Help me cut out sugar completely

[Anonymous]

Try putting cinnamon on foods instead of sugar. Drink vanilla flavor tea. These helped me.
I am following the mind diet. It’s great.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:When you say cut out sugar, you're referring to added sugar, yes? As in, cutting out sweets?

Quick thoughts
Eat more protein
Don't buy sweets for the house
Lift weights
Plan for some treats, like twice a month, but eat it out of the house and in a pre-portioned size.
Establish new routines. When you hit a point in the day where you normally would turn to the chocolate, replace with something else, like hot tea or something. Do that consistently.

This is all good advice.

I have to say, I find it fascinating how we are wired for certain cravings. Sweet versus salty versus fatty. It’s really genetic.

[Anonymous]

Cold turkey and go low carb.
After two weeks your body will adjust.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I am 43 years old and 30 pounds overweight. Since turning 40 I noticed that I crave sugar more and more. If I know that we have chocolate at home, I cannot keep my mind off it until I eat it all.

In the past I tried cutting out sugar altogether. After a short while I did not crave it at all. That went well for a few months until a birthday party or similar when I ate just one piece of chocolate cake. That, however, opened the floodgates again and the old cravings returned.

Every time I start eating sugar again after a few months of going without, I feel that it does more and more damage to my body: especially it causes severe joint pain, which goes away when I don't eat sugar.

The same applies to all foods with a high glycemic index such as bread and rice, which have a similar effect on me.

My mother has a serious case of adiposity. She cannot constrain her eating, and can hardly move as a result of her obesity. I feel that I am headed down the same road if I don't radically stop with sugar and other high GI food.

I work out fairly regularly: jogging, cycling, a lot of walking.

I just don't know what to do at this point. Or rather, assuming I start going without sugar and other high GI food again, how do I keep from eating it again?

For personal and professional reasons it is vitally important that I reign in this problem. I gained 30 pounds in three years, and I even started not attending professional events (pre-Covid) because nothing looked good on my anymore. Furthermore, I am not willing to live with joint pain the rest of my life or take painkillers.

Thanks in advance.

OP, reread the words you have written here. As you have demonstrated, what you are trying to do is not sustainable.

There are better, healthier, easier and more long term ways to lose those additional pounds. Please consult a registered dietitian. You have some irrational food beliefs (that's the professional term) that need correcting, lest this become an endless, lifelong cycle.

+1 strongly agree. Op: see a dietitian. A registered dietitian. Not a “nutritionist,” a registered dietitian.

Are you an RD?

[Anonymous]

adiposity.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I am 45yo, exercise regularly and also have struggled with sugar addiction my whole life. I am 5'5, weigh less than 120. I used to try to full detox like you but never could sustain it more than a few months. I now limit sugar to fresh and dried fruit after dinner and honey. At this age I accept that I will eat sugar but this way at least get extra fiber.

OP here. Your success is impressive. I do eat fruit, I am noy trying to cut that out.

Thank you for the kind words. I do not, however, consider myself a success because the temptation is something I will always have to fight, like the average smoker, who makes 30 attempts before finally achieving freedom. In the beginning I drank artificial sugar in my coffee but it can be up to 600x sweeter than actual sugar, which means that it creates far stronger cravings that result in uncontrollable binges. Good luck, OP!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:When you say cut out sugar, you're referring to added sugar, yes? As in, cutting out sweets?

Quick thoughts
Eat more protein
Don't buy sweets for the house
Lift weights
Plan for some treats, like twice a month, but eat it out of the house and in a pre-portioned size.
Establish new routines. When you hit a point in the day where you normally would turn to the chocolate, replace with something else, like hot tea or something. Do that consistently.

This is all good advice.

I have to say, I find it fascinating how we are wired for certain cravings. Sweet versus salty versus fatty. It’s really genetic.

+1. It really is.

I enjoy sweets occasionally and sometimes might even crave them but it's not that big of a deal in my life.

My DH, on the other hand, really really struggles. He even eats "candy" and, when he's in the midst of a craving, he'll bring it in the house. For me, candy is for children and I don't like it. He loves it. It's just how he is.

[Anonymous]

These are my doughnut craving substitutes:
Dried fruits, especially figs, dates, and mangos
dark chocolate
Salty roasted Almonds and raw pecans
Baby carrots
Good cheeses

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:When you say cut out sugar, you're referring to added sugar, yes? As in, cutting out sweets?

Quick thoughts
Eat more protein
Don't buy sweets for the house
Lift weights
Plan for some treats, like twice a month, but eat it out of the house and in a pre-portioned size.
Establish new routines. When you hit a point in the day where you normally would turn to the chocolate, replace with something else, like hot tea or something. Do that consistently.

This is all good advice.

I have to say, I find it fascinating how we are wired for certain cravings. Sweet versus salty versus fatty. It’s really genetic.

+1. It really is.

I enjoy sweets occasionally and sometimes might even crave them but it's not that big of a deal in my life.

My DH, on the other hand, really really struggles. He even eats "candy" and, when he's in the midst of a craving, he'll bring it in the house. For me, candy is for children and I don't like it. He loves it. It's just how he is.

This is me. I love candy!! I can’t have it in the house.

I have a huge sweet tooth and my dad does too. Not sure if it’s really genetic or not.

[Anonymous]

This is me to a T. About a year ago I got really strict about the added sugar. I think one reason for the increased cravings is increasing insulin resistance as you age. You have already noted that you are not a person that can do moderation with sugar. Would anyone give you this advice about alcohol if you were an alcoholic (i.e., well, if you restrict yourself, then obviously you binge, so you should just drink moderately)? I suspect not, and yet I think sugar addiction is real for some people, or at least I found for me. I MUCH rather live without war with myself and just not have it. I have found for myself that stevia doesn't seem to cause the spikes in insulin that some other sweeteners do. The one treat I allow myself is Lily's stevia sweetened dark chocolate. I also reduced the frequency of my meals and my carbohydrates. I eat proteins, plenty of good fats, and tons of vegetables. By keeping these rules in place, my weight is stable, my hunger/hangry is completely gone. I do get hungry, but it is mild and passes until the time I'm supposed to eat. I like being focused on food as fuel. Jason Fung is a great read on insulin resistance.