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Most people are bewildered when I tell them I stopped eating sugar. I gave up sweets and sweeteners about two years ago. I cannot say that it has drastically

Most people are bewildered when I tell them I stopped eating sugar. I gave up sweets and sweeteners about two years ago. I cannot say that it has drastically changed my life. I read one of the many articles on HN about the dangers of sugar and began to ask myself why I felt the need to "treat" myself with sweets? Ultimately I decided that I didn't need it and learning to exercise discipline would likely help me in other areas of my life. I believe it has. Edit, related articles: http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2015/10/27/cutting-sugar-improves-childrens-health-in-just-10-days/ http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2015/10/27/cutting-sugar-impro... http://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2014/01/the-sugar-addiction-taboo/282699/ http://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2014/01/the-sugar-... https://www.fastcompany.com/3050319/lessons-learned/how-giving-up-refined-sugar-changed-my-brain https://www.fastcompany.com/3050319/lessons-learned/how-givi... https://www.theguardian.com/society/2016/apr/07/the-sugar-conspiracy-robert-lustig-john-yudkin?CMP=share_btn_tw https://www.theguardian.com/society/2016/apr/07/the-sugar-co... https://www.wired.com/2014/08/what-makes-us-fat https://www.wired.com/2014/08/what-makes-us-fat

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lobotryas 10y ago
Do you also skip fruits and some veggies or do you mean refined sugar specifically?
- jcoffland 10y ago
  I avoid refined sugars and concentrated sweeteners. For me this excludes honey but not 100% unconcentrated fruit juice. I avoid consuming anything with, for example, concentrate grape juice. I still ingest some not insignificant quantity sugar because I don't avoid absolutely everything with sugar in it. I also try not to be a Nazi about it. If a friend really wants me to try something I'll take a bite but I don't make a habit of it. I eat way less sugar than I used to.
  - tudorw 10y ago
    Got to love a world where the word fresh has a new meaning g to me; https://www.google.co.uk/amp/civileats.com/2009/05/06/freshly-squeezed-the-truth-about-orange-juice-in-boxes/amp/?client=ms-android-google https://www.google.co.uk/amp/civileats.com/2009/05/06/freshl...
  - deleted 10y ago
    [deleted]
mrfusion 10y ago
What about ketchup for example or BBQ sauce?
- jcoffland 10y ago
  I don't eat them. I found that unfortunately I really don't enjoy onion rings any more. Never was a big BBQ sauce fan.
- brianwawok 10y ago
  They sell some whole 30 compliant BBQ sauce with no sugar. Has more zing than sweet but tastes amazing. Ketchup is just sugar. You learn to not miss it when you dump the rest of sugar.
mrfusion 10y ago
More silly questions. What do you do on Halloween? What would you do if you went to the Cheesecake Factory? I really feel compelled to order cheesecake there :-(
- jcoffland 10y ago
  Cheesecake has always been one of my favorites. I don't eat it anymore. I don't miss Halloween candy, the inevitable sugar binge and subsequent crash.
- wccrawford 10y ago
  As part of my weight loss, I was already on a track to stop eating as much refined sugar. I found that when I cut down on carbs, I got fewer migraines. I now find that when I eat refined sugars, I'm pretty much guaranteed to get a migraine soon after. Naturally, I've stopped. I still eat carbs. Probably more than is wise, even. But I absolutely avoid cake, ice cream, candy, and anything else with refined sugar. Yes, it was hard even after I realized the migraine thing, but I've been off it long enough (6 months?) that I no longer crave it like I use to. I put Stevia on my cereal (instead of the sugar I used to put on it) and it's good enough. Other than that, I basically avoid sweets. (Oh, I do drink Diet Mt Dew. So there's that.) And I'm happier for it, in the end. I don't gain weight from it, I don't feel compelled to eat crappy cheap-ass cake from grocery stores at birthday parties, and (of course) I get fewer and less-severe migraines. I heartily recommend getting off sugar long-term.
  - brianwawok 10y ago
    Sound like my diet. You don't really miss it. Only annoyance is how many foods sneak in sugar. But I guess that is the whole point of this, to limit what we eat. Current ban in my diet is sugar and fried stuff, dairy is in the emergency only line..

deleted 10y ago

[deleted]

lobotryas 10y ago

Do you also skip fruits and some veggies or do you mean refined sugar specifically?

jcoffland 10y ago
I avoid refined sugars and concentrated sweeteners. For me this excludes honey but not 100% unconcentrated fruit juice. I avoid consuming anything with, for example, concentrate grape juice. I still ingest some not insignificant quantity sugar because I don't avoid absolutely everything with sugar in it. I also try not to be a Nazi about it. If a friend really wants me to try something I'll take a bite but I don't make a habit of it. I eat way less sugar than I used to.
- tudorw 10y ago
  Got to love a world where the word fresh has a new meaning g to me; https://www.google.co.uk/amp/civileats.com/2009/05/06/freshly-squeezed-the-truth-about-orange-juice-in-boxes/amp/?client=ms-android-google https://www.google.co.uk/amp/civileats.com/2009/05/06/freshl...
- deleted 10y ago
  [deleted]

mrfusion 10y ago

What about ketchup for example or BBQ sauce?

jcoffland 10y ago
I don't eat them. I found that unfortunately I really don't enjoy onion rings any more. Never was a big BBQ sauce fan.
brianwawok 10y ago
They sell some whole 30 compliant BBQ sauce with no sugar. Has more zing than sweet but tastes amazing. Ketchup is just sugar. You learn to not miss it when you dump the rest of sugar.

mrfusion 10y ago

More silly questions. What do you do on Halloween? What would you do if you went to the Cheesecake Factory? I really feel compelled to order cheesecake there :-(

jcoffland 10y ago
Cheesecake has always been one of my favorites. I don't eat it anymore. I don't miss Halloween candy, the inevitable sugar binge and subsequent crash.
wccrawford 10y ago
As part of my weight loss, I was already on a track to stop eating as much refined sugar. I found that when I cut down on carbs, I got fewer migraines. I now find that when I eat refined sugars, I'm pretty much guaranteed to get a migraine soon after. Naturally, I've stopped. I still eat carbs. Probably more than is wise, even. But I absolutely avoid cake, ice cream, candy, and anything else with refined sugar. Yes, it was hard even after I realized the migraine thing, but I've been off it long enough (6 months?) that I no longer crave it like I use to. I put Stevia on my cereal (instead of the sugar I used to put on it) and it's good enough. Other than that, I basically avoid sweets. (Oh, I do drink Diet Mt Dew. So there's that.) And I'm happier for it, in the end. I don't gain weight from it, I don't feel compelled to eat crappy cheap-ass cake from grocery stores at birthday parties, and (of course) I get fewer and less-severe migraines. I heartily recommend getting off sugar long-term.
- brianwawok 10y ago
  Sound like my diet. You don't really miss it. Only annoyance is how many foods sneak in sugar. But I guess that is the whole point of this, to limit what we eat. Current ban in my diet is sugar and fried stuff, dairy is in the emergency only line..