I want to be sugar-free

Do I dare do this right around the holidays and right before I'm planning to travel?
Why not?

I have been following a low-carb, moderate - high protein, high fat protocol since February 2023 and I'm very happy with my results so far:

• Since then I have lost 30 lbs.
• Shed 8 inches from my waistline.
• Built muscle.
• Changed my body composition.
• Feel better about myself.
• Have more energy and motivation.

I started this journey when I got my bloodwork back and found out that I had high blood pressure, was pre-diabetic, and had a vitamin D deficiency (this was a surprise since I live in the tropics and used to spend 1 - 5 hours working outside daily.)

I'm so thankful that I finally got enough of a wake-up call to make these big lifestyle changes and stick with them.

Our accountability thread on this forum has really helped me a lot. Thank you so much for sharing your tips and tricks and helping me to stay accountable!

If you are working towards fitness goals or any goals please feel free to join us:

What are your health / fitness goals? Accountability

This morning I listened to Dr. Ekberg's Video and it inspired me to go completely sugar free for at least the next 30 days:

The link doesn't want to work here, but the video is called:
What If You Totally Stop Eating Sugar For 30 Days?

I hit a plateau over these last 2 months that I would like to break through. While I'm doing much better overall, there are still some areas that I would like to clean up. According to charts for my height (4'11") I could still stand to lose 30 more lbs. I still crave sweet things and I think that splenda in my coffee has affected me. I also had a few of the "keto friendly products" and I think I need to switch to whole foods and do my best to stay away from packaged items. My doctor told me that I shouldn't lower my calories because she doesn't want my metabolism to slow down, but I should make sure that I get enough quality protein and do some strength training (I currently do dumbbell workouts 5 times a week so I think I'm on the right track there).

Have you ever broken up with sugar before? What are some of the benefits that you've experienced? How did you overcome the obstacles?

Wish me luck!

~Alana

 

Good luck on the journey! just be aware of all the sugars out there. My Dad kept diabetes at bay by stopping sugar the day in 1978 the Dr told him he was diabetic. Then he found out that included oranges and apples,potatoes, and many other things most of us never think about but his test strips revealed. One of my best friends went to only meat and water for the past 5 months and has gone from almost 400 down to 255. He attributes the lack of sugar to his feeling better, being more alert, and general attitude improvement. He is a changed man for sure. I've never seen anyone quit sugar and regret it.

 

Hey Alanaana, You really need to make some more cuts to loose weight and gain health! #1 is Sugar, #2 is Bread, #3 in Dairy, #4 Non White Pork! I used to be 283 pounds, which for me is nearly 100 pounds OVER where I should be, from 1988 to 2018, I was 195 pounds, then things took a turn and combined with my Wife and Mother inlaw's fantastic cooking, plus getting older and retired/not as active, I gained weight like crazy, despite working out and trying to eat right, I was in bad shape and getting worse!
Thankfully, I listen to my body, and it was telling me if I didn't make some serious changes, I was going to be in serious trouble, and trouble happened, I had a mild stroke that was a serious wake up! That was the last straw and I went full nuke on my health to get back to where I need to be! First thing was the BREAD, I love bread, but it was gonna kill me! Second was Sugar, I didn't think I was consuming all that much, but many fruits I enjoy are worse then eating raw sugar, and THAT needed to change! Dairy has been the hardest for me, i'm a serious milk drinker, so I had to really cut back, and lastly, Pork, to the point that I don't even eat any of it any more, it's all bad for you! Another thing, you need to get the hell away from processes foods, especially meats with Nitrates, that's a biggy, and that includes Turkey and Ham! Red Meat isn't as bad for you, but your going to have to moderate your intake, especially if your doing Keto/Paleo, focuse more on the veggies and do your research on fruits to get the good natural sugars and not the nasty stuff! Lastly, get as far away from artificial ANYTHING as you can, RUNNOFT as fast and as far as you can, that stuff will kill you faster then any of the other stuff, especially Corn and Corn Byproducts, American Corn is 100% GMO, even if they tell you otherwise, they are lying, it's ALL GMO Nasty, so good by good Mexican food, and hello authentic home made with "REAL" corn from Mexico!

 

Basically, no pasta, no bread, no potatoes, no rice, and definitely no sugar - this means no fruit juice and alcohol too. That's really all I do to maintain my weight. I do make exceptions like during Thanksgiving to eat wife's apple pie, homemade cranberry sauce and turkey stuffing and a few drinks too! This is generally all I do and it works for me. The big carbs and the sugar are what really gets me...

 

Don’t always believe a chart. (30 lbs over?) A chart might tell me the same thing but I’m dense, no chance I’m more than about 10 over right now.

 

Alcohol is my evil calorie.

All food is pretty much farm to table. Majority is garden raised or wild game. The rest of the diet is protein and fat heavy with tortillas being the primary carb. Until now....

I will eat like a pig on chocolate and sweets through Christmas. It's my happy time.

I'm not diabetic. No clogging of arteries, fatty liver or such. However, I am a 5'10" bear at 325 pounds of fat and muscle.

It's time to set my old friend Alcohol aside for a while and double down on water. These old Airborne Infantry joints will cripple me soon if I don't.

 

No alcohol for me. I don’t have poor judgement under the influence of that stuff, I have NO judgement. I eat too much ice cream though, yup.

 

I dont think i can fully kick the sugar, i have pretty much adopted a one meal a day (lunch). If i snack its usually peanut butter, carrots, beef jerkey etc. I have been doing some basic workouts each evening at the house, trying to run everyday but a minimum of 3 days a week. Started taking some supplements and vitamins. I do however drink alot of milk. Bread intake has slowed alot as well. I went from 145lbs to 185ish over 6 years in a factory work setting. If i could get to 165-170 ,i would be happy

 

those non-sugar sweeteners can be worse for you then sugar!!!!!!!

there are reports available... honey is about the only safe one...

it's just so expensive... and quality can be an issue... some add HFCS etc...

 

Well ,, I was all in till ya throwed the alcohol in there .

I did a juicing diet a few years back ,, bought the machines and vegetables and juiced for about 4-6 months. I dropped 50 lbs ,, felt better,, but it's kinda time consuming, and hard to do when your running the roads for work.
It's a whole different level of commitment. But worth it ,, I really should get back to it
.

 

I’ve never really tried a diet of any kind. I eat Captain Crunch pretty regularly if that counts. Yum.

 

My mother was always thin and I think take after her she always had cookies, candy and cake in the house. Must admit I am a junk food junky 6' 3" and never weighed more than 215-220 cholesterol runs about 210.

 

Ditching sugar is hard, not just the addiction part of it. If you buy pre-mixed spices, chances are they put sugar in it. Why? Spices do not need sugar of any kind, but there it is in the majority of mixed spices. I figure most of the population is so used to having everything "sweet" that they won't like it without the sugar. My wife found a good list of "how to mix your own spices" that includes chili seasoning, spaghetti mix, taco mix, etc.
So much better when you use fresh herbs and spices anyway.
Go full on Carnivore and you won't have to worry about sugar.

 

Cooking for yourself isn't going to be too tough, ditching the sugar. It's anything that's prepared, that will be the difficulty. HFCS (high fructose corn syrup) seems to be in EVERYTHING, these days, and is just as bad as sugar, maybe worse! Stay away from anything advertised as "low fat" or "fat free", as they typically load it up with HFCS, in lieu of fat.

 

Thank you so much for all of your responses. I'm going to respond to everyone sorry I'm a little slow to do so. I feel so encouraged by all of you!

I made it through the 1st 24 hours without sugar and it wasn't as bad as I thought it would be! So many "marketed as healthy" or "sugar free" products contain sucralose and / or acesulfame potassium which is considered "keto friendly" in the "dirty keto" realm, but the more I learn about these synthesized sweeteners, the more I realize that they are toxic poisons. It seems like the safest option is for me to ditch all the packaged goods and start making my own spices. You're right, many of the spice blends, even Lawry's seasoned salt contain sugar!

 

Yum. If you can get away with it, why not?

 

I can eat sugar, I just have to deal with the missing time afterwards. I'm severely hypoglycemic and too much sugar puts me to sleep. If I eat sugary foods during the holidays I can stay awake as long as I keep eating more sugar, but that just makes the crash harder and there's a sugar hangover in the morning.

Paleo seems to work for me. Looking at your routine it looks like adding some sprints could help you break the stagnation. No jogging. You must RUN like wild animals are chasing you. Full effort sprints, 70 yards, six times with a minute cool down between sprints. Do this only once a week and see if you don't start moving the scale again.

 

Thank you so much for saying this. It's reminders like this that keep me motivated when it gets tough and I know it will because I historically lean on treats for comfort. I really admire people like your Dad and your friend for making these massive lifestyle changes.

 

5 years ago, I reduced my beer intake (8 or so this year) and sweeteners.