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Thread: Cutting down sugar

  1. #71
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    oh I put the goal aside for the meantime, because clearly something wasn't working if I turn to sugar just for being desperately uncontent to be at work or something, and can't resist even if I want to at that moment. Yes maybe if I thought to take a walk or something .. maybe ...

    Oh I don't worry about sugar hidden in processed foods or anything as I don't buy those foods anyway (I am sure sometimes when I eat at restaurants and so on, but what I buy I read labels period, so yea I can say safely say I never buy hidden sugar unless it's so hidden it's not even labeled). I was talking about sugar when I'm consciously eating sweets which to exactly noone's surprise have sugar in them (if I buy a chocolate bar, look I KNOW ...). But not focusing on it for now, as I prefer to focus on goals I might actually build into habits and if I'm falling off the wagon all the time maybe it's just not a top contender at this point. Doesn't mean I have to go off on some crazy sugar binge or anything.
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  2. #72
    Yppej
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    Good points ANM. I am the same way - good at home at avoiding processed sugar, but in the crunch at work yesterday with two people in the group on vacation I ate four pieces of candy from the candy jar.

  3. #73
    Yppej
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    Today was family day at work. We had perfect weather, lots of activities, and great participation. We also had carbs carbs carbs - popcorn, crackers, pretzels, pizza, breaded chicken fingers and ice cream. Fruit juice, water and soda were the beverages. I thought, this is how we start our kids down the sugar road, though the intentions of the organizers were good.

  4. #74
    Senior Member SteveinMN's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Yppej View Post
    I thought, this is how we start our kids down the sugar road, though the intentions of the organizers were good.
    Yup.

    I get that, to some extent, most Americans are biologically "wired" for sweetness (other societies seem to be "wired" for heat and/or bitterness). But what is often presented as "kids' food" -- macaroni and cheese, chicken or cheese enrobed in batter and deep-fried, hot dogs (or hot dogs enrobed in batter and deep-fried ), sugary breakfast cereals (with sides of toast and juice or sugar-laden yogurt) -- certainly seem to set the expectation that "this is what grownups eat".

    (Potluck) holiday dinners at my wife's family -- brother's and sisters' houses -- are minefields for low-carbers: lots of sweets and baked goods, starchy side dishes, flour- or cornstarch-laden sauces, ... Sometimes someone brings a green salad or raw carrots/broccoli/cauliflower -- but only a sugary salad dressing or dip comes with it to top it. We try to bring a vegetable side dish that's fairly "clean" but interesting but only a couple in the family are at all adventurous eaters and we often end up taking most of it back home. It's a holiday meal; I understand that there's some element of "treating oneself" and of tradition governing what's served -- perhaps more for DW's family than many.

    But on Father's Day we were invited to dinner with DD/DSiL/DGD: bratwurst on white buns, potato salad, corn on the cob, sweet cole slaw, and brownies for dessert. I don't think they cooked anything special because they knew we were coming over. Fortunately for DD/DSiL, they're young and they like to exercise. And, in their defense, they do not feed DGD grownup food much different from what they eat. They did buy better brands of baby food. And I can't say I've ever seen corn dogs or mac-and-cheese served for dinner at their house -- though IMHO brats and pasta salad don't land on the ground too far from that tree.

    Me? I've learned that, if the menu looks like something I shouldn't eat, I eat what I can at home and just pick when I get there. But I know differently and I worked to jostle myself out of the Standard American Diet rut. Will anything jostle these folks out of it?
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  5. #75
    Senior Member catherine's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by SteveinMN View Post
    Me? I've learned that, if the menu looks like something I shouldn't eat, I eat what I can at home and just pick when I get there. But I know differently and I worked to jostle myself out of the Standard American Diet rut. Will anything jostle these folks out of it?
    My minefield is only a few feet away: my DH. Our thinking about food is absolutely diametrically opposed. I'm an "eat to live" person and he's a "live to eat" person. He'a a great amateur chef, but his Holy Grail is flavor at the expense of health. He's told me I'm "wrong" for preferring grassfed beef (when I eat beef at all) because it "sucks." He's told me I'm "wrong" for objecting to the copious salt he uses. If I make potato salad, I use just enough mayo to coat the potatoes.. then he'll come in and add another cup to it. The other day we went to a potluck at the farm, and we actually brought bratwurst (speaking of bratwurst). He was the one that cooked it, and I layered some sauerkraut in the bottom of the baking dish, and he proceeded to POUR the pan drippings into the sauerkraut. When I protested, I was "wrong" again because "fat provides the flavor." When he shops for ground beef, it can't be too fatty--he seeks out 75%/25%. ETA: I am not averse to fat, and I particularly don't mind if DH eats fat, in general. I'd rather see him eat fat than carbs for sure.

    But I do spend a lot of time scraping salt and gravy off food.
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  6. #76
    Senior Member JaneV2.0's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by catherine View Post
    My minefield is only a few feet away: my DH. Our thinking about food is absolutely diametrically opposed. I'm an "eat to live" person and he's a "live to eat" person. He'a a great amateur chef, but his Holy Grail is flavor at the expense of health. He's told me I'm "wrong" for preferring grassfed beef (when I eat beef at all) because it "sucks." He's told me I'm "wrong" for objecting to the copious salt he uses. If I make potato salad, I use just enough mayo to coat the potatoes.. then he'll come in and add another cup to it. The other day we went to a potluck at the farm, and we actually brought bratwurst (speaking of bratwurst). He was the one that cooked it, and I layered some sauerkraut in the bottom of the baking dish, and he proceeded to POUR the pan drippings into the sauerkraut. When I protested, I was "wrong" again because "fat provides the flavor." When he shops for ground beef, it can't be too fatty--he seeks out 75%/25%. ETA: I am not averse to fat, and I particularly don't mind if DH eats fat, in general. I'd rather see him eat fat than carbs for sure.

    But I do spend a lot of time scraping salt and gravy off food.

    Although I disagree that you have to sacrifice flavor for nutrition, I'm sure I'd enjoy sharing a meal with your husband.

    I'll never be an "eat to live" person; just no.

    I find that as I eat less processed food, I need more salt, not less--more electrolytes in general. I enjoy lots of mayonnaise, but commercial brands have industrial seed oils, starches, and sugar, so I usually make my own. Fat is an essential nutrient--especially animal fats, so I don't try to avoid them. Like your husband, I always get the fatty ground beef. But I understand the challenge of trying to meld two different eating styles--it can be difficult, at best.

  7. #77
    Senior Member catherine's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by JaneV2.0 View Post
    Although I disagree that you have to sacrifice flavor for nutrition, I'm sure I'd enjoy sharing a meal with your husband.

    I'll never be an "eat to live" person; just no.

    I find that as I eat less processed food, I need more salt, not less--more electrolytes in general. I enjoy lots of mayonnaise, but commercial brands have industrial seed oils, starches, and sugar, so I usually make my own. Fat is an essential nutrient--especially animal fats, so I don't try to avoid them. Like your husband, I always get the fatty ground beef. But I understand the challenge of trying to meld two different eating styles--it can be difficult, at best.
    I knew I'd hear from you, Jane! . I'm sure you would love my husband's cooking--I do, too, MOST of the time. And I do believe he needs fats. But I still think he uses way too much salt, mayo, oils, etc. I'm a plain and simple eater. I generally go for unadulterated food, and he's a big adulterer.
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  8. #78
    Williamsmith
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    Quote Originally Posted by catherine View Post
    I knew I'd hear from you, Jane! . I'm sure you would love my husband's cooking--I do, too, MOST of the time. And I do believe he needs fats. But I still think he uses way too much salt, mayo, oils, etc. I'm a plain and simple eater. I generally go for unadulterated food, and he's a big adulterer.
    Catherine, I feel you have to question the advice we've been given over the last 30 years or so regarding the fat in our diet and the salt based on the lack of true scientific research that is out there. And looking at the so called low fat diet Americans have been eating and the current poor health of the populace (cancer, heart disease and diabetes).....seems to indicate that the American Heart Association and some of the other evangelists for the low fat diet have ulterior motives. Women have in fact been victimized by shorter life expectancy and higher rates of disease apparently in part due to diet. We are getting to a point where the kitchen is not even necessary as a room of food preparation. It just houses our Keurig machine.

  9. #79
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    The American diet isn't that low fat (35% true not high, but not that low), and yes adding fat to everything (added fat, not talking about removing fat from things that naturally come that way) probably does add extra calories over time plus it's fairly empty calories as far as nutrients (yea you could argue about the polyphenols in olive oil, or vitamins in butter but overall it's not that high a nutrient content per calorie if it's pure concentrated fat ... concentration by definition means it's not a whole food but that' doesn't mean it's bad in moderation). And our bodies also self-adjust to regulate our calorie balance somewhat so ... (and that assumes one is even trying to eat less, if one actually needs those calories because they have high calorie needs then that is hardly a concern).

    I regularly add 2 TB of olive oil to my salads etc.. but l can admit it's not the most nutrients I could get for those 240 calories (though neither is it the worst 240 calories and sometimes I consume worse), but I do need my lunch to be somewhat filling so there is also that ...
    Last edited by ApatheticNoMore; 6-29-17 at 3:49pm.
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  10. #80
    Senior Member catherine's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Williamsmith View Post
    Catherine, I feel you have to question the advice we've been given over the last 30 years or so regarding the fat in our diet and the salt based on the lack of true scientific research that is out there. And looking at the so called low fat diet Americans have been eating and the current poor health of the populace (cancer, heart disease and diabetes).....seems to indicate that the American Heart Association and some of the other evangelists for the low fat diet have ulterior motives. Women have in fact been victimized by shorter life expectancy and higher rates of disease apparently in part due to diet. We are getting to a point where the kitchen is not even necessary as a room of food preparation. It just houses our Keurig machine.
    I basically agree with you (and Jane).. it's just that old habits die hard. I basically believe in pure food. I totally agree that the vaunted food pyramid is nothing but a consensus between the government and food lobbyists.

    I remember back in 2007 one of my DDs boyfriends--a really smart guy--told me that if you were out in the wilderness and only ate rabbit you would die because rabbit has no fat and the body needs fat to live. He was one of the first who put the bee in my bonnet that fat is not just "bad" across the board. After all, I had only just recently seen Oprah truck 60 lbs of lard out on the stage to show people what she had "lost" as a result of her diet--and heard all the people in the audience going "ewwww!!!!"

    I've never been one for low-fat dairy or cookies or cakes. It seemed more dangerous to eat manufactured stuff than eat the real stuff. Plus, low-fat ice cream is just not worth eating.
    Last edited by catherine; 6-29-17 at 3:33pm.
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