Stop SUGAR Support Thread

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  • pip57
    pip57 Member Posts: 12,401
    edited April 2011

    Yes it is expensive Barbe.  But don't you deserve it?  How much does ice cream or chocolate bars cost?  Come on.  Give it a try. LOL

  • barbe1958
    barbe1958 Member Posts: 19,757
    edited April 2011

    I have tried it and love it! I use only vanilla yohurt or Balkan style and love fruit in it. But I don't buy icre cream, cookies or chocolate bars either....sigh. BUT, I did just buy a $3.97 pineapple core....hmmmm.

  • clariceak
    clariceak Member Posts: 752
    edited April 2011

    I'm a sugar addict.  The only time I haven't eaten sugar was when I briefly thought I was a diabetic so I eliminated almost all sugar cold turkey and lost weight quickly.  That was last summer, and you think I would have learned from the experience. Not really, but I'm ready to try again.

    This article is sobering, especially the possible connection between insulin and cancer.

    http://www.nytimes.com/2011/04/17/magazine/mag-17Sugar-t.html

  • FireKracker
    FireKracker Member Posts: 8,046
    edited April 2011

    I was told that cancer loves sugar...AND yes im an addict....slowly im quitting.i used to start my day with a piece of chocolate cake/chocolate pudding/cheese cake.etc...you get the picture.not any more.

    IM 75% sugar free.its hard.real hard.but im doin it slowly.first i switched to the dark chocolate.then i limited it to a little each day...now im down to hardly anything and i do skip days.if i overdose im cooked.i go back to day 1..yes i am a addict...but addicts do get cured if they want to.im tryin.good luck everyone...great thread.

  • mdg
    mdg Member Posts: 3,571
    edited April 2011

    The hard thing for me is realizing there is a little bit of sugar in so many things.  Cereal, bread, ketchup, etc......it all adds up. It's not just chocolate.  I am better controlling the chocolate and such and limiting that but it's in so many foods!  Ugh! I can't imagine how many grams of sugar I really eat in a day that is hidden in foods where you don't think about it.  I read that sugar is not neccessary in the diet so there is no daily recommended amount.  I did read that you should not have more than 40gms of sugar in a day in general.  That was not specific to cancer patients or anything......I am going to have to log this for a few days and see how many grams I am really eating per day.

    I did find some good general nutrition info on the Mayo Clinic website: 

     http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/healthy-diet/NU00200

    There are quite a few links worth checking out but here is one on sugar:

    http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/added-sugar/MY00845

  • sagina
    sagina Member Posts: 1,219
    edited April 2011

    Hi everyone, I used to be a sugar addict and didn't even realize it.  I loved sugars like ketchup, barbecue sauces, salad dressings, spaghetti sauces, baked beans, you get the picture.  I'm a triple negative cancer and in my own brain - there is not medical reasoning behind this - I felt I needed to help myself not get cancer again since I can't take any meds to help.  I saw the nutritionist at my OC office, and she confirmed what I had seen on a news story that week, a low fat diet and exercise can reduce the risk of recurrence - science is still studying the percentages but she believes in her research it's closer to the 80% range! 

    She asked me a poignant question - What is your goal?  My answer to never get cancer again.  She said then it is really simple - when you reach for a food at the grocery store or in your home, ask yourself will that food get me to my goal?

    If I had only been able to think like this 15 years ago when I started to gain weight!! I am one month and a half in of switching to a vegan diet - no processed foods (stopped that when I was dx), no milk, no cheese, no animals, no refined sugar for sure.

    I eat a handful of walnuts or almonds for a late snack, I don't have small children at home, my is 20 and in college away from home, so I can focus just on me and that does make this easier.  But just try this technique when you are reaching for the sugary food, ask yourself will this get me to my goal?  You will start believing yourself very quickly.  I gave up sugar last October, and I'm giving up this darn cancer in side of me too!!!!!! Heading into radiation next week, last stop on the train.....

    I know I can't control or predict cancer, but if staying away from sugar can help, then let's all help ourselves....we are all worth it!!!!

    thanks for this tread, I am going to start checking in for recipes and advice! 

    and PS I agree with many of you, finding and eating foods without sugars in them is expensive, and I agree we all are worth it! 

  • AnnetteS
    AnnetteS Member Posts: 180
    edited April 2011

    What a great thread.  I am diabetic and gave up most all sugar/flour for a year, a couple of years ago.  I lost a bunch of weight and my diabetes was in control.  Then, I had one piece of cake on Thanksgiving.....Like an alcoholic, I was right back to eating EVERYTHING within a few days of that piece of cake.  I gained back all the weight I lost.  After my cancer dx and 6 steriods prescriptions, my blood glucose is completely out of control.  I need to join you wonderful ladies and give up sugar again.

    But, apparently I am not readyCry.  As I read through these three pages, all I could think about is that I am going out with a group of friends tonight and we have a special stop planned just for dessert.  But I am ready to think about changing my ways.  Hopefully I will be joining you ladies soon.....

  • thegood5
    thegood5 Member Posts: 478
    edited April 2011

    Annette, I'm right there with you!  I read these posts and admire the determination these women have, and I want to be able to do it, but just don't think it's possible!  I plan on trying to really limit my sweets intake, but as far as ketchup and all that, I just don't think I can handle it.  Good luck to you and I might get in trouble here for "not supporting you", but I too would have that dessert tonight and see it as my "last chance pig-out"!  ;)

  • FireKracker
    FireKracker Member Posts: 8,046
    edited April 2011

    what about raw brown sugar?????does anyone know about that?

    im using it but only in my green tea....my biggest problem is CHOCOLATE.If i could give that up i will be just fine....

    wonderful support thread.keep it goin.huggggggsK

  • LadyinBama
    LadyinBama Member Posts: 1,132
    edited April 2011

    Glad I found this thread. I was following Dr. Oz's diet which is simple: no refined carbs, sugar or bad fats, basically. I had lost 50 pounds and was doing great, then I met a man and he was my downfallWink He loves to eat and loves to cook and loves to spoil me with treats. I have to get back on track. Besides cancer, I've gained back 30 pounds since diagnosis (and remarriage) a year ago. How do you get your DH to understand that I don't need or want any more sweet treats? Let's keep this thread going so that when I sign in to BCO, it is IN MY FACE: NO SUGAR!!!

  • Basia
    Basia Member Posts: 790
    edited April 2011

    Raw sugar is sugar. Most sweetners, even honey is the same as sugar once it hits your blood stream. Your liver processes it the same way.

  • TonLee
    TonLee Member Posts: 2,626
    edited April 2011

    This is the hardest time of year for me personally to limit sugar.  Strawberries are hitting the shelves...but even more than that....the Easter candy!  Mini whopper speckled eggs are my all time favorite.  Thank goodness they only come out once a year! 

    I'm trying to heal up from a revision surgery before rads, and I know sugar inhibits that process....so it is a big test of will when I go to the grocery store...especially AFTER Easter because everything (those wonderful speckled eggs) are soooooo cheap. 

    Why oh why can't it be super expensive?  That would almost eliminate it from my diet...lol

  • FireKracker
    FireKracker Member Posts: 8,046
    edited April 2011

    Twinmom---really???????damn and i thought i was doing soooo good except the chocolate.....raw brown sugar organic and honey?????damn there goes the green tea now...that is the worst in the world.and the agava too?????im gonna die.i cannot eat too much veggies,not taking any of the ALs.tried the DIM that was really bad.what will i eat if i have to give up fruit??????help.besides cannot eat any salads because the roughage is too much for my stomach.i guess ill live on ensure.

  • Basia
    Basia Member Posts: 790
    edited April 2011

    Grannydukes. don't beat yourself up over adding a bit of honey to your tea. honey is the lesser of the evils.  I may be wrong, but I watched the youtube video of the guy from the NYT article and I understood him to say that fruit juice is bad, but if you are eating the whole fruit it is ok, but like everything in moderation.  What did he say, something like, fruit has juice so that we eat the fiber? I am not a firm believer in not eating fruit, we do need the nutrients.  How are you with proteins? I have started eating grass fed beef because of all the extra omega3s and stuff.  I've read lots of good stuff about that.  

    And FYI, dark chocolate is ok to eat (in moderation).  

  • XmasDx
    XmasDx Member Posts: 225
    edited April 2011

    There would need to be a decade of conclusive studies before I would even consider giving up fruit. The NYT article exonerated fruit I think, I believe it is a good thing especially in moderation.



    At the dentist office last night there were some awesome Zylitol candies and caramels. The website is drjohns.com ... Does anyone have any input on the ingredients or know if the occasional indulgence would be bad? The base is called HSH, it comes from corn... I am sure it is not a health food, but is it bad?

  • FireKracker
    FireKracker Member Posts: 8,046
    edited April 2011

    well the thing is i dont use just a bit of either the raw organic brown sugar or the honey.i use a lot.good eye opener.now i looked at the ensure that i drink 2 a day and that too has 23g of sugar too.damn im not doin good at all. i do drink the 100%fruit juice too.it says no sugar added.i cut out beef and dairy and after 60 yrs.i got rid of migraines.so whats left????the dark chocolate in moderation?????whats moderation???like once a week right????this is just getting worst and worst.i thought i was 75% sugar free since i started this proces.i think im about 25%now.

    EYE OPENER.STARVING RIGHT NOW AND I DONT KNOW WHAT TO EAT.HA

  • XmasDx
    XmasDx Member Posts: 225
    edited April 2011

    Moderation to me is 2 squares per day!



    What to eat... Brown rice, or even basmati rice, coconut milk, do you like curry? Quinoa, sweet potatoes, nuts, farm eggs, pumpkin and sunflower seeds, and maybe try stevia as a sweetener, or Zylitol? White tea is more mild than green and just as good for us, maybe better even! Popcorn popped in air or canola oil...



    I do like Jillian's cookbook... It is not a cancer fighting book but it kind of is. No sugar, no white flour, healthy food and I have found tasty too. I also like Vegan Express, The Kind Diet, and Veganomicon for vegan cooking. And Ellie Krieger's cookbooks for general healthy low fat eating, her buttermilk ranch dressing is divine. She used to be on Food network, so the recipe might be there, the base is Greek yogurt with a little mayo.

  • Basia
    Basia Member Posts: 790
    edited April 2011

    xmasdx, i have had the dr johns lolipops, don't remember what they use as a sweetener, but i don't think it was too bad. my husband bought them becuase he read they were good for your teeth..but I don't remember much more about them.  

    grannydukes, can I ask why you gave up beef and dairy? moderation isn't defined anywhere, there are no absolutes, go with what you feel is right.  If your only indulgence is dark chocolate, what's the harm in having a couple bites every day? have you considered protein drinks instead of ensure?

    Its amazing how sugar is in everything! to be completely sugar free is a dream.  so my goal is to be mostly sugar free, to not ingest unnecessary calories from sugar.  Since I started this, I am amazed at how sweet milk tastes.  so if i need something sweet, i have been taking a few sips of milk.  I thought I was doing good by juicing while going thru chemo, now I learned that I wasn't doing good by doing that, who knew?  

  • hrf
    hrf Member Posts: 3,225
    edited April 2011

    This is a great topic. Like you I struggle with sugar and would welcome get off sugar group. Count me in. I know it is bad for me but I have trouble staying away from it. The chemo has also made me diabetic and I know if I exercise and eat healthy I could probably reverse the disease. I haven't read all the posts yet but I will so I can learn from all of you

  • XmasDx
    XmasDx Member Posts: 225
    edited April 2011

    The caramels were awesome! I might have to order some. Zylitol is supposedly okay and good for teeth too.



    @LadyInBama... It is great the he loves to cook and make you treats! Now you just have to get him recipes of things you can have safely! The hardest thing is if we don't cook or bake, because then we are stuck with processed food. He just needs to redirect his energy into new foods... I need to persuade my mom to do the same, she is the best baker! Once she knows what to do, I think she would do it... I bake sometimes but normally am too busy just making dinner...



    @granny dukes, how could I forget to include the wonderful awesome magical suggestion of beans and lentils!!!! Do you like them?

  • FireKracker
    FireKracker Member Posts: 8,046
    edited April 2011

    thanks girls for all the right answers but here goes.beans and lentils will kill my stomach.i cannot eat any veggies.thats the big problem.my stomach cannot tolerate any of it.maybe a few string beens.because of all the sugar i had all my 70 yrs.food has become the enemy.I do drink coconut milk.i cannot have nuts or popcorn or reg.corn as i have diverticular disease.eggs YUK.i wish i could i was forced as a child and i cannot even stand the smell of them.and the salad is roughage.ill be in the bathroom all day.dressings are out too.i cannot have spices because of gerd.are we havin fun yet?yogurt???thats the first thing the dr said stay away from.

    the beef and the dairy i read up on.according to studies its bad period.so i went off that first.i never felt better.and my migraines are gone.yay.i do cheat once in a while with the organic beef and greated cheese as i love my macaroni(spinach or whole wheat)

    so you see im very limited but i will try the protein drinks.does anyone know exactly whats in it?are there any seeds?I did check out my apple cyder and its 100% natural with no sugar added.I AM SO TIRED OF READING LABELS.DAMN THIS BC SURE DOES SUK

  • Basia
    Basia Member Posts: 790
    edited April 2011

    Granny dukes, try a casien protein powder mixed with water. I don't know if you can have orange juice, but if you can mix t with vanilla protein powder...yummy! No seeds.

    Have you considered grass fed beef? Do a google search, it is so healthy for you!

  • FireKracker
    FireKracker Member Posts: 8,046
    edited April 2011

    i just checked the protein powder..it comes from milk.i eat peanut butter 3x a day for protein its the veggies im sooo concerned about.the grass fed beef.i thought about it and here is my thoughts on that.im 70 right? back in the days like the late 40s everything was natural right?so why was i getting the migrains?the milk was not the milk we have today right?I think im just allergic to both.

    i do appreciate all the advice..im gonna stick with the pasta,rice,almond milk,coconut oil,i take a t everyday.and keep on searching.im tryin to gain weight and this little bit of food is not doin anything for this old little body.apples,bananas,red grapes i eat daily but its full of sugar too.i guess ill just keep searching.ever time i find just one more thing to eat im grateful...thanks again.GOODBY CHOCOLATE.I GET WAY TOOO MUCH SUGA NOW.XOXOXO K

  • sagina
    sagina Member Posts: 1,219
    edited April 2011

    grannydukes~~~~~i feel the same way you are sounding, confused about food!  I started with a registered dietitian and couldn't take in all the info in just that hour.  I had really bad stomach trouble, reflux, heartburn, you name it.  When I stopped eating anything with eyes or from something with eyes (as the dietitian put it) all my stomach trouble stopped.  She said the easiest way to plan your meals is to make sure 2/3 of your plate is veggies, then incorporate the whole grains and good fat like avocado or olive oil.  She said fruit is better eaten than juiced because our bodies need the fiber in the flesh of the fruit.  I'm not diabetic (yet, and hopefully not although both my parents are) but I realize that diabetics have to look at food differently. I was looking for a very low fat diet to help keep cancer away.  The "Mediterranean" diet is as close to a food pyramid I could find for what the dietitian was explaining to me.

  • Basia
    Basia Member Posts: 790
    edited April 2011

    Sagina, does your dietician recommend a vegan diet? What do you do for protein?

  • barbe1958
    barbe1958 Member Posts: 19,757
    edited April 2011

    I have had to stay away from "added salt" for so long that I'm used to looking at labels. We don't even have salt in the house! Now I'm looking for added sugar and of course it is in weird places like salad dressing! I think just doing the "no added sugar" will allow me to wean off it. I use 1% milk in my tea and even use unsalted butter! I stay away from processed foods because those two thing are what makes food flavourful so are used to beef up the taste.

  • TonLee
    TonLee Member Posts: 2,626
    edited April 2011

    Many "fat free" items make up for taste with salt and sugar.

  • hrf
    hrf Member Posts: 3,225
    edited April 2011

    Some of my most difficult times occur when I am really tired or at night if I feel lonely and sorry for myself. A bowl of ice-cream becomes my comfort food. I have a great recipe for a smoothies which I do love for breakfast. I make it in my Magic Bullet. I use a cup of frozen berries, a tsp of cinnamon, a tsp of psyllium, a tsp of salba and a few ounces of rice milk (vanilla flavored). Blend it well and then blend in a portion of a whey based protein (vanilla flavored) powder (Dream brand). It really is delicious and very filling. No dairy, no sugar. You could use water instead of rice milk and probably any whey based protein powder would work.

  • LuvRVing
    LuvRVing Member Posts: 4,516
    edited April 2011

    Hi everyone...think I'll join in this thread because I've been diabetic for ten years and I may have some helpful hints for those of you who really want to kick the sugar habit.  I've managed my diabetes very well by sticking to a low carb diet for all these years, and that means I've pretty much kicked the sugar habit, not that I had much of one to begin with.

    Read labels - you will be amazed, as some of you have noted, where you will find hidden sugars.  The worst offenders are those "low fat" products.  They replace the fat with sugar so that the product has a decent taste.  It's a bad trade - choose products with olive or canola oil and just use a little less.  Order your salad dressing on the side and dip your fork in the dressing before stabbing a bite of salad.

    Eat whole fruit instead of drinking juices - the fiber from the fruit is a much healthier option.  Berries, kiwi, oranges, grapefruit, apples are all good options and better than grapes or melons.

    A fabulous website for checking nutritional information on almost any food and many restaurant dishes is www.calorieking.com.  Almost all the chain restaurant dishes have their products listed.

    Chocolate lovers - stick to the dark version with a high cocoa content.  If you can limit yourself to a little piece each day, you won't feel quite as deprived and you might be less likely to go on a binge.  It's easy for me to say because I really don't have chocolate cravings.  I'd really rather eat a huge bowl of popcorn...with butter and salt Tongue out

     And keep in mind that you are successful if you can stick to the plan 90% of the time.  No one is perfect!  Give yourself permission to enjoy an occasional treat and then get right back on the bandwagon.

    Michelle

    And it's back...recurrence diagnosed 3/2011. BMX with TEs done 4/11/11. Chemo and Rads to come.   Follow my blog at www.mch-breastcancer.blogspot.com. BC is a wrinkle in the sheets of my life.
    Diagnosis: 3/29/2011, IDC, 4cm, Stage IIIa, Grade 3, 4/21 nodes, ER-/PR-, HER2-

  • XmasDx
    XmasDx Member Posts: 225
    edited April 2011

    One heads-up - If you are lactose intolerant, be careful with the whey protein powders, whey is a dairy food and I understand the powders can have a very high lactose content (up to 75%?)... whey is what separates out of milk as it curdles, it is the liquid that forms on top of yogurt or sour cream when it starts to separate.  It is high in protein and added to many foods in various forms.  If you are lactose intolerant and avoiding soy, try hemp powder - it's also high in protein without the lactose.

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