, why am I using this example. Because we can all agree that actually, yes, anyone can pretty much start a corporation for $100. It's true. It's also true that 99% of people don't. That doesn't make starting a corporation 'harder'. It takes certain steps, and you have to go through with it. Whether 1%, 5%, 10%, or 75% of people have tried starting companies, has no impact on its difficulty. Likewise, whether 20%, 30%, 50%, or 90% of people are obese, does not influence the dfificulty of not being obese. Perhaps in the future only 1/10 people will be able to maintain an athletic, fit, weight. Perhaps they will have to throw away 80% of what they're served at restaurants, because they simply cannot order anything that does not have 2500 calories, whereas they want to eat 500. This is not far from the status quo in America. So, while it is certainly "easy" in a sense not to overeat, it's only "easy" in the same way as starting a corporation is "easy". It's easy on paper. If your parent argues that people should 'just do it' -- he's probably right.
- toasterlovin 10y ago
  That 36% of US adults are considered obese does not make it obvious that losing weight is any more complicated than cutting sugar & carbs. First, "common sense" dietary advise is that fats are bad. That's why you see foods marketed as low-fat. Because common sense dietary advice has been focused on the wrong thing (fat instead of sugar/carbs), most people's conception of "eating healthy" is wrong. Second, the route to being financially healthy and stable is incredibly simple: spend significantly less that you make. Yet some how a huge percentage of people in the US spend beyond their means. Could it not also be the case with cutting sugar & carbs that even if people actually knew what they needed to do, they still would not do it?

eximius 10y ago

I've cut out 90% of my sugar intake (no more soda), but I still hover around the same weight. :/

danthewireman 10y ago
Have you tried cutting out more carbs? Dropping bread, pasta, rice, and white potatoes helped me a lot.
- jahnu 10y ago
  You probably just reduced your calorie intake. There is scant evidence that those sources of carbs matters at all in the sense that they are somehow worse than other sources of calories. But fair play to you for doing something. It's genuinely admirable.
  - dominotw 10y ago
    >There is scant evidence that those sources of carbs matters at all in the sense that they are somehow worse than other sources of calories. what about glycemic index? Surely foods with high GI are demonstrably worse?
    - jahnu 10y ago
      As far as I'm aware there are no studies that clearly show that replacing potatoes bread etc with equivalent calories in other forms results in weight loss.
  - chillwaves 10y ago
    One type of macro food group affects insulin resistance. Carbs. All calories are not created equal, just ask any diabetic (and there are many many of them to ask).
    - jahnu 10y ago
      We're talking about cutting out a food category and presumably replacing it with another. I don't know of any convincing evidence this results in weight loss. Open to information of course!

mrfusion 10y ago

I always get thrown off that plan by things like yogurt. Even plain yogurt lists a ton of sugar. I can't wait for the new labels that show added sugar.

maxerickson 10y ago
In the US, plain yogurt would show any added sugar in the ingredients list (it would not reflect the amount). But it starts from milk, so there is lots of sugar it in.
- mattzito 10y ago
  There has been new legislation passed that starting..next year?..labels will have to show total sugar and added sugar, so you can realistically get a sense of how much is original vs. additive.
  - maxerickson 10y ago
    Yeah I get that, it's just that you can already tell if something like plain yogurt has added sugar or not. In my experience, most brands list milk and the bacteria cultures. I guess varying the preparation of the yogurt can still result in a wide range of sugar content.
- mrfusion 10y ago
  That's a great point. I just checked and it doesn't list it. I don't know why I never thought of that.
hristov 10y ago
The natural sugar that is in milk is lactose and that is not really a problem (as long as you are not lactose intolerant of course). The problematic sugar is refined fructose. That is the stuff cannot be properly processed by the body and causes all kinds of chaos for your metabolism. Even naturally occurring fructose, such as in fruit, is ok. But once you concentrate it into crystallized sugar or HFCS, it becomes a slow acting poison.

amelius 10y ago

Yes dropping sugar is the first step. But then after a while, you want to take it further, and you start exercising. And suddenly, you need sugars again!

NDizzle 10y ago
Yeah, sugar from fruit. Not refined sugar.
tim333 10y ago
You don't need actual sugar. Some carbs that the body turns to sugar perhaps.
azdle 10y ago
Anecdotally, I completely disagree. I've been eating a ketogenic diet (less than ~20 net grams per day) almost exclusively since May 2013 and have been lifting for the last 8 months and haven't needed for any carbs. While it's possible after a certain level some well-timed carbs can help you lift heavier than without, those won't be the kinds of sugars most people are eating. But, since I'm not looking to become a body builder I'll probably never need to worry about that.
- amelius 10y ago
  Well, you have to admit that a ketogenic diet is something else entirely. That is impressive, I personally don't know any people who could stick to it for such a long time.
chillwaves 10y ago
Why do you need sugars?

dominotw 10y ago

how much sugar were you eating perviously?

praptak 10y ago
Good question. I did not track the intake but it was dessert after lunch, something sweet to soften the 4pm energy low, something sweet to go with morning coffee, sweetened muesli or jam for breakfast. Small things that probably added to unhealthy amounts.

tapan_k 10y ago

Last year, I started taking LCHF lifestyle [0] seriously. The primary influence was Prof Tim Noakes [1] and his relentless tweets about how sugar is at the root of widespread obesity, and the diseases associated with obesity. I stopped having sugar and carbohydrate rich food, and my weight dropped rapidly. I went from being heaviest in my life to 10kg lighter in a span of 6 months. And I felt great. Now I know the secret sauce of weight loss, and feeling great at the same time, but the only thing that knocks me off this diet and lifestyle is stress. When under work related stress, I end up eating carbohydrate rich food which results in quick weight gain. I am in the process of figuring out a way to stay on LCHF because I long to going back to the feeling that I have experienced while on LCHF. [0]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Low-carbohydrate_diet https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Low-carbohydrate_diet [1]: https://twitter.com/ProfTimNoakes https://twitter.com/ProfTimNoakes