[Magdalen] Eliminating sugar?

[Grace Cangialosi]

Thanks, Sally. This is helpful.

> On Jan 26, 2015, at 5:00 PM, Sally Davies <sally.davies at gmail.com> wrote:
> 
> 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.
>>