sheeple

NP. Me too PP. I crave it quite a lot. I fall off the wagon occasionally, and physically feel so much better when I don't eat sugar. Mentally, well that's another story...

When I started it took me about a month to feel better.

For me, the answer is NEVER.

I still crave sweet things all the time. It's miserable.

OP here. Thanks for the words of wisdom and encouragement. Made it through the weekend with one slip that I am calling small -- I just couldn't resist licking the spoon when I made a pound cake (for a family dinner.)
To the pp who asked about how to do it, I am not the best person to answer because I am just starting out, and also because I am doing it by the seat of my pants. I am cutting out the obvious sugar (cakes, cookies, candy, ice cream, sweet yogurt, etc) and what I think to identify in prepared or processed food. For example, we had takeout pizza the other night for dinner, and I presumed the sauce would have a lot of added sugar, so I made my own pizza with unsweetened sauce. But yesterday as I ate sushi for lunch I realized that the pickled ginger almost certainly had sugar in it, but I hadn't thought about that ahead of time. So for me its a learning experience.

I think the withdrawal is all in your head. Honestly.

Tastewise, you will soon dislike added sugar - I don't like it anymore in my tea or coffee. It happens fast you will see!!

So what exactly do you have to cut out for this? Anything that has unnatural sugar added? How do you know?

Took me about ten days. I really was about to throw in the towel, and then the next day the fog cleared. I felt better than I had in years.

Took me 2 weeks of feeling crummy. The first week was the worst with mild flu like symptoms. But it gets better.

Good Luck!

3-4 days

The first week was awful but it gets better. I cut down significantly and can tell when I overdo it. Stay strong!

Yes I think it takes about three days. I definitely had withdrawal symptoms too. Once you cut the sugar out you don't crave it very much.

It took me a solid three days. Been mostly sugar free for a year and now I feel ill when I binge on sugar.

IVe done it for a year now. Like you i too have fruit. It gets better within a week. But its really tough to stay on the wagon for about 3 months. After that i think your tastebuds do change and you find things too sweet.

It is hard and you can be dependent on it, so you may have some withdrawal symptoms as you describe.

Honey, sweet potatoes, berries and apples are all good sources of (mostly) low natural sugars which can help ease the transition.

I am on Day 4 of giving up added sugar. Honestly I didn't even think I was all that addicted, but apparently I was wrong. The first two days I felt physically ill -- headaches, felt like I wanted to throw up -- by evening. I keep waiting for the great energy spurt I have heard about. So far I just feel exhausted!
I suppose I could just have a mild virus and this is coincidental. But those first two days it really did feel like I was suffering from some sort of withdrawal (though I don't actually have any experience with that, so maybe I was making it up in my head.)
Anyway, any words of wisdom or success stories to help get me through? I am trying to go 2 weeks without added sugar (I still eat fruit, drink milk, etc. so I am not giving up sugar totally.)
Thanks.