Going Sugarless
@Masihi (4413)
Canada
June 12, 2011 9:53pm CST
Okay, well, not entirely, there's always a little tiny bit of sugar in our foods, and I certainly don't want to cut out the natural sugars that are in the fruits. But what I'm talking about is the cakes, candy, cookies, ice cream, even jam, that sort of thing. Then there's hidden sugars in the cereals, drink mixes, muffins, and most yogurts. So I'm trying an experiment. For 2 weeks I'll go sugarless to see if weight gain is directly related to the amount of sugar that we take in on a daily basis (especially here in North America, we're the big bad obese guys!) I had a friend who was a "guinea pig" of sorts for a teenaged friend who was doing a school project. now my friend is in her 40's. Since she's not much of a sweet eater she felt it was something that she could do no problem. But this experiement included NO REFINED SUGAR WHATSOEVER! I'm talking about reading the labels like a madman, going all out like a crazyperson. But only after 8 days, my friend found that she was losing too much weight for her health and had to tell the teenaged girl that she couldn't do it anymore as she was losing too much weight. My friend also told me another story about another one of her friends who ate potato chips and sweets every day, and she significently cut out the chips and the sweets and lost 10kg in 2 months. Wow, just by that one simple lifestyle change.
So anyway, here I am, in Day #2 of my experiment. I want to see for myself if this sugar intake is one of the culprits in packing on the weight.
1 person likes this
7 responses
@ravisivan (14079)
• India
13 Jun 11
Yes. If u reduce sugar ur weight will come down certainly. that has been my experience. I avoid sugar because post random use to be around 140+. Once in Glucose tolerance it was 200+. Chennai doctors are good. They do not medicate like USA doctors. Now I avoid sugar, walk a lot and happy to note last time it was well under control - yes 140 only after food.
If u do not take sugar and fat weight will come down considerably.
1 person likes this
@Masihi (4413)
• Canada
13 Jun 11
Well, if my 2-week experiment gives me some results, I'll definitely be continuing it all summer, and if I lose more weight and feel more healthier, than I'll keep on this type of diet. After that, I'll be working on dealing with the processed foods that we purchase.
Borderline diabetes can be controlled by diet, so that is good news.
@ravisivan (14079)
• India
13 Jun 11
I wish u succeed in ur two week experiment. But sometimes dieting may take more than a month also. Do not lose heart. Continue for three months. U will find encouraging results.
haved a good day.
@ritzz07 (788)
• India
13 Jun 11
hi masihi
nowadays i am not taking white sugar which is the one
of the reason to put on weight and fat.i have started
to take natural sugar like honey,i am drinking green
tea with honey also you can take normal tea with honey
it tastes good,you can take honey with slice bread in
your breakfast.
fruits are the good source of natural sugar
(glucose/fructose)so if you want to eat sweat after
meal eat fruits.
1 person likes this
@Masihi (4413)
• Canada
13 Jun 11
We have a regular supply of honey and molasses in our kitchen, and I use stevia or Splenda in my tea. Plus, I take individual packages of stevia or splenda when I go out in case places outside doesn't offer the healther alternatives.
@makatas (1098)
• Greece
13 Jun 11
Lately I am trying to decrease sugar consumption too, especially after noon, because less body activity will mean the sugars will cause serious fat. I am trying to lose some weight, if possible, and I started by decreasing the sugar including foods.
As a result, I have decreased coffee consumption too, because if it isn't sweet then it isn't OK for me.
Have a good day!
@Masihi (4413)
• Canada
13 Jun 11
For breakfast I eat either no-sugar-added yogurt and fruit, or most times I have a completely sugar-free cereal called Puffed Wheat, which is a whole wheat cereal but has 0g of sugar, and I cut up banana or add berries and milk to it. No sugar, though.
Stevia is an excellent and trusted natural sweetener that I been using for years, it's good in coffees and teas, and doesn't leave an aftertaste.
@rmnrmn (688)
• India
13 Jun 11
So many times I try to ignore sugar in my tea yet fail to do it. I used diabetics sugar some time before but it not taste good like normal sugar. Yes, sugar gain weight so much and too much of sugar harmful for our body. We should take it as less as possible.
@Masihi (4413)
• Canada
13 Jun 11
I use Stevia, you can get it in an extract or powder, and you use very little of it, it's natural, won't harm the body, doesn't leave an aftertaste. I've been using it for years. I also use Splenda.
@Masihi (4413)
• Canada
13 Jun 11
Ah, yes, that's a good point there, thanks for the reminder :-) But on the other hand, NOT eating all the crazy junk will eventually make me healthier anyway, so it's definitely a good change.
@youaremylush (479)
• United States
13 Jun 11
I suggest that you switch to just eating fruits, veggies, and simple carbs. All this other junk like processed food isn't good for you. Your body has no one to digest it, which results in weight gain. Eating just those mentioned above for a month will have a significant impact on your weight, overall health, and even your skin.
1 person likes this
@hardworkinggurl (37063)
• United States
13 Jun 11
Lifestyle changes have to be done slowly in order to achieve the consistency later, so this is a great experiment you are doing. I hope you can get some good results. As I believe the sugar stores and creates fat contents. So best of luck and keep us posted, this is quite interesting.
1 person likes this
@Masihi (4413)
• Canada
13 Jun 11
Yes, there is some truth in that statement that lifestyle changes must be gradual, but, I guess I'm just sick and tired of the steady weight gain, and I'm certainly not going to go to an anorexic eating habit like I did 2-3 years ago. And since I know that refined sugar isn't good for you, I just decided to cut it out 90%. I did that once with chocolate for a few months until I gave in to Hubby's constant taunting me and dangling chocolate items in my face all the time, that was about 7 years ago, I think. His grandmother when she was alive did the same thing. Now that Hubby is more mature and not so much under the influence of his grandmother so much (except for the getting mad part) I think this is finally something I can handle, since I've noticed this time around he's not teasing me and all that. I guess when i'm resolved to do something I'm good at keeping it :-D
I'll report at the end of the 2 weeks, for sure, as I'm interested in knowing if this works generally for all people, like common sense or only for certain people.
