Sugar Alternatives

[nailit]

I am trying to loose a bit of beef (or at least not put any more on) as I'm at least a couple of stone overweight. The problem is my sweet tooth. For some weeks ive been using honey on my breakfast cereal instead of sugar but a bit of research, here for instance http://www.fitday.com/fitness-articles/nutrition/healthy-eating/food-myths-debunked-honey-is-better-than-white-sugar-because-it-is-natural.html#b suggests that its no better.
Also ive been eating more fruit than I used to (about 3-4 portions a day) and then im reading that fruit is high in sugar and may contribute toward weight gain.Researching on the internet can drive you bonkers with conflicting articles so can anyone share with me any experiences with using sugar alternatives for weight loss.
Many thanks.

[nailit]

Congratulations Scarlett on sticking to that diet but it seems a little extreme to me, no dairy, meat or fish? What exactly did you eat? I had a girlfriend some years ago who was a vegitarian and she consumed very little dairy produce. I always remember that she was constantly hungry and had various health problems. Did you loose weight? Did you put it back on again?

[Old_Geezer]

Calories is calories. Not saying one's body might not processes some foods differently than others but there is so much controversy and changes to the recommendations over time that you're better off filling up on any low cal stuff you can tolerate and hope the means fewer cravings for the sweet stuff (and anything else for that matter). Try to balance the different food types to achieve a healthy eating pattern you can live with permanently.

I confess to using sweetener in drinks but aside from that, just keep an energy input tally, try to stay within decent daily limits, and hopefully gradually retrain your mind/body not to keep nagging you to consume more than you need.

[hc4361]

Problem is low sugar food tends to be high fat and low fat foods have more sugar than the normal fat versions.

[nailit]

There does seem to be so much controversy over calorie intake OG. Just trying to alter my diet a bit at a time.

[nailit]

cant seem to win here hc4361 :-(

[Old_Geezer]

In my experience it is numerous small changes that build up. Unless you ave a really bad habit you can nip in the bud. That said my efforts so far this year to get the waistline out of the diabetes risk zone, has not been going well :-( I got near, then hit some kind of barrier.

[Mosaic]

Nailit I was confused like you were about fruit - it certainly does contain sugars and should be eaten in moderation.
I couldn't shift my weight until I tried a no-carbohydrate diet, which sounds extreme, but enabled me to eat less without feeling hungry. It was also very easy to follow using everyday foods, no special things to buy.
So the Dukan Diet worked for me, but you'd have to make up your own mind.

[nailit]

small changes does seem the way to go. Never understood 'GOING on a diet'....CHANGING your diet seems more sensible.

[nailit]

Thanks Mosaic, never heard of that. I do like my carbs tho...

[hc4361]

I couldn't do without carbs. Beans without toast; bolognese without spaghetti; boiled egg without bread; roast dinner without potatoes, curry without rice or naan

[nailit]

Is the Dukon diet the same as the 'caveman' diet. I know someone what was on the 'caveman' diet...loads of meat and fish and plant based foods...and he dropped a few inches off his waist line

[nailit]

same here hc

[pastafreak]

Sugar is sugar...also known as dextrose,fructose,sucrose...if it ends in 'ose' its sugar. Even added to foods like deli meats,sausages,even cheese!
The so called caveman or paleo diet is not the same as dukan. Dukan is low carb and low fat...which is a bad combination. The point of reducing carbs is to get the body to burn fat...and you need to eat fat to burn it,whereas using carbs for fuel means the bnody holds on to its fat stores. Paleo is eating unprocessed foods...fresh meat,fish,poultry,eggs,good fats from nuts,seeds,olive oil,butter,lots of veg,not too much fruit. No grains because its believed that we have not evolved to eat grains,and that grains contribute to a lot of modern illnesses. The current rise in obesity can be traced back about 40-50 years when some badly done research came to the conclusion that eating fat led to heart disease...this has never been proven. Its so called low fat foods that will make you fat...along with high carb foods including grains (which are used in animal feed to...guess what??...make them fat).

[nailit]

Thanks Pasta, very informative. So you think 'caveman' diet is a good way to eat?

[pastafreak]

I think any way of eating that encourages you to eat fresh food is good. I know for myself that if I indulge in a lot of wheat or grains my joints hurt more...and I gain weight...and get very grumpy.
As for artificial sweeteners...continuing to put something sweet in your mouth...whether sugar or artificial...does not help get rid of your sweet tooth.
Be warned...if you do decide to cut down on sugar and grains,you may feel like you've been run over by a truck for a day or two...its part of the body adapting.

[Nibble]

Fruit is good for you, nailit, particularly bananas - don't forget you need a good source of fibre too, which fruit and veg helps with. Lots of people are trying the 5:2 diet these days with some success - but I found my best efforts at weight loss were by joining a weight loss website where you log what you eat, it helps you to see the duff food which I used to pick at. Try this one, it's free.. you just have to sign up for it http://www.myfitnesspal.com/account/logout

[boxtops]

Doh, that was me not nibble (again) ^

[pastafreak]

The best fruit to eat sugar-wise is berries...whereas all tropical fruits are very high sugar.

[kvalidir]

Because I'm a type one diabetic I gave up sugar in all it's forms where possible, ( so no sugar on cereal, in drinks, added to recipes- that sort of thing). Where it's not possible ( fruit, honey etc) it's just fine, you need to eat those to be healthy. Don't use sugar replacements they are literally poison. Your tastes will get used to a sugar free (ish) diet in time, mine have, I can't stand anything sweet now. If you want to drop weight, exercise, cut out the alcohol, eat good quality non processed foods and replace one meal per day with home made soup. Drink a pint of water 10 minutes before every meal and the weight will fall off you.

[nailit]

Boxy, you got an alter ego? :-)
will check out the link thanks. Dont think I could stick to the 5:2 tho.
Pasta, very interesting what you say about wheat. Ive been eating cereal for breakfast for the past few weeks (previously ate toast or just skipped breakfast) and have been feeling a bit 'creaky' lately. Mmm.
Kvalidir, I find excercise difficult as I have a bad back, ironically this is one reason I want to loose weight as its been worse since I put weight on. Making home made soup sounds tempting, ive had some lovely home made soups made for me, so very different from shop bought, tinned muck.