i have to quit sugar

[jon]

Thanks for the info all. How much weight did you lose Jon?

 

Well, actually a couple things happened. The most noticeable by far was that my energy levels were more regulated throughout the day, which is an expected result. My capacity for losing weight also went up (I believe), that is I found it much easier to stably lose weight, and let me explain that a bit. My understanding is that one of the consequences of having a diet comprising of a lot of high-glycemic index foods is that, at the molecular level in your body, you basically have less machinery to convert fat into glucose because your body isn't in the business of making things that it doesn't need. So for instance an "average" person might have 1x machinery, a pop-guzzling cube monkey might have .3x, and an elite athlete might have like 5x. Anyways, I basically found that it was easier to lose weight, which I'm sure was in part to my blood sugar not crashing at any given moment.

[Off_White]

Never mind, I ought ta not be spraying in the fitness forum.

Edited November 15, 2007 by Off_White

[ClimbingPanther]

My understanding is that one of the consequences of having a diet comprising of a lot of high-glycemic index foods is that, at the molecular level in your body, you basically have less machinery to convert fat into glucose because your body isn't in the business of making things that it doesn't need. So for instance an "average" person might have 1x machinery, a pop-guzzling cube monkey might have .3x, and an elite athlete might have like 5x. Anyways, I basically found that it was easier to lose weight, which I'm sure was in part to my blood sugar not crashing at any given moment.

I wonder why nobody ever makes a big deal about what's going on at the molecular level, because that's where the real story is.

 

Building on that, if your body is not trained to be certain it's going to get a steady stream of sugar, it will learn to depend more on your fat reserves to keep running. Since you always have fat around to burn, your energy metabolism becomes much more stable and less dependent on you to feed it another fix of sugar.

 

 

[thelawgoddess]

I find that when I increase my training, I get sugar cravings now and then. I eat a lot of veggies, but little or no fruit. I just started to add one piece of fruit a day to my diet, to see if that makes a difference. I'll go for it for 2 or 3 weeks, and see what happens.

fruit is full of sugar - but it's not bad sugar. i think the key to reducing sugar in your diet is getting rid of the bad sugar and soda is one of the worst things you can ingest. i hardly ever drink soda anymore ... unless it's root beer and i pretty much only drink that when i'm eating pizza or having a root beer float. i'm obviously not a "diet" person, but i do watch my bad sugar intake and aside from my root beer weakness, i avoid all other drinks that contain corn syrup - which is tougher than it sounds. it's true that once you stop ingesting a lot of processed sugary foods that you will start to lose your cravings for them. if you start trying healthier options, you'll eventually find some things you like that will fulfill your sugar needs. i found i like the dried mango slices (without the added sugar) at trader joe's - so much goodness in a little bag!

[lizard_brain]

I find that when I increase my training, I get sugar cravings now and then. I eat a lot of veggies, but little or no fruit. I just started to add one piece of fruit a day to my diet, to see if that makes a difference. I'll go for it for 2 or 3 weeks, and see what happens.

fruit is full of sugar - but it's not bad sugar. i think the key to reducing sugar in your diet is getting rid of the bad sugar and soda is one of the worst things you can ingest. i hardly ever drink soda anymore ... unless it's root beer and i pretty much only drink that when i'm eating pizza or having a root beer float. i'm obviously not a "diet" person, but i do watch my bad sugar intake and aside from my root beer weakness, i avoid all other drinks that contain corn syrup - which is tougher than it sounds. it's true that once you stop ingesting a lot of processed sugary foods that you will start to lose your cravings for them. if you start trying healthier options, you'll eventually find some things you like that will fulfill your sugar needs. i found i like the dried mango slices (without the added sugar) at trader joe's - so much goodness in a little bag!

 

But my point is, I don't eat processed sugar at all, or at least rarely, once or twice a month. (I binge on Haagen-Dasz ever 5 weeks or so.) It's when I start going over 25 miles a week running that I start getting the cravings, and I think it's because of that. I'm just guessing that the fruit will take care of that, but it's only a guess, really. Dried fruit does sound good, though, and I do get a lot of stuff at TJ's.

[rob]

I eat pretty healthy, but I still get intense sugar cravings when I'm training hard. Fruit sometimes helps (I eat a lot of fruit anyway), but honestly a handfull of chocolate-covered peanuts seems to do the trick.

[tvashtarkatena]

I don't know if this has been mentioned, but eating a high protein breakfast and lunch will keep you alert and more active during the day, followed by a high carb dinner to slow you back down at night. Most Americans get this backward. A snack midmorning and midafternoon is a great help as well.

 

Alot of cravings come in the form of a slump in alertness and energy level. These simple tips have been a big help in keeping them at bay for me, at least.

 

There's a site with a couple of million articles on this, but I can't seem to find the link right now.

Edited November 15, 2007 by tvashtarkatena

[ClimbingPanther]

But my point is, I don't eat processed sugar at all, or at least rarely, once or twice a month. (I binge on Haagen-Dasz ever 5 weeks or so.) It's when I start going over 25 miles a week running that I start getting the cravings, and I think it's because of that. I'm just guessing that the fruit will take care of that, but it's only a guess, really. Dried fruit does sound good, though, and I do get a lot of stuff at TJ's.

 

That makes a lot of sense, since your body needs some serious carb-age after really hard or long workouts. You will do your body good by an after-workout refueling of carbs:protein 4:1 within an hour or two, and I don't mean a little snack either. Give your body what it needs to repair itself when you're working hard. All this diet stuff and eating less carbs is not meant for a serious athlete.

[tvashtarkatena]

ClimbingPanther is spot on, except that it's strongly recommended that you some carbs into you after a serious workout within 1/2 hour, if possible. The sooner you do, the more efficiently your body will rebuild itself.

 

[i_like_sun]

That is interesting that you notice sugar cravings when you are training for your marathons. It makes sense, you body is telling you that you are mildly starving - you're probably not replacing what you are breaking down. So you are (I'm guessing) correct in saying that you should probably up your nutrition especially around those times. Like I've rambled off in the past, NEVER starve yourself around exercise. There are only gains to be had by giving your body what it needs.

Edited November 16, 2007 by i_like_sun

[i_like_sun]

My understanding is that one of the consequences of having a diet comprising of a lot of high-glycemic index foods is that, at the molecular level in your body, you basically have less machinery to convert fat into glucose because your body isn't in the business of making things that it doesn't need. So for instance an "average" person might have 1x machinery, a pop-guzzling cube monkey might have .3x, and an elite athlete might have like 5x. Anyways, I basically found that it was easier to lose weight, which I'm sure was in part to my blood sugar not crashing at any given moment.

I wonder why nobody ever makes a big deal about what's going on at the molecular level, because that's where the real story is.

 

Building on that, if your body is not trained to be certain it's going to get a steady stream of sugar, it will learn to depend more on your fat reserves to keep running. Since you always have fat around to burn, your energy metabolism becomes much more stable and less dependent on you to feed it another fix of sugar.

 

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I agree with you, mostly. My understanding is that if you reduce your carbohydrates too much, thyroid hormones crash out and thus general metabolism slows. So yes, you'll be efficient at burning fat, but you'll SUCK at burning calories. Fat burning isn't the answer to getting lean, calorie burning is.

 

 

[Pandora]

What a great thread! There is some truly useful information here.

 

Muffy, how are things progressing on your quitting-sugar quest?

[sk]

I am still working at it. it is not going all that great as i have had a hard time over the holidays. I am doing better at limiting the amount of sugar i am eating and i am trying to focus on having some fruit if i need a treat.

 

thanks for asking Pandora dear. I hope you are doing well. I miss seeing you around :kisss:

[denalidave]

I stopped eating ice cream and lost 20 lbs! No kidding, I was a Haggen Daz addict.

I lost the 20 when I quit drinking beer last July, now I am put'n it back on with the ice cream fix instead. Not sure it was a good trade though.