[Closed] Giving up sugar.

Why just a month? i gave it up a couple of years ago along with any processed carbs and the booze. Also go to the gym twice a week plus biking.
It's changed my life for the better, i'm more confident now i'm in good shape, was even groped by a younger women at work the other day, couldn't get my hat on. 😀

Give up cake and biscuits - are you kidding me?

signed: chubby sugar lover!

😉

if you go cold turkey expect to be very grumpy/irritable for a while! Plenty of high fat and/or high protein things to snack on if it's just a case of replacing sugary snacks (obviously don't go overboard and start scoffing kilos of cashews, etc though!)

I'm also not going to cut out fruit or some condiments and such like but will try to avoid high sugar processed stuff.

trying and failing miserably.

(half way through a packet of ginger nuts as i type)

I use xylitol a fair bit . Well , I say a fair bit , not much . But if we do use sugar we use that and I can't tell the difference . Apart from the price.

May I also be so bold as to recommend Daisy Lowe's cookbook . For many, many many reasons 😯

[img] [/img]

Beer.

Replace it with beer.

Mmmmm sugary goodness
[img] [/img]

No but very, very tempted! Let us know how it goes!!

Did it in January, lost 9lbs. No booze, no processed food. Bought a bread maker and made sugar free bread, in fact still do.

howsyourdad1 - Member

May I also be so bold as to recommend Daisy Lowe's cookbook . For many, many many reasons

Nice erm, oh, er, baked goods? (Dammit - can't think of a suitable innuendo!)

Why just a month

Going for a month seems a nice bite size target. In January I stopped drinking alcohol for the month. At the end the health benefits convinced me to stop full time(mostly, I've had a few beers but less in the year so far than I'd have in a week).
This possibly accounts for the increase in sugar consumption.

Some of good tips so far,I like the mustard for ketchup idea. I'm guessing my favourite pink lady apples will be in the sweet pile.

"You can take away our sugar, but you'll never, take away, my CRIIISSSSPPPPSSS!!!!"

said William Wallace yesterday in Asda.

I'd rather die than give up cake. Although I must be addicted as it's physically impossible for me to have a brew without sweet accompaniment these days.

Might see what Daisy's up too in that book though!

it’s easy, you just don't eat sweet things.
i still have the odd cake/brownie but don’t eat chocolate apart from the 75-80% stuff just look at the labels and don’t buy anything with more than 13-15% sugar. i have some jam in porridge but buy the french grape juice based one that doesn't use cane sugar (it’s still 45-50% sugar though)
no fruit juices, still eat biscuits i like digestives (16.6g/100sugar)

been eating like this for ages and don’t really think of it as a kind of diet, just means there are large sections of the supermarket you don’t walk down. still have christmas pud, still have sticky toffee pudding when eating out just not every night like those fat families on that gogglebox program.

no real reason apart from a family history of late onset type 2 diabetes and the fact that refined white sugar, plain white flour and refined fats are not exactly good for you. some people see a donut, i just see refined empty calories that taste artificial.

if i was to eat a mars bar now it would probably make me puke.

I'm guessing my favourite pink lady apples will be in the sweet pile.

I think that you had it right the first time around, fruit is ok! High sugar content but also high on dietary fibre (especially any 'hard' fruit like apples!)

So what would be your ground rules? You may find that once you cut out the crazy sweet stuff (chocolate, cake, um sweets obviously!) then stuff like tomato ketchup tastes a bit funny anyway!

I went sugar-free about 5 years ago which coincided with a sharp uptake in exercise effort - I lost around 70lbs.

The sugar craving is intense for the first few days - but I promise you, it goes away completely. Suddenly, youre left wondering why on earth people eat so much sugar because you simply no longer crave it.
You'll walk into supermarkets/pertrol stations/swimming baths/anywhere and realise that the blindfold has been removed and you can suddenly see the cheap sugar/HFCS conspiracy at every turn.

However, IMO you have to pretty much avoid white carbs (bread/pasta/rice) AND fruit/fruit juice in order to properly break the sugar habit. Any of the above are simply processed and will peak your insulin levels.

My best advice, read up on low GI foods - stick to the plan.

Essentially, think of carbs and sugar as the same bedfellows and you'll be on the right path.

If all the above sound too dull then remember, Eggs and bacon are your best friend.
And homemade chilli beans will change add super spicy musical delights to your life.

FWIW, I went through a very stressfull period around 3 years ago and hit the chocolate. I've now managed to put on virtually every pound in weight and I am finding ravenous carb cravings so hard to beat this time around. I have occasional dizzy spells and turn a shade of grey when my blood sugars drop.
I'm sure theres a moral to this story.

Good luck.

I'm on my GPs naughty step after being borderline T2 diabetic on routine screening.

Stopped eatig chocs & sweets at work (pretty much only that - admittedly, it was fairly heavy consumption 😳 ) and have lost 7-8 kilos since (90 to about 82). No idea what my blood tests say but so far I'm convinced.

My brother did it two or three months back. He's always been super fit anyway but did it to support his mrs and even he has lost weight and is riding better than ever.

Agree with what SlimJim says about avoiding bread/pasta etc to get the full effect.

and while you are at it give up salt too!
there is no salt in the house as there is enough in other foods, took me 2 weeks, had to have it on chips and then had to have it on egg but that only lasted another week. you do not need it to ‘season’ food, the only reason people add it is because their taste has been dulled by too much salt in processed food.

I don't use salt too much, bread probably a bit more than I should and pasta is very occasional.

So what would be your ground rules?

Cut out the pure stuff, sweets,biscuits, cakes and puddings. Start looking at labels and choose lower sugar alternatives. Trying to keep it simple at the moment and refine it as alternatives become apparent. I will keep the fruit for now. If I eat an apple instead of a twirl I'll put it down as a win.

I'm thinking keeping the fridge stocked with tasty savouries will be key, also having some stuff at work instead of digging into the vending machine or pile we normally have in the control room.

If I eat an apple instead of a twirl I'll put it down as a win.

also having some stuff at work instead of digging into the vending machine or pile we normally have in the control room

Its hard to express how diferent you will feel if you really do eliminate sugar/carb craving.
Cold turkey is the simplest and best way to achieve lack of craving Nirvana. (the philosophy, not the dead bird. Although, the dead bird would be a pretty great low GI food source)

and while you are at it give up salt too!

there's increasing amounts of evidence that's showing no link between salt and heart disease

there's increasing amounts of evidence that's showing no link between salt and heart disease

Interesting! (Genuinely!!) Source?

I cut out biscuits, cake, muffins, sweets and sugar in tea. I didn't notice any ill effects but when I have a sugar item now especially on a hungry stomach I get a sugar spike/crash 🙁

I gave up sugar in drinks on cereal etc in 1982. Just went cold Turkey. You will feel a bit odd for a while as body will have got used to it.

I would try and identify where you are taking in sugar and focus on a few key areas to start with.

Some interesting stories above.

you can suddenly see the ... HFCS conspiracy at every turn.

Are you American? HFCS is a massive problem in the US, but it's relatively rare in the UK (consumption is 25kg / person / year in the US, about a third of a kilo (ie, a gram a day) here).

If you exercise alot or sit in a sauna you NEED increased salt intake. Same with calcium (milk).

Cyclists leech calcium out through sweat so need to replace it.

Sauce:

https://www.diabetes.org.uk/Research/Research-round-up/Behind-the-headlines/High-fructose-corn-syrup-fuelling-diabetes/

In the UK, consumption of HFCS is negligible (0.38kg per person per year), whereas in the US it’s 65 times higher (24.78kg per person per year).

what do people eat for snacks mid ride to boost energy?
i presume gels are not allowed.

If you exercise alot or sit in a sauna you NEED increased salt intake. Same with calcium (milk).

Cyclists leech calcium out through sweat so need to replace it.

The RDA of salt is usually covered by bread/sauces/any processed food. I use nuun tablets in the summer. You don't need to add salt to food to get enough salt.
I'm not walking across the Sahara or working in a foundry.

You say that, but I sweat like Lee Evans when on the bike in summer.

[url= https://www.bhf.org.uk/news-from-the-bhf/news-archive/2015/january/no-link-between-salt-and-cardiovascular-disease-risk-for-older-people-with-same-blood-pressure ]BHF article about salt [/url]

[url= http://www.scientificamerican.com/article/its-time-to-end-the-war-on-salt/ ]Scientific American[/url]

However, limiting your salt intake is generally agreed to benefit health. But there's no need to cut it out entirely

thought this was a thread about THE APPRENTCE srtarting soon on bbc

there's no need to cut it out entirely

Ok let's park salt, I still have salted chips post ride in Summer. Calcium. I.e Osteoporosis in cyclists. I didn't realise this before.

what do people eat for snacks mid ride to boost energy?
i presume gels are not allowed.

I tried just eating proper food like sandwiches, etc, but they just make me tired (probably the bread) plus it's easy to eat too much whereas the bars are just enough to keep you ticking over.

Osteoporosis in cyclists. I didn't realise this before.

Are you American?

No, but in my defence I did quote both HFCS and sugar. My point being that 'sugars' in general are killing us in 'the west'.
The HFCS origin story itself makes interesting reading to say the least.

Gave up sugar, processed carbs, milk a few weeks ago.

Lost 6kg. Feel a lot better. Mores to go so I'll only feel betterer as time passes..

Not missing race, pasta, bread, sugar in coffee. Miss beer a bit but have developed an intetest in gin....

So, what would one have as a packed lunch on a no sugar diet? Assuming some bicycle commuting will be done at each end of the day.

Leftovers from whatever I'd cooked the night before (or earlier & stuck in the freezer)

What if you don't cook the type of things that have leftovers?

Cook something different.

The one thing that there should be less of in this world is probably my cooking

I've always thought that 'cutting down' was a more sustainable strategy than 'giving up'. By all means break the habit's back with a month's fast but in the long run you'll need to limit yourself to X amount of sugar/booze/crack per month.

I'm with corroded. Each to their own and whatever works obvs. But for me, cutting down works better than cutting out. Good luck with ditching the sugar 🙂

If you gave up sugar entirely you'd die, but then it would be near impossible to not consume something that has natural sugars or carbs "that sugar".

Moderation though. Since fairly young I just stopped adding sugar to tea, coffee, cereals etc, and I don't have much of a taste for sweets, rarely eat puddings. I still get sugars through fruit, various carbs (bread is a high source, even with no sugar added). Can't stand sugary drinks usually except pure fruit juices (which are very high in natural sugar admittedly).

However beer and wine is the replacement, and alcohol comes from fermented sugars, so that'll be why I can never shift the belly 😉

p.s. I wouldn't replace sugars with sweeteners, including "diet" drinks. They're a pile of nasty also and besides are still sweet so may not help reduce the desire for sugary things.

Careful with coffee from coffee shops also. Some ask if you want sugar. They may be asking if you want *extra* sugar. Milky drinks like lattes are frequently crammed with sugar or syrup anyway.

So, what would one have as a packed lunch on a no sugar diet?

I'll be making batches of burgers, scotch eggs and some other savoury snacks, in the past I've tried a paleoish diet. I still have the books and there are loads of sugar and carb free ideas.( Fitter food books, very tasty recipes).

corroded, that's pretty much what I hope to do, break the cycle over a month and then find something that's sustainable. That's what happened in January with booze and I'm happy with the way I turned out.

deadkenny, I gave up coffee and carbonated drinks(mostly) a while ago. Pretty much water, green tea and sparkling water with some diluting juice now and again.

What about the rolls with square sausage?

break the cycle over a month and then find something that's sustainable. That's what happened in January with booze and I'm happy with the way I turned out

Sounds fair. Been there, done that. I'd add that the more stuff you make yourself the better. There's a lot of hidden sugar. Mix your own breakfast cereal. Add fruit for interest. Make your own bread / lunch. No pre-made curries / Chinese for supper (full of sugar). It's definitely do-able.

Gave up sugar, white bread, rice and pasta in April/May this year. Only eat wholemeal brown bread, brown rice and whole grain pasta. Don't eat any product with added sugar so no cakes,biscuits or puddings. Cut my carbs down to a third of what I used to eat. Eat a lot more veg, meat and fish. Pudding now consists of greek yogurt with a bit of chopped fruit mainly. Struggled for the first 8 weeks. After that the weight just fell off lost about 2 kilos a week at one point. Im leaner and fitter than I was in my 30's now 46. You have to really increase your good fats intake so plenty of nuts and seeds, full fat no added sugar yogurt, butter, olive oil etc. Oily fish is a good snack food.

I'm just too lazy, I get home from work and 90% of the time can't be arsed to do anything but microwave a ready meal. I do buy fresh ingredients but often end up throwing them out 🙁

My brother was setting faster lap times in a pairs race a month or two back - for the first time ever.

I've vastly cut back on sugary stuff. I still allow myself puddings, but no piles of biscuits on my desk to graze on, and so I have to go for lower GI snacks and fruit. I hope I can keep it up until next year. I don't think I'm going to lose any more weight because of it, but I've already lost about 3-4kg, which should be enough to close the lap time gap on him.

HFCS...but it's relatively rare in the UK

I'm not so sure i see it on the ingredients list of a lot of foods, particularly condiments. Brown sauce, burger sauce.

normally labelled as glucose fructose syrup

If you gave up sugar entirely you'd die,

what a load of tosh. Carbohydrate is the only non essential nutrient.

I think the confusion comes about that the brain can't survive without glucose but then that can be produced in the body by protein or fat (gluconeogenesis)

10 days in and its been tough. I can now see how many times I was reaching for a sugary snack and it was a lot! I've been cycling a bit too and the legs have been feeling dead, yesterday was probably the best day. I have lost a couple of kilos so far so thats a bonus.

Your metabolism has to learn to rely on the fat in your diet to convert it to energy rather than carbs. It took me about 8 weeks to get used to this. First 4 or 5 miles for me is generally crap then all of a sudden I feel great and can just keep going for hrs, weird! It does get easier. Peanut butter is your cycling friend. I tend to have this on Nairns Super Seeded oatcakes. Whole earth 3 nut butter is very good and no added sugar in either of these.

[quote=mikesbikes71 ]what do people eat for snacks mid ride to boost energy?
i presume gels are not allowed.

rather than the gels I have been buying the organic baby food pouches made with nothing more than stewed fruit. About half as calorie-dense as the gels but the pouches are just as handy to drink on the go, taste much better, and you know you are only fuelling yourself with proper food and not some sort of chemical sludge.

I have found Grenade Carb Killa high protein bars with only 1.4g of naturally occurring sugars. For a 60g bar that's not bad. They are a bit dear though.

Really though once your body stops using carbs for energy it can fuel itself from your body fat. What did our ancient ancestors do for energy when hunting? Grab a sandwich or a gel! Your body needs carbs because it is used to getting them for energy rather than metabolising your body fat for energy.

I don't know how you can give up sugar, it's in everything

[img] [/img]

http://xkcd.com/1744/

Seemed pertinent

Nice erm, oh, er, baked goods? (Dammit - can't think of a suitable innuendo!)

I think baps is the word you're looking for.

[i]trickydisco - Member

"If you gave up sugar entirely you'd die,"

what a load of tosh. [b]Carbohydrate is the only non essential nutrient[/b].

I think the confusion comes about that the brain can't survive without glucose but then that can be produced in the body by protein or fat (gluconeogenesis)
[/i]

Quite possibly one of my all time top 3 posts I've ever read on this forum!
😀

Furthermore, the brain can and will "[i]function[/i]" on ketones.

Further, furthermore, more endurance athletes are now looking into the benefits and advantages of training, ketogenically.

For endurance sports, the future's bright, the future is fat!
Enjoy.
😉

I read at the weekend that Joe Friel also has a low carb high fat diet.

[i]YoKaiser - Member
I read at the weekend that Joe Friel also has a low carb high fat diet. [/i]

While I'm unsure who you're referring to. I'd suggest the phrase "[I][b]low carb[/b][/I]" is the "[I]Significant[/i]" part of the message.

I've seen reports of ultra runners training their bodies to derive as much as 96% of their energy expenditure from fat.

When one considers the competitive advantages of maximizing fat burn during an endurance event. It's 100% a goal.

Consider, storing fat brings the most weight efficient method of energy storage.
While storing carbs also requires storing water, which increases body weight. Which in-turn is a bad thing for endurance athletes.

Utilizing and maximizing fat storage and useage during an endurance event, is the future. While carbs are still required, they will not be the mainstay, in future endurance event competition.
Rather how well adapted an athlete is to utilizing fat stores, will be a determining factor, imo.

Used to have one sugar in tea and coffee...gave up putting sugar in hot drinks at the beginning of the year.
Weird at first but you soon get used it to. Don't really do sweet/chocs/cakes as savoury as more my weakness...then again most stuff is piled full of shite that's no good to you (including sugar).

All very interesting, thanks all!

I clicked on this after starting another attempt last week at cutting cakes, biscuits, cookies - I can get stuck into a binge if there's no-one watching. The subsequent peaks and troughs don't do my concentration any favours at work.

I've always been interested (but not enough!) about training to burn fat not carbs during long efforts. I'm quite fit, and with the right food, I'm quite happy going for very long rides. If I'm riding relatively hard, my energy levels will fall off a cliff at 1.5 hours, and I'll need something to eat.

My wife's just started a low carb diet for different reasons, and she's already saying how much "smoother" her energy and moods are. Thinking as typed above, her need for food on a ride is more acute than mine.

Could anyone recommend some good reads on this style of low-carb diet/nutrition for exercise both before exercise and during - as above, gels aren't it. Maybe a nice saucisson hanging from the bars and a opinel on the belt?

ned, I've tried this before and had fair success, admittedly it didn't last though. But I used a book from the Fitter Food guys, there is also a second book out now. The general take on it is mostly paleo with some concessions and not a super strict adherence. So bit easier to live with. They have a load of podcasts which will give you an idea as well as Facebook and a website. Ideally I'll get back into it but one bridge at a time, there was quite a lot of food prep which was my downfall, convenience food snuck back in.

I cut sugar out but use a bit of honey in coffee and tea, sounds strange but works well.Bit of honey in porridge in the mornings. Give up fruit juices and cordials as there packed with too much natural fruit sugars. I see no issues with rice and pasta, just cut out gels and energy bars. You soon realise the massive amounts of sugar out there!

A work colleague of mine is a fell runner and all round endurance event nutcase. He will recce an event and hide snacks around the course. One of his mainstays are cans of mackerel fillets. Protein being key with a bit of fat. Fat is the key here, it's easier to store. You can only store and convert so much carbohydrate. Paleo type diets make interesting reading. It's not for me solely but some aspects I would consider and have included in my diet.

I cut out sugar completely about 7 years ago. I got pretty bad withdrawals, as I wasn't even eating fruit. Sugar is a drug just like caffeine or any other.

My diet was basically, rice, vegetables, eggs, meat and nuts. Zero sugar

After a few months of this, I could bite into a lemon and taste the sweetness 😯

My health improved and I started introducing fruit back into my diet, and the extreme sensitivity to sugar went away.

I've now gone back to eating minimal sugar, after having a bit of a relapse of sweet tooth and feel better and have less bodyfat.

So I managed the month without sugar or at least big sugar food foodstuffs. No cakes, biscuits, puddings, sweets, sugary cereals, a moderate amount of fruit etc. First week or so I had headaches and feeling tired,but by the end of week two I was a good bit more chipper. Cravings have passed too. As expected I'm feeling my energy levels are less erratic and I'd generally say I feel more engergised. I'll weigh in tomorrow but I reckon I've lost 3-4kg which considering the month isn't bad( probably the least cycling/exercise I've done this year).

What has happened though is quite a dramatic change in my taste buds! I tried a black coffee(after reading about the health benefits) one day as the kids were having some ice cream and I loved it. Normally a black coffee would have been way too bitter and pretty undrinkable but I was totally taken by it. I also had a malt whisky which in the past would have been wasted on me and also thoroughly enjoyed it.

So off the sugar and back on the booze and caffeine 😆 (not really the booze, twas one night away with the wife) I have taken to the coffee though.

You may find what I did- have jelly babies mid ride or a piece of cake and you get a massive suger spike. I can't eat sugar on an empty stomach now

What has happened though is quite a dramatic change in my taste buds!

Been trying to stay off sugar now for some time - or at least minimising it where ever possible. Another thing to try is large tablespoon full of organic cocunut oil and mix with near boiling water and lemon. Acts as a natural anti-biotic killing sugar/yeast overgrowth. Huge difference in weight and endurance in the gym.

Took some time to convince me but now try and get in daily.

A work colleague of mine is a fell runner and all round endurance event nutcase. He will recce an event and hide snacks around the course. One of his mainstays are cans of mackerel fillets. Protein being key with a bit of fat. Fat is the key here, it's easier to store

sorry but i have to ask, what does he do with the can afterwards? take a jogging detour to the recycling centre?

So I've had virtually no added and processed sugar this week, also no alcohol but that wasn't really the issue. The plan isn't to quit either just get sugar consumption back to sensible levels. I've always had a sweet tooth but I controlled this by not having sweets, cake, chocolate in the house but since my wife got nearly pregnant nearly 2 years ago and now whilst she's breast feeding she developed huge sugar cravings and always has 'treats' in the house, this combined with the fact I work from home means that I was consuming about 500-1000 calories a day in sugary snacks, shocking. This is the contents of our 'treats' cupboard 😐 :
[url= https://c1.staticflickr.com/6/5815/30913126000_36efbd2ec3_k.jp g" target="_blank">https://c1.staticflickr.com/6/5815/30913126000_36efbd2ec3_k.jp g"/> [/img][/url][url= https://flic.kr/p/P6FRn3 ]'treats'[/url] by [url= https://www.flickr.com/photos/rjohnson76/ ]Rob Johnson[/url], on Flickr

All week I've avoided that and whilst my wife had stuffed her face, I've been snaking on fruit, nuts and dried fruit instead, hardly low calorie but I've still lost over 1kg and thats's with no exercise. I was feeling much better too, clearer headed and more alert.
Hope to continue it for a few more weeks before returning to dark chocolate, home baked cakes, and maybe restaurant desserts. The real challenge will be Christmas with the Danish inlaws who will roll out several kilos of Haribo and other sweets.

Keep up the good work everyone!

The Truth About Sugar BBC

HFCS High Fructose Corn Syrup is just another type of refined sugar, probably no worse and no better than any other type of added/ free sugar or refined sugar.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/wellness/high-fructose-corn-syrup-vs-sugar/2013/06/18/fdbedb90-c488-11e2-914f-a7aba60512a7_story.html