Giving up sugar for Lent

[volcaniclastic]

I don't think I ever really bothered to tell anyone about this, but I've given up sugar for Lent. Shrove Tuesday, or International Pancake Day, as I prefer it to be known, was the last day I allowed myself to eat sugar, having made pancakes for breakfast with the roommate. That was almost two weeks ago to the day. I have given up:

- white sugar/brown sugar/refined sugar
- molasses
- dextrose/maltodextrin/maltose/anything else which means sugar
- artificial sweeteners

This means I'm reading the labels to every. single. ingredient ...and did you know? Sugar is in everything. I found dextrose in frozen hashbrowns, maltodextrin in frozen fish, there's sugar in crackers, and chips, and pizza sauce, and canned goods. Many dried fruits are actually dried with sugar in them, and I can't eat bread, or cookies, or chocolate, or the other obvious sources of sugar. I won't consume fruit juice unless it's that super expensive stuff that's only fruit (no added sweeteners), and cereal is out of the question. I've even gone as far as making my own muesli just so I can still eat cereal for breakfast.

The upside? I feel healthier. I've gone on long enough now that I don't really get cravings, and when I do, I eat a bit of the one sugar-substance I've allowed myself to still consume. Honey. Or fruit. It means that without packaged foods, I'm eating whole fruits and veggies, I'm making all my breads from scratch (which is a whole other issue because when I came home from Asia, I gave up wheat)

I've made a few mistakes. I went camping last week with the roommate, and we made breakfast burritos, and it wasn't until I was halfway through mine that I thought to see if tortilla has sugar in it. It does. Or...we went for fish n chips on the ocean after a road trip, and I ate some tartar sauce. In my excitement to eat freshly caught fish, I forgot to check if tartar sauce has sugar in it. But I've not purposely eaten a sugar item in two weeks. Now...to make it until Easter!

And I thought I'd share my 'when the craving hits' solution: I took the idea from a bliss ball, but basically, when I'm really craving sugar, I eat a nut butter instead. With cocoa powder mashed into it...and if that's REALLY not cutting it, I'll toss in a little squirt of honey. It's silly, but it's high in fat, and it works. For whatever reason, when I crave sugar, I eat something fatty instead (avocado, nuts, etc) ...and I feel better. (Or I drink a fruit-yogurt smoothie).

Has anyone else ever tried to do this, or tried to give up a common household item before?

[anunitu]

Re: Giving up sugar for Lent

Sugar has been described by some almost as addictive as Heroin,as far as withdrawal is concerned. I wouldn't know about that,as I have never gone cold turkey candy free.
John Lennon,and the plastic Ono band

[DanieMarie]

Re: Giving up sugar for Lent

Good for you!

I feel your pain with the label reading. I also have to read labels of absolutely everything. And due to allergies, as well as more recent dietary restrictions for health reasons (recommended by my doctor) I can't eat ANYTHING processed. It involves a lot of cooking, but I do feel healthier for it as well.

I also can't eat a lot of sugar. It's not cut out entirely, but it's on my list of stuff that I'm supposed to consume in smaller amounts. If you need any tips, hit me up

As for what to eat...I find homemade curries and stir fry from scratch is really easy and fairly quick, and you just need veggies and spices. I also make my own pasta sauce a lot...in summer I use real tomatoes and in winter I use canned (it's not too hard to find ones that are just tomatoes and salt here...not sure about there).

[Medusa]

Re: Giving up sugar for Lent

Yeah, label reading is a pain in the butt. But once you learn the ins and outs..it can be easy. Plus once you find a product you can keep going back to it over and over. When I go grocery shopping, my shopping consists of a few items and about 45 minutes of reading! I have to balance not just sugar. Because all those LOW FAT yogurts and stuff are packed full of sugar! Then I have to make sure it's not too much carbs. But I can deduct the fiber to give me the 'true' carb count. It's a balancing act. But once I do it for a staple item...then I'm free to just go back to it over and over.

[anunitu]

Re: Giving up sugar for Lent

My problem is that I can't tolerate artificial sweeteners, they will make me very sick. I always check the ingredients list. Some have names I don't know,and I now carry a list of the different names to be sure what is in something. Some are easy because they usually have Low calorie on the label,but not always. Real sugar is no problem for me,and I buy sugar in a large bag for my coffee. Other than my coffee,I seldom if ever use sugar.

[volcaniclastic]

Re: Giving up sugar for Lent

I just realized this morning, after making a few days worth of porridge, that my unsweetened light soy milk has cane juice in it! DAMN IT. I'm halfway through the jug, and now that I know, I have 3 days worth of porridge with the stuff in it.

Also, yesterday, for the first time since the withdrawal stopped, I was craving sugar. CRAVING SUGAR BAD. I even dreamed about sugar last night.

Screw you sugar.

[DanieMarie]

Re: Giving up sugar for Lent

can you try oat milk or almond milk? the stuff I buy here isn't sweetened!

Also, are you letting yourself have stevia?

[volcaniclastic]

Re: Giving up sugar for Lent

can you try oat milk or almond milk? the stuff I buy here isn't sweetened!

Also, are you letting yourself have stevia?

I had almond milk before that was A-OK, and when I ran out, I switched to soy. Oh well - I went and bought a new jug of almond milk instead. Also, no sugar or not, going to the grocery store hungry is a terrible idea. I went hiking this morning to take some photos with my new lens, and then had to pop into the grocery store for a few items. Well, two grocery stores and the health food store later, I've got something like $100 in food (simply because I was hungry, but everything has sugar, so random munchies end up being weird expensive stuff instead.)

And no, I'm not allowing stevia.

On the plus side, my random wanderings led me to find these: http://www.barbarasbakery.com/snacks-fig/ ...they're juice sweetened! OH MY GOD COOKIES I CAN EAT.

[DanieMarie]

Re: Giving up sugar for Lent

Nice!

and yeah, grocery shopping when you're hungry is a terrible idea.

Maybe if you're out and about you can pack some nuts or something with you, in case you don't get to eat before you get to the store?

[volcaniclastic]

Re: Giving up sugar for Lent

Some words that mean sugar, found at this amazing blog here

List of ingredients meaning sugar: "Saccharose, Sucanat, Sugar, Granulated Sugar, Refined Sugar, Brown Sugar, Cane Juice, Evaporated Cane Juice, Evaporated Cane Sugar, Cane Sugar, Raw Cane Sugar, Demerera, Muscovado, Turbinado, Cane syrup, Beet syrup, Baker's Sugar, Bar Sugar, Barbados Sugar, Berry Sugar, Chinese Rock Sugar , Confectioners Sugar, Gemsugar, Polincillo, Rock sugar, Wasanbon" to name a few.

[Jembru]

Re: Giving up sugar for Lent

I've never had a sweet tooth, even as a kid I had no interest in cakes or icecream. I WILL eat these things, although I only started eating them more than once or twice a year, when I met my boyfriend. I tend only to eat sweets if I am out with JP, or on a sabbat, when I'll try to indulge his sweet tooth to help him get involved with the festival. He really enjoys the fun feasts we have on these days! The only sweets in the flat that I can think of, is the Hello Kitty candy canes left over from our tree at Yule.

For me however, it is fruit I crave. It's INSANE. I can eat more than 10 servings of fruit in a day if I'm not strict with myself (which I now have to be because I realised that I was sometimes spending almost 70% of my shopping funds on fruit and I really, really need to start saving). It must be the same reaction to the sugar that causes some people to crave unhealthy sugars. Maybe it is just a case of whatever you're used to? So maybe up your fruit intake and see if you can get your sugar hits from that like I do?

This is also why I think I might have problems absorbing nutrients.. add to this fruit, the amount of veg, nuts and seeds I eat, and there is no way I could be malnourished.

On that note.. Jem needs an orange..

[volcaniclastic]

Re: Giving up sugar for Lent

I have the same issue, Jem. My roommate constantly remarks on how often I go to the grocery store to buy produce. I can't help it - 50% of what I eat is fresh produce alone. That means I go through an awful lot of bananas, strawberries, blueberries, apples, carrots, onions, peppers, celery, broccoli, salad greens, etc. Especially now with this no sugar, no wheat thing (and I'm still sick of rice from Asia, so that's out) ...I need to get my calories from somewhere, and it isn't carbs right now, that's for sure.

Although, an interesting thing I found out last night. I made some raw vegan brownies last night, which I posted in the sugar-free goodies thread, btw, but I found them almost too sweet, and then I had a sugar crash after. from DATES and a tiny smattering of honey! ...I know dates have lots of fructose in them, but...man. When Lent is over, I'm going to crash so hard. I was hyper, and then sleepy, and then my boyfriend called me, and then I was hyper again, and he was like "Jesus Christ, what's wrong with you?" ...and I had to explain the brownies I had. Then there were comments about them being "brownies" (I live in BC, put two and two together) ...and then I was awake half the night, and then I got really sleepy and crashed.

From DATES. And I'm pretty sure they weren't all that sweet - my body is just getting all crazy from the extreme lack of sweetness in my diet now, I think. Which is fine, but it's going to make going back to refined sugars hard. I've even contemplated NOT going back, and sticking to natural sugars instead.

[Jembru]

Re: Giving up sugar for Lent

Oh dear. I was interested in having a go at those brownies. I don't think I've ever had a normal brownie so I won't be able to compare them to anything. I only had my first American style (what we call American style anyway; soft and doughy, rather than crunchy) cookie a few weeks a go, so I am just learning about some sugary foods. Yesterday, I tried my first... wait, I'll tell you after Lent ^^

After asking around, it seems this fruit addiction is pretty common. It's sooo expensive though. JP and I have so much to save for too, so I've taken to shopping around for the best offers and the last minute reductions. I've managed to better than half the amount I'm spending on food this way, but it is still quite expensive.

[Shahaku]

Re: Giving up sugar for Lent

I've thought about doing something like this, but we don't have a ton of money and I'm worried how much it would cost to switch to eating mostly fresh produce. Has this been an issue for you at all volcaniclastic?

[volcaniclastic]

Re: Giving up sugar for Lent

I've thought about doing something like this, but we don't have a ton of money and I'm worried how much it would cost to switch to eating mostly fresh produce. Has this been an issue for you at all volcaniclastic?

Yes and no. As far as I know, frozen veg/fruit is still okay, and that's a bit cheaper. It's hard for me to tell, because I eat a lot of organic/health food stuff, and I've just moved from a city to a small town. So yes, my grocery bill right now is exorbitant, but I'm not sure how much of that is 'small town syndrome'. Prep time in the kitchen, however, goes up tenfold. Be prepared to make big meals and freeze them/store them in the fridge for leftovers, because without easy-to-make packaged things, cooking takes a lot longer. Chopping veggies, etc.

I think money-wise, the biggest issue would be if you had lots of items in the house already. I have some, and they are off limits until Lent is over, which means that even though I have, say...tomato sauce, I have to suddenly go buy all the ingredients and make it scratch, or find a brand that doesn't contain sugar. So I do waste a bit of money that way.