Giving up sugar... page 3

[eKatherine]

People give up gluten for their health, some because of a medical recommendation, some because they realize they stop being sick, some because they perceive or imagine health benefits of a more general nature. Some may be mistaken.

But people who do give up gluten, for whatever reason, are surrounded by those so committed to the SAD that they will declare they couldn't live without pizza, pasta, and sandwiches, or wouldn't want to.

Very similar in that sense.

[Zach]

Until you eat it again and it triggers a binge. Usually someone trying to eliminate sugar from their diet is also trying to reduce calories and reduce carbs. Both of these things will make it nearly impossible to get rid of sugar cravings. Sugar is not the same thing as a drug, even it if produces similar feelings. It is a vital nutrient, yes you can get it from other places but the easiest form for your body to breakdown is simple sugar. That is why when you are cutting out sugar/calories/carbs, you will experience overpowering urges to eat it.

My advice would be to learn to eat it without the guilt and binge mentality attached. Maybe this seems impossible for some but usually those same people have been on diets their whole life and have a warped view on food.

[eKatherine]

There are plenty of people on this site who have successfully given up sugar for an extended period of time. Some have found they are able to eat limited quantities of sugar in the form of natural fruit. Others continue to avoid eating candy, cake, and soda and other sugar-laden sweets indefinitely, as well as anything that contains enough naturally-occurring sugar or added sugar so as to act as a trigger.

These are the voices you should seek out, not those who can't imagine how anyone could ever give up sugar and think if you only ate enough of it you would finally be sated and stop.

[Zach]

I have given up sugar for over two years. I have also always had a major sweet tooth. I think my advice is relevant.

[magnolia1973]

Until you eat it again and it triggers a binge.

For me, giving it up for 30 days (it ended up being closer to 45-50) was like a reset button for my body and I can now eat sugar on occasion and not have it trigger a binge. But I honestly believe if I never took the time to get it out of my system, I would never have been able to eat it in moderation.

It's not like other types of food. Case in point- vegetarian for years. I know my body was starving for something. When I started primal I ate a whole roast chicken. It was just my body needing something in that meat. Sugar, for me is much more about a pleasure response, like a cigarette than a physical need.

If you are not a sugar addict it is probably really hard to understand. Like my husband can have a cookie or two. Ice cream lasts weeks when only he is eating it. For me, prior to my Whole 30, if I knew there was sugar I was either consuming it, trying not to consume it or thinking about consuming it. You can not have a healthy diet if you look at sugar in that way.

I do not believe the occasional sugary treat is a big deal, at all. But when sugar becomes how it was for me, it is a huge stress and negative.

It was worth every second of the agony it caused to break the addiction.

[eKatherine]

I have given up sugar for over two years. I have also always had a major sweet tooth. I think my advice is relevant.

I don't think you understand the feeling of being addicted to a food.

[magnolia1973]

I have given up sugar for over two years. I have also always had a major sweet tooth. I think my advice is relevant.

I think your advice is relevant, but it does not work for everyone. Many people can not limit the amount of sugar they eat, no matter how hard they try. And many people eat an unhealthy amount of sugar which displaces nutritious foods.

For me, fruits and stuff like sweet potatoes are not "sugar". I eat plenty of carbs. What I try to avoid are sweets like chocolate, candy, cookies, paleo sweets with honey etc. To me, it is more about eliminating "treat" foods than a source of nutrition.

[TTBlue21]

I think your advice is relevant, but it does not work for everyone. Many people can not limit the amount of sugar they eat, no matter how hard they try. And many people eat an unhealthy amount of sugar which displaces nutritious foods.

For me, fruits and stuff like sweet potatoes are not "sugar". I eat plenty of carbs. What I try to avoid are sweets like chocolate, candy, cookies, paleo sweets with honey etc. To me, it is more about eliminating "treat" foods than a source of nutrition.

Completely agree...I was not going to respond but since it's out there, I do not think the thread was about eliminating fruits.

Although I do agree a lot of fruits can trigger desire for the sweets.

[Zach]

I don't think you understand the feeling of being addicted to a food.

Arent we all addicted to foods? And no i guess not, i have eaten over 500g of sugar in a sitting but since i didnt view it negatively i guess im not addicted.

Magnolia, your advice is sound. If doing an elimination diet to try and reset tastes with the goal of reintroducing healthy sugars back into the diet is the plan then i think that sounds safe. The OP sounds like she is trying to eliminate all forms including fruit forever, which would probably be impossible and lead to more binging/negative reactions.

[JoanieL]

I ate a whole roast chicken.

If you don't eat the whole thing, how can you make broth the next day?