Stop SUGAR Support Thread

Oh that's a great idea for portion sizing. I would have never thought of that! thanks!

Love the lasagna cupcakes!  I have also made meatloaf in muffin size - cooks so much faster.

I do mini crustless quiches in the muffin pans and then I freeze them.  It's so easy to microwave them in the morning and if you want a sandwich...it's the right size for a whole grain english muffin.  I do lots of organic veggies and a small amount of lowfat organic cheese.  My DH loves them too...I feel good knowing he can have a healthy breakfast on the go too. 

I will try the lasagnas....I did find wheat wonton wrappers...have not seen anything listed with whole wheat though.  I also want to try that with a slice of thin grilled eggplant as the noodle....then it's even healthier.  Now I want lasagna!!!

I only eat the over 70% dark chocolate mix it with almonds.   In the book, The Anti Cancer way of Life by David Scrieber he recommends 2 oz of the dark chocolate a day.  I can handle that!

Whew..I finally finished reading thru this entire thread. It interested me because I am a complete chocoholic and knew I should be backing off sugar for general health. Then when I got the BC diagnosis, I freaked out and stopped cold turkey...I was trying to eat as healthfully as possible so I would do OK with surgery / recovery...After surgery, I went into "eating for comfort" mode. So it was back to chocolate, and ice cream, and cookies -- after I ate a healthy breakfast, lunch, and dinner, of course.   Now I am starting to feel like I can try again to back off the sugar. I know it will help with my moods, my insomnia, my depression, my overall health. So.. I have my cousin's wedding coming up in 2 weeks and figure that -- now with 4th of July behind me (hello beer, chips, potato salad, ice cream !) -- this is a good time to really try to stop eating so much crap. I figure this way I can tell myself "just do it for 2 weeks and then enjoy yourself at the wedding, and then see how you feel about all this after that."  Right ?!?!?

You go, Lilah!!!  Glad to hear you are still on the bandwagon and doing well!

Welcome, Jen42!

Michelle 

Michelle - thanks for the welcome! 

Lilah - sounds like you are doing great ! slow and steady is definitely the way to go when trying to lose weight. Luckily, my job keeps me active so I'm not doing this from a weight-loss perspective....although, in the 5 weeks since my surgery, I have gained about 1 lb per week, since I'm not being active except for short walks right now. And eating crappy. So...that trend can't continue ! But I know I won't want to be chocolate-free rest of my life -- this is a quality of life issue (ha) -- so I'm sure I'll re-introduce dark choc back in...just trying to see if I can stay away from it for 2 weeks...how much is it cuz I really want it, and how much is it just a bad habit? I'm the type who like to finish every meal (and snack) with something sweet, preferably chocolate. I always joke with my dentist:  "if you find my sweet tooth, please pull it out !"

I've always preferred dark chocolate, preferably with nuts and a little caramel...lol.  Not exactly sugar-free but I don't indulge very often.

Michelle

Jen42 -- I totally agree about moderation.  I believe that was Julie Childs' motto

I always drink a big glass of ice water when I have a craving... for me it helps.  But yes it does get easier.

Wow, I was happy to find this thread!  I knew sugar and carbs were causing a lot of problems for me even before my diagnosis. Now I am more determined to eat unprocessed food and eliminate refined sugar, but I really struggle with it too. I will go a few days - sometimes up to a month or two - without any sweets other than fruit, and then I will give in and celebrate someone's birthday or break down and eat something my husband has brought in the house.  I keep trying. All the tips are good.  Exercise helps me most, but it has to be sweat-breaking cardio, at least 30 minutes a day, for it to really help me with the cravings and also with mood swings. I had a hysterectomy on the same day as my cancer surgery (unrelated, just needed it done and my doctors worked together so I only had to go through the anesthesia once), so then I had 6 weeks of only walking and not lifting anything. During that time I started craving the sugar. But now I've been able to exercise again for over a week and things are getting better again.

Natrellex -- that SNL skit was great !

DenimBlue -- I know, aren't there great tips on here? I also find that once I let myself indulge, it can take awhile to get back on track.

That's where I want to get -- "not obsessed" anymore with having chocolate or something sweet after every meal. (And I tend to "graze" - eat 6 mini meals each day -- so that can add up to a lot of sugar !)

Got stressed today...really wanted to dive headfirst into some chocolate...but told myself to get a grip, and the intensity of craving has died down. Whew.

I have bought some sugar free hard candies at the grocery (Werther's or cinnamon) that help with the sweet cravings, too.  I have them sitting around and when I feel the urge for something sweet, I just suck on the candy for a while.  I don't eat many, maybe one or two a day at most, but figure it is better than going for ice cream, cookies, etc.  Sometimes fruit just won't do it for me.