How do you **really** go sugar free?

[Mama Soltera]

All of the organic, natural cereals still have "evaporated cane juice." Same thing with crackers and such. I did find a brand of yogurt that is fruit juice sweetened only. I want to try to cut sugar completely out -- especially for my kids -- but they put that stuff in absolutely everything it seems.

[clovergirl]

Basically, you stop buying the vast majority of processed foods.  You buy plain yogurt and sweeten with honey or maple syrup to taste or just add fruit.  Forgo boxed cereal and instead make homemade granola, eat oatmeal, make your own muffins/pancakes/waffles, etc.  You can make your own crackers too, though honestly I have never had a hard time finding crackers that didn't have sugar.

It can be tough and require a major shift in how and what you eat, but it is doable.

[CoBabyMaker]

Yep, it's in everything.  I make a lot of things instead.  I haven't tried making cereal but crackers and many other things are pretty easy.

[Sol_y_Paz]

You have to make things yourself.  Time consuming but definitely can be worth the effort.  

[Ldavis24]

cook from scratch...A lot...cereal is just empty calories anyway.

I have been struggling with this and there was a thread about sugar being an addiction and when you try to quit cold turkey you will understand why it is called that...It is brutal, especially if you love chocolate or ice cream (my 2 downfalls)...

I think the easiest thing would be to start adding homemade stuff in while slowly switching out the processed stuff. Don't try it all at once, it's too much to go on and will be discouraging.

[Thparkly]

Why are you trying to go sugar free?  If it's for actual health reasons, then I would avoid honey too, it is just as bad for you.

Maple syrup isn't much better, even though it's loaded with vitamins, it is still extremely high on the glycemic index. Speaking of which, so is most cereal, and then fortified with vitamins.  So nutritionally they aren't much different as far as ow they affect your metabolism.

I eat Breadshop brand raspberry n' cream which is sweetened with agave nectar and is the best cereal in the world if you like chewy granola. I have to order it off amazon because it's hard to find, but I think it depends where you live. Whole foods has a section of overpriced cereals that are sugar free. 

I was mostly sugar free until I got pregnant:-)  I would say it's very challenging to do with an American diet. I mainly try (or tried) to do sugar free because I am a sugar addict.  Unfrotunately I lost my self control since becoming pregnant.

[Mama Soltera]

I don't know how to separate these comments in the quote boxes so I'll just respond to both:
 

Originally Posted by Ldavis24 

cook from scratch...A lot...cereal is just empty calories anyway.

I have been struggling with this and there was a thread about sugar being an addiction and when you try to quit cold turkey you will understand why it is called that...It is brutal, especially if you love chocolate or ice cream (my 2 downfalls)...

To the above, this is exactly why I don't want to eat sugar. I mean, also because it's not good for you, but I am seriously addicted. I've gone sugar free a couple times (though of course it's still in some things but I mean sweets free) and it is definitely brutal! And I have to have it completely out of the house or I will eat it. I start scavenging cupboards trying to find something. I have a chocolate addiction too. It's funny, I have never had any kind of addiction problems, but when it comes to sugar (especially the chocolate/sugar combo) I lose almost all self-control and my body tells me I need to go get it.

The hard thing is, it does taste good and make you feel good and I am constantly under so much stress that it's really the only nice thing I can do for myself. So, I have mixed feelings about not letting myself have it. I haven't had any for a week or so and I'm feeling like falling off the wagon. I did find Nancy's organic yogurt that is sweetened with agave nectar. The only thing is, that agave nectar packs in more calories than sugar and you need more of it to sweeten something. I'll do maple syprup too, but it's just not the same.

I did want to ask about cereals just being empty calories. I really don't think the ones I get are. They're whole grain and organic and they have tons of natural fiber and no added vitamins. They don't taste sweet at all, yet the "evaporated cane juice" is there in the ingredients.

I agree with the poster who said it is SO hard to be sugar free in the US. Maybe other places too, but it seems like it just can't be avoided here. It's frustrating.

Thanks so much for all the replies.

[imogenlily]

I don't really understand the benefit of giving up sugar but continuing to eat honey and maple syrup? They cause the same kind of blood sugar fluctuations.

[Mama Soltera]

 "there was a thread about sugar being an addiction and when you try to quit cold turkey you will understand why it is called that """
 

Originally Posted by Mama Soltera 

To the above, this is exactly why I don't want to eat sugar. I mean, also because it's not good for you, but I am seriously addicted. I've gone sugar free a couple times (though of course it's still in some things but I mean sweets free) and it is definitely brutal! And I have to have it completely out of the house or I will eat it. I start scavenging cupboards trying to find something. I have a chocolate addiction too. It's funny, I have never had any kind of addiction problems, but when it comes to sugar (especially the chocolate/sugar combo) I lose almost all self-control and my body tells me I need to go get it.

The hard thing is, it does taste good and make you feel good and I am constantly under so much stress that it's really the only nice thing I can do for myself. So, I have mixed feelings about not letting myself have it. I haven't had any for a week or so and I'm feeling like falling off the wagon.

This is why! lol  I've never had any honey, maple syrup, or agave addiction or withdrawl issues. ;)

[ssh]

Cherries help when giving up chocolate.

[Ldavis24]

Originally Posted by imogenlily 

I don't really understand the benefit of giving up sugar but continuing to eat honey and maple syrup? They cause the same kind of blood sugar fluctuations.

The benefit is that if you NEED a sweet fix you can go to something that is not totally loaded with sugar and maybe have some granola with a pinch of honey or yogurt with some maple syrup..Using way less sweet stuff in general is why I find it super beneficial.

[jenniepaige]

I thought that agave nectar was found to to pretty bad for you, but I don't remember why? And why is honey so bad? I thought it was supposed to be good for you (as far as sweeteners go). I feel like I always here so many conflicting theories...

[Ldavis24]

Originally Posted by jenniepaige 

I thought that agave nectar was found to to pretty bad for you, but I don't remember why? And why is honey so bad? I thought it was supposed to be good for you (as far as sweeteners go). I feel like I always here so many conflicting theories...

umm just what I have read on here varies so much..it is crazy, the agave thing I don't really know about but I have read that here in passing (also stevia is bad)...I don't use either. I feel like if you are going to bother with those 2 just use cane sugar (I don't know why, but it makes sense in the crazy part of my brain) and be done with it... I feel like maple syrup and honey are different because they have their own distinct flavors. As to why honey is bad, one thing I have read from some other thread here is that honey has the highest fructose levels (or something to that effect) of any "sweetener" which means it is still doing the same thing to your body...Someone else can chime in I am sure...

The reason I am trying to go sugar free is because with regular sugar laden products I have  hard time moderating my intake. I will eat a whole bag of chocolate candies...With things sweetened with just maple syrup or honey, or even applesauce (thinking cakes, brownies etc) I tend to eat far less but enjoy the sweetness anyway. By using just those to eat and for sweetening I am at least considerably reducing my daily fructose intake which I KNOW is better for me.

[Mama Soltera]

Also, isn't sugar the only one of those sweeteners that is considered an actual drug? I have a liver condition and sugar severely aggravates it. I've never had an issue from any of the other sweeteners though.

This is a really interesting thread. It does seem like we always end up cutting out something "bad" only to replace it with something else that turns out to be just as bad, if not worse, you know? Processed soy comes to mind.

[SubliminalDarkness]

It wasn't that hard..... We just stopped buying basically anything in a box. We buy plain yogurt. We buy vegetables, fruits, flours, grains, and we bake and cook from there. 

[jenniepaige]

Originally Posted by SubliminalDarkness 

It wasn't that hard..... We just stopped buying basically anything in a box. We buy plain yogurt. We buy vegetables, fruits, flours, grains, and we bake and cook from there. 

I think I recognize you from TBW! Howdy! I use Rapadura as sugar mostly and I figure it's the least of the evils. But lately a LOT of TF recipes (mostly) that I have been making call for honey and a LOT of it. It's expensive too. What can I do for things like granola and other baking like muffins, etc. to cut back on the sweetner but have it still taste good? (not trying to hijack, sorry)

[Magelet]

Like PPs, we eat plain yogurt, and don't buy cereals. We do oatmeal, or polenta, or congee instead, or eggs and toast, etc.  Honey, maple syrup, palm sugar, sucanat etc, definitely still are sugar, and still bad for you, but we eat them in small moderation based off the evidence of our bodies.  I just can't handle even small amounts white sugar or other processed sugars at all anymore.  Like, give a six year old 3 slices of cake and a bowl of ice cream can't handle it.  But in moderation, I feel fine with all of the above mentioned sweeteners, and I can even on occasion have a good bit of them without the meltdown that refined sugars occasions.  I also can say no to the second bit of honey or maple sugar. Can't say no to the second slice of cake. Or the sixth.... From how I feel, it's clear that as much as they are "still just sugar", they act in MY body very differently. So we still eat them, but try not to eat very much. (and cutting down makes a big difference. When DP moved in, we bought a 5 lb can of honey. We went through it in like a month. The second can took six months, and then we started buying in smaller amounts because we went through it slowly.  He felt much better as he decreased it )

[redvlagrl]

We eat plain yogurt and have eggs for breakfast. We are largely unprocessed but get cereal a few times a year as a treat. We have some now (Harvest Crunch - fairly sweet but at least oats, not extruded cereal). We bake our own bread. We do use some sugar in it but I have also made some that doesn't have any in it. I think the yeast mostly consumes the sugar if you don't add too much, so it certainly doesn't taste sweet at all, esp compared to nth american bought breads (which is why we started maing it in the first place).

We don't buy anything packaged, as much as possible. I do buy string cheese (it's not processed cheese as I once thought) becuase DD loves them so much. I also buy crackers because DH can't live without them. There are some without any sugar.

And everything else...I make.

We are not totally sugar free because I don't find we have a problem with it, but I have been in the past. It's definitely doable but you need to be organized.

[dds07]

make your own yogurt and sweeten with frozen fruit. Eat oatmeal for breakfast with fruit for sweetener. Most cereals are junk anyway!!