Sugar withdraval, help?!

[Beldarna]

My boyfriend challenged me of going a month without sugar with start april 1st. Stupid as I was, I accepted before realising it's during Easter  . No chocolate eggs for me this year, boohoo. We are allowed fructose, like eating fruits and drinking juice, but any food with added processed sugar is forbidden. The deal is if anyone starts eating sugar, that person loose and has to pay the other one 500 sek.

I thought it would be a walk in the park, but boy, was I wrong. Have you any idea how many things have added sugar in them? Potatoechips! Caviar! Ketchup! I went through the cerial isle and found ONE! package with no added sugar and TWO müslies. I'm left out on so much, like my favorite yogurth. And to make matters worse it's day four and the withdraval is kiling me!


I just want something sweet and I'm drinking water and eating apples like there is no tomorrow. Anyone have any tips on what I can do to make it easier for me? I have a feeling the first week is the worst and if I can just manage this one, the rest will be easier. I heard that grapes and raisins have so much fructose, it's like eating candy so I want to avoid those.


Any tips, suggestions? Anyone gone through the same thing and know what to do?

[Loa]

I'm on the same thing.
I've been told to eat Cinnamon!

[Beldarna]

Cinnamon huh? Do you know why? I like cinnamon but I imagine it's making the mouth feel pretty dry.

[kaoskat]

Don't look at me! I'd die!!! Good luck though!!

[mlp4me]

I'd totally die without sugar, although I think I'm hypoglycemic...

Go crazy on the fresh fruit. Give it a few days you'll get adjusted. Dried dates/raisins/prunes are usually pretty good too. It's really hard to find any processed food that does not have sugar added into it in some way.

Try potatos, there's at least some natural starchy sugars in there.

(Might also suggest a multi-vitamin...)

Might as well start looking into vegan http://www.rawglow.com/recipes.htm receipes for a bit, then all your bases are covered. Good luck!!

[Beldarna]

*Stares at kaoskat like crazy*   Thanks, tho I need that.


Thank you  mlp4me. I'm eating apples and bananas every day and I put raisins with my cereals. In the beginning I drank several glasses of juice a day but is drinking less and less to get my body adjusted. I would love to have a huge fruitplate but good fruits are expensive =/. It doesn't help to work at a cinema either where the soda is free for me to take as much as I want. Luckily I can drink as much tea I want also so I always have a cup with me. I'm gonna check out the link. Thank you.

[pinkkittywinks]

you need to eat potatoes pasta and rice, the slow release carbs will help fight off the need for a sugar boost.

love pkw xxx

[lemontwist]

I hate sugar withdrawal! When I did it I ended up using sooooo much sugar substitute!

I like blueberries for sweet snacking, and smoothies are great! My favorite currently is 1 banana 2 orange  lots of strawberries, plus a handful of spinach (seriously though, it makes your smoothie green but it's totally yummy!) a bit of fresh minced ginger and a generous dash of cinnamon. The banana and spinach flatten the sharpness of the orange and strawberry so the sweetness really comes through, and the ginger and cinnamon give it a little something special.

[Beldarna]

Good to know pinkkittywinks! I love potatoes so that shouldn't be a problem!


lemontwist, that smoothy sounds amazing! I'm gonna try it as soon as I get my next payment! Thanks!

[Wardah]

Also look into sugar free products made for diabetics. They make plenty of sugar free products so people with diabetes can still eat the things they love. You might even be able to find sugar free chocolate!

[Eviecorn]

What about agave nectar?  It's closer to fructose on the glycemic index.  It's really only just filtered and heated to syrup consistency.  It's fabulous added to cereal, oatmeal, tea, you name it.

[kamakazee82]

for super sweet, dehydrated fruit is a good way to go, you just need to watch that ti's not the bad kind that adds more sugar :\ dried pineapple is super sweet lol

and cinnamon works because it gives you that sweet taste that tricks your brain into going "YAY! SUGAR!" but doesn't do much for withdrawals ... and i second the agave nectar, goooooooooooooood stuff there!

i too would simply die ... i tried going without mountain dew for awhile ... i lasted two days and was such a queen itchbay by the morning of the third i was just like "DONE! GIMMA MY DEW!" lol

good luck

[SurfStar]

What about agave nectar?  It's closer to fructose on the glycemic index.  It's really only just filtered and heated to syrup consistency.  It's fabulous added to cereal, oatmeal, tea, you name it.

I love this stuff. It's my favorite thing to add to tea and oatmeal. It's awesome.

[Oneleo1]

Sugar free gum....

[Beldarna]

So many helpful tips! Thank you everyone!

Wardah: We've looked into that. The müsli and bread we buy is for diabetics.. I found a bread that is sweatend with carrots! it's so delicious you have no idea! Sugarfree chocolate would be a thrill, tho.. Have to look into that!

Evicorn: I've never heard of Agave Nectar before! Definitly a look up. Thank you

kamakazee82: I have thought of dried fruit and I looked into that as well as nuts and somehow, most factories add sugar on them anyway! Peanuts and cashews were really the only ones with no added sugar. The fruits with no sugar still had a disclaimer with "may contain some blablablasugarblablabla, since they're all packed in the same factory. In fact, the list of "might contain" was waay longer than the list of ingredients .
I thank you for explaining the cinnamon thingie. I might try it, hopefully it'll work when the cravings are worse.

I have no problems not drinking soda or candy. I only drink and eat that during weekends anyway and in very small amounts. My main problem is not being able to drink cocoa for breakfast!

Oneleo1: I'm already on that