# Staying away from sugar



## Kito (Jan 6, 2012)

I have a monster of a sweet tooth, always have since I was very young. I was always given desserts after meals as a child, so now it's incredibly hard for me to stay away from them.

I used to come home from school and stuff my face with chocolate, most likely as a form of comfort. I thought this was fine until I started putting on weight. It wasn't even a noticeable amount, but I pretty much panicked and stopped eating all sugary foods, except after meals. My parents noticed them all piling up in the cupboard, because nobody was eating them. They started worrying about me because I'm fairly slim, but I was still avoiding food that I used to happily eat.

Around that time I developed a fear of getting diabetes, and never being able to eat sugary stuff ever again. I still have that fear, and while I've been able to avoid sweet treats for the most part (except after meals) I've started compulsively checking labels, attempting to limit my sugar intake. It's driving me crazy because it's in almost everything I eat. Sometimes I don't even enjoy my food because I'm too worried about the sugar content.

Are there any good ways to regulate your sugar intake while still being able to eat happily? I know I'm worrying too much but I can't shake this stupid fear. I can barely snack on anything that doesn't have stupid levels of sugar in it. What kinda things can you eat which don't taste awful yet aren't packed with sugar?


----------



## PyrLove (Jun 6, 2010)

Try focusing on natural foods and eliminate the processed ones. Fruit has a lot of sugar in it but it doesn't affect your glucose levels as much as the processed varieties. Learn to make your favorite snacks from scratch. I have a fantastic book of bread recipes that requires little effort and, because the dough is made in advance then refrigerated, takes only about an hour to have a loaf fresh from the oven. Amazon.com: Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day: The Discovery That Revolutionizes Home Baking (9780312362911): Jeff Hertzberg, Zoe Francois: Books My final suggestion is to learn about the glycemic index. Glycemic index - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia


----------



## Death Persuades (Feb 17, 2012)

Fruit.


----------



## Devin87 (May 15, 2011)

The thing that's helped me a lot is berries and cream. I buy the bag of frozen mixed berries and put them in a bowl still frozen and pour a healthy amount of heavy whipping cream over them (I'm primal leaning, so for me all that fat is an excellent thing). The cream freezes around the berries and it's almost like ice cream. Whenever I'm crazing sweets, that's what I'd have.


----------



## Eerie (Feb 9, 2011)

Devin87 said:


> The thing that's helped me a lot is berries and cream. I buy the bag of frozen mixed berries and put them in a bowl still frozen and pour a healthy amount of heavy whipping cream over them (I'm primal leaning, so for me all that fat is an excellent thing). The cream freezes around the berries and it's almost like ice cream. Whenever I'm crazing sweets, that's what I'd have.


That sounds delicious, I'm limited on how many berries I can have but I <3 heavy cream. (atkins here, so the fat is a good thing here as well) Nom, totally going to try this. Thanks for the idea.


----------



## Proteus (Mar 5, 2010)

Naturopathyworks - food cravings...

Healthier alternative suggestions to whatever you're craving.


----------



## INTJellectual (Oct 22, 2011)

Oh my god I love Sweets. I can't avoid them after a hearty meal.


----------



## Master Mind (Aug 15, 2011)

ChanceyRose said:


> Fruit has a lot of sugar in it but it doesn't affect your glucose levels as much as the processed varieties.





josue0098 said:


> Fruit.


I rarely eat sweets, but I do eat fruit. My favorite fruit is concord grapes. I take them off the vine, can grab a bunch of them at once to eat, and sometimes I freeze them for a frozen snack.


----------



## WickedQueen (Jun 1, 2009)

Try to change sweets with fruits. I usually eat different fruits at one time (after lunch), with each fruit in small portion (one normal slice). My favorite usually a mix of watermelon, papaya, melon, and pineapple.

If you decided to eat sweets sometimes, drink a lot of mineral water after that to reduce the sugar concentration in your body.


----------



## Draginja (Sep 11, 2011)

sweeeets! Its hard to get away from 'em.


----------



## SocioApathetic (May 20, 2012)

My tongue can't handle sweets. My body only ever started changing when I stopped processed sugar.

Most people have already suggested this because it helps: fruits. Try not to eat too much fruit in one day. It's full of natural sugar and if you're the type to gain weight easily, you might want to tone it down a bit.

Every once in a while, have a small piece of plain chocolate if you are really craving something sweet. You don't have to go to extremes. You can live moderately. Just remember that our bodies weren't really made to handle processed sugar (much less processed _anything_​). Serve your body well and it will serve you well in return.


----------



## Philosophaser Song Boy (Jan 16, 2011)

When it comes to sugar, be vigilant against yourself. Try your very best, and get your family and friends to assist you with acquiring a taste for fruits. Your body is used to those refined sugars, so when you taste those natural, healthier sugars, you are disgusted. Your change will not work overnight, and if you are successful in treating that statement as a challenge, then I applaud you. Your body will not be your friend if you just up and shift your diet immediately. I am not saying it is impossible, I am just saying your cravings and temptation to say "fuck it" are merely your body whining for those sugars it is used to.

It isn't entirely your fault, and nobody should judge you even if it was. If you ever have children, encourage your wife to consume varieties of healthy flavors, and your offspring will have an easier time selecting better options for themselves.


----------



## Philosophaser Song Boy (Jan 16, 2011)

SocioApathetic said:


> (much less processed _anything_​). Serve your body well and it will serve you well in return.


I think it is important to point out what "processed" means in certain circumstances. I had a friend who stated processed cheese was not real. Having made processed cheese in a dairy plant, you want to know what all went into the product to make it "processed"? *Heat*... Heat, water and some salt maybe, but salt consumption can easily be controlled. I love it when people claim processed foods are bad when they do not even have a clue what processed even means. I always love thinking of the food companies giggling devilishly over their lines of processed foods being made, purposely plotting what "poisons" they should dish out to the Americans next... LOL

Consumers ask for consistency, and they receive a product that was processed to ensure legal food safety consistencies as regulated by the government, as well as food quality consistencies that customers demand so that they receive the same product every time. If you want a different product every time you buy it, go for the artisan stuff.


----------



## timeless (Mar 20, 2010)

If there's one thing I learned from doing Atkins, it's this: eating sweet things leads to a craving for more sweet things. If you quit eating sweet stuff (including fruit) cold turkey, you will reduce your craving for sugary stuff to almost nil. It will be hard for the first week or two but after that, you'll have a hard time imagining eating sweets. For example, about 3 months or so into Atkins, I accidentally ate three lifesavers mints because I erroneously thought they were sugar-free. It made me feel sick for an hour. I didn't find out they had sugar in them until I checked the wrapper to find out why I was feeling so bad.


----------



## Peter (Feb 27, 2010)

Kito said:


> I have a monster of a sweet tooth, always have since I was very young. I was always given desserts after meals as a child, so now it's incredibly hard for me to stay away from them.
> 
> I used to come home from school and stuff my face with chocolate, most likely as a form of comfort. I thought this was fine until I started putting on weight. It wasn't even a noticeable amount, but I pretty much panicked and stopped eating all sugary foods, except after meals. My parents noticed them all piling up in the cupboard, because nobody was eating them. They started worrying about me because I'm fairly slim, but I was still avoiding food that I used to happily eat.
> 
> ...


You need to educate your self better on the subject. It's always better to be obsessed with wanting to know everything there is to know than to allow yourself an irrational fear.

Sugar exists in more than one form. If you pay attention to the labels, they mentioned sucrose and fructose. Specifically you'll find the HFCS which is High Fructose Corn Syrup.

One of the things you will find when you research this subject is that there is no clear answer on anything. This is very common in health related subjects because nobody wants to be wrong and run the risk of getting sued. So what ever I write next, just keep in mind that I'm not giving any guarantee that everything I say is 100% correct.


The fructose is the problem because for some reason your body is able to do just one thing with fructose and that is to transform it into fat. Normal sugars (glucose) are used by your body. For example in muscles and your brain. It's an energy source that can be used directly.

Not so for fructose. Any fructose you eat goes straight to your fat reserves and only then it can be used as fuel for your body. (that means you need to be burning fat in order to spend the energy you got from fructose.)


I don't know if this helped, but now you have a goal: To reduce the amount of fructose in your diet. So you'll have to buy sweets that don't contain fructose. (That sounds easier than it is because HFCS is used a lot as a sweetener. Pretty much all processes foods are sweetened with HFCS. (the reason: It's cheaper and much sweeter than normal sugars.))


----------



## Philosophaser Song Boy (Jan 16, 2011)

Peter said:


> The fructose is the problem because for some reason your body is able to do just one thing with fructose and that is to transform it into fat. Normal sugars (glucose) are used by your body. For example in muscles and your brain. It's an energy source that can be used directly.
> 
> Not so for fructose. Any fructose you eat goes straight to your fat reserves and only then it can be used as fuel for your body. (that means you need to be burning fat in order to spend the energy you got from fructose.)
> )


I guess people should avoid fruits then (fructose)


----------



## Peter (Feb 27, 2010)

Premium G said:


> I guess people should avoid fruits then (fructose)


As with many natural foods, as long as you eat it in its natural form it's just fine (though I wouldn't recommend eating fruit only as the total source of calories). In processed form, it becomes HFCS which means it's used in high concentrations and since it's cheaper and sweeter, it has been replacing "better" sugars ever since the 70ties.

Someone who already indicates to be eating way too much sugar, is probably going to benefit from avoiding fructose. (Even though the chance of success is not too high as it isn't easy to find sweets that don't use fructose.)


----------



## Philosophaser Song Boy (Jan 16, 2011)

Peter said:


> As with many natural foods, as long as you eat it in its natural form it's just fine (though I wouldn't recommend eating fruit only as the total source of calories). In processed form, it becomes HFCS which means it's used in high concentrations and since it's cheaper and sweeter, it has been replacing "better" sugars ever since the 70ties.
> 
> Someone who already indicates to be eating way too much sugar, is probably going to benefit from avoiding fructose. (Even the chance of success is not too high as it isn't easy to find sweets that don't use fructose.)


No worries. I am no troll... just an INFP who majored in Food Science


----------



## Peter (Feb 27, 2010)

Premium G said:


> No worries. I am no troll... just an INFP who majored in Food Science


Cool, then you can confirm what I said or explain where I went wrong.


----------



## Philosophaser Song Boy (Jan 16, 2011)

HFCS is such a debated topic. Many of my professors would probably argue for it, since it is a cheap ingredient that helps provide a basic (not necessarily healthful) food source that we are blessed to have here in America. Though, I also went to school in the Southern US, where sweet-tea runs through everyone's veins, and fried foods are more revered than healthful options. I think any sugar that is concentrated is not going to be as healthful (mind you the level of healthfulness sugars are anyway) than natural options like basic sucrose and fructose. This is from a conceptual standpoint, as I honestly never have performed the research. For me, personally, the concept seems to make enough sense.


----------



## chip (Oct 12, 2011)

Premium G said:


> Psh, naan is where it is at! With some tikka masala or curry. Also, anything is a win with peanut butter!


I LOVE tandoori naan bread!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I hate the store hummus, its better to make your own. I like my hummus with different beans and crunchy almost


----------



## Red Panda (Aug 18, 2010)

Peter said:


> You need to educate your self better on the subject. It's always better to be obsessed with wanting to know everything there is to know than to allow yourself an irrational fear.
> 
> Sugar exists in more than one form. If you pay attention to the labels, they mentioned sucrose and fructose. Specifically you'll find the HFCS which is High Fructose Corn Syrup.
> 
> ...



I'm sorry but you have some very important mistakes in this. Sucrose (sugar) is made of two molecules: glucose + fructose. Fructose is sweeter in taste and that's why they make HFCS (which is not a natural product) with it. Fructose is metabolized just like glucose, it is in fact converted to glucose in the liver before it's stored or used by the body. 
The energy (calories) provided by sugar (glucose+fructose) is two times more than if the food contains only fructose, because it's only one molecule instead of two. So it is much better to eat foods that contain fructose alone as a sweetener, instead of sugar. HFCS is another thing, and provides much much more calories than just fructose, so of course it's best to be avoided.

to original poster:
As a sweetener you can also try stevia, it's a plant 100 times sweeter than sugar, so you can have the same taste for much less calories.
The best way to not crave sweet foods is to eat balanced meals throughout the day, with many complex carbs (whole foods and veggies) which raise blood sugar slowly so you can last more without eating again. Craving for sweets happens when your blood sugar drops, so your goal is to not let that happen by eating small meals between breakfast, lunch and dinner. And of course the best sweet is fruit.


----------



## Thalassa (Jun 10, 2010)

Premium G said:


> While that is true for many food manufacturers, it is not true of *ALL* processed cheese. I am sick of people assuming processed means bad, evil, and ungodly. Just like I am sick of people assuming organic is more nutritious. There have not been any facts to claim organic foods are more healthful, but perhaps they could be due to the lack of chemical growth supplements... Until we all grow up and discover what health problems occur, no one will know. Frankly I prefer buying organic as an experiment, just to see how I am when I am older compared to those who did not, because I *believe* (notice I did not say *know*) that the lack of chemical additives would naturally be healthier... but again, I will not know until years later.
> 
> Anyway, I worked in a cheese plant, and I am a Food Scientist. Just because it says "processed" does not mean it is bad. Any intelligent person would read the labels and ingredients of the product before making a judgment on it. I don't mean to be an asshole, I am just stating what I have learned and experienced through legitimate education and work.


I think this is a matter of semantics. Of course, processed can be good. Pasteurization removes pathogens from milk, for example. A snack bar can be made entirely of apples and pears or apples and cherries (there's actually a brand called That's It that literally makes snack bars from FRUIT ONLY) that are technically processed because they are mashed and mixed together in so many parts in order to make the snack bar.

But I am referring to "processed cheese food." 

You can taste and smell the difference between organic; people will tell you point blank that organic or farm-fresh eggs have brighter or darker yolks, I can confirm that organic milk has a much better flavor, and organic vine ripened tomatoes have that smell that tomatoes are supposed to have. 

Organic pretty much is better.

Processed (in the bad sense) and junk foods became popular as a way to feed people massive quantities of food cheaply. And you can see how that's working out for us.

It's become so bad that not only are many people overweight or obese, but they've forgotten how good food actually can be. It saddens me to think that nearly an entire generation of people were deprived of knowing how much better "real food" actually tastes, it's tragic really. 

I'm not suggesting that starvation is better, but there is something more balanced.


----------



## Philosophaser Song Boy (Jan 16, 2011)

fourtines said:


> I think this is a matter of semantics. Of course, processed can be good. Pasteurization removes pathogens from milk, for example. A snack bar can be made entirely of apples and pears or apples and cherries (there's actually a brand called That's It that literally makes snack bars from FRUIT ONLY) that are technically processed because they are mashed and mixed together in so many parts in order to make the snack bar.
> 
> But I am referring to "processed cheese food."
> 
> organic is pretty much better.


this is where I stopped reading. can you show me educated resources and research? I studied food science, and learned that there is no scientific proof to suggest organic is better or healthier. one may believe it is, as I do, but that does not make it true. it is just a preference.


----------



## Staffan (Nov 15, 2011)

Fruit is probably a good substitute as many have already said. But tropical fruits generally have a higher glycemic index, if you're worried about diabethes. Stuff like papaya, pineapple watermelon, banana, and mango have a high glycemic index whereas apple, pear, cherries are much lower, as are a lot of dried food, like dried apricots for instance, even though it tastes really sweet.


----------



## ewerk (Sep 22, 2012)

Here is some important info on sugar...

Sugar gives you a high as soon as you eat it and then you quickly crash which leads you to crave even more sugar and the ugly cycle continues.


Overwhelming your body with sugar puts enormous strain on your hormones.


Not only does eating too much sugar result in weight gain and puts you at risk for diabetes, but it also leads to low energy and scientifically linked to depression.


If that’s not bad enough, sugar compromises your immune system, has been linked to cancer and is said to cause premature aging and puts you at risk for autoimmune diseases like arthritis, heart disease, and multiple sclerosis.


Bottomline: Stay clear of refined sugars

Instead substitute with anything that has healthier sugar alternatives: fruit, agave syrup, brown rice syrup, stevia, dark chocolate with over 70% cacao

Hope this helps!


----------



## ewerk (Sep 22, 2012)

Oh and try green smoothies - they are sweet and super healthy and delicious.

Try my Rockin' Green Smoothie Recipe:


- A cup of non-dairy milk (i.e. rice milk, almond milk, hemp milk, coconut milk, soy milk)
- A banana and/or any other fruits (frozen berries are great to add)

- A scoop of Organic Superfood powder by Greens Organics (you can find this at Whole Foods or any health food store)
- Optional scoop of almond, cashew or peanut butter for protein
- A few ice cubes 


Everyone seems to love it plus it's really healthy!


----------



## NT the DC (May 31, 2012)

Kito said:


> I have a monster of a sweet tooth, always have since I was very young. I was always given desserts after meals as a child, so now it's incredibly hard for me to stay away from them.
> 
> I used to come home from school and stuff my face with chocolate, most likely as a form of comfort. I thought this was fine until I started putting on weight. It wasn't even a noticeable amount, but I pretty much panicked and stopped eating all sugary foods, except after meals. My parents noticed them all piling up in the cupboard, because nobody was eating them. They started worrying about me because I'm fairly slim, but I was still avoiding food that I used to happily eat.
> 
> ...


If you want sugar eat as much fruit as you want, it's accompanied with fiber.
Best sources are: berries, cherries, strawberries (organic - high pesticide food), pears, apples, peaches, nectarines.
If you want to get rid of sugar cravings don't eat sugar.
Cravings are cyclic due to your insulin levels spiking and dropping, that doesn't happen with fruit as much because the fiber counteracts the spike and consequently the drop.

Lay off the grains too, they have fiber but too much carbs and not much of nutritional value... hence them needing to be fortified.

Oh and treat the dried fruit as candy, eat scarcely.


----------



## mental blockstack (Dec 15, 2011)

Brown rice and occasional coffee will "extended-release" your blood sugar at very moderate levels, iirc.


----------



## fihe (Aug 30, 2012)

I say the easiest way to avoid foods you are trying not to eat is to simply not keep them in the house. this has been difficult for me because I live in a household of six, and I'm the only one who is really trying to watch my diet. I really like chocolate and other sweets, and used to buy candy bars a lot at my job at one point. they're just way too accessible and easy to eat  I think what really has helped me to reduce my sugar intake is thinking about how hard I worked to lose so much weight (my highest weight ever was 50 lbs. more than I am now) and how I'd hate to undo my effort through irresponsible eating. I'm even worried about eating too much fruit, but when I do eat it, I make sure to avoid very sweet fruits. whenever I feel like eating before it's time for my next meal or snack, I drink tea. I don't add any sweetener so it contains no calories, so I drink as much as I want. I probably have 8-10 mugs a day, mostly decaf.

for you, I'd recommend eating fruits instead of your usual sweets; just make sure the fruits are not too high in sugar. I would recommend strawberries and blueberries, or for something more in-season, apples and pears. and drink a lot of water or unsweetened tea. if you like flavored drinks, try Hint water. it's fruit-flavored water without any kind of sweetener. I've seen it sold at Target and Stop & Shop. and I would advise against drinking anything with aspartame or other forms of fake sugar, because they could hurt your body over the long term if you consume a large amount.


----------

