We've gone SUGAR-FREE! tribe - Page 8

[Tigerius]

Hi!

I'm starting my 21 day challenge today!

[PrairieBohemian]

Originally Posted by Tigerius

Hi!

I'm starting my 21 day challenge today!

Welcome Tigerius!

So good to have you...we're here to help you any way we can!

[crunchyconmomma]

what's the 21 day challenge all about? people keep mentioning it and i feel so out of the loop. will somebody be so kind as to give me the skinny?

[PrairieBohemian]

Originally Posted by crunchyconmomma

what's the 21 day challenge all about? people keep mentioning it and i feel so out of the loop. will somebody be so kind as to give me the skinny?

It's actually how this all got started--I suggested a 21 day sugar-free challenge starting Oct 1 and then, well, I started a tribe for the "survivors". Since then, we've picked up some newbies who didn't participate in the original challenge but joined the tribe. Some people are running their own 21 day challenges before deciding how permanent they want their blissful, calm, craving-free state to be (hehe)!

Question answered????

[crunchyconmomma]

wow thanks, animus!
how did you arrive at 21 days? arbitrary number, or some magic number associated with kicking sugar or something, or just not as daunting as a month but long enough to see changes?
??????

[PrairieBohemian]

Originally Posted by crunchyconmomma

wow thanks, animus!
how did you arrive at 21 days? arbitrary number, or some magic number associated with kicking sugar or something, or just not as daunting as a month but long enough to see changes?
??????

ummmm when I went sugar-free before I heard somewhere that 21 days was the length of time it took to rid of cravings and restabilize your system. I don't know...I could have dreamed it up! I would have preferred 28 days (a full moon cycle) but 28 days seems so much more dauting than 21.

[odd-ducks]

I'm starting my 21 day challenge today!

How's it going, Tigerius? Keep in mind that the first couple weeks are the toughest. And, keep lots of sugar-free, high-fat/protein snacks handy for if/when cravings hit

[sphinxie]

Hi guys! I want to say, thank goodness for laziness. I'm not exactly having cravings, but I'm going through a bit of a hard time and usually in the evenings I find myself sitting around thinking "What I need is some ice cream." If it weren't too much bother to go round to the corner store at that hour, I would be back on sugar again.

[crunchyconmomma]

Originally Posted by animus_silvae

ummmm when I went sugar-free before I heard somewhere that 21 days was the length of time it took to rid of cravings and restabilize your system. I don't know...I could have dreamed it up! I would have preferred 28 days (a full moon cycle) but 28 days seems so much more dauting than 21.

I was thinking I had heard that before too, so I was probing to see if you had any info. My curiosity is really piqued.


So get this, gang. I saw my naturopath and told him of my intentions with dietary modifications and about how I can't simply quit sugar because I am so addicted and it makes me so uncomfortable with headaches and wretched nausea and all that stuff. He prescribed a homeopathic remedy (sort of a constitutional one for me) that so far has been working amazingly well. My cravings are so much less severe and less often! Truly noticeable change for me. I even sometimes think, "Hmmm, maybe I want _________ ?"(fill in the blank with one of my old sugary stand-bys) and you know what? I say "Nah." And I mean it! THAT HAS NEVER HAPPENED TO ME IN MY LIFE unless I was in bed with the flu! I'm talking even hungover in my younger partying days when I didn't want to even take a sip of water I could get down a cupcake or something like that!
Simply amazing....just had to share.....

[Stevie]

Hooray!!! I am so glad you're all still here
I just checked my journal and I am on day 24. Must be true about the 21 days because on day 21 I wrote "I love fresh veggies" and on day 22 I wrote "I am craving granny smith apples"

I did do without not only all sweeteners including honey (which is, BTW, low GI) but I also quit caffeine except for the green tea fix in the morning and sometimes in the afternoon. Last week I had one of my mochas with splenda, but I did okay.
That movie was horrid!! I mean, the movie was good, but I was constantly thinking about the skittles out in the lobby
I took the kids to another movie on Monday and got them a popcorn but I munched on the nuts I snuck in. No cravings even then

I weighed and measured on Thursday and lost 2" in the waist and almost 9 pounds in the 21 days! That has been huge for me!! Even though I knew my clothes were fitting differently I had no idea it was this big... good incentive.

Today at church everyone brought in different breads and our resident bee keeper brought in raw honey, so I had a small piece of whole grain bread (very crunchy) with honey on it. YumYum! 4 weeks ago the same choices would have had me eating the processed store bought muffins

Anyway, so glad you are all here and seeing that a couple of strugglers are finding ways to go sugar free for their health is SUCH a high!!!! Thank you againg for starting this thread when you did. I know that what I put out to the Universe comes back to me and you all have been a gift to me

[HRC121799]

hi everyone, finally sugar free here ($14,000 in dental work over a 2.5 mos period, with 4 sedation appointments since I have dental phobia, finally got me to quit sugar forever...) The last time I had sugar (other than naturally occurring in fruit & 1 tbsp of pure maple syrup on a waffle once), was the day before Halloween (on Halloween I had 6 fillings & 3 crown preps done, then just a few days ago at my final sedation appt, I had 4 more fillings & the 3 perm. crowns put on). I went cold turkey, figured I may as well do it when I'd be eating very little anyways because of the dental appts.) I'm a lifelong sugar addict, ice cream, candy, donuts, all of it. More recently, I was mainly only eating it at night, after the kids were in bed & dh at work, figured no one could see me, I could pretend I wasn't doing it, right? haha. But it made me feel gross and tired and sluggish.

So, there's my intro (embarassed much, yes). I've tried going off sugar before,but this time it's sticking, and it's not just for me, it's for the entire family (dh, me, ds 3 & ds almost 7).

I'm making a sugar free apple pie for Thanksgiving (sweetened with apple juice concentrate), and I plan on trying some baking with xylitol (great for teeth!) soon, which I'd wanted to try in the past but didn't. I've spent all my recovery time in bed with the laptop, hunting for sugar free recipes and healthy ideas. I'm still recovering from the last appointment, still hard to eat, but at least I know what I do eat, is not harming my now fixed teeth. Hooray!
-Heather

[odd-ducks]

How great to read all of your posts! I was just sitting here thinking about how very sorry I felt for myself and about what a crappy day I just had, but after reading all the posts from today, I feel downright good.

'Hot fudge sundae' kind of good. But, without the ice-cream remorse.

Thanks, everyone!

[Anna06]

Hi my name is Anna06, I am a sugar holic. I am addicted to sugar.

I feel like I'm at a AA meeting, but I've never really been to one. Really!!
I've been to ashamed to post about my ice cream lately. How many times can I fall off the wagan and still play the game here?

This will be a popular thread come Jan 01!!

I worry about T-day. I am making cranberry relish with stevia. And pumpkin pie no wheat, no dairy, use honey no sugar. So we'll see.

Hi crunchconmama I'm still here. You inspired me to post!
Still hangin round.

[Tigerius]

if you buy a jar of honey with the comb in is that raw honey?
What about set honey (ie not runny)?


I am encouraged by the last time I went sugar free and the peace and total change in personailty i had. Much calmer, more confident etc...Plus I concieved DS!

Things aren't well with me at the moment despite the ADs I am taking. My last really depressive crisis was last thursday where i went to bed crying and desperately praying to be taken.
That episode passed but I had a bad time with anxiety on saturday. :

So for me this is about my mental survival and therefore about giving my DS the mama he deserves.

[saratc]

Tigerius, a big to you.
DH is bipolar and we have found any sort of toxins and chemicals will aggravate his mood swings. We consider refined sugars and most refined products as part of the group of things to avoid as they have been so stripped that they act like drugs. When we quit sugar, we noticed how much more even his mood was and how much more content he was. Since cutting out sugar and switching to whole foods, we've been able to easily identify what causes mood swings.

The sweeteners DH have been able to tolerate the most are unfiltered raw honey, stevia and agave nectar. The next tier sweeteners are sucanat and maple syrup, meaning we can use them, but only bundled with lots of fiber (whole grain flour, etc) and fat (butter, coconut oil, etc).

Originally Posted by Tigerius

if you buy a jar of honey with the comb in is that raw honey?
What about set honey (ie not runny)?

Some honeys with the comb in are still pasteurized. Raw honey will be labeled raw on the package and generally will be cloudy. Raw unfiltered honey is often crystalized since honey naturally crystalizes as a self preservation method and doesn't affect the taste or quality. I only buy the raw unfiltered honey since DH tolerates that the best. The pasteurized stuff causes issues, and even the filtered raw stuff will cause issues sometimes.

[crunchyconmomma]

I'm with you, Tigerius I hope things get better soon. I'll let you off the hook (for now) about contributing the funny confessions of sugar-oholicism.

Annao6, where's your confession?

Stevie - awesome news! Thanks for sharing - very inspiring! I know you have to have a confession, c'mon...

HRC121799, I am in the same boat as you with horrid dental messes (and dental phobia which I SWEAR makes cavities in and of itself). Good for you for making the changes. Ever wonder what dental work (because there will probably be something, however minor) that comes up down the road might be different off the sugar? I think about that. So....join in (my) the fun and post a really crazy sugar-addiction experience that you had. Read back, they're funny and make you feel less nuts about it all since we're all in the same boat.

Off to the head-shrinker to talk about this...and the "wife" in a husband's body.... Ciao bellas!

[BelovedBird]

I didn't see anyone answer my Q- does anyone else use natural date honey?

[Tigerius]

I've never seen any honey labelled as 'raw' over here.
'Active' honey I've seen (costs a bomb!)

Funny sugar-binging moment...honestly I can't really think of one that's actually very funny! Making cookies just for the dough, making icecream just to be able to lick the bowl and making sure there is more than enough to lick!! Eating a whole box of cookies....nothing new really...

ah yes! How about buying hazelnut chocolate and kidding yourself it's OK to eat the whole 200g bar bc you only eat the hazelnutty bits??!! Honestly! The thinkgs we make ourselves believe!!

[PrairieBohemian]

Originally Posted by BelovedBird

I didn't see anyone answer my Q- does anyone else use natural date honey?

sunshinestarr posted this in post#57:

I just bought it today. It's 100% dates, and has the consistency of honey.. I had some pancakes today and used it for syrup.. Was really, really yummy. Has a slight molasses taste, but very slight.

I really love dates anyway, though - they're my new candy!

[PrairieBohemian]

Originally Posted by Tigerius

I've never seen any honey labelled as 'raw' over here.
'Active' honey I've seen (costs a bomb!)

I thought if it was labelled "unpasturized" it was raw. Am I wrong?