first day no sugar

[Zoe Girl]

and I have been a cheerful person, go figure.

I am just not having any added sugar or diet sodas and going for a month. My taste buds are too wired for sweet right now and need a break. Plus I usually clean up my diet going into summer. Not going to worry about caffeine or snacky foods at all, just the sugar is enough. And I should save a lot of money on the Starbucks habit :)

[Ultralight]

Sugar is evil!

[dado potato]

It is a major adjustment to lighten up on sugar, as it is in so many processed foods.

I recently saw an item about maltodextrin: a cheap filler made from GMO corn that adds fat-like body and sweetness to packaged food products. I see it listed as an ingredient in some of my favorite things: for instance, dry-roasted peanuts, and Ovaltine granules. From what I have read, there is a suspected link between maltodextrin consumption and Crohn's disease. One author suggested Medjool dates for a sweet snack, instead of a processed snack containing maltodextrin. Medjool dates make Me drool!

Also, bananas! Next door to my gym there is a gas-station/convenience-store that sells bananas for 38 cents per pound. If I have the hollow leg after a workout and swim, I'll go over there and buy a bunch of bananas.
<Groaner warning>. I usually walk to the gym, whereas virtually every customer that goes into the convenience store has just filled up a vehicle with gasoline. So, when the clerk is weighing my bananas, she asks if I bought any fuel. And I laugh and point to the bananas.

[Ultralight]

It is a major adjustment to lighten up on sugar, as it is in so many processed foods.

It is like a heroin junkie trying to lighten up on his heroin intake!




I recently saw an item about maltodextrin: a cheap filler made from GMO corn that adds fat-like body and sweetness to packaged food products. I see it listed as an ingredient in some of my favorite things: for instance, dry-roasted peanuts, and Ovaltine granules. From what I have read, there is a suspected link between maltodextrin consumption and Crohn's disease. One author suggested Medjool dates for a sweet snack, instead of a processed snack containing maltodextrin. Medjool dates make Me drool!

Maltodextrin is nasty!


Also, bananas! Next door to my gym there is a gas-station/convenience-store that sells bananas for 38 cents per pound. If I have the hollow leg after a workout and swim, I'll go over there and buy a bunch of bananas.
<Groaner warning>. I usually walk to the gym, whereas virtually every customer that goes into the convenience store has just filled up a vehicle with gasoline. So, when the clerk is weighing my bananas, she asks if I bought any fuel. And I laugh and point to the bananas.
Love this!

[Baldilocks]

Good for you. Much success on your endeavor.

[Zoe Girl]

It may be evil, it is totally addictive. I already am hyper aware of fructose and HFCS, i am sensitive to it. Okay totally intolerant to any kind of fructose. I can have berries and cutie type oranges, did well with a banana yesterday. But really no fruit or beets or avacadoes. I i think it is partially from years of soda with HFCS.

[SteveinMN]

I can have berries and cutie type oranges, did well with a banana yesterday. But really no fruit or beets or avacadoes.
Over the past year or so I've learned a lot about how the body utilizes glucose. Many (Type 2) diabetics can eat a small handful of berries or even a little melon (sweet but lots of water to dilute it) without seeing their blood glucose levels spike. But apples and pears are off for most Type 2s and grapes, citrus, and bananas have enough sugar in them to be listed as foods useful for treating hypoglycemic episodes. Avocados contain almost zero carbohydrates -- they're frequently used in ketogenic diets because they provide a creamy texture without starches and carbohydrates.

Not denying your experiences in eating these foods, but if small citrus fruits are OK for you and avocados are not, it sounds like you're sensitive to something other than the sugar content.

[pinkytoe]

In defense of a little bit of sugar now and then - I think the proof is out that diet sodas are not a good alternative. Not good for your brain or your body long term. My FIL was a diabetic and lived on sugar-free products. He eventually lost his sense of taste and would no longer eat; there is some evidence now that sugar free products, ie aspartame and others can alter your taste buds over time.

[Zoe Girl]

Starting day 4, yesterday was. Harder, didnt eat enough dinner and woke up hungry in the middle of the night. There is no sugar in the house to eat anyway.

I am at a conference on connection through conflict, a great small group. They all know i am quitting sugar so when the candy bowl goes around they skip me very nicely. However i am meeting my friend at starbucks this morning and won't get my normal drink, big challenge

[tennesseeborder]

Great idea!! Stay away from processed sugar!! In addition to everything that is horrible about simple sugar, most of it is genetically engineered also.

[JaneV2.0]

In defense of a little bit of sugar now and then - I think the proof is out that diet sodas are not a good alternative. Not good for your brain or your body long term. My FIL was a diabetic and lived on sugar-free products. He eventually lost his sense of taste and would no longer eat; there is some evidence now that sugar free products, ie aspartame and others can alter your taste buds over time.

I've used every sugar alternative since saccharin--for some fifty years now--and I'm still blessed with working taste buds. Zinc deficiency is usually the culprit if you have no sense of taste. I tend to agree with Stephen Phinney, MD who asserted in a lecture he gave in Australia: "Table sugar is ten times more risky than anything you can attribute to even something as “evil”as Nutrasweet.” I suspect sugar manufacturers rush out scare stories every time a new substitute is introduced, and their efforts have been astonishingly successful.