Challenge: Avoid processed sugar for one month. For your health.

Long story short: I got off processed sugars around 6 years ago. If that sounds difficult, that's because it is. I feel SIGNIFICANTLY better all the time. The end.

Do it. For one month. You will feel like a brand new human being. The industry that produces our food here does not have your best interests at heart. In fact, the opposite is true: they have their own best interests at heart. If they put addictive substances in your food (LIKE SUGAR), you will keep buying it. You'll crave it. It is horrible for your health. Diabetes, heart disease, osteoporosis, etc etc etc etc. The other side of this industry is Pharma. It is in their best interest for you to eat shit that is bad for you that you are addicted to in order to sell you meds to treat your symptoms (while letting the underlying causes to continue).

Sugar is in everything. Of course, you expect it to be in candy, baked goods, and ice cream. It's also in soft drinks, condiments (especially ketchup and BBQ sauce), milk, cereal, whole wheat crackers, fruit juice, applesauce, honey-roasted peanuts, most peanut butters, most pasta sauces, most breads, most pizzas, most of everything.

One time, my wife bought me a jar of salted sunflower seeds. She didn't read the label. I didn't either. Tossed a handful into my mouth. "Odd. Why do these taste sweet?" Looked at the label. Guess what the 3rd ingredient is? Freaking high fructose corn syrup solids. WHYYYYYYYY?!

Anyway, you weren't meant to run on a sugar-heavy diet, and that is exactly what is HEAVILY marketed to you. Look at all of the brown and green packaging of supposedly "healthy" foods. People tend to think that if something comes in unbleached paper packaging or has healthy buzzwords in the title, it must be good for them. Example: Panera. Total shit food.

Here are some buzzwords that should be red flags:
• Whole wheat or Stone ground wheat. Look at the sheer assload of sugar in these foods.
• Low fat food This just means more room for sugar.
• Reduced salt. So what. Look at the sugar content.
• Organic. Yeah, well how much organic sugar is in it? Your body processes it the same as non-organic.
• Gluten free. Ok, this might be a big deal if you have celiac's disease. But again, how much sugar is in it?

My challenge to you is to eliminate from your diet everything that has processed sugar in it. Read the food labels of everything you buy, and look at added sugar. If it has more than 0 grams of added sugar, HARD PASS. Incredibly simple. Yet hard to do.

And if you notice it's hard for you to stick to, this should be a massive red flag. You are addicted to a substance that is reducing the quality and quantity of your life simultaneously.

Best of luck in this endeavor. Post results here. By the way, I lost lots of weight, have more energy, sleep better, and get sick very rarely.

 

I’m with you brother. No sugar here.

 

So, what kind of foods do you eat? This would be very hard for me given my living situation.

 

Does beer count?

 

Hard nope....

 

A typical day:

Eggs and avocado for breakfast. Maybe with a slice of sprouted grains bread (no added sugar). Or I eat a bowl of Keto cereal with almond milk.

I go to lunch with coworkers a lot. We go to Whole Foods or Turnip Truck often. Lots of no-sugar options there. Or a sushi joint. Everywhere has a salad. I like black bean salads with grilled chicken and some kind of vinaigrette. (I go very very light on the dressing because I can't read the dang label at a restaurant.) Street tacos are a favorite. Corn tortillas, carne asada, cilantro, and onions. I eat too many of those, lol.

For dinner, grilled chicken with veggies. Steaks. Chili. Spaghetti with no-sugar sauce. Venison versions of any of the previous three. Baked sweet potato. More salad.

Snacks: Rx bars, Larabars, dried fruit, nuts. LOTS of raw nuts, they're best for keeping hunger at bay. No-sugar-added beef jerky.

You gotta be proactive about it for sure. If you're constantly running all over the place for work or are just super busy in general, and you just eat what's convenient and that's the deciding criterion, you're probably eating the absolute worst food possible.

 

I am, and did (for the most part). I'll allow myself to have sugar, so to speak; but it's stuff I KNOW will have sugar - e.g., chocolate chip cookie I bake myself, from scratch.

Aside from that, yeah, no processed/added sugar in anything I eat; I've lost 36# or so, and I feel fantastic.

 

I avoid anything with processed corn syrup including corn gas. I use local honey. FYI....Don't pay extra $ for organic honey. There's no such thing and any honey sold as organic is a fraud. Bee's don't know the difference from organic pollen sources and non organic pollen sources. Food for thought.

 

Is the ‘milk’ listed as dairy? Not almond or cashew etc ~ which some can have added sugars but some don’t

or to some people who actually acquire human breast milk… it’s a thing

 

We drink only unsweetened vanilla almond milk. It's my kids' favorite.

Lol, breast milk. I mean, if mama can market and sell it, go for it.

 

Reminds me of that breastfeeding scene from Me, Myself and Irene. (Am I the only one who wondered how many takes were required 'to get this right'? LOL)

(I removed the picture because I wasn’t sure if it would violate rules or not. LOL)

 

Good advice.

Now try 0 caffeine.

 

That’s what I drink~ Silk is the brand I think?

 

I prefer non pasteurized milk to this day. Was raised on a ranch as a kid. Still alive. Super pasteurized milk will last longer in your refer, but then again, why buy fresh milk if you don't use it quick? I go to the super everyday for veggies, fruits, and most meat. I learned that in my 7 years in Japan and Philippines. Buy for the day. Cook for the day......
I do vacuum seal some items for a later day of course for the freezer. My refer is definitely not a time capsule and I compost daily. An always full refer is not good.

 

Great point. Anything addictive should be left alone for long periods of time and consumed in moderation otherwise. I lay off coffee periodically as well. I'm not a big caffeine guy. When I'm drinking coffee, I make 10oz in an Aeropress. That's it for the day.

 

I've had Silk. Pretty good, not dairy by any means, but found in the dairy dept.

 

I dislike coffee and avoid anything with caffeine.

 

Identity issues?? I like it though

 

My coworkers waste a lot of minutes every day hitting up the coffee pot and shooting the shit discussing nonsense. Oh....and complain how bad the coffee sucks. Never understood that...

 

My problem is that it is a 60 mile round trip to the closest store that has a selection beyond gas station stuff and I only get to go once a week or two. Plus my small refrigerator makes it hard to store much food that isn't processed.

 

There are exceptions. I'd go with non sugar Oklamoma dry jerky and beer of choice....Tillamook extra sharp cheese with Nabisco Pilot crackers is great!

 

Man You can go down the rabbit hole with this one. Even Garlic salt has sugar in it.

I've been on a 2 year tear on tinkering with a bunch of different stuff. My results and path are mine only after a ton of research and actually trying it to see if it works.
I started with processed sugar and went from there. I've definitely evolved but here it goes for now.
-Cut out processed sugar. Helped
-Ate more plant, based almost veggie. Lost weight; but a lot of muscle had a lot of arthritis inflammation and a huge slew of issues with it. Felt like crap. Was not good for me.
-Cut out some nightshades. Helped.
-Cut out grains. Helped A LOT.
-Cut out seed oils. Biggest move yet with success. Sunflower, grapeseed, Corn, etc.
-Cut out nuts and seeds. Negligible. It's hard to find nuts and seeds without seed oils , especially almonds. I do like pistachios though and they don't seem to bother me.

Basically what I have now is-
Breakfast: Coffee, full cream or half n half. No added sugar. Not much else just cause I'm not generally hungry.
Lunch: Sometime between 10 and 2. Ground beef, or eggs, or leftover meat of some type with Avocado and some veggies. Not Kale, Not spinach.
Dinner: Steak, Chicken, fish, Pork, And whatever greens I'm craving.
Snack: anytime during the day= Greek yogurt, some Honey, and whatever fruit I'm craving and some nuts if I have them.
I Try too get some sun , and try to stretch after all the other crap I do.

Never really hungry, never really full.
Joints are way better, skin is better, bloodwork is crazy good.
Sleep is really good now.

Once in a while I stray and I feel it.

Edit*** Basically nothing processed. although half n half and greek yogurt don't pass that test.

 

Sounds like you need a garden! I'm a worthless gardener, but my wife on the other hand, is awesome. We eat lots of good stuff all year long because of her efforts.

The no-sugar thing has gained momentum. For every item that you typically get at the store, there is almost always a no-sugar version. Or you can make a simple change.

Some quick examples:

Ditch ketchup for yellow or spicy mustard.
Ditch pancake mix for homemade waffles using no sugar.
Ditch wheat thins for triscuits.
Ditch BBQ chips for chips and salsa.

LOTS of salsas keep forever and are sugar free. Tortilla chips or quinoa chips with salsa or guacamole is a favorite of mine.

It starts with your mindset. Each potential obstacle is a problem to be solved. Momentum and confidence are gained when you solve a few in a row. There is no "can't"; there is only won't. I can do it. But will I?

The no processed sugar thing is really a springboard to better habits overall, paying attention to your body to make bigger changes that are even better for you.

 

It actually comes down to what your doctor or nutritionist recommends if you have health/weight concerns. We are all not the same. I'd check with folks who have lived past 90 for example, like my Mom. She's 96. Better source than the internet...

 

A couple things I've already done. Ketchup for yellow mustard. Stopped getting potato chips and started with corn chips and salsa. I stopped drinking a lot of soda and have switched to zero sugar drink mix. Now, soda is only used to help manage my headaches (Mt Dew works better than the meds I was taking from the VA).
I stopped eating out regularly, and I have noticed that when I do, I feel like crap after. Only thing that doesn't make me feel like crap is a chili cheese Coney with mustard and onions from Sonic.
As for a garden, I actually have been thinking about a small one once I finish my patio on my camp trailer. I am currently on a job site that has blackberries and strawberries, but I won't be here when they are ready.

 

I am by no means a dietician! Just sharing what has worked for me. And yeah, look at Keith Richards. Genetics are obviously a huge factor. But I adhere to the garbage in garbage out philosophy of what we put into our bodies. No sense in not giving your genetics their best fighting chance at a healthy and well life with as little dis-ease as possible.

 

No.

 

So true!

 

I'm not sure why you're surprised that ketchup and BBQ sauce have sugar in them. Our milk doesn't have it and you can buy cereal that doesn't. We mostly eat Triscuits; looks like some flavours have sugar and some don't. Peanut butter without sugar is inedible. The juice and applesauce we buy doesn't have any sugar added to it.

I suspect the root cause of your sugar problems is living in the US.

I honestly think salt is worse. That's another one you find in crazy places. For example, apparently a lot of restaurant desserts contain salt to make them taste better. Low fat typically means high salt. Etc.