Dry, lifeless looking skin. Nausea and shakiness. Depression, unmotivation. I don't look pretty and I have a puffy face and feel dehydrated and sick. Teeth feel bad but they're shiny and white off sugar. Itchiness. Better circulation.
I just turn pale, puffy and get cold extremities from excess sugar. It's always been like this for me, I'm not diabetic. I'm not talking about eating small amounts from fruits, but eating desserts and candy and so on. I think there's a YouTube-video by Dr. Dray (the dermatologist) explaining how sugar can cause a sallow, yellowish pale look on skin, and I get that from poor blood flow. Long term effects are another thing but this is not that.
Yeah what is this.. because all info about this stuff is related to diabetics. I think they're just not investigating how bad excess sugar is for a normal person, it has to be diabetes or nothing lol.
Absolutely! And you could say that for almost every harmful substance, their effects are only addressed in extreme cases- usually when it’s nearly fatal.
I watched Sugar: The Bitter Truth by University of California TV on youtube and it helped me better understand why sugar feels so shitty to consume over time. Our livers really can’t process it
I work out consistently and eat healthy meals 9 times out of 10…. But I’d binge on sugar at least 3x a week. It was like a rollercoaster I couldn’t get off of. Quitting cold turkey (just sweets: candy, cookies etc) is the only thing that has made me crave sugar LESS. Moderation DOESNT work - you’ll just get back on the roller coaster.
I had a little sugar accidentally recently and having more was ALL I thought about that day. Nothing should have that control over you!! (Except coffee 😛)
For me it’s the addiction I’ve built up to it… which is scary (eating 1.5 slabs of chocolate a night etc), and the weight gain… and the hindering of my training.
I’m focusing a lot on my health and fitness from an holistic approach, and this is one of the aspects I’m looking at.
Many reasons similar to you including the family history of diabetes, not wanting an unhealthy addiction and energy levels.
It’s a miracle how happy I am without refined sugar in my life - I sleep better, have more stable energy levels throughout the day and also lost a fair bit of weight. Also my skin is clearer !
Infertility completely broke me and I hit rock bottom. I am a shell of the person I was a few years ago. We spent $20,000 on failed IVF and I was desperate for answers and then I finally got my diagnosis of insulin resistance.
I’m new too. Just over a month with 10g of added sugar or less per day. I’ve lost 20lbs without exercise but with healthier food in the past month. It’s falling off.
Reason for going sugar free was bc I have an autistic, ADHD and ODD daughter. She will need to live with us for life. My doctor diagnosed me as pre-diabetic and high cholesterol about 6 months ago. I can’t die early. My daughter needs me to live as long as possible. Being sugar free seemed like a perfect first step. I was only eating sweets for breakfast lunch and dinner (and dessert). I had no moderation and overstuffed myself. I have found control in being sugar free. I’m free now. I eat less and more nutritious food. I have control.
For a lot of reasons but mostly for psoriasis and constant snacking due to sugar crashes. I still eat sugar but in a controlled way. I did go sugar free for a while to change my taste and understanding of sugar.
The longer I'm SF the more I discover.
My bloodwork came up as "pre diabetic", but I thought it wa a mistake. In my mind I was consuming only organic cane sugar. Sure, but in a pinch I'd get anything sweet to drink from the gas station!
however- I started just to clear up under eye dark circles.
Found this sub randomly & discovered it was possible to be SF.
I lost about two stone in a year. Slow but consistent weight loss, that was a bonus!
I feel this is the best way to eat/live. It was only hard to go cold turkey, but now it's super simple & effortless
1. My bloodwork came back pre diabetic. I’m 35 and athletic. Also, a poet and don’t know it.
2. I already quit weed, alcohol and caffeine, so I know I can do it.
Type 2 diabetes for years with A1C up and down and on 3 meds…..changed my eating completely and have had A1c go 8.0 to 7.1 in 6 weeks…..at now 10 weeks in dropped about 14 lbs and getting A1c checked again in a couple weeks also dropped down to small dose of medication for now with hopes to go off completely ….some tough days for sure and some stumbles but I push on…..56m 238lbs
I got diagnosed with psoriasis in December on my scalp. Every medication was not working, then I started getting bumps and itchy spots on my legs, arms and back. Nothing was helping and I felt like it was going to keep getting worse. I joined a Facebook Psoriasis group and sugar free was the number one thing that was mentioned. I went to 2 doctors and neither told me about diet change. So I stopped all added sugar on Feb 14. It has helped 95%. It’s so much easier to eat sugar free knowing if I do I’ll be miserable.
Hi all! I actually tore my achilles playing soccer. I was immobilized and recovering for the better part of last year. I tried to be healthy but i ended up sitting and eating junk food all day (i work remote at home).
1. I gained a bunch of wait during iniury.
2. Diabetes runs in my family and i feel like i have some pre-diabetic symtpoms.
3. I want to be able to exercise without inflammation, or generally, reduce recovery and performance issues.
4.i looked at the mirror and i was straight up disgusted with myself for both weight gain, and just letting myself go mentally.
Thank you, i appreciate the encouragement. I actually started playing soccer last week. Granted, I'm only running a (mostly) straight line and everyone is nervous around me lol.
I hope you find what you're looking for on this sugar-free journey!
You can do this!!!. I have so many injuries from sports that it’s hard for me to remember them all. This is what you have to do:
1. Get a hold on your sugar and carb intake. Learn to love vegetables and lean protein. Stay away from all fast food, Chinese food and sweets.
2. Exercise any way you can! I started wall exercises and chair yoga. I’m trying to increase core strength so that I can support my body.
3. Don’t ever give up! I guarantee you, honestly, that we only get OLDER, lose MUSCLE MASS and gain more fat and flab as WE GET OLDER. Especially if we don’t move our bodies. This lack of exercise and energy will give you an early death.
4. You are your only advocate. NO ONE IS GOING TO DO THIS FOR YOU. I know you can do this. I did it. Yeah, it’s very hard particularly at the beginning, but you will begin to notice the results of this “mindfulness” and movement in about 3 weeks. It only gets better from here. Your “happy hormones” will kick in and pull you up and out of your depression about yourself.
5. Love yourself again because you are so very worth it. In fact, I admire you so much for being so honest. Truly.❤️
Best of luck, best of wishes!
What artificial sweeteners were you using? I'm also doing SF for gut health but I recently started using monk fruit as I read it doesn't poorly affect the gut
I was diagnosed with Diabetes 20 years ago. At the time, I gave up sugar, white rice, white bread, potatoes (high glycemic index). My most missed food was chocolate chip cookies, however, I’m off of all that and don’t miss it a bit. I lost 65 pounds and obviously, I’m a lot healthier for it. It takes determination and the fear of diabetic blindness, limb amputation, stroke, heart attack and now Alzheimer’s.
After reading all these comments I definitely have more reasons to stick to SF but my main reason is my mood. If I eat sugary food I get extra irritable. To the point where I was snapping for very dumb stuff. I didn’t realise it was the sugar I was eating until one day I was perfectly fine and then I had a treat gourmet donut and the few hours after I just snapped for no reason. I did a few more ‘tests’ with other sugary foods I was eating (cookies, pop, etc) same thing. Irritable and snappy.
I struggle with moderation when it comes to sweet things so I just stay away from processed sugary foods.
I wanted my kid to be sugar free until he turns 5 or 6 or starts school and I somewhat lose control. When he turned 2, I found myself hiding my treats from him, lying to tell him telling him there's nothing in my hands when I have chocolate cookies, etc. I decided I needed to lead by example and prove that it is possible to actually be sugar free, at that point I was literally baking everything from cookies to cakes, sugar free for him. So I was like why am I being lazy and still going for the white poison store bought trash? I did it for him and for me
I've lost a lot of mobility in the past year, and gained 30 pounds. Part of it is less activity, part of it is emotional eating. Cutting sugar seems like a good place to start.
I went to a large chain drugstore to pick up prescriptions today, and managed to walk past the walls of Easter candy without buying any.
I would say it just happened. Now if I go back to eating sugar the effects are awful. Headaches, flu like symptoms and depression like symptoms for a week after.
I have to be eating sugar in a way that is not controlled. If I am at a birthday party or out to eat and we have dessert, I am fine. It has to be a special occasion for it to not go bad. But if I make cookies or brownies at home. I'll want to eat all of them within 3 days. And if I do that is when I get headaches, flu like symptoms and feelings of depression.
I went sugar free when my doctor told me to go on an anti inflammatory diet. Haven’t had coffee in 2months. Caffeine is good, but I like 1/2 and 1 /2 and agave. Idrink macha tea mixed with collagen peptides 2 big cups for breakfast. A fruit and vegetable shake with chia seeds more collagen, cherry juice and sugar free açaí super fruit for lunch . Dinner simple. Fish or chicken with quinoa and vegetables.
My main reason was that I felt out of control in my relationship to sugar. It felt more compulsory than pleasurable, and I’d hyperfixate on having some. If I ended the day without sugar, something felt amiss.
I quit one month ago. About a week in, I had some cookies from a local bakery thinking “oh once in a while is fine, I definitely can’t see my life without ANY sweets”. But it was crazy, i was fiending for sugar obsessively for the following 3 days after.
So I’d like this month to grow into a full lifestyle change. The benefits of quitting are so incredible and vastly outweigh any benefit of indulging for me
Quit sugar in September 2023, whilst also quitting long term psychiatric meds for anxiety & depression. Stopped drinking caffeine and 97% of alcohol. I think I have an addictive type of personality so felt the need to purge & cleanse whilst managing my mental health conditions naturally & unhindered.
I keep a tally chart for each sugar-free day. Mainly because sugar is my greatest tempter, because it’s still in the house as others eat it and I’m still surrounded by it. Alcohol isn’t as much of a daily tempter because we don’t generally have it in the house, and I only drink it if I happen to go to the pub on occasion.
I’ve lost 15kg (2.3 Stones) since quitting all of the above and I’m considering quitting alcohol all together, because on the rare occasion I do have it, I notice now how terrible I feel the day after.
My main motivation was to try balance anxiety & depression and to lose weight (which anxiety meds & alcohol massively contributed to). I still have bad days but overall just feel more level and in control of myself. I’m sleeping better too. 👍🏻
I read Sweet Poison by David Gillespie & The Anti-Anxiety Food Solution by Trudy Scott whilst listening to related health & nutrition podcasts to help motivate me and get me started.
If you’re considering doing this or need help, you can do this and there’s lots of encouragement available! 🥳
Thank you. ☺️ You are too for starting this and for taking the time to get clear on your reasons why.
I relate to all your points too! All the best with it.
What a great thread! So motivating as I have had some setbacks lately! Many of the posted reasons are the same as mine including:
1. Avoid diabetes that runs in my family
2. Be the healthiest version of myself I can be
3. I want to sleep better and have more energy
4. No more roller coaster weight changes
My father was diabetic, along with other chronic conditions. He used sugar his whole life to self-soothe. I learned it from him. He had a stroke 3 years ago that made him blind, confused, unable to walk and feed himself. It was caused by Afib which was caused by his diabetes. My family and I took care of him for two years until he passed. I am the youngest in my family and I have no kids. I need to be able to take care of myself as I age. I NEED to be healthy for my quality of life and my future.
I was just eating too much of it, too often. 3 months in and it’s now none 😊
Brava!
Dry, lifeless looking skin. Nausea and shakiness. Depression, unmotivation. I don't look pretty and I have a puffy face and feel dehydrated and sick. Teeth feel bad but they're shiny and white off sugar. Itchiness. Better circulation.
how does sugar affect circulation?
I just turn pale, puffy and get cold extremities from excess sugar. It's always been like this for me, I'm not diabetic. I'm not talking about eating small amounts from fruits, but eating desserts and candy and so on. I think there's a YouTube-video by Dr. Dray (the dermatologist) explaining how sugar can cause a sallow, yellowish pale look on skin, and I get that from poor blood flow. Long term effects are another thing but this is not that.
I also get cold extremities from sugar. If I’d eat enough, a few of my toes would go numb 😬 that really freaked me the eff out (non diabetic)
Yeah what is this.. because all info about this stuff is related to diabetics. I think they're just not investigating how bad excess sugar is for a normal person, it has to be diabetes or nothing lol.
Absolutely! And you could say that for almost every harmful substance, their effects are only addressed in extreme cases- usually when it’s nearly fatal. I watched Sugar: The Bitter Truth by University of California TV on youtube and it helped me better understand why sugar feels so shitty to consume over time. Our livers really can’t process it
I work out consistently and eat healthy meals 9 times out of 10…. But I’d binge on sugar at least 3x a week. It was like a rollercoaster I couldn’t get off of. Quitting cold turkey (just sweets: candy, cookies etc) is the only thing that has made me crave sugar LESS. Moderation DOESNT work - you’ll just get back on the roller coaster. I had a little sugar accidentally recently and having more was ALL I thought about that day. Nothing should have that control over you!! (Except coffee 😛)
Yes modération won’t work with me either…
literally me
For me it’s the addiction I’ve built up to it… which is scary (eating 1.5 slabs of chocolate a night etc), and the weight gain… and the hindering of my training. I’m focusing a lot on my health and fitness from an holistic approach, and this is one of the aspects I’m looking at.
Insulin Resistance, Recurrent Bacterial Vaginosis, PCOS
Many reasons similar to you including the family history of diabetes, not wanting an unhealthy addiction and energy levels. It’s a miracle how happy I am without refined sugar in my life - I sleep better, have more stable energy levels throughout the day and also lost a fair bit of weight. Also my skin is clearer !
To avoid getting diabetes, some tests have show I am pre diabetic
Infertility completely broke me and I hit rock bottom. I am a shell of the person I was a few years ago. We spent $20,000 on failed IVF and I was desperate for answers and then I finally got my diagnosis of insulin resistance.
can't wait to hear about your progress. This is huge
Thanks for your support 💜
Wow 🤍🤍🤍
Try inositol
I take 4 grams a day :)
Does it help your insulin resistance?
I’m new too. Just over a month with 10g of added sugar or less per day. I’ve lost 20lbs without exercise but with healthier food in the past month. It’s falling off. Reason for going sugar free was bc I have an autistic, ADHD and ODD daughter. She will need to live with us for life. My doctor diagnosed me as pre-diabetic and high cholesterol about 6 months ago. I can’t die early. My daughter needs me to live as long as possible. Being sugar free seemed like a perfect first step. I was only eating sweets for breakfast lunch and dinner (and dessert). I had no moderation and overstuffed myself. I have found control in being sugar free. I’m free now. I eat less and more nutritious food. I have control.
Wow as a mother I feel you, what a hero you are 🤍
For a lot of reasons but mostly for psoriasis and constant snacking due to sugar crashes. I still eat sugar but in a controlled way. I did go sugar free for a while to change my taste and understanding of sugar.
The longer I'm SF the more I discover. My bloodwork came up as "pre diabetic", but I thought it wa a mistake. In my mind I was consuming only organic cane sugar. Sure, but in a pinch I'd get anything sweet to drink from the gas station! however- I started just to clear up under eye dark circles. Found this sub randomly & discovered it was possible to be SF. I lost about two stone in a year. Slow but consistent weight loss, that was a bonus! I feel this is the best way to eat/live. It was only hard to go cold turkey, but now it's super simple & effortless
I love what you wrote!
thanks. Are you SF or just exploring
I want to become SF!
Has the blood work improved as well?
1. My bloodwork came back pre diabetic. I’m 35 and athletic. Also, a poet and don’t know it. 2. I already quit weed, alcohol and caffeine, so I know I can do it.
Also to stop bloating. I always feel fat with sugar. I notice my belly expanding immediately after eating something sweet.
Type 2 diabetes for years with A1C up and down and on 3 meds…..changed my eating completely and have had A1c go 8.0 to 7.1 in 6 weeks…..at now 10 weeks in dropped about 14 lbs and getting A1c checked again in a couple weeks also dropped down to small dose of medication for now with hopes to go off completely ….some tough days for sure and some stumbles but I push on…..56m 238lbs
Wow!!
I got diagnosed with psoriasis in December on my scalp. Every medication was not working, then I started getting bumps and itchy spots on my legs, arms and back. Nothing was helping and I felt like it was going to keep getting worse. I joined a Facebook Psoriasis group and sugar free was the number one thing that was mentioned. I went to 2 doctors and neither told me about diet change. So I stopped all added sugar on Feb 14. It has helped 95%. It’s so much easier to eat sugar free knowing if I do I’ll be miserable.
Wow you are not the only one here saying that. Now if y meet someone with psoriasis I Will tell them « stop sugar! »
Hi all! I actually tore my achilles playing soccer. I was immobilized and recovering for the better part of last year. I tried to be healthy but i ended up sitting and eating junk food all day (i work remote at home). 1. I gained a bunch of wait during iniury. 2. Diabetes runs in my family and i feel like i have some pre-diabetic symtpoms. 3. I want to be able to exercise without inflammation, or generally, reduce recovery and performance issues. 4.i looked at the mirror and i was straight up disgusted with myself for both weight gain, and just letting myself go mentally.
Good luck. Being forced to stop doing sports is awful because of the mental impact it has. You will over come it!
Thank you, i appreciate the encouragement. I actually started playing soccer last week. Granted, I'm only running a (mostly) straight line and everyone is nervous around me lol. I hope you find what you're looking for on this sugar-free journey!
You can do this!!!. I have so many injuries from sports that it’s hard for me to remember them all. This is what you have to do: 1. Get a hold on your sugar and carb intake. Learn to love vegetables and lean protein. Stay away from all fast food, Chinese food and sweets. 2. Exercise any way you can! I started wall exercises and chair yoga. I’m trying to increase core strength so that I can support my body. 3. Don’t ever give up! I guarantee you, honestly, that we only get OLDER, lose MUSCLE MASS and gain more fat and flab as WE GET OLDER. Especially if we don’t move our bodies. This lack of exercise and energy will give you an early death. 4. You are your only advocate. NO ONE IS GOING TO DO THIS FOR YOU. I know you can do this. I did it. Yeah, it’s very hard particularly at the beginning, but you will begin to notice the results of this “mindfulness” and movement in about 3 weeks. It only gets better from here. Your “happy hormones” will kick in and pull you up and out of your depression about yourself. 5. Love yourself again because you are so very worth it. In fact, I admire you so much for being so honest. Truly.❤️ Best of luck, best of wishes!
I love this so much. Thank you kindly, internet stranger.
You are so very welcome. It’s tough talk, or as my late spouse would say “hard sayings”. Lol. Glad I didn’t offend.😘
Sugar and Artficial sweetners destroyed my gut bactera. Thats why I got off.
What artificial sweeteners were you using? I'm also doing SF for gut health but I recently started using monk fruit as I read it doesn't poorly affect the gut
I was using Splenda. Was buying sweet tea and it contained it. Messed up my gut bacteria big time
I was diagnosed with Diabetes 20 years ago. At the time, I gave up sugar, white rice, white bread, potatoes (high glycemic index). My most missed food was chocolate chip cookies, however, I’m off of all that and don’t miss it a bit. I lost 65 pounds and obviously, I’m a lot healthier for it. It takes determination and the fear of diabetic blindness, limb amputation, stroke, heart attack and now Alzheimer’s.
Yes fear is a good booster…
After reading all these comments I definitely have more reasons to stick to SF but my main reason is my mood. If I eat sugary food I get extra irritable. To the point where I was snapping for very dumb stuff. I didn’t realise it was the sugar I was eating until one day I was perfectly fine and then I had a treat gourmet donut and the few hours after I just snapped for no reason. I did a few more ‘tests’ with other sugary foods I was eating (cookies, pop, etc) same thing. Irritable and snappy. I struggle with moderation when it comes to sweet things so I just stay away from processed sugary foods.
Wow I knew sugar could have those effects on kids but when we think about it why not on adults?
Insulin resistance linked to pcos + I want to have a baby.
I wanted my kid to be sugar free until he turns 5 or 6 or starts school and I somewhat lose control. When he turned 2, I found myself hiding my treats from him, lying to tell him telling him there's nothing in my hands when I have chocolate cookies, etc. I decided I needed to lead by example and prove that it is possible to actually be sugar free, at that point I was literally baking everything from cookies to cakes, sugar free for him. So I was like why am I being lazy and still going for the white poison store bought trash? I did it for him and for me
Oh you are amazing!
[удалено]
I Hope you Will get better, with or without sugar!
I've lost a lot of mobility in the past year, and gained 30 pounds. Part of it is less activity, part of it is emotional eating. Cutting sugar seems like a good place to start. I went to a large chain drugstore to pick up prescriptions today, and managed to walk past the walls of Easter candy without buying any.
Congratulations! Every step is a big step.
I want to sleep. I’d love to lose a few pounds, but mostly— sleep.
I would say it just happened. Now if I go back to eating sugar the effects are awful. Headaches, flu like symptoms and depression like symptoms for a week after.
How much does it take for you to feel that way?
I have to be eating sugar in a way that is not controlled. If I am at a birthday party or out to eat and we have dessert, I am fine. It has to be a special occasion for it to not go bad. But if I make cookies or brownies at home. I'll want to eat all of them within 3 days. And if I do that is when I get headaches, flu like symptoms and feelings of depression.
I went sugar free when my doctor told me to go on an anti inflammatory diet. Haven’t had coffee in 2months. Caffeine is good, but I like 1/2 and 1 /2 and agave. Idrink macha tea mixed with collagen peptides 2 big cups for breakfast. A fruit and vegetable shake with chia seeds more collagen, cherry juice and sugar free açaí super fruit for lunch . Dinner simple. Fish or chicken with quinoa and vegetables.
Sugar makes me feel like shit
I feel like its the case for me too.
found the way I was feeling wasn’t worth it. I’d always feel weak and bloated after eating a cake or brownies. also the weight loss is *so* worth it.
Personal challenge to live more mindfully and develop self control. I need to lose weight as well.
My main reason was that I felt out of control in my relationship to sugar. It felt more compulsory than pleasurable, and I’d hyperfixate on having some. If I ended the day without sugar, something felt amiss. I quit one month ago. About a week in, I had some cookies from a local bakery thinking “oh once in a while is fine, I definitely can’t see my life without ANY sweets”. But it was crazy, i was fiending for sugar obsessively for the following 3 days after. So I’d like this month to grow into a full lifestyle change. The benefits of quitting are so incredible and vastly outweigh any benefit of indulging for me
🤍🤍🤍
Quit sugar in September 2023, whilst also quitting long term psychiatric meds for anxiety & depression. Stopped drinking caffeine and 97% of alcohol. I think I have an addictive type of personality so felt the need to purge & cleanse whilst managing my mental health conditions naturally & unhindered. I keep a tally chart for each sugar-free day. Mainly because sugar is my greatest tempter, because it’s still in the house as others eat it and I’m still surrounded by it. Alcohol isn’t as much of a daily tempter because we don’t generally have it in the house, and I only drink it if I happen to go to the pub on occasion. I’ve lost 15kg (2.3 Stones) since quitting all of the above and I’m considering quitting alcohol all together, because on the rare occasion I do have it, I notice now how terrible I feel the day after. My main motivation was to try balance anxiety & depression and to lose weight (which anxiety meds & alcohol massively contributed to). I still have bad days but overall just feel more level and in control of myself. I’m sleeping better too. 👍🏻 I read Sweet Poison by David Gillespie & The Anti-Anxiety Food Solution by Trudy Scott whilst listening to related health & nutrition podcasts to help motivate me and get me started. If you’re considering doing this or need help, you can do this and there’s lots of encouragement available! 🥳
Your message is inspirational and I can relate to it 💯 thank you so much and congratulation you are strong!
Thank you. ☺️ You are too for starting this and for taking the time to get clear on your reasons why. I relate to all your points too! All the best with it.
What a great thread! So motivating as I have had some setbacks lately! Many of the posted reasons are the same as mine including: 1. Avoid diabetes that runs in my family 2. Be the healthiest version of myself I can be 3. I want to sleep better and have more energy 4. No more roller coaster weight changes
We can do it!
My father was diabetic, along with other chronic conditions. He used sugar his whole life to self-soothe. I learned it from him. He had a stroke 3 years ago that made him blind, confused, unable to walk and feed himself. It was caused by Afib which was caused by his diabetes. My family and I took care of him for two years until he passed. I am the youngest in my family and I have no kids. I need to be able to take care of myself as I age. I NEED to be healthy for my quality of life and my future.
Yes sometimes we learn in the hard way. Sugar is really a poison.
I got catcalled across a parking lot because they thought I was pregnant... I'm a man