If this is your first visit, check out the community guide. You will have to Join us or Sign in before you can post.
Cutting sugar from my diet
Geoark
Member, Scope Volunteer Posts: 1,375 Disability Gamechanger
Since 2015 controlling my weight has been an uphill struggle. We have already made a lot of changes to how we prepare food, got rid of a lot of the precooked meals etc. Thursday I decided it was time to cut out as much sugar from my diet as possible. It was not until then I realised how much sugar was still in my diet, easily 20 teaspoons a day in coffee alone.
Yesterday I felt like hell, ached all over and a nasty headache. Today I feel a bit better but cannot get rid of the headache. I have been tempted to add a little sugar to a coffee to reduce things a little but decided to see it out.
As an individual I stood alone.
As a member of a group I did things.
As part of a community I helped to create change!
Replies
Thank you @wildlife
Sugar is very addictive to the body, and the symptoms are in line with going from a high usage to cutting most of it out. I also need to cut my coffee consumption, as this is the only fluid I tend to drink.
I knew in theory this would happen, just did not expect it to be so bad.
As an individual I stood alone.
As a member of a group I did things.
As part of a community I helped to create change!
Thank you @trace1024
I will have a look around the internet, as I've been wondering how best to sweeten my porridge in the mornings. Flipping disgusting at the moment. I was thinking of using an alternative like honey or maple syrup but suspect these are probably sugars in a different guise.
As an individual I stood alone.
As a member of a group I did things.
As part of a community I helped to create change!
Blue Frog, no but that is a brilliant idea, thank you.
As an individual I stood alone.
As a member of a group I did things.
As part of a community I helped to create change!
Theres lots of info about sugar and your diet on the NHS website and they also have a Sugar Smart app that might help you.
Senior online community officer
blueberries are gorgeous with porridge. We buy the frozen ones they are a lot cheaper
Senior online community officer
I found silverspoon granulated sweetner is a good substitute for sugar in hot foods and drinks, though it is expensive. Canderel works well for me in cereals.
When I have porridge I do tend to use a mix of berries and these work really well.
About half my coffees are now without any sweetner or with a little cinnamon. I have also started drinking water, still not as much as I should but getting there.
Weight is slowly comming off, but mylife style is far too sedate, so now started to use the outdoor gym on the estate. Only once a week at the moment but hoping to find the time to up this.
Thank you for asking
As an individual I stood alone.
As a member of a group I did things.
As part of a community I helped to create change!
some great ideas thank you. I have decided that I'm definately going ahead and buying a couple of fruit trees for the back balcony this year. Just trying to work out what. They are minarettes, you can see samples at https://www.kenmuir.co.uk/index.php?route=product/category&path=35_43
I am thinking of pears and cherries at the moment. I have also seen these planted with strawberries succesfully.
As an individual I stood alone.
As a member of a group I did things.
As part of a community I helped to create change!
A good friend of mine, years ago, switched form white sugar to fruit sugar (fructose) as it is supposed to be far less fattening. However, whichever route people go they should reduce rather than stop using anything they take too much of as the body can get very addicted to many chemicals.
TK
Understand from reading you have done very well.
Apples, Pears all good in Cereals like Porridge or even Cornflakes. Always have Yoghurt natural or Greek Plain no sweeteners with Cinnamon or Fennel Seeds.
Like Berries, Cherries, Blueberries all frozen those supermarkets sell bags last a long time. Black berries new to me.
With looking what is around food stuffs everything has sugar in it. Understand and looking at food labelling is something I have been doing but always surprises even me.
Sugar in bread where did that come from.
Buy tinned fruit but in juice as good as fresh . Not in syrup. Buy fresh Apples not Pears or Peaches, Apricots. Bought a load all went off after two days with spots, marks , blemishes. Ridiculous and cost me money.
I will admit buy dried fruit and know there is sugar in them but combine it with nuts for a breakfast topper.. Usually Apricots, Prunes Sultanas. Any of those but I know portions sizes.
Buy Pasta Sauce. Has sugar in it tend to buy the Italian brands but even so careful. Make own sauces for Ragu and other one pots tomato based sauce. and will put in a sweetener to counter act the acidic taste. Know just a squirt of Tomato Ketchup. One teaspoon.
Certain Spices in any recipe can replace sugar. Like Cumin, Cinnamon, Coriander, Paprika, Turmeric, plus Fennel Seeds are the ones I use all helps.
It is worth having a look at portion control and maybe seeking advice on that as well.
Every one hands are different. If you use a hand as a portion. I tend to measure everything out.
Also it is worth drinking water with every meal. This helps with not only digestion but the teeth .
Always if I can have Bread or Cheese , Nuts after every meal helps me to digest food . Instead of a sugary pudding. Now and again Rice Pudding.
Understanding how and what is in food I believe is the key to controlling sugar, salt and fat.
Please take care
@thespiceman
SCOPE Volunteer Award Engaging Communities 2019
Mental Health advice, guidance and information to all members
Nutrition, Diet, Wellbeing, Addiction.
Recipes
The natural sugars inside fruit are not thought to be particularly problematic, as I understand, being differently accepted by the body. Unless there's an extreme need, it's probably ok for most.
Have you looked at fodmap? Honey, apples, garlic top most lists, with odd surprise items. Much gut trouble and operations could almost certainly be sidestepped if the general public, and medics, were more aware of the food baddies. NICE is pushing, now, especially via Kings Dieticians. Some people experiment with different lists, eg monash.
But, there isn't just a simple one size fits all list. Wheat and gluten may be best avoided, without necessarily being full allergy. Dairy may be poison to one, but another can take at least limited amounts.
Keeping off ready meals and junk and manufactured foods means if you truly want to shovel sugar onto your food, you need to make it deliberate. That alone will often have the unintended side effect of your weight dropping to a level your body decides is about right for you.
There have been tv series and books by Dr Michael Mosley and others, on similar lines plus stress on being kind to your gut bacteria