I LOVE sugar. I have a huge sweet tooth. It's my downfall as well, so I keep trying to balance what I know works and what I can really live with, because I tend to think in the end you have to come up with what you can live with.
I know that low carb diets work. I went full blown Atkin's once and lost loads of weight, and hunger wise I lost loads of weight somewhat easily in that I never counted calories and wasn't hungry. I could not, however, LIVE on it because sooner or later the craving for the denied substances became overwhelming. A year later, I fell off the wagon and haven't been on it since (and it's been about ten years). I just can't. I cannot live without carbohydrates.
That's why this time around I'm trying to only do what I think I can live with. I ban no single foodstuff (though I try to limit highly refined ones to occasional treats). I've also tried to satisfy a lot of my sweet tooth needs with regular fruit consumption (Which doesn't mean I don't have chocolate from time to time, because we all need chocolate from time to time!) I am trying to reduce my sugar intake, but not eliminate it.
That said, my memory of Atkins was that after going two weeks really hard core, sugar cravings decreased. So I did do a "NO SUGAR!" for two weeks (and only two weeks), not because I was permanently removing it but to sort of whittle down my sugar cravings. Plus, I was happy that my blood sugar had dropped significantly when mom checked it.
Still, it's not that I'm eliminating sugar (because I haven't.)I just want sugar for sweet things. I find it highly irritating that they've slipped into things where it has no business being in the first place. I think what irritated me the most was reading a can of corn niblets a few weeks ago and finding that there was added sugar in it. Corn didn't need added sugar. It's CORN!
I want sugar in my chocolate. It belongs there. I just wish they'd keep it out of things where it doesn't need to be. It's not needed in cottage cheese.
As for artificial sweetners, according to what I've read recently -- your own best guess is about as good as the experts. Apparently, there are surprisingly few independent studies on the subject. Sugar companies attack artificial sweetners with everything they've got, and in cases such as sacchrine have obfuscated issues such that to this day people believe it causes cancer, even though it's been repeatedly shown to be safe in that regard. (Personally, I don't like it because to me it tastes awful. But it hasn't actually been shown to cause cancer). That said, there really are no studies over what exactly they're doing, just that they're safe for sale and consumption. What it means to us overall or in the telescoped long term...? There just isn't much REAL literature on the subject. I was surprised to discover that. As it stands, there isn't evidence that they're any worse for you than a lot of other stuff.
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branchandroot
no subject
Date: 2013-03-21 02:24 am (UTC)I know that low carb diets work. I went full blown Atkin's once and lost loads of weight, and hunger wise I lost loads of weight somewhat easily in that I never counted calories and wasn't hungry. I could not, however, LIVE on it because sooner or later the craving for the denied substances became overwhelming. A year later, I fell off the wagon and haven't been on it since (and it's been about ten years). I just can't. I cannot live without carbohydrates.
That's why this time around I'm trying to only do what I think I can live with. I ban no single foodstuff (though I try to limit highly refined ones to occasional treats). I've also tried to satisfy a lot of my sweet tooth needs with regular fruit consumption (Which doesn't mean I don't have chocolate from time to time, because we all need chocolate from time to time!) I am trying to reduce my sugar intake, but not eliminate it.
That said, my memory of Atkins was that after going two weeks really hard core, sugar cravings decreased. So I did do a "NO SUGAR!" for two weeks (and only two weeks), not because I was permanently removing it but to sort of whittle down my sugar cravings. Plus, I was happy that my blood sugar had dropped significantly when mom checked it.
Still, it's not that I'm eliminating sugar (because I haven't.)I just want sugar for sweet things. I find it highly irritating that they've slipped into things where it has no business being in the first place. I think what irritated me the most was reading a can of corn niblets a few weeks ago and finding that there was added sugar in it. Corn didn't need added sugar. It's CORN!
I want sugar in my chocolate. It belongs there. I just wish they'd keep it out of things where it doesn't need to be. It's not needed in cottage cheese.
As for artificial sweetners, according to what I've read recently -- your own best guess is about as good as the experts. Apparently, there are surprisingly few independent studies on the subject. Sugar companies attack artificial sweetners with everything they've got, and in cases such as sacchrine have obfuscated issues such that to this day people believe it causes cancer, even though it's been repeatedly shown to be safe in that regard. (Personally, I don't like it because to me it tastes awful. But it hasn't actually been shown to cause cancer). That said, there really are no studies over what exactly they're doing, just that they're safe for sale and consumption. What it means to us overall or in the telescoped long term...? There just isn't much REAL literature on the subject. I was surprised to discover that. As it stands, there isn't evidence that they're any worse for you than a lot of other stuff.