giving up sugar - help! (Page 3)

I missed this being revived back in April! How's it going?

I'm mostly in again... like you, not as strict, but giving up the candy, sweets, ice cream (WAH!), Diet Pepsi (WAAAAAAAH!) and most processed food.  I'm still eating fruit, and I'm guessing that there's still some sugar sneaking in, but on the whole, it's mostly been out of my diet for a few weeks.

This time around hasn't been so hard, either.  I've been gingerly trying out the idea of not-quite-cold-turkey ... something I'm typically not good at (I either give something up entirely or don't give it up at all).  For example, my roommate had a homemade pumpkin roll... instead of having my own huge slice, I just had a bite of hers.  Moderation.  Amazing.

YAY! Good for you! You have a head start on me. I'm still stuck in the headache stage. Tomorrow should be better I hope. Let me know if you find something really good to eat that satisfies your sweet tooth.

I gave up all added sugar (even honey, agave, etc) last March when I went strict Paleo.  One of the things that helps me the most is fruit.  Because we have such demanding training regimens, we NEED the sugar that fruit provides, in moderation, of course.

I have had the "one bite" of something on a rare occasion, but if I'm really going crazy for something sweet I will have 1-2 dates.  I keep the Costco size container in my fridge.  They are wonderful.  Oh, and so are fresh figs - just wash and slice - and they are full of potassium and fiber as a plus.  And I recently discovered Fig Cake at Whole Foods - just compressed, dried figs with almonds sandwiched in between.  YUMMY YUMMY TREAT!

I'm mostly sugar free as well.  I do use honey in cooking (occasionally) and the rare drizzle of maple syrup, but that's about it.  I just don't crave sweets and have even altered some of my recipes to remove half the honey because I find I need less and less over time.  I do eat fruits though, and while I'm not filling up on them, I don't limit myself either.

My favorite is when I get up early to run on the weekends because I then allow myself a small glass of fresh OJ as part of my recovery meal (breakfast) and it tastes incredible!  I swear it tastes way better now than it ever did when I was eating a different type of diet.  I wont' drink it except immediately after a workout though due to the sugar content.

Now that sounds yummy! I've been eating dates every day but honestly, the quality is not the greatest. I don't have a lot of shopping options here so that limits my choices significantly. I don't think I've seen a fig in any of our grocery stores.

Yes, we eat lots of fruit too. Now if they could just make it taste like chocolate .

I'm surprised no one has mentioned Stevia.  I like it in tea  (especially Chai).  I've never tried to bake with it but I know some people do.  It is tricky to use as it can be bitter so you need to experiment with it.  I find I just use a little at a time.

I also like the brown rice syrup that someone else mentioned for baking muffins.