4 ms·

Well done. I hope I can do the same. Do you think I can ease off sugar in small steps, like substituting candy with sweetened tea (agave syrup) ? I also heard t

by smnplk 10y ago

Well done. I hope I can do the same. Do you think I can ease off sugar in small steps, like substituting candy with sweetened tea (agave syrup) ? I also heard that lemon juice helps when you get a sugar craving.

dingaling 10y ago
The sugar-reduction approach that I found manageable was to consume added-sugar only in cakes and biscuits that we make at home from raw ingredients. We still enjoy sweet-ish foods but have hugely reduced our sugar intake. An additional advantage is that as a result our toddler finds most commercial confectionaries which he encounters to be unpaltably sweet, and throws them in the bin after trying them for a few seconds.
smashd 10y ago
I personally eased off sugar in iterations, by making short "pushes" where I cut out ALL added sugars and answered any cravings with fruit like bananas, apples or grapes. Each iteration wouldn't last forever, but every time I "cheated" it was with a little less sugar than before. And every time I tried again I lasted a little longer before cheating. Something that really helped me was getting angry at the companies producing all these foods with added sugar. Seriously, look at the labels, it is EVERYWHERE (at least in the USA). I resolved to not buy these products--why give your money to these companies that can't make a product taste good without resorting to cheap tricks? Why am I paying them to hurt me? I do still buy dark chocolate for dessert a few times a week--I am not opposed to dessert, but that's the only place I think sugar should be. Ultimately I think everyone has a unique approach (mentally and physically) that works for them, and it's probably an ensemble of smaller strategies accumulated over time that create success in the end. Be willing to experiment (safely), accept temporary failures, learn what works and then repeat all over again.
snovv_crash 10y ago
I substituted sugary snacks with fatty snacks. Having some good cheese in your fridge helps a ton - a few slices on some fancy bread is much more satisfying than cookies or candy or cake ever was. I don't end up craving more in 10 minutes time, so my total calorie consumption goes down. And no, I think substituting one source of sugar for another is just an expensive way of continuing to eat sugar. If you were trying to get an alcoholic to stop drinking, you wouldn't suggest they switch from cheap wine to "just a glass of Bordeaux before bed", although that sounds like a suggestion they might make :-). You'd suggest they find something else to do that fills the social and metabolic hole the alcohol leaves behind. That's what good cheese has done for me. And yeah, sometimes I do have something sweet, usually in an unavoidable social situation, but it has been getting easier to stop eating sugar after a relapse each time it happens.
effie 10y ago
Somehow sweetened tea doesn't sound good to me, always left a bad feeling in my mouth which could lead to more cravings - I would not recommend it. Half a year ago I tried to stop eating all candies suddenly. Was feeling little uncomfortable at times so then I realized it is better not to give your body such shocks. So I decided I would indulge in some sweet curd (and some plain black chocolate) in the afternoons. This worked quite well, I removed 90% of junk from my diet, got to eat more protein and fruits but still got the sugar gratification I needed. Getting rid of so much sugar surprisingly did not hurt as I had imagined. Perhaps drinking lots of water helped as well - it is surprising how refreshing a drink of chilly water can be. Unfortunately, then I got some other health issues, had to revert diet back and am back where I started.

by smnplk 10y ago

dingaling 10y ago

The sugar-reduction approach that I found manageable was to consume added-sugar only in cakes and biscuits that we make at home from raw ingredients. We still enjoy sweet-ish foods but have hugely reduced our sugar intake. An additional advantage is that as a result our toddler finds most commercial confectionaries which he encounters to be unpaltably sweet, and throws them in the bin after trying them for a few seconds.

smashd 10y ago

I personally eased off sugar in iterations, by making short "pushes" where I cut out ALL added sugars and answered any cravings with fruit like bananas, apples or grapes. Each iteration wouldn't last forever, but every time I "cheated" it was with a little less sugar than before. And every time I tried again I lasted a little longer before cheating. Something that really helped me was getting angry at the companies producing all these foods with added sugar. Seriously, look at the labels, it is EVERYWHERE (at least in the USA). I resolved to not buy these products--why give your money to these companies that can't make a product taste good without resorting to cheap tricks? Why am I paying them to hurt me? I do still buy dark chocolate for dessert a few times a week--I am not opposed to dessert, but that's the only place I think sugar should be. Ultimately I think everyone has a unique approach (mentally and physically) that works for them, and it's probably an ensemble of smaller strategies accumulated over time that create success in the end. Be willing to experiment (safely), accept temporary failures, learn what works and then repeat all over again.

snovv_crash 10y ago

I substituted sugary snacks with fatty snacks. Having some good cheese in your fridge helps a ton - a few slices on some fancy bread is much more satisfying than cookies or candy or cake ever was. I don't end up craving more in 10 minutes time, so my total calorie consumption goes down. And no, I think substituting one source of sugar for another is just an expensive way of continuing to eat sugar. If you were trying to get an alcoholic to stop drinking, you wouldn't suggest they switch from cheap wine to "just a glass of Bordeaux before bed", although that sounds like a suggestion they might make :-). You'd suggest they find something else to do that fills the social and metabolic hole the alcohol leaves behind. That's what good cheese has done for me. And yeah, sometimes I do have something sweet, usually in an unavoidable social situation, but it has been getting easier to stop eating sugar after a relapse each time it happens.

effie 10y ago

Somehow sweetened tea doesn't sound good to me, always left a bad feeling in my mouth which could lead to more cravings - I would not recommend it. Half a year ago I tried to stop eating all candies suddenly. Was feeling little uncomfortable at times so then I realized it is better not to give your body such shocks. So I decided I would indulge in some sweet curd (and some plain black chocolate) in the afternoons. This worked quite well, I removed 90% of junk from my diet, got to eat more protein and fruits but still got the sugar gratification I needed. Getting rid of so much sugar surprisingly did not hurt as I had imagined. Perhaps drinking lots of water helped as well - it is surprising how refreshing a drink of chilly water can be. Unfortunately, then I got some other health issues, had to revert diet back and am back where I started.