We've gone SUGAR-FREE! tribe - Page 7

[dewlady]

i also use a variety of natural sweeteners as listed above, but i just had a moment of wondering what other people do.. for me i also put a line on it because i have used only natural sweeteners for years now, but the problem is that i can make pretty yummy treats now, so it still feels like too much. the line i make for myself is that if i am having some raw honey, agave, etc.. i ask myself what am i eating it for? is the base of the item a sweet, or is that sweetener being used in something that i am eating. if that makes sense. it keeps me on track.

[PrairieBohemian]

Originally Posted by dewlady

is the base of the item a sweet, or is that sweetener being used in something that i am eating. if that makes sense. it keeps me on track.

YES! GOLD STAR TO DEWLADY!

ITA! This is very successful thinking.

Thanks, dewlady!

[odd-ducks]

Well I have maple syrup and honey in the house. I sort of think that "the trees know and the bees know" how to keep their sweety things balanced. When I tried to go sugar-free in the past, I said this too and then one day drank, yes drank a whole bottle of maple syrup! It was a small bottle but still...

Oh, so familiar, Animus! At least yours was just a small bottle. I want to hide under a rock when I think of some of the things I've eaten, and the amounts I've eaten them in, to get my sugar-fix.

I also believe that 'the trees know and the bees know'. I'm the one who can't seem to grasp the concept. Until I do, I'm not keeping any sweeteners but brown rice syrup in my house. Because I'm avoiding flour also, I don't make any baked goods. That helps, because I don't really need sweeteners for anything I'm currently cooking so I have no excuses for bringing them into the house. (Which would almost certainly end in tears. i.e. me slumped splay-legged against the open door of the fridge, surrounded by contraband, a tablespoon of date sugar in one hand, sucking straight from the bottle of agave held in the other).

*sigh*

Anyway, we've been using a couple teaspoons of brown rice syrup in place of the sugar called for in Thai cooking, and it works marvelously! Sub some brown rice for the white, and we've been having some pretty healthy (and tasty!) meals around here.

[Rachel J.]

Emotional release technique to deal with cravings

(Nak) I came across this today and thought it was interesting. I wasn't really able to try it because I'm bfing ds. I'd love to hear what others think about if you give it a try. I thought it might be particularly useful with the upcoming holidays, I bet family members wouln't be pushy about feeding you unhealthy food if they saw you doing this.

It's a video clip so I don't know if it will work with dial up.
http://www.mercola.com/2006/nov/11/u...d-cravings.htm

BTW, Mercola is really into this emotional freedom technique (EFT) for all kinds of issues. It's kind of like accupressure and cognitive therapy combined.

[dewlady]

it seems like good messages/reminders....
but, i had the same thought that if anyone started doing this at a holiday desert time (here comes the pumkin pie!) and there we all start with the tapping all over.
i like the idea though of not only being aware that we have control over our own thoughts around sugar cravings by letting them first be there and then gaining control over the thoughts...

[crunchyconmomma]

Originally Posted by odd-ducks

That helps, because I don't really need sweeteners for anything I'm currently cooking so I have no excuses for bringing them into the house. (Which would almost certainly end in tears. i.e. me slumped splay-legged against the open door of the fridge, surrounded by contraband, a tablespoon of date sugar in one hand, sucking straight from the bottle of agave held in the other).

: OMG odd-ducks you crack me up! i guess because it's me you describe in such a witty way...:

post some thai recipes, will ya? huh? huh?

saratc or sphinkie or anyone....doesn't charcoal induce vomiting? isn't that why they use it for overdose in ER's?? i just thought about this the other day and haven't had time to go anywhere on the net except here in the last few days.

so....i was thinking....wanna play "who has done the most shameful sugar-gobbling?" contest and purge yourself of your guilt by publicly admitting what you have done?
i'll start!
i would take the powdered sugar and mix it with a little bit of milk to make a paste and eat that with a spoon (or just my finger) and have that with my coffee...in the morning! yep. there i was with the white-gooey coated finger just schleckin' it right off of there to get my fix.....
ugh...sort of thought it would be a funny way to purge this deep, dark, guilt-ridden secret but i just feel sick after reading that......

[odd-ducks]

i would take the powdered sugar and mix it with a little bit of milk to make a paste and eat that with a spoon (or just my finger) and have that with my coffee...in the morning!

Ooooh, that's a good one, Crunchy! I'm pretty sure I've got it beat, though. Just a moment while I tap into my motherlode of repressed sugar-binge memories...

...This may take a while. I don't mess around when I repress.

Umm, how about sugar sandwiches? (I should get extra points for the Wonderbread and year-old gravel pellets of brown sugar used). Or, the candy corn encrusted cake I won at my niece's school cake-walk? I had all the candy corn eaten before I got out of my car. Finished the first half once I got home. Then, in order to prevent further consumption, smashed the remaining half into the coffee grounds and cheese rinds populating my trash. (Those lacking intestinal fortitude may wish to avert their eyes here).

Oh, yes... I did. Thirty minutes later, minus the tenacious bits that clung to the crumpled wrappers and empty soup cans, that cake was 99% consumed.

Let's see, Twinkies and hot fudge sauce. Cookies and hot fudge sauce. Hot fudge sauce and hot fudge sauce. I do like my hot fudge sauce.

Scratch that. I did like my hot fudge sauce. I'm a raw trailmix kind of gal, now

[crunchyconmomma]

holy cow that was GOOOOOOOD! i have poured dishsoap onto discarded contraband so i could NOT scrape coffee grounds or meat fat scraps off of the confection! but i never made wonderbread-and-brown-sugar-chunk sandwiches! did you smoosh the bread up tight and eat it or leave it fluffy?


....sooo....who's next??? c'moooon.....come out of hiding.....you know you have some really good ones to contribute.......

[PrairieBohemian]

Originally Posted by crunchyconmomma

holy cow that was GOOOOOOOD! i have poured dishsoap onto discarded contraband so i could NOT scrape coffee grounds or meat fat scraps off of the confection! but i never made wonderbread-and-brown-sugar-chunk sandwiches! did you smoosh the bread up tight and eat it or leave it fluffy?


....sooo....who's next??? c'moooon.....come out of hiding.....you know you have some really good ones to contribute.......

I guess its mine turn. I've done the dishsoap trick too-and then rooted around to find any untouched particles!

Well I started stealing cans of eagle brand from my mom's baking cupboard when I was 7 and binging on them in my closet (and I was a skinny pic of a little thing); I've made tons of butter icing with the intention of JUST eating icing; oohhh I love mixing brown sugar and butter; drinking all the syrup from my mom's marachino cherries (she almost HUNG me everytime I did that!); I've eaten whole cakes worth of dough...I thought my maple syrup drinking was hardcore!

Its the butter+sugar combo I truly love(d). I wouldn't say I was sugar-crazy because I don't like pies and that sort of thing but I was still a sugar addict nonetheless from wayyyyyyyy back.

As soon as I can remember some of my more darker moments, I will be sure to share.

Opening up to you girls feels so good. Thank you!

[crunchyconmomma]

this is good. i think, aside from just giving us a chance to laugh about all of this, these confessions might help us all to feel less alone, or maybe some new posters who come across this thread looking for some support in the quest to quit.

for me, it's making it more real, in a very fun way, and it's driving home again that it is actually an addiction. I think this can help me to be a liitle more of a friend to myself when I am struggling, instead of berating myself for not just being able to simply stop.

but i gotta say animus, after giving you for another pretty good original with the eagle brand, i was left feeling wistful and nostalgic for a blob of the creamed butter and sugar from a batch of cookies when my mom was baking. and if the egg was already added, that much better!

oh damn you sugar!!!!!!

[sarahariz]

Originally Posted by Rachel J.

I'm going sugar-free (anytime now ) because of candida issues and am wondering if anyone has used xylitol as a sweetner and how you liked it. I cut all sugar except for one/two servings of fruit/day during my pregnancy but ended up sliding back into old habits after I had my baby. Now my candida symptoms have come back with a vengence and I have even less will power, time and energy to watch what I eat (I'm also going on a candida-free diet so I'm restricting a lot more than just sugar but that's the critical element for me). I've also read that there are different origins of xylitol (corn vs. birch tree) and the birch is better tasting. Anyone have any experience with that?

I just bought some xylitol and I bought the cheaper of those offered which is derived from corn. I used it in my favorite brownie recipe and they turned out fairy well... but didn't have the exact same texture as those made with real sugar. I'd like to find some recipes specifically written for using xyiltol.

[odd-ducks]

Well I started stealing cans of eagle brand from my mom's baking cupboard when I was 7 and binging on them in my closet (and I was a skinny pic of a little thing); I've made tons of butter icing with the intention of JUST eating icing

Sweetened condensed milk rocks, doesn't it? Man, that stuff is good. Kudos, Animus, for taking the time to actually make frosting-- I always just ate mine out of a can

One can does equal one serving, right???

[jrose_lee]

Hello! May I join your wonderful tribe? : I saw this thread and avoided it, but then I read it and I'm hooked. I know sugar is addictive and not good for us. Our family is actually into Nourishing Traditions from the Traditional Foods board here at MDC so we've been slowly heading in this direction. Basically, not eating many processed foods has eliminated most sugars for us. We've also cut way down on grains after discovering some gluten sensitivites.

What I have in the house right now is raw honey, maple syrup, stevia and rapidura. They are all natural sweeteners, but can someone tell me how good they are for you still? Should we be giving those up as well? Man, it's tough giving up grains and sugar all at once.

I can't help but think that an occasional treat on a holiday or birthday with a natural sweetener would be okay, but how strict are all of you being? This date syrup intrigues me....I wonder if I could use it in making homemade raw icecream instead of the maple syrup. Or if that would even be better?

Anyway, I'm glad to be here. If anyone can give me an eye opener on natural sugars and how they play (or sadly, [I]don't[I] play, into this) I'd appreciate it!

(btw, dh brought home "organic" icecream/chocoate bars from Whole Foods...sigh. Yum. We decided he shouldn't buy any more.)

[BelovedBird]

Originally Posted by animus_silvae

As I promised, here's our own little tribe.

21 days feels like my whole life now. I really don't miss the nasty stuff at all!

I'm here! ITA!

Anyone else use natural date honey in baking?

[bright]

Originally Posted by jrose_lee

What I have in the house right now is raw honey, maple syrup, stevia and rapidura. They are all natural sweeteners, but can someone tell me how good they are for you still? Should we be giving those up as well? Man, it's tough giving up grains and sugar all at once.

Honey and maple syrup differ from sugar in that they are actual *foods* with nutrients in them. (I don't know anything about rapidura). Honey and maple syrup affect the glycemic index in the same way as sugar, spiking blood sugar and causing a crash. This can for many people cause/perpetuate sugar cravings, but not for everyone. Stevia does not have any impact on blood sugar, however like honey and maple syrup it can train the tastebuds to continue to want sweet things.

Another sweetener is agave nectar, apparently it is quite low on the glycemic index (altho higher than stevia), and contains nutrients.

Everyone is different, really. If you cut out sugar and keep in other sweeteners, just watch and see if you have sugar cravings. If you do, I would cut out the other sweeteners for awhile, and then introduce them back in later.

Personally, I do not eat maple syrup, honey, or other sweeteners that are high glycemic. I do eat agave nectar occasionally, in small amounts, in foods that are nutrient dense. And I use stevia occasionally in tea.

It's so individual, really. It totally depends on what works for your body.

[crunchyconmomma]

okay, i'm not letting you off the hook... i want the down and dirty confessions so just because some new posters changed the subject doesn't mean i have forgotten about you....bright? dewlady? Anna06? babygrant? c'mon, spill it!

[dewlady]

ooohhh man, you even used my name, personally... jeez.
well
making a batch of icing just to eat it? yeah.
cookie dough with no intention of cookies? yeah.
i don't know if i can beat the chunky sugar on white but...
i think my dh can say for sure how many times i have made myself sick eating ice cream by the pint. he always looks at me like "what do you want, sympathy?
you did it again???"
my friend mark and i went on a quest to make the perfect vegan brownie...for weeks on end we made batch after batch after batch...have taste tests, make notes...AND eat the rest of the batch when we were done.
we ate SO MANY brownies. we heard that umi boshi plums are supposed to have a countering affect on sugar in your body, so we would eat till we were sick and then eat these really crazy tasting plums to try to make ourselves feel better. that was low. and it was a good example of misusing natural sweeteners to the max.
i may not have anything to crazy to report, but i assure you, mine has been a steady and dedicated addiction none the less!

[farmama]

i used to eat graham crackers with chocolate frosting (canned).
also, chain cookie-eater (even when eating sugar, i started making half batches to save myself from myself).

i went to a potluck event once and tried 6 (or was it 8?) different kinds of desserts, just because i couldn't face not trying all of them.

i'm having a block now, probably because i don't want to remember how bad it can get...

i did recently go to a ginormous grocery store at 9 at night and tear through the health food section to find ANYTHING that didn't contain actual sugar or wheat (barbara's fig bars was the result). however, i'm supposed to be off all sugar, so BAD me.

[saratc]

Originally Posted by jrose_lee

What I have in the house right now is raw honey, maple syrup, stevia and rapidura. They are all natural sweeteners, but can someone tell me how good they are for you still? Should we be giving those up as well? Man, it's tough giving up grains and sugar all at once.

DH and I are also eating NT and we do use the nutritive sweeteners. We haven't given up grains either, but we only do soaked or sprouted grains. NT does recognize the role of grains in traditional diets, and whole grains cooked/handled properly can provide a lot of good nutrients although it is dependent on the individual in terms of how much is needed.

When we started becoming sugar free, we cut out sugar cold turkey and didn't have any sweets at all for about a month. I think it's important that you stay away completely for at least 2 weeks, or you will feed the candida or other bacteria/yeasts in your body and never get rid of the craving. After awhile, we were able to reintroduce desserts made with nutritive sweeteners. We found that they are not addictive compared to refined sugars, and if eating a nutrient dense diet that is not fat deprived, we don't crave sweets at all. Strangely enough, I now look at apple pie the same way as I look at bacon or pot roast. I look forward to eating it, enjoy it while eating it, feel like it is nourishing me, and then when I'm done, I'm done. No cravings. I get a hankering to make a pie as much as I get a hankering for a fried egg or oatmeal.

[crunchyconmomma]

Originally Posted by dewlady

a quest to make the perfect vegan brownie...for weeks on end we made batch after batch after batch...have taste tests, make notes...AND eat the rest of the batch when we were done.
we ate SO MANY brownies. we heard that umi boshi plums are supposed to have a countering affect on sugar in your body, so we would eat till we were sick and then eat these really crazy tasting plums to try to make ourselves feel better.
i may not have anything to crazy to report, but i assure you, mine has been a steady and dedicated addiction none the less!

oh, i don't know, you just don't have a true SUGAR concoction that's crazy, but that umeboshi plum bit sure "takes the cake!"

sort of reminds me of the time (: ) that my friends and i couldn't get any MJ and wanted to do that (WAY before kids, just so it's clear) and thought: "if catnip could do that to cats.....what happens if people smoke it?"
kinda similar really really funny thinking!