Need help cutting out sugar please

Oprah said she lost weight eating everything she likes including wine, bread and pasta. I love this quote from her "you can eat everything you want, just not at the same time."
I've been saying that to myself whenever I want a second serving of something, I'm not denied but can have it later!
My freezer is full of multiple flavors of Halo Top ice cream. I'm also researching health desert recipes to make.

Good thread. I don't have any advice, but I am trying to lose the 10 pd. I gained in less than two months. I have no idea what happened. I didn't eat more than usual(I have always been a junk food eater). I hurt my back in Dec., so for a couple weeks I wasn't active. I am going to try to start going to the gym and lifting weights a few times a week.

I want to cut out the junk food, so I hope to get ideas here!

I also recommend trying something like Whole 30 and think you will be surprised how quickly you lose the craving for sugar. If you don't feel ready for that, start by eliminating sauces and dressings with sugar in them and look for Paleo recipes to make your own. 

Weight Watchers is a great program to follow if you want to eat a little bit of everything and learn about portion control.

Well I have a addictive personalty. I have been addicted to many different thinks in my life; cigarettes, diet Pepsi and sugar. They only way I have been able to kick all of theses is to go cold turkey. I know that if I take one puff on a cigarette I will be back to a pack a day in two weeks. Same with diet pepsi. Now I know sugar is different because it is in lots of food we don't know about. But for me (maybe it's in my mind) I know if I eat a cookie today, I will be eating more tomorrow and more the next day......... When I first went cold turkey with cigarettes I started out with one hour at a time. I said to myself just make it to the next hour, then when I made it to that hour I would say just make it to the next hour... Then I was day and told myself just make it to the next day and so on. I'v been quit for 20 years. I have been quit diet Pepsi for a year last October. I also have been on no sugar scene last October too. I'm sure I've had sugar but not knowingly.

I just did a Whole30 in January, too. It took about 2 weeks before it went from being incredibly difficult to being normal/doable. I think cold turkey is the best way to go, too. Whole30 still allows for some fruit, so you don't have to remove everything sweet. My dh typically eats Atkins style - so that's no fruit. But he drinks diet soda for his sweet fix. I think fruit is the better way to go. Too many chemicals and artificial stuff in soda...

I started cutting sugar out on Jan. 1st. and so far have lost 15 lbs. (have about 60lbs. total to lose). Initially I just didn't eat sweets or drink soda, I did that for two weeks, then the next two weeks I started looking at the sugar content of foods I was eating and cutting back or out those that contained anything over 5 grams per serving. I have allowed myself to have a sweet here and there, my husband's birthday was Jan. 19th and I had a piece of cake that night, then this past weekend I was craving sweets badly so I had a brownie, but overall I have cut WAY back on the amount of sugar I am putting into my body. I have to say that the first few days were hard because of migraines I believe were brought on by going off the sugar so fast but coming off the holidays I didn't miss the sugar that badly. Now that I have been doing it for a little over a month I feel a lot better, my clothes fit better and my head seems clearer.

That is not stupid! I did have withdrawals. I just have to deal with them just like cigs. One think that helped me was drinking lots and lots of water. When ever I get a craving of something sweet I would drink a 16 oz bottle of water. One sip at a time (because I have had wls and can only drink a little at a time)

I probably need to do this too. I like the idea of Whole30, but I really struggle with the thought of how to make it work when 2 meals a day (breakfast and lunch) are eaten on the go.

This worked for me as well

For me personally cold turkey does not work, I end up going right back. I used to drink a lot of pop. I decided to give it up. My plan was only one a day. I noticed that I generally had at least one everyday, but weekends more.
I started with one every day for about a month. Then I picked a day not to drink, gave it a couple weeks, added a second day. And kept doing it to where I reward myself with only when we go out to eat. Granted I knew yesterday I would end up drinking pop during the game. So I didn't drink any when we went out last week.
I was/am a big chocolate eater. I had to do the same thing. I didn't give it up all together. I just have in moderation.
When I did my only one a day, I would really think about the best time! At night during printing is when I would crave. So this is when I would have my drink or chocolate.
Best of luck!!!

Can you start by not keeping lot of the sweet treats at home? Just an emergency stash. If you ask my DH, I am sure he will say sugar withdrawals(or in my case tiramisu withdrawals) are a real thing .

I quit cold turkey and had a friend keep me accountable. She was the one I would call first instead of going for a brownie and say, "Dude, I am eating that damn brownie" and she would distract me . I also started working out. And realized, the more time I spent on looking into new gyms in my area, new work outs, watching work out videos, the craving for sugar was a little less (probably weird but it worked .

You really have to do a trial and error and see what works for you and remember what your end goal is. Is it just to get to a certain weight or do you want to feel better/do better mentally and physically? Also, have a fun treat goal for yourself. Like, "if I get to this weight, I am going to go buy me a new dress/earrings/diamonds/bag/whatever". It might not work for all but it totally works for me .

Kristi, have you checked out Trim Healthy Mama? I know a lot of people have had great success with this eating plan. They have Facebook groups. Trim Healthy Mama, Trim Healthy Mama for beginners, and many other sub-groups. Sugar is not on plan. They use plant based sweeteners vs chemicals. People do go through withdrawals but it's temporary of course and completely worth it according to many.

Do you drink soda? I thought that cutting soda would be really hard, but drinking seltzer water with some citrus squeezed in curbed that craving because I just wanted the fizz instead of the sweetness.

I agree with the comment upthread about making sure you have some healthy fats in your diet. An apple with almond butter or some cheese or a handful of nuts can curb that sweet craving too, because the fat helps you feel satisfied.

Staying as hydrated as possible is a big one for me too. Or taking a walk at 3.30 when that craving for something terrible to eat always seems to hit.

It seems insurmountable at first, but you do honestly stop craving the sugar after a week or two. After time away from it,you start to really taste your food and processed sugar will taste overly sweet and fake once you try it again.

Best of luck on your journey!

I had to cut back on processed foods, carbs in general, and sugar in particular due to blood sugar issues. I wanted to avoid what my dad and my brother went/go through.

I knew that gradually cutting back would lead to unintentional slides back into, "Well, it's only a little bit more" attitudes about it.

Cold turkey and a nightly affirmation of what I did right that day did it for me. It only took about 3 weeks for me not to even want sugar or anything in a box. Then my pants started falling down from weight loss over the next 6 months. BINGO.

Now, not only am I at a good weight, but I no longer have any blood sugar issues unless I do binge out. I have discovered coconut sugar has minimal carbs that bother me and I use that when I bake a treat.  The advent of the Internet recipe craze helped with recipes.

I do not eat cake/cupcakes at birthday parties. I do not drink alcohol. I do not eat much white pasta. I do eat potatoes and brown rice and oatmeal in moderation.

I agree that it's personality based. I knew that I would just cheat a little with a half a donut at work, a couple of pieces of on-sale chocolate that would lead to 10 pieces, and the devouring of the entire pizza when dh was out of town on a Friday night if I did it a little bit at a time. You might have more self-control than I did/do.

Start with what you know to be true and go from there. I knew that my family history of diabetes was true and dangerous. It was not going to be my fate.

I don't even miss it all much. When I start to miss it, I go for fruit now. Even that has to be controlled. Think of your health and your future. Once you start to FEEL better, you'll DO better.