Weight-Loss Has anybody had weight loss success by focusing on sugar intake?

Weight-Loss
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lovemyself

New member
Hi all,

I have been attempting to count calories and watch my diet ALL YEAR :banghead:! I don't know what it is, but I just don't seem to have the will power. Today, I have decided to try something different (something that could perhaps help me stay within my calorie goal). I am going to try counting my sugar intake when it comes to foods (not counting fruit and dairy, although I will limit my fruit/dairy to 2-4 servings per day). Anyway, I have successfully lost weight in the past, and I have also been very fit in the past (something I am hoping to obtain again). I have been fit and sexy before, so why am I having such a hard time now?? The thing is, cravings are CONSTANTLY driving me crazy and are ultimately the reason why I end up reaching for the super sweet sugary JUNK that ruins all of my efforts. I am hoping that by limiting my sugar intake, I will have better control over my cravings. I am starting to think that these cravings are being caused by insulin spikes. I am attempting to limit my sugar intake to 30 grams a day MAX (not including fruit and dairy).

Has anybody else had success with controlling cravings by limiting sugar intake?
 
Welcome to the forum!

By 'avoiding sugar' do you mean avoiding carbohydrates, or do you mean avoiding table sugar (Sucrose)?

In either case, you could probably benefit from both. If you're looking to control insulin, you might want to reduce the total amount of carbohydrates you eat, or maybe replace them with other carbs that won't spike your insulin as high. If you can, try to avoid eating too much starches and try having a salad before your meal (the fiber on it will help you controlling insulin).

Dairy (Milk and possibly yogurt. Others are fine) Can actually spike your insulin quite a bit, so you may want to be careful with that as well.

If you are just looking to limit Sucrose, that will probably help you as well. Another thing I'd suggest avoiding is High Fructose Corn Syrup, which is also added to a lot of products these days.

To answer your question; I never limited sugar but I did have a fair amount of success limiting carbs. I couldn't say about only sugar, but controlling insulin will most likely help you control cravings and such better.
 
Absolutely! I recently started reading "The Sugar Detox" and it talks about how bad sugar really is. I've limited my added sugar for the past few weeks and I have noticed some weight loss because of it.
 
it is possible to find foods that don't spike your insulin, look up something called GI (Glucose Index) and GL (Glucose Load) these to factors identify how quickly your body can extract glucose from the food you have eaten. The theory is this. When you eat foods with a high GI the glucose is very quickly absorbed into your bloodstream , this causes your insulin to spike dramatically this makes your body either "store" or use the excess glucose. so by reducing the speed which glucose is released into your bloodstream reduces the insulin spike and therefore makes you less hungry (or something like that).
 
What I did when I first decided to try lose weight, was taking out sugary drinks in my diet, being coke and soda. I think that you definitely should not take all the bad stuff out at once, coz you'll just binge eventually. Start by taking out the MOST sugary thing you eat or drink, and work from there. These slow gradual changes, with healthy substitutes should help you realise that you really don't need those sugary treats that badly, and can easily go without them.

Also, if you aren't exercising, you may want to bring some in. Relying solely on diet is risky and quite ineffective - plus atleast if you do sometimes eat too much sugar, you'll still have your daily exercise routine to burn that off!
 
When trying to get off of sugar. I cut it out completely. Not even fruit. Your body is used to burning sugar for energy. When you cut it out, you will have constant hunger for a few weeks. Even if you are full, your body has to make the switch from burning sugar for energy, to a different source. During this period I wouldn't focus on weight loss. After a few rough weeks you will no longer have cravings. Then, you can start cutting calories or follow a weight loss plan if you want and it will be much easier.
 
Unfortunately, a lot of daily foods contain excessive sugar - sodas, jams, sauces, candy etc etc. One suggestion is that when shopping for groceries, check the labels and look out for ''hidden'' sugars such as Sucrose, Dextrose and High Fructose Corn Syrup (HFCS). Avoid these wherever possible.
 
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