anyone giving up sugar?

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  • vmax

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    I have been using Splenda for a few years and have been reading about that being a sugar molecule bonded to a chlorine molecule and figured I should dump it.
    I went to Stevia that is an herb and all natural. My coffee and tea taste much stronger now that I use it.
    It's weird the Splenda I was used to had been masking the taste I guess.

    I started out a couple weeks back eating dark leaf salads with spinach and I also eating raw vegetables like carrots and broccoli. I don't eat this every day, but am starting to substitute some meals each week.

    Its funny, I am having less sugar cravings at night and actually have been craving the vegetables.

    I know I'm no health expert, but If I can make this stick and get on the treadmill 3-4 times a week, I can do some good.
    The wife found out she has a bad gluten allergy and I wonder if the Splenda brought that on?
    Me and the kids have cut back big time on our bread eating to be supportive of her and I think that is going to help us as well

    but for now, I seem to have been able to make some headway
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    rl96ss

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    I've done it for awhile, never last's though, longest I've gone is a couple of week's.

    Stevia was also the best substitute I've found. Never been much of a soda drinker and I can drink my tea and coffee without sweetener.

    During my diets my Kryptonite has always been sweets, I can skip the burgers, tacos and pizza with ease, but it's always the pies, cookies and ice cream that break me.
     

    Texasjack

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    Type 2 diabetes forced me to cut down on carbs. Keep in mind that it's not just sugar - all carbohydrates convert to sugar as you eat them. Putting artificial sweetener in cookies, for example, doesn't do much good because most of the carbs are in the flour.

    One thing I noticed was that when I gave up eating sweets, breads (most of which are now loaded with HFCS), and cokes, that fruits started tasting a LOT sweeter. We get so inundated with sugars that are added to processed foods that many really healthy foods no longer taste good.

    Fruits are loaded with sugar, so why would they be better than other things to eat? Because they are also loaded with fiber. Fiber slows the absorption of glucose into your blood stream. If you can avoid those glucose "spikes", it helps your health a lot.
     

    coachrick

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    Good golly, y'all...I commented in the Pralines thread...If there is ONE thing I like better than sugar...it's COOKED sugar!!! Give me some caramel ice cream and I'm fine! UN-sweet tea with BBQ???? Say it ain't so!!!

    Gave up Aspartame over a decade ago...nothing good happened
    Gave up Sucralose about three years ago...nothing good happened
    Hit my all-time highest weight a few weeks after our Scottie-dog passed away(NOT a good excuse, I know!)
    Tried Stevia in various forms over a year period...could feel it and smell it coming out of my pores!
    Have a few other 'natural' sweeteners in the pantry...no bueno.
    Watched the "Sugar is Toxic" video...I get it!!! I'm gonna die of something!!!
    I've likely cut my gratuitous sugar intake in half over the past couple of weeks...reducing iced tea consumption by limiting it to lunch and one 'to go' cup...nothing at home in the fridge. Ice water is VERY tasty on long bike rides...VERY boring with the evening meal!!! The Blue Bell Ice Cream recall came just in time!!!(Actually, I go for all natural Breyers...but none in the last two weeks).
    Need to cut way down on dressings and sauces like Honey Mustard, sweet BBQ sauce, that sort of thing. Just KILL me now!!!!
    It's the hidden sugars that will get you!!! I've cut HFCS out as much as I can.
    I have the discipline of a gnat!!! Stupid weather hasn't helped any this 'spring'; but the bicycle is calling once again!!!
    Hang in there, guys! i told this story in another thread: Tried to make up my mind to cut out white carbs...sugar, white flour, dairy,,,Turned on the TV to a cooking show and the main event was .....TRES LECHES CAKE !!! Dang!!!
     

    vmax

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    the thing that stuck in my mind was when it was mentioned about artificial sweeteners is look at artificial flowers. Birds and bees leave them alone because they are not natural and your body could have a similar reaction to artificial chemicals
     

    ed308

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    I've tried to give up Splendia for Stevia. But, Stevia doesn't taste as sweet which has turned me off. I'll have to give it another try. Almost out of Splendia and have plenty of Stevia from when I bought it to try.
     

    Fastest1

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    Are you giving up sugar due to the type 2?
    Does the type 2 create an issue where you cant produce the proper amount of insulin to balance your sugars OR has your body become immune to your own insulin and isnt lowering the sugar levels?
    Are you on any prescriptions?
     

    coachrick

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    I've tried to give up Splendia for Stevia. But, Stevia doesn't taste as sweet which has turned me off. I'll have to give it another try. Almost out of Splendia and have plenty of Stevia from when I bought it to try.

    Stevia, to me, is a bit like saccharin...It CAN make things taste 'sweeter'; but it's incredibly bitter if you get too much.
    I will say I have less joint pain and proprioceptor screw-ups since dropping Splenda(many folks attribute clumsiness, muscle fatigue, etc to Sucralose intake...I might agree).
    I used to drink most of a gallon of Arizona Diet Iced Green Tea(Splenda) every day...maybe two gallons over three days...I had it first thing in the morning, with meals, and as a beverage at night ! I would imagine their distributor wondered what happened when I quit buying the stuff every other day! ;) I've been off sodas for 6 years(that was my big Aspartame vehicle back then); but that sweet tea is calling me!!! If I could join My Darling and drink water at lunch, I'd save at least a couple dozen teaspoons of sugar right there, not to mention a couple of bucks at every lunch! Dang!!!
     

    Anger

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    not cold turkey but i really never added sugar to anything in the first place. I was a bit of a candy binger though. since then i have tried to limit refined foods of all sorts ... esp foods with high fructose corn syrup and added sugar for the last 6 months. Seems to be working.
     

    vmax

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    Are you giving up sugar due to the type 2?
    Does the type 2 create an issue where you cant produce the proper amount of insulin to balance your sugars OR has your body become immune to your own insulin and isnt lowering the sugar levels?
    Are you on any prescriptions?

    no. I just want to drop some weight and it wouldn't hurt to lower my risk factor for sure. I am about 40 pounds over weight right now. But I am 6-7 and I hold it well, but I can't help to think what my knees and feet might pay the price when I;m older.
    I see people all of the time who can't walk with knee, back and feet issues and it's because of a spoon and fork

    I have not had any health scare or even or doctor tell me to do this. Just a friend who survived cancer urging me to give up sugar and eat better.
    I've got a 12 year old daughter and a 16 year old son and I want to be able to take my grandkids hunting and shooting down the road.

    Plus I have watched my mother in law deteriate into a pathetic form of a human from smoking 30 years, failing to do rehab after knee replacement and poor diet.

    She brought every bit of it on herself. That is my motivator to eat and live better.
     

    karlac

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    My 92 year old father, when asked about how his diet might have played a role in his longevity:
    "I eat a little bit of everything, some of it might even be good for me."
     

    vmax

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    heck when I look back at my ancestors and find pictures of them from the turn of the century, everybody was skinny as hell compared to what you see on the street today. Obese people just were not around I guess.

    Monsanto, McDonalds, and remote control TVs were in the distant future.
     

    coachrick

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    make sure you understand that Stevia is not artificial. It is an herb and all natural.

    But...but...but...most of the Stevia products are not pure Stevia...Even "Pure Via" has dextrose as its #1 ingredient. Others have Xylitol, Erythritol, Dextrose as well...also as the #1 ingredient. Dang!!! Others combine table sugar and Stevia...doesn't work for me(not in tea anyway). I've found saccharin mixed with sugar can produce greater 'sweetness'; but even Sweet n Low has dextrose as its main ingredient. I'm pretty tough, but the sugar alcohols like Xylitol do a number on my stomach...feels like I swallowed a balloon !

    Here's some light reading:
    Chemical Structure of Sugar Substitutes and Artificial Sweeteners
     

    rsayloriii

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    Day 7 here without a coke of any kind. Been tough, but have done it so far. Dr Pepper, taste and convenience, are my pitfalls. No caffeine either for the past 7 days. Have been having a little help. Girlfriend has stopped drinking cokes... at least when she's around me. Coworker of mine has helped out a little by getting me bottled water... even though she has a coke. A bit of a torture, but I can't expect her to give it up just because I have. Worst part was going to Whataburger this past weekend. Ended up getting the lemonade. Not nearly the calories of a coke, and it has no caffeine. Other than fast food, eating out isn't a problem as I normally just order water... I'm a cheapskate, lol. Fast food, though, it's rough. Feels sacraligious to not have a coke of some kind.
     

    Vaquero

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    I gave up sugar about 15 years ago.
    I keep one coke in the cooler, just for when my blood sugar gets low.
    A few swigs, screw the cap back on it and put it back in the cooler.
     
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