I'm giving up sugar

I talked to my doctor about a week ago. I am worried about becoming diabetic, and have been trying to lose weight for years. She did not have anything to offer me, because I am not diabetic. So I decided to change my ways.

I'm a junk food vegetarian. I've been vegetarian for 13 years, and I always thought I would become thin. But even though a lot of my diet is healthy, I never gave up sweets. I just must have dessert. And that's what keeps the weight on.

So for my last 2 shopping orders, I cut out the sweets. Before sending in the order I went in and removed everything sweet. So now when I want a snack, there's grapes, avocados, bananas, kiwis, oranges, strawberries, blueberries. I've always eaten those things but now they are my go-to foods.

Surprisingly, I am not craving the sweets I cut out: ice cream, pudding, pie, chocolate protein bars. I've heard there's a link between sugar and depression. Maybe it will help that too.

I think I can do this.

Alice

Oh, you'll (likely) lose a ton of weight, now! Good on/or for you, @alice202 . . : )

Ahhh.... just don't go crazy on the fruit (fructose). ; )

I think you can do it @alice202 .

Doctors are sometimes not much help when it comes to preventing illness. It seems wrong, remiss of them.

I'm curious how it goes. I've read that it gets rough the first couple of weeks, then easier after about a month.

Keep us posted.

Thanks @seabird

You can definitely lose a lot of weight by giving up sugar. I've been able to do it for a while, but I relapse very easily. It really is an addiction, though maybe not as bad as some.

Thanks @may71 I agree, it is an addiction. I guess they call it a "soft" addiction.

I gave up soda about 18 months ago and never looked back. Mostly I did it to cut something unnecessary from my grocery budget. But I drank it most of my adult life.

I think it may be easier for me now that I am working from home and eating all my meals at home. I've always had a weakness for the candy machines when I was at work. The other thing is - I have my groceries delivered, so there is no more impulse buying in the store. If its not in my home I can't eat it. I'm not likely to give up my parking space and drive to get something sweet, but if its a few feet away, I'll eat it.

After many failed attempts I think I have learned that I cannot eat sugar in moderation. If I buy a package of ice cream bars and plan to make them last for a week - they'll be gone after 2 days. I just can't do it. So that's why I'm giving it up altogether.

So far I don't have cravings or feel frustrated.

If it's the 'fizz,' you're missing, or craving, even if only a little bit... I've heard of an excellent substitute. Let me know if you're interested, and I can try & remember what it is. It's something like (but I'm not entirely sure) that LaCroix water~

One challenge I've faced with fresh fruit (and some vegetables) is how quickly it goes bad. So I am afraid to buy very much fruit at once, or I feel forced to eat the fruit every day after I buy it. Since it sounds like you are buying a bunch of fruit, what solutions have you found to address this?
Thanks in advance for your insight.

When I get the fruit (berries) I wash them and put them into plastic containers in the refrigerator. That helps a lot.

Oranges and kiwis keep a long time. Bananas - well those can go pretty fast and sometimes I don't feel like eating one every day.

There is some spoilage, but I do the best I can.

Oh, and grapes are the perfect snack. You can always have just a few and a bunch can last 5-6 days. I've developed a taste for avocadoes. Not low cal or high protein but they are supposed to be a "superfood" so even half of one is a healthy snack.

How is your sugar ban going? I'm glad you osted about it because I think winter-time is the worst for me as far as falling into bad choices. I'm paying closer attention to how sugar & processed food affects my energy and mood. It's clear there's a relationship between my mood and refined carbs including sugar.

I wanted to mention that there is a way to find out about carbohydrate intolerance, which takes a fair amount of work but worth it. It's a 2 week reduction in carbs to test the body's metabolism response. It is healthy and safe, not a fad sort of thing at all. Here's a blog about it.

2-week test

Hello seabird

Well its a mix. I've changed my shopping habits and changed my eating habits. Only once did I break down and have a rich piece of chocolate cake. I have cravings from time to time, but I've done pretty well resisting those. The thing is I am not losing weight. At one point I had lost 4 lbs and I was hoping that would continue. But it came right back, and its not like I had a binge or anything.

I live in the northern US - so right now its cold and we have 6 inches of snow. Although I am taking the dog out 3-4 times a day, we don't walk that far. So I'm not exercising. On New Years Eve I fell while brushing snow off my car. Fell face down with my arm across my chest. My arm is fine, but my chest still hurts. So I'm going to start walking on a treadmill to burn some more calories.

Thanks for posting the blog link. I'll take a look at it.

Alice

Thank you for the update. Very sorry about having the fall and getting bruised up. I hope you heal up and feel better soon. It's really good that your arm didn't get broken. I've slipped on icy walks in the past. I used to live in the inland northern US but am now in the PNW, so a lot less cold. I do not miss snow.
Best wishes
- s

I'm sorry to hear about your fall, I hope your body all is back to normal soon.
You'll lose the weight if added sugars and more than minimal salt is kicked off the menu. It just take some time.
And having deep snow exercise interference doesn't help at all

I was wondering how it's going @alice202 . Since you started this thread, I've been a little more aware of how much sugar I eat, and how it is very hard to cut back on it.

Wishing you well.

- s

If you limit yourself to - why don't you do this? Juice can as well be kept longer. Its only hard the first 2 or 3 days.

Hope things are going well.
Most fruit and vegetables can be successfully frozen so this is an option to avoid spoilage. In the UK you can buy frozen dark cherry’s with the pip already removed, I actually like to eat them still frozen. Other fruit I will microwave until hot and add a spoon of yoghurt.