How to COMPLETELY cut out sugar?

OOTBubby

Mon, Jan 23 2012, 4:19 pm

Banana wrote:

OH my, I really don't understand how you're not starving. I start shaking if I don't have a carb (whole wheat) by every meal. Your menu seems to me like very little food, aren't you hungry?

If I do that I gain weight.

My meals are basically protein, veggies and fat with a couple of fruits in between and other snacks of dry roasted almonds and sunflower seeds.

Tova

Mon, Jan 23 2012, 4:26 pm

Oh - don't get me started! You feel amazing after the first 10 days or so (I find the first 3 days pretty hard).

Here is what I ate today:

Breakfast: plain yogurt with raw oatmeal (if I had berries I would add)
Lunch: flounder rollups (Binah recipe - basically white fleshed fish with sauteed peppers and tomatoes), brown rice
Mid-Afternoon: large salad with romaine lettuce, tomatoes, cucumbers, a pickle, 1/2 an avocado, Walden's Farm dressing. This was really great!
Dinner: (just finished) chicken, broccoli, rice cakes, apple

I also need a grain/starch at each meal.

Shif

Mon, Jan 23 2012, 5:04 pm

I have been off of all sweeteners for over 1 year now- and pure sugar for over 2years. Over that time, I have slowly transitioned the way I eat, based on what felt right. The more I eliminated, the more I noticed how different foods made me feel. I used to not feel satisified w/out some starchy carb- brown rice, bread, anything. I cut out all starchy carbs, and it took 3 weeks of hard cravings- but after that- no hard cravings! I eat an atypical diet by most ppls standards, but it works for me. I have good energy, clear headed, my digestion is way better, etc. I eat chicken, fish (wild salmon), beef, and eggs (organic on all the animal proteins- the cost is worth the health benefits in my opinion). I basically eat one of these proteins for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. I am generous with good fats (olive oil, coconut oil, avocado), eat some nuts and seeds, eat fresh/cooked veggies at each meal, and very limited fruits (I feel better w/out). Also, I don't eat any dairy, beans, and legumes. I eat what is known as a Paleolithic or Primal diet. On Shabbos, I wash on 1 pc. matzah only.
I am also involved in OA, and find it incredibly helpful- and necessary for me.
I just want to stress, that I don't desire foods I choose not to eat- B"H, and I think it has a lot to do w/the diet I eat. I have been in OA for a while, and didn't always eat this way- I find being careful w/the types of carbs I eat really made a difference w/the cravings. However, I also think the lack of cravings is as a result of the work I have done in OA and my diet.

Inspired

Mon, Jan 23 2012, 9:35 pm

I did it slowly, started by not eating sugary things during the week. When I bake for myself I use silan- mostly my challah on shabbos. On a daily basis I eat lots of vegetables and fruit. Salads, fruit salads. Lots of almonds as snacks. I actually just had my first migraine in AGES and I used to have one every week or 2.
I GTG but I will try and write more later.

grace413

Mon, Jan 23 2012, 9:49 pm

Banana wrote:

grace413 wrote:

I have been on low carb/no sugar for about 18 months. I can't honestly say that I don't miss it - if you put a cake in front of me, I'm sure I could finish the whole thing off. However, I do feel healthier, less tired, more energy.

Here's what I eat:
Breakfast: cottage cheese and salad
Lunch: tuna/eggs/cheese
Dinner: chicken/beef/fish/salad
Snacks: more of the above, a bit of salami, a few nuts - almonds/macadamia/walnuts, cucumber, green pepper.

Also chicken or beef soup, sometimes a small portion of vegetable soup.
I have one small piece of challah Friday night and Shabbos lunch.

I think it's best to cut out all sugar and tough it out for the first week - cravings generally subside once you get all the carbs out of your system. Melons (not watermelon) and berries are the lowest carb fruits.

OH my, I really don't understand how you're not starving. I start shaking if I don't have a carb (whole wheat) by every meal. Your menu seems to me like very little food, aren't you hungry?

Also, isn't fish every day not good because of mercury?

I'm not hungry (mostly) because I eat large portions of the above. If I could cut back on my portions I'd probably lose more weight but I do have a portion control problem. But I'm still better off without the carbs. I do use artificial sweeteners so I drink a lot of Diet Coke (I know, it's not good and it's expensive) and homemade articially sweetened ice tea. I use unsweetened soy milk in my coffee. I don't eat fish every day - sometimes it's eggs instead; but I don't worry about mercury.

You mentioned you are nursing, so you should probably be careful about drastic diet changes.

If you are literally shaking without carbs you might have a problem. With no scientific basis whatsoever, I think different people react differently; however most people get over the cravings within a week or so.

Shif

Tue, Jan 24 2012, 3:52 am

@3 little 1s - Yes, your body needs glucose (sugar), but it makes glucose from any food you ingest. You don't need to eat table sugar for your body to survive. I suffered many years from nearly constant fever blisters- as soon as I cut out almost all fruits (after having been off of sugar for about a year), I hardly ever get any cold sores (1 or 2 a year- when I am incredibly stressed- like finals time in school). And, the cold sores (fever blisters) last much shorter and are not nearly as painful. I saw a direct connection between my consumption of fruits and my fever blisters.
Everyone processes sugars differently- some are more sensitive than others and some peoples bodies are less able to utilize the sugars.
Also, Sugar is not a food group. Glucose is an automatic byproduct that our bodies can produce out of virtually any other food other than table sugar.