[Magdalen] Eliminating sugar?

[Sally Davies]

I do the 5:2 "fast" diet and have been for nearly a year now, so I haven't
cut sugar on all days, just on the diet days.

But from my limited experience it helps to cut things that are "mainly"
sugar first, and then things that contain lots of sugar but not much
nutritional value or culinary interest. It doesn't help to make sugar the
enemy but it may help to think about whether the other qualities of the
food compensates for the harm the sugar might do.

For me it's worked well to cut added sugar from drinks, I haven't found
this hard though I still put the occasional teaspoonful into a cup of
coffee if it's instant or overly bitter espresso. Most coffee and all tea
tastes better without sugar. Also not adding it to cereal (though I do put
a tiny drizzle of honey over muesli), and not drinking sweet fizzy drinks,
I bought a Soda Stream and make soda water instead which I drink on its own
or as a wine spritzer on non-diet days.

It's been a reconditioning of taste, because I don't like the taste of
artificial sweeteners - any of them.

>From what I read, next on the hit list should be anything with "High
Fructose Corn Syrup" which has done more to damage the Western diet than
anything else and is added to a great many processed foods.

On 'diet' days I avoid all sweet food, and basically eat very little,
keeping under 500 calories on that day. I could eat more and have a great
recipe book for the diet days but it's just easier to fast all day and then
eat lean meat, fish, eggs and salad. You get used to it and I've learned a
lot about how my body processes food. The "carbs" definitely cause more
weight to go on than the fats!! But to get into "fat burning" (which I can
feel, as the whole system has to adjust to the new fuel) - I have to reduce
the sugar/glycogen stores very low which takes about 14 hours, sometimes
more.

The strange thing is, that when I'm finished the two diet days, which I do
together, I don't crave sweet things at all, quite the reverse. It's as
though I've learned to recognise that sugar is toxic and should be consumed
with caution. I can eat anything I like on the five "feed" days but my
choices are definitely better than they were.

I came across a diet that was apparently posted on Twitter for a joke and
gained followers because so many people liked it and lost weight
wel.  Similar to 5:2, it was called the "3S" diet: no Sweets, no Seconds,
no Snacks, except on days that start with S (Saturday, Sunday and any
Special day). It shares with 5:2 the element of delayed gratification so
you don't experience emotional deprivation if you're an emotional eater as
many are. It's clear and simple: Sweets includes anything that has sugar as
it's main or a major ingredient. No Seconds and no Snacks means you always
face up to the real size of your portions - and some people literally take
the snack they were tempted by and put it aside until the next main meal.
That way you're not saying "no" to yourself but allowing yourself to be
more aware of what you're eating through the day.

South Africans are still very enamoured with the Banting diet, that treats
all sugars and most starches as though they were the devil's food. And yet
many do not lose weight because (my observation) they don't cut calories.
They might well be healthier for all I know (lower cholesterol is claimed
though most doctors here don't believe it). But they sure are not thinner.

A long time ago I thought exercise alone was enough to keep weight down. I
put on about 8 more kilos before finally admitting that this was not true,
at least not for mild to moderate exercise.

Sally D

On Monday, 26 January 2015, Grace Cangialosi <gracecan at gmail.com> wrote:

> I know that over the years some of you have mentioned eliminating sugar
> from your diet, and I'm wondering if there were some resources that you
> found particularly helpful.  One of my doctors recommended this a couple of
> weeks ago, mainly because I've been gaining weight due to some
> medications, and gave me a paper to read as well as a book recommendation.
> But I know, just from looking at food labels, that it's hard to find
> anything without added sugar--even bread!  I'm all for using fresh fruits
> and vegetables and grains, but there are limits, after all.
>
> And even before my conversation with my doctor, I'd hear something on NPR
> about the amount of added sugar Americans eat, and it's something like 23
> teaspoons a day!  Yikes!! And I don't even add table sugar to anything I
> eat or drink.
>
> Thanks in advance...
>
> Grace
>
> --
> Grace Cangialosi
> Ruckersville, VA
>
> It's a good thing Mary didn't have to wait for a Doctrine of the
> Incarnation
> before she said "Yes" to God.
>