Sugar free life!

[Taz]

A friend of mine who has been on the dieting elastic band for many years was interested in the whole sugar free thing. We were having coffee and she got out her morning snack of fruit yogurt and added fruit. She asked if that was OK so rather than just tell her we both looked at the ingredients and nutrition information to gather. To say she was shocked was an understatement! Yesterday she sent me a picture of 2 pots of natural yogurt, one normal one 'light' and said she bought both so she could taste test them. She said the light one had more sugar and she preferred the taste of the normal one but she still can't quite get her head around more fat being good even though she fully gets that sugar is the bad guy.

This whole way of eating really does involve a serious re-education because we've all been told for years that fat is bad, carbs are bad, taste is bad! If I hadn't done the research myself I'd be sceptical too but it really does work.

I'm so pleased that our conversation, while it may not have made her switch to sugar free, has made her pay more attention to the "healthy" foods she's been eating.

 

[Taz]

Well it's Friday, and it's pay day for me which means doing the food shop. Usually I would grab some sweets and chocolate to munch on the way home and some other treats to put in the cupboard or fridge.

So did I treat myself? I did indeed! I bought a pair of shorts and some nightwear that are a little too small and a tub of Cornish clotted cream.

Did I crave anything? Only water as I was very thirsty.

Every challenge only strengthens my resolve. I'm loving the freedom from sugar and I have no intention of going back to being a sugarholic.

Also Friday means weigh in day! So week 2 resulted in a 1.6lb loss which is a loss of 3.4lb in the first two sugar free weeks. I'm now back to my pre Christmas weight which is what I've been struggling to do all year!

It still seems strange that I'm eating normal, tasty and filling food, I don't feel deprived and it's not a chore and the weight is finally going!

 

[Taz]

As with any addiction, when our bodies are free of the substance we often have habits surrounding that lifestyle which can easy, unconsciously, lead us right back into addiction.

Just like a smoker who says they don't know what to do with their hands or they can't get used to not having their after dinner smoke. Many who quit will have one on a night out because that's what they always did and everyone around them is doing it and alcohol has numbed their conscious mind so the familiar, auto pilot takes over.

And this is the next thing for me to nail into place. I can confidently say that I am no longer a sugarholic, I don't think about sweet treats and I'm not swayed by the pretty packaging of chocolate bars. I can happily, and easily walk into a coffee shop and not be tempted by the cakes.

I do, however, still have a lot of habits and routines involving such things. Like weekends when I was always less careful about what I ate and would think nothing of grabbing a cake with my coffee. Or certain places I go with work where I would normally 'get something nice'. Without the addiction I've successfully been able to look at the foods and not be tempted but I still have a sense of what do I do now?

By the end of the next 2 weeks I should have cracked that side of it and be ready to live a happy sugar free life without having to think too much about it

 

[tipperary]

Well done, its great to see how you have it cracked

 

[Taz]

It's so much easier than I thought it would be

 

[tipperary]

I might be back for some tips, right now getting exercise and eating sensible meals is getting me places but I think eventually I would like to be sugar free.

 

[Taz]

You have to be in the frame of mind to do it and start when you have a fairly clear diary with no big events for the first month. I would definitely recommend it

 

[Taz]

I'm finding that I'm getting excited about things I never thought I'd get excited about before!

First let me explain: sugar free isn't quite as simple as looking for things that have had the sugar replaced with a sugar substitute as some are just as bad as the deadly white stuff. Some substitutes actually convert to fructose in our bodies which is exactly what we want to avoid so if something has had sugar replaced it's important to know what it's been replaced with. And sometimes "no added sugar" doesn't mean there's no sugar, often it will have a fruit concentrate which is basically pure fructose.

Among family friends and colleagues I am famous for making cheesecakes (fresh not baked) and I didn't see how this would fit into a sugar free life as it uses a lot of icing sugar. Yesterday, however, I found an icing sugar substitute which is made from sweeteners from the 'safe but not every day' list. As digestives are low in sugar too I can now make a low sugar cheesecake! I will be experimenting and testing it on my cheesecake fans very soon. That was yesterday's excitement along with receiving a delivery of the sugar free dark chocolate, one with mint the other coffee.

Today's excitement (and yes, I know it's a bit early for that) while mooching around tesco I saw they had no added sugar ginger beer so I had a look at the ingredients expecting to find aspartame or ace k in there. To my surprise there was none of that, only sucralose which is fine! As I love ginger this made me very happy.

It seems weird to get excited by this stuff but it all makes this sugar free life much easier

 

[Taz]

And into week 4 I go which should be the last week to complete withdrawal and carry on with a happy sugar free life.

The weekend posed a new challenge for me. I'm a cyclist and take part in distance events. Saturday was the first event since going sugar free and I wasn't too sure how to tackle the high sugar energy bars /gels and the effect on a sugar free me! I asked my PT and he said to still use them but not to go too mad on them. Still unsure I decided, as it was only a 36 mile ride, I'd try something else. I took bananas and peanut butter sandwiches with me as they are both good energy sources. All was going well til my buddy had a blow out and we had to be taken back to the feed station for her bike to be fixed. While we were waiting I had a few small cookies. The sugar content was still much less than the bars and gels so it was all good. The best part for me was that I didn't crave sugar or have any interruption of my appetite after the ride or the next day, proving that the sugar I'd consumed did in fact convert straight to usable energy.

Another thing to get ridiculously excited about: the night before the ride we popped into a local shop where I found the snickers protein bars! I've always liked snickers and I'd wanted to try these. I was very happy to see they only had 9.5g sugar in them! Less than the bars I used to have and much nicer.

Another challenge this week that only the ladies will appreciate: that time of the month! This is usually when the 'need' for sugar is greatest so this week should be the final test.

 

[Taz]

So that's week 4 done and officially out of the withdrawal period! I still have things to work on as I've mostly been focused on getting to grips with what I can and can't have and breaking habits but not yet settled into a routine.

I'm finding there's nothing to look forward to on a weekend so I've decided to restrict some of my higher fat snacks and those with 'occasional use' sweeteners to the weekend so I will still feel like I'm getting a treat. The main ones will be fruit with double cream poured over, sugar free chocolate and sugar free cakes (when I perfect my recipe).

As my appetite control has normalised I'm finding I need to eat much less and get full a lot quicker. This also means I snack a lot less so I want to make my week day snacks healthier so sticking to fruit and nuts will be the plan.

 

[tipperary]

Sounding really good and you will have to give us some of your sugar free recipes.

 

[Taz]

I will when I perfect them, I'm going to try the cakes again this week. I made chocolate truffles at the weekend but they aren't sugar free, they have 2g per truffle but as I'm free of sugar addiction (and they have dark chocolate in them) I had 2 yesterday and that was plenty. I could make them with sugar free chocolate but that would be very expensive

 

[Taz]

Something very strange happened today:

I'd read a few times people saying taste buds change and you won't like some of the things you liked before but I didn't think they'd change much. I've also been convinced that if I was to put a square of my favourite chocolate in my mouth it would be like heaven. Not for the sugar hit but for the taste.

I was out with a friend today and as we passed Thorntons she said she had to pop in for a treat. It was only a small store so my request for sugar free drew a blank. On the counter they had little Smiley face discs of chocolate as free tasters so I helped myself as it was small enough that the sugar would be insignificant.

I can honestly say I have never tasted anything so nasty!!! There was nothing nice about it and worse, the taste just lingered in my mouth and on my tongue and my friend laughed at how my face was screwed up!

I was quite prepared to be able to take or leave the things I'd previous enjoyed but I didn't expect to actually detest, of all things, chocolate! I'm sure this can only be a good thing.

In related news, I received delivery of a mixed pack of protein bars on Monday containing snickers, Mars and bounty bars. I'd already tried the snickers and liked it. Today I tried the Bounty and it's yummy and at only 8.5g sugar per bar it's not unreasonable as a snack

 

[Taz]

Following on from yesterdays revelation.....

I have a tassimo as I like nice coffee. One of my favourites was caramel latte which I would only have a couple of times a week. Since going sugar free I had one a couple of weeks ago and was unimpressed. This morning I decided to try another and I really don't like it! It's hitting my tongue in the same way as the chocolate did yesterday and it's really not pleasant.

Completely mind blown by this, just a month ago these were my favourite things and now they screw my face up

 

[tipperary]

Interesting, it makes thinking about going sugar free more positive to me now. I would love to not want chocolate. Also I like a biscuitey treat each day, its the satisfying crunch it makes along with the sweetness after a meal. I don't really eat dessert and while I like fruit, an apple is not the same as a biscuit with a cup of tea.
Can you remind me what sugar substitutes are recommended for sugar free. A friend uses fructose which is just as bad but as it is sweeter she only uses 1/4 of what she would normally use. Some of my students use Zylitol. What is in Splenda. And doesn't aspartame cause loose stools. What about Stevia?
Thanks

 

[Taz]

Sorbitol is the one that causes the runs. Fructose is the devil that does all the damage to our bodies which is why you have to be careful which substitute you use as some of them convert straight to fructose when consumed. I've attached a picture from the book Sweet Poison: Quit Sugar Guide which clearly shows which are safe, which are OK but not for every day use and which should never pass our lips.

I was sceptical about not actually liking things anymore so this has been a real welcome surprise. I'm loving dark chocolate as an occasional treat and I can only have a couple of squares at a time as it's so rich. And you're right, it does make it easier.

 

[Taz]

Another challenge today! Yes they are still popping up. I had to go to Weymouth for work. I would only be there for 10 minutes but my usual routine would be to go in a shop where I'm known and have 'my usual' which is a caramel latte. Luckily today I had a colleague with me and I had to deliver something to someone so my colleague got the coffees (just a regular white coffee) while I delivered the parcel (of high sugar energy gels for a fellow cyclist after clearing out my cupboards) avoiding ordering my usual.

All is going very well in the world of sugar free. 2 of my colleagues have been inspired to read one of the books I read (and recommended) and are keen to follow, one has already started today.

 

[tipperary]

Thanks for the info. We made apple tart and rhubarb crumble in class today and they use zylitol in it. I didn't taste any but told them to let me know how it was.

 

[Taz]

The chocolate I buy now is sweetened with xylitol. You can't taste it in the chocolate which is good, just dark chocolate with mint or coffee. Most other sugar free chocolate is sweetened with maltitol which is not good (on the never to be consumed list) which is a shame.

 

[Pinkemi]

Hi Taz,

Very interesting read! I tried to cut out Sugar before my wedding at the end of April and struggled a little.

Are you still following this way of eating?