The Sugar Free Challenge - Who is in??

[NoSugar]

Re: The Sugar Free Challenge - Who is in??

Good to see you, Nar! You’ve done this before and can do it again, Like with AL, just have to get your head in the right place. For both, podcasts and videos really helped me change my brain. And I think you even went on a low-carb cruise, right?

[lifechange]

Re: The Sugar Free Challenge - Who is in??

I'm in, too! Though slowly.. I notice that eating sugar is a sign for me that something is wrong on the inside.. I binge eat sugar or other junk food as I would alcohol. So in an emergency situation, if I can't figure out what's going on, I'll binge on food or coffee instead of wine. I KNOW that what helps me the most, with keeping emotions and nutrition balanced is exercise! So I'm trying to forge a new path in my brain with regards to that.. just getting to the gym, not making it too hard, doing whatever I feel like doing once I get there, making it a place to "escape" to, if necessary.
Yayy!!!! I'm excited about this..

[satz123]

Re: The Sugar Free Challenge - Who is in??

I'm in too NS - but not until after this wedding - it's unrealistic as I have no control over what is being served.
So Thursday 3 /1/2019

[byebyebridgetjones]

Re: The Sugar Free Challenge - Who is in??

Hands up! I'm in!

[kuya]

Re: The Sugar Free Challenge - Who is in??

Dammit...... I need to drop the sugar and the wheat..... this is really hard for me as it leaves me with next to nothing to eat apart from meat and veg. There are NO cultures that are vegetarians/vegan/ non wheat/non sugar.

Love you dearly NS but what the fuck can I eat?

[narilly]

Re: The Sugar Free Challenge - Who is in??

Kuya, like you said, mostly vegetables and meat but also nuts, cheese, olives, seafood, good fats. Your post made me laugh!

I am pretty good staying low sugar but Christmas always gets me and then New Years and my daughter’s birthday.

I made her a cake with 70% chocolate , eggs and butter. I will top this with whipped cream, berries and pecans. This is still sweet but at least it is not a big sugary cake. It actually is delish.

Today I am having coffe with a tablespoon of whipped cream for breakfast, lunch will be eggs and bacon, Birthday supper is:
Roast
Salad
Asparagus
Mashed cauliflower
Gravy made with cream
Low carb cake

Yes, NS I went on the low carb cruise and met Dr Endfelt from Dietdoctor.com. It was amazing and I learned a ton from the lectures they had everyday. Basically I stick to real food and try and not to eat potatoes, rice, flour. This Christmas I went off the rails though and ate all kinds of sweet stuff.
Check out URL="http://www.dietdoctor.com"] there is a ton of information there on low carb which is really low sugar.

[NoSugar]

Re: The Sugar Free Challenge - Who is in??

Dammit...... I need to drop the sugar and the wheat..... this is really hard for me as it leaves me with next to nothing to eat apart from meat and veg. There are NO cultures that are vegetarians/vegan/ non wheat/non sugar.
Love you dearly NS but what the fuck can I eat?

Great to see you, Kuya :smile:
[MENTION=1354]narilly[/MENTION] had a great list of foods that are similar to what I generally eat (plus eggs and various full-fat dairy foods). But that list can vary, depending what your goals are.

For someone who just wants to stop eating added sugar, all that is needed is to eat real food that has no label! (That's pretty unrealistic, though, so it is necessary to read labels carefully and be aware of all the -ose and -itol words that are the same as sugar). If lower sugar overall is the goal, other foods have to be eliminated or reduced, also, such as fruit (bananas, mangoes, pineapple, etc. and especially dried fruit) and root vegetables.

If starchy carbs aren't a problem (and particularly if you have to avoid dairy products, too), any of the paleo blogs or the Whole30 website are full of good ideas.

If you're looking for LCHF or a ketogenic diet, I, like Nar, start at DietDoctor.com. That site has so many resources and to me is worth the $10 monthly fee for full access. I think you really do get what you pay for.

It has been my experience that like with alcohol, to get rid of an addiction, you need to work your way around to viewing the whole situation differently from what you've been told and is part of your culture. Throughout most of evolution, food was nothing more than fuel. Overtime it has become part of our social fabric, religious ceremonies, etc. It still is more than merely fuel to me most of the time and I love the savory foods I eat. But -- they aren't rewarding in the same way alcohol and sweet/starchy carbs are. My hunger definitely gets satisfied and my taste buds are happy, but there is no 'high' . For me, it has been worth it to give up the highs to avoid the inevitable deeper lows that follow and to no longer feel out of control. Just like with not drinking, you have to be willing to be "different".

Sometimes, though, I really do see food as nothing more that fuel to keep me going. And it turns out that once you're not hungry, the drive to eat dissipates and you can go on with the fun things you're doing with all the extra time and energy you now have.

Happy 2019!

[JackieM]

Re: The Sugar Free Challenge - Who is in??

Hey Kuya-

There are ways to make the meat and veggies more exciting. Here are some things I eat: cauliflower fried rice, low carb soups, stews, spaghetti squash (higher in carbs though) with low carb sauce ( I like
Rao's) and lots of salads with Primal Kitchen dressing or homemade ranch. I make my salads with things like bleu cheese crumbles, bacon, and avocados. I also like any kind of Mexican style meat served over greens or sauteed cabbage(like a fajita salad). I found a recipe at gnom-gnom, the ultimate gluten free & keto recipes - gnom-gnom for low carb tortillas that actually taste good.
Since upping my fat intake, I can go longer periods without eating. I no longer get shaky and irritable if I go 4+hours without eating. In general, food does not have the hold over me it once did.

[NoSugar]

Re: The Sugar Free Challenge - Who is in??

I think we’re Twinks, [MENTION=18464]JackieM[/MENTION] :smile:

[Ginger999]

Re: The Sugar Free Challenge - Who is in??

Great list, NS and all that added options. Being vegan makes this a little harder because of using carbs to fill in the gaps but I'm on day four and happy I'm making the effort. My joints are thanking me!

[kuya]

Re: The Sugar Free Challenge - Who is in??

Great list, NS and all that added options. Being vegan makes this a little harder because of using carbs to fill in the gaps but I'm on day four and happy I'm making the effort. My joints are thanking me!

It is my honest belief that wheat, at least the modern day varieties, are the cause of arthritis, as well as the obesity epidemic.

[Ginger999]

Re: The Sugar Free Challenge - Who is in??

[MENTION=16547]kuya[/MENTION], I completely agree, at least that's my personal experience. I was off all things gluten for a year and felt great. Sadly, I returned to it. Getting back there though! It's like drinking for me. If I stay away awhile, I forget all the bad stuff and have to be brutally reminded why I left it behind in the first place. You'd think I'd learn!

[Pavati]

Re: The Sugar Free Challenge - Who is in??

Hi, All:

I am IN but I have a quit date, too, Satz. I need to get through some things and will start in earnest on Jan. 7.

I am giving up first: sweets in the form of candy, cakes and desserty things; and wheat. I feel like I avoided almost all wheat for about three years and felt great, but it is back. I can't tell if eating wheat makes me feel worse, or if I eat wheat when I feel worse already and then eat wheat, but I am guessing the former. I usually keep some gluten free bread in the freezer for those times when nothing but toast will do...

I eat fruit every morning, but not too much. I also like the root vegetables as a good substitute for potatoes and pasta, so I'll keep those. I also have a commitment to have at least one vegetarian day per week. Meat (especially chicken) is my go-to to keep hunger at bay, so I'll have to be creative with your ideas. I eat nuts sometimes, but don't like them all that much. Cheese is my fallback, but obviously can't be all I eat!

Thanks for all of the information and websites.

Pav

[narilly]

Re: The Sugar Free Challenge - Who is in??

Jan 7 Pav, sounds good!
I totally pigged out on healthy whole foods for my daughter’s birthday and ate a low card desert instead of a cake with icing. I think it made a difference in how I feel today. I didn’t gain any weight (water weight from too many carbs) so I know the meal as good.
Today I am making a cabbage meat casserole for supper. It has some cheese in it, the recipe is on Diet Doctor.

For lunch I had 2 eggs, 2 grilled tomatoes and some bacon.

The big thing is not to eat between meals so I try and eat enough so I am not hungry.

[NoSugar]

Re: The Sugar Free Challenge - Who is in??

You guys may be onto something with the modern wheat. The Wheat Belly book sure makes that case. I have some friends who don't do well with wheat in America but are fine eating some bread when they are in Europe. Perhaps older cultivars are used there? I know wheat is The Devil for me, so I just don't mess with it anywhere.

I think there are several dietary changes most of us have made (or had made for us) over the last 40 or so years; e.g.:

Modern wheat
Increased wheat and other grains
Increased carbs in general
Increased added sugar, high fructose corn syrup, etc.
Vastly increased seed oils and processed fat (trans fat)
Decreased saturated fat
Decreased salt (except in processed food, which is where you find the added sugar and seed oils, too)

During the 1980s I was classically trained (for six years :egad to think that all of these changes were positive and backed by science. I was a believer and much to my embarrassment now, shared that information professionally.

It has been a whole different sort of education to learn and accept that most of these are unsubstantiated beliefs, not backed by rigorous science. It is hard not to cling to what we've been told on apparently good authority and that is accepted as common knowledge/facts. Getting me to give up my low-fat, low-salt, eat several small meals daily ways was a tough sell. I thought I knew The Truth.

I've reached the point of looking at most advice skeptically and doing the work to educate myself as much as possible. Who knows exactly what is causing the worldwide epidemic of metabolic derangement? It likely is due to several factors,with some people affected more by one thing than another.

It sounds like @JackieM, @narilly, @kuya, and I have identified ways to eat that work for us. But the only way to find out is to run the experiment and like with alcohol, run it long enough to adjust and find out how you feel. You might change your eating pattern to lose weight or gain energy but find so many other problems like acid reflux, bowel troubles, nerve issues, arthritis as Kuya and [MENTION=20929]Ginger999[/MENTION] mentioned, and even irritibility abate or disappear. It's great to see so many people willing to give it a try :smile:.