I think there's been past forums on sugar intake - you should search for them.

Additionally, if you are cutting out sugar completely - you need to also consider foods that contain hidden sugars like wine, bbq sauce, salad dressings, fruits etc.

Here's my rant on this: I get people who want to cut back their sugar intake on foods that contain processed sugars - pastries, ice cream, etc.

However, completely cutting out sugars I personally don't understand. The body (for most) does such an amazing job of breaking down sugars, it was part of the 'original design' - and because of this, Mother Nature put natural sugars in a lot of foods (fruits, some vegetables, etc.)

I use stevia instead of sugar in my tea. Some brands are better than others-my preferred brand is Truvia.

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DFL > DNF > DNS

Thanks very much - I always forget about the excellent search on here. Just done so and will track back through some responses.

I don't drink alcohol (never have) and stay away from sauces etc. Try to eat only one lot of fruit every day (typically blueberries). Just want to try and do all I can to keep my energy at a constant level during high levels of training.

Don't substitute with fake sugars (i.e., light yogurt with aspatarme/sucralose) - you'll just crave regular sugar more.
Keep sweet fruits around (apples, berries) so when the sugar craving hits, you have something sweet available.
The first couple days will be the hardest, then the cravings will subside.

If you have a craving you truly can't get rid of, eat some high-quality dark chocolate with a high % cacoa content.

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maybe she's born with it, maybe it's chlorine
If you're injured and need some sympathy, PM me and I'm very happy to write back.
disclaimer: PhD not MD

fruit-flavored tea is good too. Tazo Passionfruit or Republic of Tea Mango Ceylon are my favorites.

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maybe she's born with it, maybe it's chlorine
If you're injured and need some sympathy, PM me and I'm very happy to write back.
disclaimer: PhD not MD

+1 I drink the Tazo caramel apple cinnamon (I think!) tea and don't miss adding sugar at all.

my biggest trouble cutting out sugar is when I get tired, I want sugar. I am exhausted today and ate a bunch of chocolate chips, chocolate covered raisins, and twizzlers midday because I was just tired (and had already had a latte...)

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maybe she's born with it, maybe it's chlorine
If you're injured and need some sympathy, PM me and I'm very happy to write back.
disclaimer: PhD not MD

Friend of mine earlier today ordered a passion tea with a little sugar-free vanilla syrup at Starbucks....HOLY AMAZING.

I read or heard somewhere that the Truvias & Stevias (the yellow ones) of the world, as well as the aspartames, are MORE dangerous to the demonic sugar cravings because those "sweeteners" are actually WAY over 100% times sweeter than actual sugar. So not only do they maintain the sugar dependence, they ENHANCE it. Dieticians, true?

I've accepted that my love affair with sugar isn't going anywhere. I'm a sucka for cake (including the cup- variety), cookie & the occasional brownie, period. What I CAN do is manage to use these things as the occasional treat & try to just manage the rest of it as natural sugars. I have absolutely no issue with consuming things that have a natural sugar content (within reason) & don't plan on ever knocking fruit in larger quantities out of my diet. My thinking is that if it is natural & not processed or too tinkered with then it can't be as bad as that buttercream icing.

I have no problem swimming off a banana or an orange. Now if only I could make that connection with the spaghetti & rich, hearty marinara sauce.....

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AW

Hmmm, I might try the tea idea, seems like a winner. I am really trying to not use sweeteners as I think it will definitely just extend my sugar habit! :)

Processed foods usually contain lots of sugar. Stick with lean meats and vegatables, fruits if you need something sweet. You will probably find that you will start to crave the brighter colored veggies, but that's a good thing! The amount of sugars in yogurt with fruit is incredible, stick to plain varieties, it's not so bad!

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Twitter: @jayasports
Web: http://www.jayasports.com

You have to be careful with things labeled stevia. Most are made of derivatives from Stevia and are more similiar to other fake sugars. You need to look for pure stevia. I use sweet leaf liquid stevia. 100% pure and comes in vanilla flavor too!!! I'm also giving up processed sugar but still enjoy natural foods with sugar in it. I use raw honey as it has nutrients in it. Really yummy too. I think the real devil here is the processed foods not the sugar. If you eat whole foods you will be better off in general. Ok that's my rant!!! LOL

My husband started eating yogurt every day--I took a look-32 THIRTY TWO grams of sugar in one serving!!! and no way he only eats one serving. That is like 3x Ben and Jerrys. Dang it I want some now.

some of the sugar in yogurt and milk is lactose, which is a naturally-occurring sugar. You can mix plain + your own fruit, or plain + fruit-flavored... or do what I do and get the Greek stuff :-)

I have been doing pretty well with avoiding sugar (well, really avoiding desserts - g'ade etc is fair game)!!!

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maybe she's born with it, maybe it's chlorine
If you're injured and need some sympathy, PM me and I'm very happy to write back.
disclaimer: PhD not MD

I too love sugar. I'm a horrible addict and don't see myself ever getting rid of it completely. I've tried for short time periods and I always go back.


I get the black tea lemonade from Starbucks in the summer but unsweetened. The lemonade has more than enough sugar. I always give my manager a hard time because he tries to get it sweetened. I'll just give him "the look" and he'll say unsweetened. Very funny because it tastes so much better. I also stopped putting sugar in my soy lattes. There is enough sugar in the soymilk.

I got rid of white sugar in my house and only use raw sugar. I feel virtuous even though it probably doesn't make any difference. I've cut back in general but still have a little chocolate every day.

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Jen

"In order to keep a true perspective on one's importance, everyone should have a dog that worships him and a cat that will ignore him." - Dereke Bruce

I'm failing. Miserably. There's too much stress & travel, too much chaos. Not swimming enough either. Just generally in all sorts of disarray.

I like the thought of it, but at this point if it's sugar (or desserts, or wine, or sweetener, or ANYTHING) that's keeping me sane & keeping me from just sitting down in the middle of the office/house/airport/highway & crying or absolutely RIPPING someone's head off.....I'm ok with it. I'm not sure when I'll climb back on the wagon - hopefully soon for the scale's sake - but it still sounds good to me. I miss wholesome food, vegetables & feeling healthy. I really miss feeling healthy.

My jeans & clothes in general & every single mirror I look at are NOT ok with it....but I'm not listening to them right now. Survive & advance.

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AW

your perspective actually sounds pretty healthy. when does the madness/stress end?

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maybe she's born with it, maybe it's chlorine
If you're injured and need some sympathy, PM me and I'm very happy to write back.
disclaimer: PhD not MD

I'm not sure when it ends. I'm in sales, so it seems ever-present. But I'll get to go home tomorrow from this particular trip, so that will be a good start.

It's times like this I almost wish I was one of those people that can drink & still feel normal the next day or still workout on a regular schedule. Maybe. That wouldn't solve anything though.

Just getting home to the dogs & my team practices & gym will help.

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AW

I did a "cleanse" for 21 days last February, and it was pretty awesome. No sugar, gluten or dairy for 21 days. It was also "technically" supposed to be no coffee, no alcohol and no meat. I didn't even consider giving up coffee, I mean, that's just CRAZY talk. I made it through seven days with no alcohol and fourteen with no meat.

Anyway, the sugar part was really amazing. I felt SO much better after cutting it out. It only took a few days for me to start feeling that way. I felt like my energy level was much more stable and I didn't get the post lunch blah. I also found I slept much better.

I do have some sugar in my diet now, but not a lot, and not a lot of gluten either. I think this has really helped my energy levels. I do bake quite a bit for my family, so we often have stuff like that in the house, but what has helped me is to just remember how much better I feel if I don't eat that stuff. If I 'break the seal' and eat a cookie, it's pretty easy for me to eat quite a few, so I also try to remember that and just don't go there. Actually, now when I do eat that kind of stuff often it tastes too sweet. I do like really dark chocolate though, like > 75%. I probably have one of those a week.

I tend to not do very well if I say I can't have any of thing x; if I do that I tend to fixate on thing x. It's probably the inherent naughty girl in me, lol.

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Trying to fight gravity on a planet that insists

Eh. I think it's human nature to want what we can't have / what is restricted.


I am also pretty good at eating a bunch of cookies at once; I did last night :-) lol. I think I train so much that my body gets pretty excited when I do eat sugar. And they tasted good. I'm okay with this happening on occassion; as long as it is "eating four cookies" instead of bingeing (read: eating the whole box... there was one time I binged on almost an entire box of oreos...) it doesn't bother me. The difference for me is enjoying them vs the compulsion and lack of control feelings (bingeing).


When you did the cleanse thing did you also eliminate g'ade and gels? What about fruit-flavored yogurt? Just curious... I think NO sugar for me would be disastrous in that I'd end up under-caloried or under-CHO'ed (even replacing it with fat, I tend to crave carbs...) and then binge. That said, I'm a little weird about food in that often a cookie or piece of biscotti feels safer than, say, toast with butter. They're fairly equal in macronutrients but clearly WW toast is healthier :P so I am not sure my head is in a place where I could get the necessary CHO from rice or something (grains freak me out. Or, grains that look like grains. Cookies? no fear).


Anyway, I had a couple popsicles today - those are a good treat. Sweet but not too many calories. And the one I had was shaped like a big fat frog! It was so cool!

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maybe she's born with it, maybe it's chlorine
If you're injured and need some sympathy, PM me and I'm very happy to write back.
disclaimer: PhD not MD

Today was a BAD day for sugar. I feel gross. Tomorrow is a new day!

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Jen

"In order to keep a true perspective on one's importance, everyone should have a dog that worships him and a cat that will ignore him." - Dereke Bruce

When I did the cleanse I wasn't training super hard. I was doing hot yoga everyday and running ~ 5x/week, but no biking, and (gasp!) no swimming. So pretty chill. that being said, I almost never drink a sports drink (too sweet) and if I never eat another gel in my life, that would be fine. And I don't do yogurt. I eat cheese and butter, but almost no other dairy. Nutrition is actually one of the bigger challenges for me with endurance training, and is one of the scariest parts for me when thinking about IM distance. I never crave sweet when I'm going hard, but I almost always am craving salt, even when I'm sodium supplementing. This year I'm going to try to do all "real" food supplementation for training and racing. I'm also going to try to make my own drink. That sweet stuff completely shuts me down, and the consistency of a gel when I'm working hard is so gross. I laugh at myself every time I try to choke one down.

I would say that I probably eat a lot more fat than the normal triathlete. I like fat; my body fat, cholesterol and triglycerides are good -to-go, so I try to listen to my body as much as possible. I eat a lot of nuts, olives, avocados, cheese, red meat (if I could eat a ribeye every day for the rest of my life, I would). I have found when I eat a little more fat, I am less likely to crave sugar, either sucrose or fructose. I never calorie count, as this just doesn't work for me, but I do try to limit processed foods. My carbs come mainly from brown rice, quinoa, fruit, oatmeal, potatoes, sweet potatoes, chips (salt!) and hemp/rice/soy "milk". I do eat bread, tortillas, and pasta, but that stuff is pretty limited. We have an outdoor pizza oven and in the summer I make pizzas and pitas every Friday night; this usually carb loads me for my long rides and runs over the weekend!

A frog popscicle? That sounds awesome! I make green popsicles for the kids--kale or spinach, banana, blueberries, sometimes a little yogurt. They love those, and they're super easy and cheap.

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Trying to fight gravity on a planet that insists

My frog popsicle was not nearly that healthy. I think I am going to get more frog popsicles today. Yum. If I do I will post a picture. They are as fun as eating a chocolate bunny - you can eat its flippers, its ears, it's belly... what to bite first!!!!


I love gels. Sports drinks during workouts make me feel bloated, but sometimes they are the only thing I can get down after a workout if my stomach is upset - I often get nausea from swimming (even with earplugs). My favorite workout thing is Cliff Margarita Shot Bloks. Salty deliciousness. Yeah, I crave salt too. :-)


I have found that straight sugar after a workout makes me anxious. Sugar is tied to anxiety (i.e. sugar not good for people with anxiety disorders). I had jelly beans between run and swim this morning, then more jelly beans right after and POW instant anxiety. I showered and just had rice/beans for brunch.


I don't calorie-count on most days. It freaks me out :P

In Reply To:

My carbs come mainly from brown rice, quinoa, fruit, oatmeal, potatoes, sweet potatoes, chips (salt!) and hemp/rice/soy "milk".

I think I get most of my CHO from soymilk (Silk Very Vanilla or chocolate), chocolate milk, yogurt, a pb sandwich (I have at least one of those a day), fruit, and the occasional bowl of rice. Potatoes are sooooooooo a fear food for me. No idea why. Brilliant brain of mine, so irrational when it comes to food.

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maybe she's born with it, maybe it's chlorine
If you're injured and need some sympathy, PM me and I'm very happy to write back.
disclaimer: PhD not MD

http://1.bp.blogspot.com/...0Krzes/s1600/003.JPG

Picture of the Fat Frog popsicles I am currently HOOKED on

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maybe she's born with it, maybe it's chlorine
If you're injured and need some sympathy, PM me and I'm very happy to write back.
disclaimer: PhD not MD

Mmmmm. It looks like it has some sort of creamy goodness. What makes it have that?

It's so cold here right now that I feel like I can't get warm no matter what. The idea of eating a cold popsicle is giving me the full body equivalent of brain freeze :)

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Trying to fight gravity on a planet that insists