Reducing my sugar intake.

[JowGaWolf]

Maybe this will help others. I've reduced my sugar intake to one sugary drink a day. This only works for drinks you don't mind adding water to.

How it works. I fill a regular sized glass of my sugary drink, drink 1/4 then add water and I do this until I have my fill. The glass lasts a full day and some days I'm done before the taste of the drink is done. I also recommend drinking a full glass of water first before you favorite sweet drink. If you drink all of the sugar then finish up with lemon water; this will kill the sugar craving. This works with fruit drinks and tea with sugar which often has tons of sugar. Overall I eat fewer sugary snacks

 

[Yokozuna514]

Maybe this will help others. I've reduced my sugar intake to one sugary drink a day. This only works for drinks you don't mind adding water to.

How it works. I fill a regular sized glass of my sugary drink, drink 1/4 then add water and I do this until I have my fill. The glass lasts a full day and some days I'm done before the taste of the drink is done. I also recommend drinking a full glass of water first before you favorite sweet drink. If you drink all of the sugar then finish up with lemon water; this will kill the sugar craving. This works with fruit drinks and tea with sugar which often has tons of sugar. Overall I eat fewer sugary snacks

Seems reasonable. Are you doing this for a particular reason ?

 

[Xue Sheng]

I gave up all sugar drinks years ago, and I am all the better for it too

 

[MetalBoar]

Maybe this will help others. I've reduced my sugar intake to one sugary drink a day. This only works for drinks you don't mind adding water to.

How it works. I fill a regular sized glass of my sugary drink, drink 1/4 then add water and I do this until I have my fill. The glass lasts a full day and some days I'm done before the taste of the drink is done. I also recommend drinking a full glass of water first before you favorite sweet drink. If you drink all of the sugar then finish up with lemon water; this will kill the sugar craving. This works with fruit drinks and tea with sugar which often has tons of sugar. Overall I eat fewer sugary snacks

That's awesome! I think reducing sugar is really beneficial. I'm glad that a cutting back approach is working for you and I'll keep your ideas in mind the next time someone asks me about reducing their sugar intake. Sweetened drinks are the thing that most people tell me they really struggle with.

About a decade ago I cut out essentially all added sugar in my diet after trying over and over to reduce my consumption, only to have it sneak its way back up over time. I say essentially, because I do go out to eat on occasion and I know there's added sugar in most restaurant meals even if you try to choose the healthy options and I also sometimes use a canned or prepackaged ingredient in my home cooking that adds a few grams of sugar to a whole meal. I also allow myself 1 square of 70% or greater cacao chocolate per week. That seems to be below the level that triggers my addiction and I often find I don't even want it.

I do model sugar like a drug and I do feel like I'm a sugar addict. Just like alcohol, a little isn't all that bad for you and again, like alcohol, a lot of people can consume it with regularity without any trouble. I'm that way with alcohol. I like to have a beer on the rare occasion that I have pizza or have a drink going out with friends, but at this point in my life that's about it. I could drink every night for a month and then not think about having a drink for a year. Sugar on the other hand is my nemesis. If I have a whole chocolate bar today that's not a big deal, I can leave it at that. If I have 1/4 of one every day for a week, two weeks later I'll be eating whole giant family sized bags of M&M's every night while I relax, crave dessert with every meal, and maybe sneak some in the middle of the day too. For me to reduce sugar intake meant being brutally uncompromising in my use.

 

[isshinryuronin]

Maybe this will help others. I've reduced my sugar intake to one sugary drink a day. This only works for drinks you don't mind adding water to.

How it works. I fill a regular sized glass of my sugary drink, drink 1/4 then add water and I do this until I have my fill. The glass lasts a full day and some days I'm done before the taste of the drink is done. I also recommend drinking a full glass of water first before you favorite sweet drink. If you drink all of the sugar then finish up with lemon water; this will kill the sugar craving. This works with fruit drinks and tea with sugar which often has tons of sugar. Overall I eat fewer sugary snacks

Though I have cut way down on sweet drinks, pastries still compel me to ingest them. They are very persuasive. I will try the lemon water to see if it reduces the pastries' insistence on being eaten.

 

[Kung Fu Wang]

I've reduced my sugar intake to one sugary drink a day.

What's your A1C?

I have lived for 1 and 1/2 year that I don't have sugar, salt, oil, .. in my kitchen. Everything I ate was from steaming. After that 1 and 1/2 year, I started to question the purpose of living.

 

[Alan0354]

Even a simpler solution, anyone drink diet sodas? I know if you always drink regular sodas, the diet sodas taste awful. BUT, if you force yourself to drink diet sodas, after a few days, you get used to it. Not just me, I know other people that did this, now we cannot stand drinking regular sodas!!! It's like our taste changed, we adapted to the taste of diet drinks and can't stand the sugar drinks anymore.

NOW, it's even better. They have FAVORITE WATER. You really need to try those. The taste is very intense, don't let the colorless fool you. Most of them are sugar free. I love the Walmart Fuji Apple soda. No cal, no caffeine.

Avoid fruit juice, it's so easy to gain weight drinking those. If you have type II diabetes, you particularly have to watch out your sugar drinks.

 

[Alan0354]

What's your A1C?

I have lived for 1 and 1/2 year that I don't have sugar, salt, oil, .. in my kitchen. Everything I ate was from steaming. After that 1 and 1/2 year, I started to question the purpose of living.

How old are you and what is your A1C? Your diet is very extreme. Unless there is a good reason, I won't go on your diet. Yes, if I am forced to your diet, I would question the purpose of living.

I am 69, My A1C is 5.7, at the border line. Like I posted, I drink only non sugar drinks and I don't miss sugar at all. I eat a lot of fruit and vegetables. BUT, I do eat a lot of protein and fatty food. I do "SEE FOOD" diet. I see food, I eat food. I put in over 7hrs of workout a week, but I refuse to sacrifice my food.

 

[Kung Fu Wang]

How old are you and what is your A1C?

I'm 74 and my A1C is 5.7. I like green tea and cashew milk.

 

[Alan0354]

I'm 74 and my A1C is 5.7. I like green tea and cashew milk.

View attachment 28622

Good for you.

My A1C is fine, but I have to take low does blood pressure and cholesterol pills. That's from the SEE FOOD diet.

 

[JowGaWolf]

Seems reasonable. Are you doing this for a particular reason ?

I just take in way too much sugar for my age to start with and second it was slowing down my progress. I want to reduce the sugar I eat without feeling like I have to put effort into it.

 

[JowGaWolf]

Though I have cut way down on sweet drinks, pastries still compel me to ingest them. They are very persuasive. I will try the lemon water to see if it reduces the pastries' insistence on being eaten.

Only use half a lemon per glass at the most. You can adjust the amount until it's at a taste you can deal with it.

 

[JowGaWolf]

Even a simpler solution, anyone drink diet sodas? I know if you always drink regular sodas, the diet sodas taste awful. BUT, if you force yourself to drink diet sodas, after a few days, you get used to it. Not just me, I know other people that did this, now we cannot stand drinking regular sodas!!! It's like our taste changed, we adapted to the taste of diet drinks and can't stand the sugar drinks anymore.

NOW, it's even better. They have FAVORITE WATER. You really need to try those. The taste is very intense, don't let the colorless fool you. Most of them are sugar free. I love the Walmart Fuji Apple soda. No cal, no caffeine.

Avoid fruit juice, it's so easy to gain weight drinking those. If you have type II diabetes, you particularly have to watch out your sugar drinks.

Artificial sweetners give me headaches and make me feel sick. I haven't had a soda in more than 10 years.

 

[Kung Fu Wang]

Artificial sweetners give me headaches and make me feel sick. I haven't had a soda in more than 10 years.

Our body don't need artificial flavor and artificial color.

 

[Yokozuna514]

I just take in way too much sugar for my age to start with and second it was slowing down my progress. I want to reduce the sugar I eat without feeling like I have to put effort into it.

There is a lot of sugar in food for sure, especially in the modern world and if you eat out often. Sugar is in almost everything we eat. It can even be found in your box of table salt. Read the label and you may be surprised to see there is more than salt in that box. Eating meals prepared at home allows us to control the amount of sugar we ingest so take a look at the food you eat every day as well. Like you said, small changes can add up over time.

I started to look at my food intake a few years ago and was surprised at how much sugar was in the food I ate. Most of the information I started with was from articles and documentaries but that led me to dig deeper when I found something surprising that I didn't know (like sugar being put into salt).

Most of the meals I eat are now prepared at home and after years of drinking 'diet' soda, I have switched back to regular soda. I rarely drink sodas to begin with but when I do I go full soda. Beer has '0' sugar, by the way.

 

[Buka]

Though I have cut way down on sweet drinks, pastries still compel me to ingest them. They are very persuasive. I will try the lemon water to see if it reduces the pastries' insistence on being eaten.

Pastries are not a food. They're a medicine!

 

[Alan0354]

Pastries are not a food. They're a medicine!

Yes!!! I have no issue drinking plane water at all. But that chocolate chip cookies, Ice cream bars etc. are food for the soul. I particularly like apple pie with condensed milk(sweetened). I was actually surprised my A1C is only 5.7!!!

 

[Alan0354]

Beer has '0' sugar, by the way.

It has carb. alcohol is very fattening. Every time I drink, I gain weight!!! I don't know the exact chemistry reaction, alcohol has a lot of calorie.

 

[Yokozuna514]

It has carb. alcohol is very fattening. Every time I drink, I gain weight!!! I don't know the exact chemistry reaction, alcohol has a lot of calorie.

I suppose I forgot to put a smiley face on my last comment about beer having '0' sugar. It does have other things in it that are not the best if you are looking to lose weight (or stay sober). I would choose beer over sodas any day.

 

[Steve]

Coffee is zero sugar, zero carbs, and zero calories. The perfect beverage.