Giving Up Sugar

[thesshhh]

Anyone here given up sugar or at least tried to? If so, what was your method and how did you get on?

[woofgang]

depends what you mean by giving up sugar...do you mean in hot drinks, sugary drinks entirely, added sugar, foods that are prepared with sugar or sugar in all its forms including fruit and so on?
Giving it up in hot drinks is easy. I still prefer my coffee with sugar in but drink it without without a second thought. I find giving up sugary cold drinks harder because I loathe the taste of sweeteners, including stevia and most of them make me ill in one way or another. I would just go to water if I had to.
I tried the Atkins diet once and went completely sugar free for three weeks. The sweetest thing I ate in that time was some carrot. It was ok and I didn't crave but I didn't find that Atkins suited me generally.

[Eleena]

Sweeteners. I find I need a sweetener in my 'first' drink of the day, if need be I could do without after that, and often do.

[tamborine]

nope - I need the energy hit or I cant function. I have given up fizzy pops.

[Old_Geezer]

Tried giving it up in coffee for almost a year before I realised I was being daft. Coffee doesn't taste great unsweetened. Use Splenda now.

[naomi24]

In tea and coffee reduce the amount gradually until you have none. I couldn't drink tea or coffee with sugar now, and sweet foods, cakes, biscuits, etc., hold no attraction whatsoever.

[thesshhh]

I don’t just mean in hot drinks. I mean giving up all sweet foods, especially having had a sweet tooth all my life up til now

[naomi24]

Will power I guess. We eat what we choose to eat.

[Old_Geezer]

Life's too short unless one has medical reasons for doing it.

[andy-hughes]

I had hypnotism.

My hypnotist told me that he could vary the impact of the taste f sugar from vague distaste, to instantaneous vomiting - I opted for the former.

I had a forty-minute session where he talked to me through headphones which had quiet music underneath, and subliminal messages for my consciousness which were inaudible to me.

The session was recorded onto a CD and I played it through headphones every day for three weeks.

It was successful from day one, I really had no desire for sugar or any chocolate or sweets, and I was someone who could eat a Toffee Crisp as soon as I opened my eyes in the morning.

I recommend this as a painless way of giving up sugar - there is no feeling of 'resisting the urge' because the urge is simply no longer there.

[RobNorth]

My GP said my numbers were approaching the diabetic level so I quit using sugar in drinks and cut out biscuits (not that I ate a lot and I wasn't overweight) I lost 6 kilograms in a few weeks and felt miserable. I went back onto half a spoon of sugar and I feel fine. My numbers are now ok. I was amazed at the reaction for a relatively small adjustment to diet.

[Postdog]

A broken tooth helped me...

[woofgang]

have you got a strong reason to do it? I think that motivation is key.

[jennyjoan]

Jane McDonald went on the "Sugar Diet" and has allegedly lost 3 stone. She looks good too.

[ummmm]

I used to drink loads of coffee (2 sugars) and coke. I gave it up for lent and I felt really ill. I thought it was caffeine withdrawal but in hindsight I think it was sugar withdrawal. So I'd advise to cut down slowly.

My mother is diabetic (food controlled) so has given up sugar that doesn't appear naturally in foods. She looks fantastic, she always did anyway but now she looks even better.

[waterboatman]

You need a certain amount of sugar. A lot of foods have a sugar content, so you can safely give up sugar in tea, coffee, avoid sugary soft drinks, like coke and pepsi etc. All fruits and root veg have a sugar content, so you can get your necessary daily intake from them. I gave it up by cutting down over a period of a couple of months, so didn't really miss it.

[Jackdaw33]

I have a bag of sugar which I've had for over two years. I only use it:

a) when drinking coffee (very rare) never in tea
b) sprinkled over grapefruit or strawberries (again very rare).

[waterboatman]

I still have several bags of sugar from when I used to make 200 bottles of wine a year. I stopped making it 25 years ago!

[murraymints]

I only have sugar for the window cleaner and visitors..same with coffee...

[johnk]

I just went cold turkey and haven't taken sugar for 60 years

[Sqad]

Same as johnk ^^^^