OP here.

I really want cake today.

Really. REALLY. Chocolate cake, specifically. Ugh.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'm going to try this too! Here's my biggest stumbling block -- work lunches. Breakfast is easy and dinner I can cook. But what are some easy yet appealing things I can bring for lunch? When I Google "no sugar added work lunches" I get things like "quinoa salmon grain bowl" which is totally unrealistic. I need things I can pack in 5 minutes!

Why can't you just make more dinner and bring it to work?

Mostly just because I'll be tired of it. I plan to make a lot of big pots of soups and stews and eat them for several days. I don't mind doing that for dinner but can't get on board with the same food for two or three days of lunches and dinners.

Why not make stuff for dinner, and then eat the leftovers for lunch? And then make something different for dinner, then have that for lunch?

Anonymous wrote:Per suggestion in another thread, I'm starting a new one for those who are on board with going however long you can (a day, a week, two weeks, a month, etc) without added sugar in their diet. Starting to plan and grocery shop. Need more snack ideas, though. This is going to be rough! I love my vegetables, but also really love cookies

Monday I'm going to make a coconut, cilantro, sweet potato stew on a small bed of quinoa or lentils.

LOL yup

Anonymous wrote:I did a great job reducing sugars last year and lost a lot of weight as a consequence. I had about 150 sugar free days last year. I indulged a LOT over a 2 week Christmas break, though, and so I'm going through major withdrawal right now.

One thing that helps me is a wall calendar for the year on my master closet door. I put a happy face sticker for every day I am sugar free. It's so motivating to see. And my A1c has gone down from 5.8 (borderline prediabetic) to 5.1 (awesome) since I've cut sugar and carbs.

The hardest thing for me at first was letting go of sugar in my tea. Now I use heavy whipping cream, which is all fat, no sugar, but sweet and delicious.

I also make occasional treats with Swerve, which is erythritol, a sugar alcohol. It doesn't seem to affect my blood sugar at all. I would like to cut down ALL of my dependence on sweet tastes but occasional "keto ice cream" with Swerve instead of sugar keeps me from binging on Ben & Jerry's.

I'm aiming for 300 days sugar free this year. That still gives me lots of days when I could have a treat. But the more I avoid it entirely, the more I can stay in fat burning mode.

This is such a great idea. Thank you for sharing it!

I did a great job reducing sugars last year and lost a lot of weight as a consequence. I had about 150 sugar free days last year. I indulged a LOT over a 2 week Christmas break, though, and so I'm going through major withdrawal right now.

One thing that helps me is a wall calendar for the year on my master closet door. I put a happy face sticker for every day I am sugar free. It's so motivating to see. And my A1c has gone down from 5.8 (borderline prediabetic) to 5.1 (awesome) since I've cut sugar and carbs.

The hardest thing for me at first was letting go of sugar in my tea. Now I use heavy whipping cream, which is all fat, no sugar, but sweet and delicious.

I also make occasional treats with Swerve, which is erythritol, a sugar alcohol. It doesn't seem to affect my blood sugar at all. I would like to cut down ALL of my dependence on sweet tastes but occasional "keto ice cream" with Swerve instead of sugar keeps me from binging on Ben & Jerry's.

I'm aiming for 300 days sugar free this year. That still gives me lots of days when I could have a treat. But the more I avoid it entirely, the more I can stay in fat burning mode.

Did anyone start this today? How's it going?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'm going to try this too! Here's my biggest stumbling block -- work lunches. Breakfast is easy and dinner I can cook. But what are some easy yet appealing things I can bring for lunch? When I Google "no sugar added work lunches" I get things like "quinoa salmon grain bowl" which is totally unrealistic. I need things I can pack in 5 minutes!

Why can't you just make more dinner and bring it to work?

Mostly just because I'll be tired of it. I plan to make a lot of big pots of soups and stews and eat them for several days. I don't mind doing that for dinner but can't get on board with the same food for two or three days of lunches and dinners.

You should stock up on good food storage containers. Let’s say you make a big stew and a soup on Sunday. You freeze and label 2/3 of it in individual serving containers. You eat a few servings in the beginning of the week then fill the rest of the week with sandwiches or yogurt/fruit. Do that once a week and you’ll have a good sampling of different foods in your freezer and you can pull them out and you won’t get sick of having the same stew 5 days a week.

Eating sweet potatoes help. And adding cinnamon and cloves to recipes. I often bake apples with cinnamon and spices instead of cookies/brownies. I use bananas as sweeteners too in things like banana nut cinnamon muffins.

Anonymous wrote:I'm going to try this too! Here's my biggest stumbling block -- work lunches. Breakfast is easy and dinner I can cook. But what are some easy yet appealing things I can bring for lunch? When I Google "no sugar added work lunches" I get things like "quinoa salmon grain bowl" which is totally unrealistic. I need things I can pack in 5 minutes!

- Peanut butter & banana, on whole wheat pita (both pb and pita often have sugar added, so check)
- pita sandwiches with hummus and veggies
- salads
- I often like eating breakfast food for lunch (oatmeal, farina, with fruit, nut butters, shredded unsweetened coconut, other toppings)
- do you have access to a freezer at work? Trader Joe's makes a great frozen stir fried cauliflower rice. Nuke it in the microwave, and it's ready to eat.
- in general, you can make your own "bowls" easily with frozen things. Frozen grains or rice cauliflower, veggies, falafel, top with a scoop of hummus, etc. Put in bowl, nuke, and eat.

Do you like Pho? Relatively healthy, and SO GOOD in winter. As far as I know, I don't think most places add sugar - though sweetener is often added to sauces like sriracha.

Check out the "I quit sugar" instagram for some ideas (https://www.instagram.com/iquitsugar/), although I am not following it exactly.

That said, I'm like 90% vegan, so my recommendations might not be what you're looking for

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'm going to try this too! Here's my biggest stumbling block -- work lunches. Breakfast is easy and dinner I can cook. But what are some easy yet appealing things I can bring for lunch? When I Google "no sugar added work lunches" I get things like "quinoa salmon grain bowl" which is totally unrealistic. I need things I can pack in 5 minutes!

Why can't you just make more dinner and bring it to work?

Mostly just because I'll be tired of it. I plan to make a lot of big pots of soups and stews and eat them for several days. I don't mind doing that for dinner but can't get on board with the same food for two or three days of lunches and dinners.

Anonymous wrote:I'm going to try this too! Here's my biggest stumbling block -- work lunches. Breakfast is easy and dinner I can cook. But what are some easy yet appealing things I can bring for lunch? When I Google "no sugar added work lunches" I get things like "quinoa salmon grain bowl" which is totally unrealistic. I need things I can pack in 5 minutes!

Why can't you just make more dinner and bring it to work?

I'm going to try this too! Here's my biggest stumbling block -- work lunches. Breakfast is easy and dinner I can cook. But what are some easy yet appealing things I can bring for lunch? When I Google "no sugar added work lunches" I get things like "quinoa salmon grain bowl" which is totally unrealistic. I need things I can pack in 5 minutes!

Per suggestion in another thread, I'm starting a new one for those who are on board with going however long you can (a day, a week, two weeks, a month, etc) without added sugar in their diet. Starting to plan and grocery shop. Need more snack ideas, though. This is going to be rough! I love my vegetables, but also really love cookies

Monday I'm going to make a coconut, cilantro, sweet potato stew on a small bed of quinoa or lentils.