For anyone who is thinking about cutting off added sugar: the first 2 weeks are the toughest. But you WILL get past it and you WILL get to a point where you won't even have any cravings! I was a severe sugar addict and have been clean for several months now and I feel better than ever! TRUST THE PROCESS! You can do this!
I'm so glad that happened to you, and i read it everywhere, but for me it's just not true. I thought I'd share it in case someone feels as bad as I do about it. I've been sick for the past 9 months and had to cut off sugar and sweeteners completely (plus other stuff, gluten, lactose, beans...). I still get cravings and have a really bad time. Sugar addiction is real, and some addicts quit forever and it's awesome but others would go back at it any time they've given the chance. If you're in the second group with me, congrats, you're doing the good work, I'm proud of you, and I know how hard it is.
Thanks for "redacting" the sugary-sweet desserts and such! 🙏 Some people don't do that in their videos and articles when they're talking about reducing sugar or the harm of sugar, and the visuals override my monkey brain into craving to eat them, ya know??
I drastically cut down my sugar consumption starting like 3 years ago using a method similar to what's described in this video, and I'm still going strong!! Literally everything outlined in the video is what I did, except one addition: for a couple days before I cut sugar, I ate my normal diet and just wrote down all the grams of sugar I was eating without judgement. It was wild to see how much it actually was, especially because I thought of my diet as relatively healthy. Then once I cut sugar, I also wrote down all of the sugar I was eating and tried specifically to hit that 24g goal. So it was cool to see a very explicit difference between before/after. I really only had to do that a few days to get a feel for what items I needed to sub out. Once you find all of the substitutions and stop buying the sugary crap, it becomes a lot easier. Lastly, 100% agreed on the 'treat yo self' moments being necessary. I still eat cake at birthday parties, celebrate occasions with deserts, the occasional sugary restaurant dish (hello, chinese food), etc, and I feel zero guilt about it. They're not off-limit foods. I just save them for the special moments. It's truly crazy how much I can feel the sugar spikes now though. Once you start feeling those again, it also helps keeps you in check.
Oh man, I love the idea of calculating how much added sugar I currently eat for a few days before attempting to make the change. I'm such a sweetaholic that I bet my number is scary high!
@Pᴀᴡɴ S𝜏ᴀʀ𝕤 ✯🇫ᴀɴ Hey, that's great that it's easy for you. It was easy for me too. But you understand that it doesn't make you better than the people who struggle with it, right? Cause when something's easy for you, but difficult for someone else, they're actually working *harder* than you when they conquer it.
Chyna said about soda "i'd rather eat those calories" and damn as a diabetic i've viewed sweet beverages like that all my life, and it's in words now! i usually don't want to waste insulin on something i drink when i can EAT with that :D
@Pᴀᴡɴ S𝜏ᴀʀ𝕤 ✯🇫ᴀɴ There are two types of diabetes. Type II is caused by eating too much sugar. Type I is an autoimmune disease that develops in childhood; it has NOTHING to do with eating too much sugar. If she's had diabetes all her life, then she has Type I. Don't judge on topics about which you know nothing.
@Pᴀᴡɴ S𝜏ᴀʀ𝕤 ✯🇫ᴀɴ Also, the "environmental trigger" you refer to is typically a viral infection. There is no evidence that Type I diabetes is caused by lifestyle or diet issues.
OMG same! I’m like, why would I inject for something that doesn’t truly bring me joy and when there are things like Zevia and Ices out there, traditional soda or juice just isn’t worth it. Glad to know I’m neither alone nor crazy.
I do keto and regularly eat fruit. I mostly stick to berries because they're high in fiber. Been doing this for a little over a year and have so far lost 110lbs. Eliminating sugar has notably reduced my inflammation and pain. Do what's sustainable for you, makes you happy, and helps you feel better.
Finding your channel has made such a positive change on my health. I started walking 10k steps a day, cut back on sugar intake and started intermittent fasting. I've been doing this for about 3 weeks and am down 10 pounds and i'm starting to feel so much better. Thank you so much for sharing your experiences.
That helped me until I started feeling thirsty after brushing my teeth, and now I don't mind a minty toothpaste flavor added to any food, like soup, sandwiches, cake, milk, etc. So, it worked until it stopped working, lol.
It's a bigger and bigger problem all over the world. If you read the label at the most ordinary product that you wouldn't think it might have sugar, you would be surprised how much there is.
I tried to buy muesli without added sugars and I could find NOTHING (at least not, y'know, without ordering online something which is 4x the price of the standard stuff....) Now I have just oats and chpped nuts in plain yoghurt, which works fine, but like... it's more effort and it's not muesli
@@eolill what's your definition of muesli ? What was in your old favorite that made it better than your homemade version? Maybe you could batch it and make a few at a time ? I'd say maybe add some spices to the mix depending on what you like. So maybe you could add, cinnamon, nutmeg, vanilla . Also you could put in some salt .
I love that you added "Do you feel bad about yourself when you eat too much sugar?" and Chyna said, "no...I take it a day at a time". Yes! That's the way to be consciences about eating habits without giving in to the downsides of "diet culture". I have gotten to where I like my smoothies better than ice cream.
I've cut sugar cold-turkey several times over the last 5 or 6 years for various reasons (and always creep back up to a sugary diet. ugh) and it's definitely worth remembering/knowing: your body will have an adjustment period. After you cut sugar, you'll probably feel, in general, a lot more hungry than usual, and you may find yourself eating more food that you did before (or at least thinking about eating more often). It can take a few weeks for that feeling to go away; but it will. And on breakfast point: I recently transitioned to having "Japanese style" breakfasts (for the purpose of decreasing sugar and gluten) several times a week. So I have miso broth, rice, and various simple toppings like a poached egg, raw veggies, or occasional some canned fish. Its filling and healthy and I feel pretty good after! I don't even really have the desire to go back to sugary cakes and pastries.
I keep reaching for high-sugar foods and snacks when I'm tired or stuck with something at work because it makes me feel better but this video is a source of joy in itself with the little one liners as well as giving tips about reducing sugar 😁
This has always been the kind of health content I've really craved. What's not optimal but realistic? What's the tipping point of a change that makes it actually beneficial versus not? Your videos have encouraged me to move more - found varying research on step goals but I usually try to hit 5k per day, 10k if I'm able. I eat less sugar than I ever have (though I now get it's a process more viscerally than ever). I value managing stress and my mind more as a component to health than I did before. I don't sleep better yet but hey maybe someday! It's really helped me manage my symptoms better without triggering my disordered eating tendencies which so many wellness videos from other creators often do. So thank you. Just want you to know that what you do definitely positively impacts people.
And then there are dates. They are so sweet… I find it quite easy to not eat sugar while I have dates. The downside of dates is that your tastbuds will not learn that strawberries are actually sweet when your on the date standard. Great video! It is so rare that people grasp the importance of eating the whole fruit, because it is something different than the sum of its macros.
Diabetic here - T2, ftw - and a significant portion of my life ago I cold-stopped with ANY full-sugar drinks. Drinking calories is dumb when you could chew them...wait, not the point. The POINT is that full-sugar drinks taste like drinking syrup to me now - they are NASTY. Yes, I'm thankful that fake sweeteners exist - yes, I know they're chemicals but then...so are the various 'natural' forms of sugar, so... Anyway, thanks for this vid! Fun and informative - great job! EDITED to add: and if you do find that you've 'accidentally' eaten too much sugar, cram some protein and fiber down your throat ASAP to lessen the glucose spike/etc then adjust your halo and move on!
Also a shot of apple cider vinegar can help (if it's actually acv, and not fake vinegar with caramel color and sugar added), or kimchi etc.-- acid also helps balance out sugar. #insulinresistance
I bought soda for the first time in 40 years. It was like a punch in the face. The fake over sweet taste made my whole face pucker. It was sugar free. Never again. Sparkling water only for me.
I cut out sugar as part of an anti inflammatory diet. If I want sweets, I make date balls! Put dates in the food processor with unsweetened cocoa powder and a splash of water. Purée, roll in chopped walnuts and refrigerate. It’s really good!
I love this philosophy! Sometimes we can have an all or nothing mindset, but I think enjoying fruit/dark chocolate/etc regularly while saving indulging for special occasions is sustainable and healthy.
Ye I have the same, i am a very all or nothing type of person but overdoing stuff will stress you out. Sometimes a cookie or something nice won't kill you, just be mindful to enjoy it
I tried not eating sugar for a month in June and it was a great experience! I felt a lot calmer and more energized after the first two weeks. Cutting down also just makes me enjoy the times I do eat sugar even more.
There is ongoing research about how sugar affects gut biome and how your gut biome affects every aspect of your health. From what I've heard, it's best to limit your quick burning sugar intake so you aren't feeding the harmful gut bugs, and increase your insoluble fiber and resistant starch to feed the good bugs in your guts. Healthy gut = healthy body.
A couple years ago I switched from soda to Iced Tea and after a month was fully converted to unsweetened Iced Tea. Now I can't stand the taste of sweetened iced tea. Still working on cutting back the candy intake though. Great Video!
Nutritionist here. YES, to generally sticking to the perimeter of the grocery store, BUT that leaves out many shelf-stable foods that ARE health-promoting- like canned fruits and vegetables, canned or dried beans, canned protein like chicken and tuna, whole grains, and other minimally-processed foods that can help many families round out their diet while staying under budget. Also, the darn bakery is generally on the perimeter. Haha. And thank you for noting that SSBs are the real culprit in most diets. As you mentioned, counting calories does NOT work for everyone. As an alternative, I encourage people to take a look at the Nutrition Facts label. Awareness is just as important as tracking every calorie. Everything in moderation, including moderation. I love your perspective!!! And that of the lovely Chyna!
Very helpful video thanks. I recently tried and failed to go cold-turkey on sugar. I'm in the UK rather than USA, but it's just as easy here to have a diet way too high in sugar. My vice has always been packets of biscuits, Mr Kipling cakes and big bags of supermarket choc-chip cookies. Nowadays I'm trying instead to not restrict my sugar, but saying NO biscuits, cookies or cakes, and make sure I have nuts and fruit for snacks and eggs and wholemeal bread for lunch times. If I keep myself relatively full of healthy food then I don't crave sugary food as much. Re: eggs, my farmer friend told me that eggs is probably the grocery item where buying organic will make the biggest difference to the animal's life. Since he told me that I'm careful to always buy eggs from a small local farm or organically. Even eggs marked 'free range' will come from quite miserable chickens kept crowded in mucky concrete-floored barns. So if possible, buy organic eggs, or from a local person who owns chickens where you know the conditions.
My mind was absolutely blown in a bad way when I actually realized how much sugar is in typical carbonated beverages. I don't drink pop very often myself, so I wasn't very familiar with it. But one time my husband had bought a bottle of Pepsi and we somehow got on the topic of how much sugar was in pop, and he had me guess how much was in his bottle of Pepsi. I was like, "I don't know? 18 grams?" He said, "Higher." I said, "23 grams?" He said, "Higher." I said, "....25 grams?" He looked at me in confusion like why are you so bad at this and said again, "No. You're nowhere close." I was like, "What? How much higher could it be? How much is in it?" And he reads it off to me: "64 grams." I said, "64 GRAMS????!!!!!!!!!!! WHAT!!!!!!" I knew that was Way Too Much Sugar. We had some sugar cubes at home, so I went to check how many sugar cubes that would be. It was equivalent to 16 sugar cubes! I couldn't believe it. That was when it really sank in for me just how sneaky the sugar content of sugary beverages is, because nobody would manually add 16 sugar cubes to their drink and think that it was normal. You'd start to feel like you were maybe being a little ridiculous after 5 cubes, and you'd KNOW you were being ridiculous if you got to 16. And yet, people drink that much sugar on the regular, never having any idea that that's how much they're consuming, because you don't necessarily read the label, and even if you do, it doesn't always register how much sugar that actually is.
I love Chyna eyeing the sugar bag! When we were little I have distinct memories of eating straight sugar packets at restaurants. 30 years later and now it’s a coffee addiction! Sugar- the gateway drug to caffeine 🫣
Yep, did that too. We would eat out of the sugar bowl at home as well. My brother and I would take it into our room and scoop up sugar with chocolate chip cookies. |D
Absolutely LOVE this video. It should be broadcast to homes everywhere. Eating too much added sugar is bad for you but being overly restrictive of sugar is also psychologically bad for you. I think you guys have hit the middle ground nicely here.
The reason why I just get water at restaurants and don't drink store bought sweet teas and other drinks. 4g of sugar in a tsp. I add two tsp to my 12oz or so cup of tea every morning. That's it. Pure Leaf 18.5oz tea? 42g of sugar. So that's like, 10 tsp of sugar in a little bottle. 77g in most 20oz soft drinks. Some people end up drinking two or three of those a day. When you put it into perspective it really makes sense how much you can over do it. When I was 16-20 years old, I was consuming almost an entire two liter of Mountain Dew a day. I'm so happy I realized at 20 that all that caffeine and sugar wasn't doing me any good and switched to just making tea at home. 257g of sugar. Roughly 64tsp of sugar a day. That's 1 1/3 cups of sugar just from soda a day. It's crazy when you think about it. I have to agree with Chyna, eggs for breakfast is where it's at. Especially pasture raised chicken eggs where you can get more omega 3's from. There's a lot of good things in eggs and nothing wrong with eating them every day. I usually make those with some toast. I'll have to try salsa though that sounds good. Great video, Craig!
Thank you for leaving out the image of chocolate. Makes this video much less triggering for cravings 😁 Also I cut my apples the same way as you do. #lesschops
Honestly the only paid sponsorship section of a video i never skip, too many good jokes, every other youtubers i skip through! Thanks for the jokes Craig
That graph at 0.46 was pretty eye opening. I would have expected the Netherlands to be better at sugar andd fat (maybe all that cheese), though our obesity levels are a lot lower.
I've been working on cutting sugar from my diet as well. The three changes I made that had the biggest impact for me were: Working form home - allowed me more time to cook for myself and not pick up fast food or raid the vending machines on my breaks at work. Switch from coffee to tea, which I can tolerate unsweetened much easier. Invest in making better coffee, so I don't need to mask the bitterness with sugar.
Good for you holding back on, at least, added sugar ❤️ You can actually live without sugar. The liver makes the sugar the body needs. I haven't had any sugar since February last year... which is extreme, but so is the changes 😊
your advice is actually very true. do not be harsh on yourself if you do decide to splurge on some additional serving of sugar. the point is just be aware so you would know what to do next. me & my husband been on this kind of diet while doing intermittent fasting (16:8), since january. TBH i thought we'd go back to our old habit, but thankfully we're still on this eating habit. ❤️🤧 also there are hardly snacks in our house to, so it helps us to refrain from putting unnecessary calorie within the day.
I thought it's just me having to carry my water bottle everywhere. I completely freak out if I can't have it with me 😅 We have quite similar eating habits, I definitely follow the idea of eating healthily in 80% of the time and exercise regularly so I won't feel guilty about the remaining 20% when I do get some chocolate, cookies or ice cream. Once you start reading the labels on processed foods, it will definitely blow your mind... I'm reading a book from Michael Pollan and he emphasizes that several different diets could work for humans, one common point is to avoid processed foods and they are stripped from the natural ingredients that help the body utilise the nutrients in the given food. I guess the same applies to fruits - sugar and fibre - as well (I'm only halfway through the book... I'm a slow reader okay?! 😂) But it sounds reasonable to me. Amazing video, I love your humour and always happy to see Chyna too!
Omg, Chyna, I used to eat that breakfast ALL THE TIME, and I honestly ate so much better and was at a healthier weight at that time too. Eggs on toast with salsa, and maybe a little cheese and hot sauce added...mmm...But now I'm eating more sugary breakfasts, and I think it's perpetuating that vicious cycle of wanting more sugar later in the day.
Watching your videos makes me feel not crazy for my healthy habits and thoughts. I really enjoy that your videos are just steps and suggestion and experiences in yalls health journeys
This video is FANTASTIC. And I can't even with Keto.... it drives me nuts when people scream about fruit being full of sugar. I'm sure you already know this - but fruit is packed with fibre, so it releases sugar slowly unlike processed food which releases it straight away. You won't sugar crash from eating fruit - your body will be too full by the time you eat enough for it to matter. EAT FRUIT DAMNIT. Thank you for your videos. I love them all and I want to be you when I grow up. Both of you :)
Those on a keto diet are not so concerned with sugar spikes and crashes, so the fact that the sugar is absorbed slowly is not enough to include most fruits in a keto diet. The whole point of keto, is to limit carbohydrate intake. It doesn't matter that the sugar is released over time. The fact that the sugar is there at all is why the keto diet excludes most fruits.
@@tavern.keeper I understand that. To each their own. Personally I'd prefer a diet that doesn't focus on eating large amounts of saturated fats and instead one that focuses on food that gives you loads of micronutrients, including selenium, magnesium, phosphorus, and vitamins B and C.
@@tavern.keeper My BIL has been on Keto for years now and he is doing great, while taking part of triathlons and other physical competitions. That being said, he does have to take supplements for micronutrients, e.g. calcium, magnesium, sodium, folate, vitamin D. I personally believe in eating all food groups in healthy moderation, as long as one keeps balance between the appropriate nutrients intake and the caloric intake. I myself did try the Keto diet at one point in the past, but as a type 1 diabetic, I could not figure out the balance of carbs and quit after a number of annoying hypoclycemias. :D
Obviously ideally we all eat as little sugar as possible. But as a sugar addict, focusing on eating fruit over cake or candy has helped me avoid binging. I still occasionally eat sweets but not nearly as often.
This is how I eventually kicked all refined sugar after being addicted to sugar. I let myself have all the fruit I wanted. It helped with the cravings while my sugar levels and taste for sugar recalibrated
Agree on the apple cutting. Even Julia Collin Davison of ATK cuts them like that, and I now do, now that I've seen her do it, and it was a light bulb moment on coring them, easy peasy, lemon squeezy. 😁
Ok hear me out.. I did Keto, I know , I know. But because of the sugar limitations, once I was back to eating everything. Chocolate bars (which I was addicted to) tasted like crap. Too sweet and overwhelming. 30 days of no added sugars and your tastebuds change for sure! I even started to like Mushrooms (which were my enemies before). Thank you for this video 🙏💕
speaking of chocolate, I don't like milk chocolate as much, I prefer bitter sweet, semi sweet, or higher % cocao chocolate preferable, and I don't need to eat a lot of it at a sitting. Sometimes I'll have a payday as it's mostly peanuts with caramel and that's better than most mainstream candy bars as a bite of something sweet as a treat.
Craig, you could make a challenge where you only consume local and seasonal food. No traveling mangoes, no imported fancy nuts or crazy oils. I That’s a real challenge and a great topic to think and debate about!
I'd *love* to do it in my own life, but living in a place where it's full-on winter for a chunk of the year, and the growing season is really only June to September, local and in-season produce is pretty much impossible in winter unless you can preserve summer's bounty in some way, and then have the space to store it. I can preserve, but definitely not store 8 months worth of produce.
I quit added sugar for a year a while back and it was one of the best things I've ever done. It also led to me eating less sugar when I reintroduced it into my diet. Also, as an American living in Vienna, it's not every day I see my name mentioned :) Cool!
Craig: do a video on cholesterol. I feel like there's some interesting science in this area. For example, there was a study, that I cannot find, that said: eggs can jack up your cholesterol numbers very quickly, but, just as quickly, can lower them if you stop eating eggs. I.e. although eggs can impact cholesterol numbers they may not be causing the plaque build up in your arteries.
Yes!! I think the most impactful change for me is how much sweeter everything tastes now. I bought this cacao cereal with no added sugar (I’m a chocolate fiend) and it didn’t taste sweet at all, kinda gross. Then I came back to it once I cut back and it’s now my sweet tooth fix! Wild, recommending this to everyone I know and love
I needed to see this video so badly. I’m going to start following these steps today!!! Thank you for making such a positive impact on so many people’s lives through leading by example :)
I use to be keto and it was great, but it's super restrictive and i really do enjoy trying new foods and eating out with friends. I try and keep low carb which is also low sugar casually throughout the week because every carb still converts to sugar in your body, but i still allow myself treats. Generally, my hunger cravings are way down and my mood is so much better, and even if i have something super sugary, i don't have this huge guilt over me, but still recognize that's a huge treat situation. Love your videos!
This came at a good time. I fell off the wagon this month during peak life stress, and I need to get back to good again. I was doing great and then I wasn't. Key for me is planning and executing meals better (even just a few dinners a week) and NOT buying ice cream or cookies.
I’m on day four of no added sugar intake. I had an easy start since I did a 72 hour water fast, which resets your immune system and gets rid of sugar cravings. 25 or 26 days to go. ✌🏾👍🏾
What serendipitous timing! Just yesterday I decided to stop eating (so much) sugar. This is exactly what I needed on this grumpy second day, lol. Thank you!
A friend of mine used to have several cups of tea each day, with two spoonfulls of sugar in each. When she stopped cold turkey, she got withdrawal shakes! So definitely be careful if you do cold turkey
A quote from Mary Berry of the great british bake off that stuck with me "If I'm going to eat sweets it better be worth the calories" which I try to apply to just about everything. Fast food, processed junk, candy, none of its worth it compared to what i can make at home. And if i feel like baking something im going to make sure those calories are worth it!
Yes, that's how I see it. If I make it from scratch, or I know someone made it from scratch (actual scratch, not box mixes and cool whip) or it's a really nice authentic bakery AND it's a thing I truly like, then I may have it. But people whipping out grocery store items or box mix things, those are a pass.
Really solid tips in an entertaining package. I am doing most of these as part of doctor approved keto/intermittent fasting lifestyle (it works for me 🤣) I read all the package labels now! I’m big on berries, and have some high % dark chocolate as a treat. I think your idea of sugar as a treat vs condiment is a great philosophy
A long time ago I learned that 4 grams of sugar is a teaspoon. Now whenever I look at a label, I divide the sugar by four to see how many teaspoons of sugar are in it. A 12oz can of Coke, for example, has 39 grams of sugar. Divide that by 4 and that's 9.75. Knowing there's more than 9 teaspoons of sugar in a can of coke makes me either not drink it or, if I really want it, split it with someone.
I have weak moments but for the most part I have lessened my sugar intake. One of my gauges is soda, I sometimes have a sip of my hubs coke and every single time, it is so disgustingly sweet I can't even fathom how I used to casually drink that stuff so regularly. YES to the occasional ice cream treat! I love my water bottles and I feel lost without it. ☺️ I do have to be careful with bananas because that leads to banana bread. 😂 but now that I've identified that weakness 2022 has been smoother. 😂
My daily breakfast: Avocado + Lime + Tajin/Salt/Pepper and cold brew coffee with a squirt of sugar-free dark chocolate syrup. It helps get me started and provides a good baseline of nutrients I can supplement with my other meals and snacks later. It's also not very expensive now that I brew the coffee myself. :)
can confirm that sometimes going cold turkey works out really well. To this day I still barely ever buy candy, like, a couple times a year I might buy a chocolate bar, or a bag of gummies (I might finish them in a few days oops) but then I literally do not think about candy for another few months, at all, it was honestly super strange to me. However, definitely after a certain point I started occasionally having soda or ice pops with the heatwaves we've been having, since we don't have AC. Normally we would make sure to keep some water in the fridge for those reasons, or ice. But that really put sugar back on my radar, so now I have to again, work on getting that reduced, but because I had done for so long already, I know I can do it again!
I've actually been off sugar the past couple weeks. I do crave it sometime but I also feel better overall. I wake up easier. I fall asleep easier. I've lost 6 lbs. It's been pretty great so far. Draddock is my favorite fish.
Now is when you need to be more careful. An "addicts" most dangerous time isn't their best day or their worst day....it is the everyday when you aren't as vigilant and slip up.
Something I’ve tried as a fruity and healthier snack is frozen grapes!Freezing grapes, especially coating them in citric acid, is a great alternative snack to things like sour patch kids and Swedish fish. Frozen grapes also work well to replace ice in drinks, especially tea.
i stopped eating a lot of sugary foods when i started working in trail crews and outdoor ed/hiking guide jobs. i just have no craving for anything more sugary than like, a popsicle, on a hot day. i used to eat entire pints of ice cream and hating myself for it when i was doing more sedentary jobs. being active really changes things. recently i got myself a pint as a treat, i missed it, and i could only eat about a third of it!
That perimeter of the grocery store thing is so true! I rarely venture into the isles except for maybe one or two things, and then I go in with a purpose. I feel so much better when I eat fewer processed foods.
Honestly if I could give one piece of advice to everyone in the world, it would be to stop drinking soda altogether. It's amazing how drastically that one change not only improves your health and weight, but also opens up your palate to enjoy so many other things. Ever since I stopped drinking sugary drinks I've grown to appreciate so many foods and drinks that I once thought were bland and tasteless because my tastebuds were just craving sugar rather than actual flavor. Now soda itself isn't even remotely appealing to me, just a sickly sticky sugar water with no actual flavor. And I get that cold turkey isn't for everybody, but I honestly think it's the only effective way to get off soda entirely. Sugar-free carbonated water like Bubly is a great substitute to help you stop; you still get that same physical experience of the carbonation to sort of trick your brain into thinking you're drinking a soda, but without actually taking in any sugar.
Another way to break through the sugar crash of quitting cold turkey is to do a short fast. A 24-hour fast helped me get past the cravings really fast. Went back to normal eating the next day, but I didn't feel as hungry nor did I crave sugar that much.
True, and tips and experiences from others can help inspire us to keep with that, or get inspired to start. You're not wrong, but that's often not enough to motivate most people.
I once ate a big piece of cake before going to bed (several hours later after having the usual dinner). The next day when I woke up I felt hungry for breakfast as always, but MAN this time the "hungry" feeling in my belly felt so much much more intense, it was almost painful. I guess that's what sugar does, makes you crave food (and sugar) more than usual.
It's likely not just the sugar, but the carbs in the highly refined flour that all combined to bring on the cravings. Even highly processed carbs can cause sugar spikes, which leads to more cravings. That is why rice and pasta are considered high glycemic on their own, but add in meat, legumes or grains, then they are not so bad as you are now adding bulk to them and now the sugar spikes are minimized.
I enjoyed this video, it has lots of great tips. There is just one thing, you're not taking my American breakfast away from me, lol. I watched Johnny Harris' video and I thought it overly critical. There are plenty of people who really enjoy American-style breakfast foods (including me) and for me what I've found is helpful is just to be aware of how much sugar is in stuff and eat strategically less of the things that are sugar bombs. I'll have just a few bites of a cinnamon roll, for example, but a whole banana and eggs. That's what works for me and I'd rather that than eat a breakfast that doesn't even taste like "breakfast."
I gave up sugar for 7 days and lost 4lbs. Days 2-6 were awful. Like I was seeing blue flashes of light and was super angry kind of awful. Then I felt ok. I felt different. I realised I just felt normal and off sugar for the first time in my life. 10/10 would recommend.
From one forty (why does four have a "u" but forty doesn't) year old, bearded and (soon to be) dad to another - thanks for all your terrific , interesting and bingeworthy videos. I was going to ask if you ever did one on "Zero Waste Living..."
Giving up soda 20 years ago was such a huge change in my life. Watching your video now, it was great to see a lot of changes I've already made, but it also made me think of the bad habits I still have. I credit the lack of soda for allowing me to lazily maintain reasonable fitness, but I think reducing added sugar to 30g would probably give me an equally healthy boost within a year or two, combined with walking. Another habit I luckily already share.
I've recently cut out all but 20g added sugar a day. Yes, my yogurt (dairy free, Greek style, yum!) had 10g... and I realized that half a serving was all I really needed, so I split each container into two days' worth. The biggest thing for me was cutting out my 1 (or sometimes 2) bottled Frappucinos a day. I made my own substitute. I'm not supposed to have dairy anyway, so this is perfect. I make my own using a an old 13 oz. SBUX frap bottle: a little unsweetened dark cocoa powder mixed with a tiny bit of water (to dissolve it), some mocha flavored cold brew (a couple splashes), and fill the rest of the bottle with my unsweetened soy milk. So it has about 1g of sugar, not many carbs, and about 110 calories. Yes it's a treat that I have almost every other day... but until 2 years ago I was having 1 or 2 iced soy chais at Starbucks and those have 63g of sugar EACH!! I almost find my yogurt too sweet these days and may actually cut that out at some point... like you said, the less you eat it the less you want it. Also, I now know what my European friends are always on about with food here in the US being too sweet!
I tried quitting sugar and wheat for 5 days, on the second day I woke up and realized my plantar fasciitis was gone(it was really bad first thing in the morning). I also realized my tennis elbow was not bothering me either. In 48hrs of quitting sugar both forms I of tendinitis I had was gone, I spent a lot of money on physical therapy to correct them and missed work (carpenter) from them as well. I have not eaten any sugar or wheat since. That was seven years ago. I do put a couple drops of local honey in my tea, I enjoy berries and an apple here and there but mainly keep my food low glycemic and mainly meat and plants. Nothing processed.
Good stuff, also using Swerve with erythritol and cooking your own food and making your own sugar-free desserts tastes as good if not better than the sugary stuff
Gaseous sugar happens when you pour your sugar (or substitute) from one container to another rapidly and create a cloud of sweetness. Also cotton candy, but that may be its own state of matter entirely.
Dark chocolate and fruit help for me. It still can be difficult to go without, though. Even watching this video made me think about grabbing a sweet treat 😛 (so advertising doesn't help either) but I did try to go for some watermelon.
For anyone who is thinking about cutting off added sugar: the first 2 weeks are the toughest. But you WILL get past it and you WILL get to a point where you won't even have any cravings! I was a severe sugar addict and have been clean for several months now and I feel better than ever! TRUST THE PROCESS! You can do this!
Congrats!!!
I'm so glad that happened to you, and i read it everywhere, but for me it's just not true.
I thought I'd share it in case someone feels as bad as I do about it. I've been sick for the past 9 months and had to cut off sugar and sweeteners completely (plus other stuff, gluten, lactose, beans...). I still get cravings and have a really bad time. Sugar addiction is real, and some addicts quit forever and it's awesome but others would go back at it any time they've given the chance.
If you're in the second group with me, congrats, you're doing the good work, I'm proud of you, and I know how hard it is.
It's the same case for me... I had severe craving in the first 2 weeks. I call it my withdrawal period. After that it got easier.
Four days now. Nothing but meat and vegetables. No salt either. No coffee. No problems.
@deker095 some salt is okay because it helps with staying hydrated.
Thanks for "redacting" the sugary-sweet desserts and such! 🙏 Some people don't do that in their videos and articles when they're talking about reducing sugar or the harm of sugar, and the visuals override my monkey brain into craving to eat them, ya know??
I drastically cut down my sugar consumption starting like 3 years ago using a method similar to what's described in this video, and I'm still going strong!! Literally everything outlined in the video is what I did, except one addition: for a couple days before I cut sugar, I ate my normal diet and just wrote down all the grams of sugar I was eating without judgement. It was wild to see how much it actually was, especially because I thought of my diet as relatively healthy. Then once I cut sugar, I also wrote down all of the sugar I was eating and tried specifically to hit that 24g goal. So it was cool to see a very explicit difference between before/after. I really only had to do that a few days to get a feel for what items I needed to sub out. Once you find all of the substitutions and stop buying the sugary crap, it becomes a lot easier. Lastly, 100% agreed on the 'treat yo self' moments being necessary. I still eat cake at birthday parties, celebrate occasions with deserts, the occasional sugary restaurant dish (hello, chinese food), etc, and I feel zero guilt about it. They're not off-limit foods. I just save them for the special moments. It's truly crazy how much I can feel the sugar spikes now though. Once you start feeling those again, it also helps keeps you in check.
Oh man, I love the idea of calculating how much added sugar I currently eat for a few days before attempting to make the change. I'm such a sweetaholic that I bet my number is scary high!
Very informative. Thanks for writing this out.
@Pᴀᴡɴ S𝜏ᴀʀ𝕤 ✯🇫ᴀɴ Hey, that's great that it's easy for you. It was easy for me too. But you understand that it doesn't make you better than the people who struggle with it, right? Cause when something's easy for you, but difficult for someone else, they're actually working *harder* than you when they conquer it.
I did the same. I had a food journal and in 2-3 days i understood where all I need to cut and substitute.
I really appreciate how you add humor to the health improvement topics you discuss. Thanks for the positive spin!
Nope. It’s annoying. Why does every sentence of him have to be a joke?
Chyna said about soda "i'd rather eat those calories" and damn as a diabetic i've viewed sweet beverages like that all my life, and it's in words now! i usually don't want to waste insulin on something i drink when i can EAT with that :D
@Pᴀᴡɴ S𝜏ᴀʀ𝕤 ✯🇫ᴀɴ Some people are born with diabetes…
@Pᴀᴡɴ S𝜏ᴀʀ𝕤 ✯🇫ᴀɴ You're wrong. Type 1 diabetes is hereditary and you're born with it.
@Pᴀᴡɴ S𝜏ᴀʀ𝕤 ✯🇫ᴀɴ There are two types of diabetes. Type II is caused by eating too much sugar. Type I is an autoimmune disease that develops in childhood; it has NOTHING to do with eating too much sugar. If she's had diabetes all her life, then she has Type I. Don't judge on topics about which you know nothing.
@Pᴀᴡɴ S𝜏ᴀʀ𝕤 ✯🇫ᴀɴ Also, the "environmental trigger" you refer to is typically a viral infection. There is no evidence that Type I diabetes is caused by lifestyle or diet issues.
OMG same! I’m like, why would I inject for something that doesn’t truly bring me joy and when there are things like Zevia and Ices out there, traditional soda or juice just isn’t worth it. Glad to know I’m neither alone nor crazy.
I do keto and regularly eat fruit. I mostly stick to berries because they're high in fiber. Been doing this for a little over a year and have so far lost 110lbs. Eliminating sugar has notably reduced my inflammation and pain. Do what's sustainable for you, makes you happy, and helps you feel better.
Finding your channel has made such a positive change on my health. I started walking 10k steps a day, cut back on sugar intake and started intermittent fasting. I've been doing this for about 3 weeks and am down 10 pounds and i'm starting to feel so much better. Thank you so much for sharing your experiences.
How's it going? Still keeping up with it?
I find that brushing my teeth when I’m craving sugar (or food when I’m not actually hungry) mitigates the craving a lot
That helped me until I started feeling thirsty after brushing my teeth, and now I don't mind a minty toothpaste flavor added to any food, like soup, sandwiches, cake, milk, etc. So, it worked until it stopped working, lol.
Me too……also a sip of pickle juice does wonders for me.
I'm the opposite, I brush then the craving kick in. So I settle for fruit
It's a bigger and bigger problem all over the world. If you read the label at the most ordinary product that you wouldn't think it might have sugar, you would be surprised how much there is.
Just found out my goto garlic salt has sugar in it. Never would have thought.
I tried to buy muesli without added sugars and I could find NOTHING (at least not, y'know, without ordering online something which is 4x the price of the standard stuff....)
Now I have just oats and chpped nuts in plain yoghurt, which works fine, but like... it's more effort and it's not muesli
@@eolill what's your definition of muesli ? What was in your old favorite that made it better than your homemade version?
Maybe you could batch it and make a few at a time ?
I'd say maybe add some spices to the mix depending on what you like. So maybe you could add, cinnamon, nutmeg, vanilla . Also you could put in some salt .
I love that you added "Do you feel bad about yourself when you eat too much sugar?" and Chyna said, "no...I take it a day at a time". Yes! That's the way to be consciences about eating habits without giving in to the downsides of "diet culture". I have gotten to where I like my smoothies better than ice cream.
I've cut sugar cold-turkey several times over the last 5 or 6 years for various reasons (and always creep back up to a sugary diet. ugh) and it's definitely worth remembering/knowing: your body will have an adjustment period. After you cut sugar, you'll probably feel, in general, a lot more hungry than usual, and you may find yourself eating more food that you did before (or at least thinking about eating more often). It can take a few weeks for that feeling to go away; but it will.
And on breakfast point: I recently transitioned to having "Japanese style" breakfasts (for the purpose of decreasing sugar and gluten) several times a week. So I have miso broth, rice, and various simple toppings like a poached egg, raw veggies, or occasional some canned fish. Its filling and healthy and I feel pretty good after! I don't even really have the desire to go back to sugary cakes and pastries.
I keep reaching for high-sugar foods and snacks when I'm tired or stuck with something at work because it makes me feel better but this video is a source of joy in itself with the little one liners as well as giving tips about reducing sugar 😁
This has always been the kind of health content I've really craved. What's not optimal but realistic? What's the tipping point of a change that makes it actually beneficial versus not? Your videos have encouraged me to move more - found varying research on step goals but I usually try to hit 5k per day, 10k if I'm able. I eat less sugar than I ever have (though I now get it's a process more viscerally than ever). I value managing stress and my mind more as a component to health than I did before. I don't sleep better yet but hey maybe someday! It's really helped me manage my symptoms better without triggering my disordered eating tendencies which so many wellness videos from other creators often do. So thank you. Just want you to know that what you do definitely positively impacts people.
And then there are dates. They are so sweet… I find it quite easy to not eat sugar while I have dates. The downside of dates is that your tastbuds will not learn that strawberries are actually sweet when your on the date standard. Great video! It is so rare that people grasp the importance of eating the whole fruit, because it is something different than the sum of its macros.
Australian nutritionists kinda put dried fruit into the same category as sugar. It's concentrated fructose.
Diabetic here - T2, ftw - and a significant portion of my life ago I cold-stopped with ANY full-sugar drinks. Drinking calories is dumb when you could chew them...wait, not the point. The POINT is that full-sugar drinks taste like drinking syrup to me now - they are NASTY. Yes, I'm thankful that fake sweeteners exist - yes, I know they're chemicals but then...so are the various 'natural' forms of sugar, so... Anyway, thanks for this vid! Fun and informative - great job! EDITED to add: and if you do find that you've 'accidentally' eaten too much sugar, cram some protein and fiber down your throat ASAP to lessen the glucose spike/etc then adjust your halo and move on!
Also a shot of apple cider vinegar can help (if it's actually acv, and not fake vinegar with caramel color and sugar added), or kimchi etc.-- acid also helps balance out sugar. #insulinresistance
I bought soda for the first time in 40 years. It was like a punch in the face. The fake over sweet taste made my whole face pucker. It was sugar free. Never again. Sparkling water only for me.
I cut out sugar as part of an anti inflammatory diet. If I want sweets, I make date balls! Put dates in the food processor with unsweetened cocoa powder and a splash of water. Purée, roll in chopped walnuts and refrigerate. It’s really good!
I love this philosophy! Sometimes we can have an all or nothing mindset, but I think enjoying fruit/dark chocolate/etc regularly while saving indulging for special occasions is sustainable and healthy.
Ye I have the same, i am a very all or nothing type of person but overdoing stuff will stress you out. Sometimes a cookie or something nice won't kill you, just be mindful to enjoy it
I tried not eating sugar for a month in June and it was a great experience! I felt a lot calmer and more energized after the first two weeks. Cutting down also just makes me enjoy the times I do eat sugar even more.
There is ongoing research about how sugar affects gut biome and how your gut biome affects every aspect of your health. From what I've heard, it's best to limit your quick burning sugar intake so you aren't feeding the harmful gut bugs, and increase your insoluble fiber and resistant starch to feed the good bugs in your guts. Healthy gut = healthy body.
These are some of the exact habits I adopted to bring me from the brink of pre-diabetes and down 45 lbs. Small changes consistently make big changes!
Woooo congrats! Keep at it!
A couple years ago I switched from soda to Iced Tea and after a month was fully converted to unsweetened Iced Tea. Now I can't stand the taste of sweetened iced tea. Still working on cutting back the candy intake though. Great Video!
Nutritionist here. YES, to generally sticking to the perimeter of the grocery store, BUT that leaves out many shelf-stable foods that ARE health-promoting- like canned fruits and vegetables, canned or dried beans, canned protein like chicken and tuna, whole grains, and other minimally-processed foods that can help many families round out their diet while staying under budget. Also, the darn bakery is generally on the perimeter. Haha. And thank you for noting that SSBs are the real culprit in most diets. As you mentioned, counting calories does NOT work for everyone. As an alternative, I encourage people to take a look at the Nutrition Facts label. Awareness is just as important as tracking every calorie. Everything in moderation, including moderation. I love your perspective!!! And that of the lovely Chyna!
Very helpful video thanks. I recently tried and failed to go cold-turkey on sugar. I'm in the UK rather than USA, but it's just as easy here to have a diet way too high in sugar.
My vice has always been packets of biscuits, Mr Kipling cakes and big bags of supermarket choc-chip cookies.
Nowadays I'm trying instead to not restrict my sugar, but saying NO biscuits, cookies or cakes, and make sure I have nuts and fruit for snacks and eggs and wholemeal bread for lunch times. If I keep myself relatively full of healthy food then I don't crave sugary food as much.
Re: eggs, my farmer friend told me that eggs is probably the grocery item where buying organic will make the biggest difference to the animal's life. Since he told me that I'm careful to always buy eggs from a small local farm or organically. Even eggs marked 'free range' will come from quite miserable chickens kept crowded in mucky concrete-floored barns.
So if possible, buy organic eggs, or from a local person who owns chickens where you know the conditions.
My mind was absolutely blown in a bad way when I actually realized how much sugar is in typical carbonated beverages. I don't drink pop very often myself, so I wasn't very familiar with it. But one time my husband had bought a bottle of Pepsi and we somehow got on the topic of how much sugar was in pop, and he had me guess how much was in his bottle of Pepsi. I was like, "I don't know? 18 grams?" He said, "Higher." I said, "23 grams?" He said, "Higher." I said, "....25 grams?" He looked at me in confusion like why are you so bad at this and said again, "No. You're nowhere close." I was like, "What? How much higher could it be? How much is in it?" And he reads it off to me: "64 grams." I said, "64 GRAMS????!!!!!!!!!!! WHAT!!!!!!" I knew that was Way Too Much Sugar. We had some sugar cubes at home, so I went to check how many sugar cubes that would be. It was equivalent to 16 sugar cubes! I couldn't believe it. That was when it really sank in for me just how sneaky the sugar content of sugary beverages is, because nobody would manually add 16 sugar cubes to their drink and think that it was normal. You'd start to feel like you were maybe being a little ridiculous after 5 cubes, and you'd KNOW you were being ridiculous if you got to 16. And yet, people drink that much sugar on the regular, never having any idea that that's how much they're consuming, because you don't necessarily read the label, and even if you do, it doesn't always register how much sugar that actually is.
To add to read labels: learn all the names for sugar. Basically everything ending on -ose is a sugar or sweetener.
Don't go making people scared of cellulose and other fiber, enough people are scared of them being carbohydrates
I love Chyna eyeing the sugar bag! When we were little I have distinct memories of eating straight sugar packets at restaurants. 30 years later and now it’s a coffee addiction! Sugar- the gateway drug to caffeine 🫣
As a kid I liked to drink the little half and half that came with my parents’ coffee.
Yep, did that too. We would eat out of the sugar bowl at home as well. My brother and I would take it into our room and scoop up sugar with chocolate chip cookies. |D
No. Sugars not the gateway to coffee.
@@InvdrDana GENIUS!
@@wintersprite OH! The creamer cups at the table! We used to pretend they were shots :)
Absolutely LOVE this video. It should be broadcast to homes everywhere. Eating too much added sugar is bad for you but being overly restrictive of sugar is also psychologically bad for you. I think you guys have hit the middle ground nicely here.
The reason why I just get water at restaurants and don't drink store bought sweet teas and other drinks. 4g of sugar in a tsp. I add two tsp to my 12oz or so cup of tea every morning. That's it. Pure Leaf 18.5oz tea? 42g of sugar. So that's like, 10 tsp of sugar in a little bottle. 77g in most 20oz soft drinks. Some people end up drinking two or three of those a day.
When you put it into perspective it really makes sense how much you can over do it. When I was 16-20 years old, I was consuming almost an entire two liter of Mountain Dew a day. I'm so happy I realized at 20 that all that caffeine and sugar wasn't doing me any good and switched to just making tea at home. 257g of sugar. Roughly 64tsp of sugar a day. That's 1 1/3 cups of sugar just from soda a day. It's crazy when you think about it.
I have to agree with Chyna, eggs for breakfast is where it's at. Especially pasture raised chicken eggs where you can get more omega 3's from. There's a lot of good things in eggs and nothing wrong with eating them every day. I usually make those with some toast. I'll have to try salsa though that sounds good.
Great video, Craig!
Apple, good cheese and walnuts. Omg my favorite and helped me loose 20 lbs.
I love Chynas moderation attitude, that overindulging one day is not what matters, it is patterns of behaviours that have a an effect.
Can the phrase “Being Happy is good for you” be put on a t-shirt? Cause that would be amazing
Thank you for leaving out the image of chocolate. Makes this video much less triggering for cravings 😁
Also I cut my apples the same way as you do. #lesschops
I love sweets, don't like baking, so I only have sweets I bake. Also if fruit means you won't touch that candy bar, eat the heckin fruit
I have done the only sweets I bake thing. I love baking, but it was still helpful.
Honestly the only paid sponsorship section of a video i never skip, too many good jokes, every other youtubers i skip through! Thanks for the jokes Craig
That graph at 0.46 was pretty eye opening. I would have expected the Netherlands to be better at sugar andd fat (maybe all that cheese), though our obesity levels are a lot lower.
I also scanned for the Netherlands 😂👍🏼 I think if there’s anything keeping the weight average down, it’s cycling.
Its because the Dutch are so much nore active!
I've been working on cutting sugar from my diet as well. The three changes I made that had the biggest impact for me were:
Working form home - allowed me more time to cook for myself and not pick up fast food or raid the vending machines on my breaks at work.
Switch from coffee to tea, which I can tolerate unsweetened much easier.
Invest in making better coffee, so I don't need to mask the bitterness with sugar.
Good for you holding back on, at least, added sugar ❤️ You can actually live without sugar. The liver makes the sugar the body needs. I haven't had any sugar since February last year... which is extreme, but so is the changes 😊
As I am watching, I’m eating M&Ms, and I think Chyna’s hair is really cute! Also, I’m now cutting back on sugar because of positive peer pressure.
your advice is actually very true. do not be harsh on yourself if you do decide to splurge on some additional serving of sugar. the point is just be aware so you would know what to do next. me & my husband been on this kind of diet while doing intermittent fasting (16:8), since january. TBH i thought we'd go back to our old habit, but thankfully we're still on this eating habit. ❤️🤧
also there are hardly snacks in our house to, so it helps us to refrain from putting unnecessary calorie within the day.
I thought it's just me having to carry my water bottle everywhere. I completely freak out if I can't have it with me 😅 We have quite similar eating habits, I definitely follow the idea of eating healthily in 80% of the time and exercise regularly so I won't feel guilty about the remaining 20% when I do get some chocolate, cookies or ice cream. Once you start reading the labels on processed foods, it will definitely blow your mind...
I'm reading a book from Michael Pollan and he emphasizes that several different diets could work for humans, one common point is to avoid processed foods and they are stripped from the natural ingredients that help the body utilise the nutrients in the given food. I guess the same applies to fruits - sugar and fibre - as well (I'm only halfway through the book... I'm a slow reader okay?! 😂) But it sounds reasonable to me.
Amazing video, I love your humour and always happy to see Chyna too!
12:49 "Would rather have something bigger!"
*holding laugh noises*
Omg, Chyna, I used to eat that breakfast ALL THE TIME, and I honestly ate so much better and was at a healthier weight at that time too. Eggs on toast with salsa, and maybe a little cheese and hot sauce added...mmm...But now I'm eating more sugary breakfasts, and I think it's perpetuating that vicious cycle of wanting more sugar later in the day.
Watching your videos makes me feel not crazy for my healthy habits and thoughts. I really enjoy that your videos are just steps and suggestion and experiences in yalls health journeys
This video is FANTASTIC. And I can't even with Keto.... it drives me nuts when people scream about fruit being full of sugar. I'm sure you already know this - but fruit is packed with fibre, so it releases sugar slowly unlike processed food which releases it straight away. You won't sugar crash from eating fruit - your body will be too full by the time you eat enough for it to matter. EAT FRUIT DAMNIT. Thank you for your videos. I love them all and I want to be you when I grow up. Both of you :)
Very much agreed with everything you said! Fruit is also full of VITAMINS! Sugar with vitamins is so much better that just sugar - that's science!
@@robotprimate Right?!
Those on a keto diet are not so concerned with sugar spikes and crashes, so the fact that the sugar is absorbed slowly is not enough to include most fruits in a keto diet. The whole point of keto, is to limit carbohydrate intake. It doesn't matter that the sugar is released over time. The fact that the sugar is there at all is why the keto diet excludes most fruits.
@@tavern.keeper I understand that. To each their own. Personally I'd prefer a diet that doesn't focus on eating large amounts of saturated fats and instead one that focuses on food that gives you loads of micronutrients, including selenium, magnesium, phosphorus, and vitamins B and C.
@@tavern.keeper My BIL has been on Keto for years now and he is doing great, while taking part of triathlons and other physical competitions. That being said, he does have to take supplements for micronutrients, e.g. calcium, magnesium, sodium, folate, vitamin D. I personally believe in eating all food groups in healthy moderation, as long as one keeps balance between the appropriate nutrients intake and the caloric intake. I myself did try the Keto diet at one point in the past, but as a type 1 diabetic, I could not figure out the balance of carbs and quit after a number of annoying hypoclycemias. :D
Pickuplimes' video on sugar is a really good companion piece to this one! It goes into complex vs simple sugar.
It also goes into ways "sugar" might be written in the ingredients list.
Obviously ideally we all eat as little sugar as possible. But as a sugar addict, focusing on eating fruit over cake or candy has helped me avoid binging. I still occasionally eat sweets but not nearly as often.
This is how I eventually kicked all refined sugar after being addicted to sugar. I let myself have all the fruit I wanted. It helped with the cravings while my sugar levels and taste for sugar recalibrated
Craig, you do not cut your apples weirdly. That is, indeed, the correct (read: best!) way to do it. Carry on, sir!
same
Agree on the apple cutting. Even Julia Collin Davison of ATK cuts them like that, and I now do, now that I've seen her do it, and it was a light bulb moment on coring them, easy peasy, lemon squeezy. 😁
I cut my apples and bell peppers like that.
That's how I cut my apples too... is there another way???
I thought the weird part was that your knife didn't look very sharp. Like a butter knife.
Ok hear me out.. I did Keto, I know , I know. But because of the sugar limitations, once I was back to eating everything. Chocolate bars (which I was addicted to) tasted like crap. Too sweet and overwhelming. 30 days of no added sugars and your tastebuds change for sure! I even started to like Mushrooms (which were my enemies before). Thank you for this video 🙏💕
speaking of chocolate, I don't like milk chocolate as much, I prefer bitter sweet, semi sweet, or higher % cocao chocolate preferable, and I don't need to eat a lot of it at a sitting. Sometimes I'll have a payday as it's mostly peanuts with caramel and that's better than most mainstream candy bars as a bite of something sweet as a treat.
Craig, you could make a challenge where you only consume local and seasonal food. No traveling mangoes, no imported fancy nuts or crazy oils. I That’s a real challenge and a great topic to think and debate about!
I'd *love* to do it in my own life, but living in a place where it's full-on winter for a chunk of the year, and the growing season is really only June to September, local and in-season produce is pretty much impossible in winter unless you can preserve summer's bounty in some way, and then have the space to store it. I can preserve, but definitely not store 8 months worth of produce.
I quit added sugar for a year a while back and it was one of the best things I've ever done. It also led to me eating less sugar when I reintroduced it into my diet. Also, as an American living in Vienna, it's not every day I see my name mentioned :) Cool!
Craig: do a video on cholesterol. I feel like there's some interesting science in this area. For example, there was a study, that I cannot find, that said: eggs can jack up your cholesterol numbers very quickly, but, just as quickly, can lower them if you stop eating eggs. I.e. although eggs can impact cholesterol numbers they may not be causing the plaque build up in your arteries.
Yes!! I think the most impactful change for me is how much sweeter everything tastes now. I bought this cacao cereal with no added sugar (I’m a chocolate fiend) and it didn’t taste sweet at all, kinda gross. Then I came back to it once I cut back and it’s now my sweet tooth fix! Wild, recommending this to everyone I know and love
I needed to see this video so badly. I’m going to start following these steps today!!! Thank you for making such a positive impact on so many people’s lives through leading by example :)
I use to be keto and it was great, but it's super restrictive and i really do enjoy trying new foods and eating out with friends. I try and keep low carb which is also low sugar casually throughout the week because every carb still converts to sugar in your body, but i still allow myself treats. Generally, my hunger cravings are way down and my mood is so much better, and even if i have something super sugary, i don't have this huge guilt over me, but still recognize that's a huge treat situation. Love your videos!
keto is not restrictive, it's just lack of imagination in the kitchen.
This came at a good time. I fell off the wagon this month during peak life stress, and I need to get back to good again. I was doing great and then I wasn't. Key for me is planning and executing meals better (even just a few dinners a week) and NOT buying ice cream or cookies.
Marion Nestle is great. I really enjoyed her book, Food Politics. I love when my interests collide.
I’m on day four of no added sugar intake. I had an easy start since I did a 72 hour water fast, which resets your immune system and gets rid of sugar cravings. 25 or 26 days to go. ✌🏾👍🏾
What serendipitous timing! Just yesterday I decided to stop eating (so much) sugar. This is exactly what I needed on this grumpy second day, lol. Thank you!
A friend of mine used to have several cups of tea each day, with two spoonfulls of sugar in each. When she stopped cold turkey, she got withdrawal shakes! So definitely be careful if you do cold turkey
A quote from Mary Berry of the great british bake off that stuck with me "If I'm going to eat sweets it better be worth the calories" which I try to apply to just about everything. Fast food, processed junk, candy, none of its worth it compared to what i can make at home. And if i feel like baking something im going to make sure those calories are worth it!
Yes, that's how I see it. If I make it from scratch, or I know someone made it from scratch (actual scratch, not box mixes and cool whip) or it's a really nice authentic bakery AND it's a thing I truly like, then I may have it. But people whipping out grocery store items or box mix things, those are a pass.
Really solid tips in an entertaining package. I am doing most of these as part of doctor approved keto/intermittent fasting lifestyle (it works for me 🤣) I read all the package labels now! I’m big on berries, and have some high % dark chocolate as a treat. I think your idea of sugar as a treat vs condiment is a great philosophy
I really like the new moderation is so much better movement you have been on lately. Thank you for sharing your experience man.
8:27 I like celery and peanut butter. Fun videos thanks for posting.
A long time ago I learned that 4 grams of sugar is a teaspoon. Now whenever I look at a label, I divide the sugar by four to see how many teaspoons of sugar are in it.
A 12oz can of Coke, for example, has 39 grams of sugar. Divide that by 4 and that's 9.75. Knowing there's more than 9 teaspoons of sugar in a can of coke makes me either not drink it or, if I really want it, split it with someone.
I have weak moments but for the most part I have lessened my sugar intake. One of my gauges is soda, I sometimes have a sip of my hubs coke and every single time, it is so disgustingly sweet I can't even fathom how I used to casually drink that stuff so regularly. YES to the occasional ice cream treat! I love my water bottles and I feel lost without it. ☺️ I do have to be careful with bananas because that leads to banana bread. 😂 but now that I've identified that weakness 2022 has been smoother. 😂
The space baby reference never gets old
Your breakfast sounds great. I might try that with some avocado pieces thrown in.
"I just take it day by day." -- Chyna, 2022. Some of the best advice I've heard all year. Thank you
Thanks for the reminder that I love apples with peanut butter a snack. Used to have that as a snack all the time and just forgot about it.
My daily breakfast: Avocado + Lime + Tajin/Salt/Pepper and cold brew coffee with a squirt of sugar-free dark chocolate syrup. It helps get me started and provides a good baseline of nutrients I can supplement with my other meals and snacks later. It's also not very expensive now that I brew the coffee myself. :)
can confirm that sometimes going cold turkey works out really well. To this day I still barely ever buy candy, like, a couple times a year I might buy a chocolate bar, or a bag of gummies (I might finish them in a few days oops) but then I literally do not think about candy for another few months, at all, it was honestly super strange to me. However, definitely after a certain point I started occasionally having soda or ice pops with the heatwaves we've been having, since we don't have AC. Normally we would make sure to keep some water in the fridge for those reasons, or ice. But that really put sugar back on my radar, so now I have to again, work on getting that reduced, but because I had done for so long already, I know I can do it again!
I've actually been off sugar the past couple weeks. I do crave it sometime but I also feel better overall. I wake up easier. I fall asleep easier. I've lost 6 lbs. It's been pretty great so far. Draddock is my favorite fish.
Now is when you need to be more careful. An "addicts" most dangerous time isn't their best day or their worst day....it is the everyday when you aren't as vigilant and slip up.
Something I’ve tried as a fruity and healthier snack is frozen grapes!Freezing grapes, especially coating them in citric acid, is a great alternative snack to things like sour patch kids and Swedish fish. Frozen grapes also work well to replace ice in drinks, especially tea.
they are also full of sugar! 😂
I love your more realistic approach to these goals nowadays. Solid advice.
i stopped eating a lot of sugary foods when i started working in trail crews and outdoor ed/hiking guide jobs. i just have no craving for anything more sugary than like, a popsicle, on a hot day. i used to eat entire pints of ice cream and hating myself for it when i was doing more sedentary jobs. being active really changes things. recently i got myself a pint as a treat, i missed it, and i could only eat about a third of it!
That perimeter of the grocery store thing is so true! I rarely venture into the isles except for maybe one or two things, and then I go in with a purpose. I feel so much better when I eat fewer processed foods.
Honestly if I could give one piece of advice to everyone in the world, it would be to stop drinking soda altogether. It's amazing how drastically that one change not only improves your health and weight, but also opens up your palate to enjoy so many other things. Ever since I stopped drinking sugary drinks I've grown to appreciate so many foods and drinks that I once thought were bland and tasteless because my tastebuds were just craving sugar rather than actual flavor. Now soda itself isn't even remotely appealing to me, just a sickly sticky sugar water with no actual flavor.
And I get that cold turkey isn't for everybody, but I honestly think it's the only effective way to get off soda entirely. Sugar-free carbonated water like Bubly is a great substitute to help you stop; you still get that same physical experience of the carbonation to sort of trick your brain into thinking you're drinking a soda, but without actually taking in any sugar.
Omg that’s how I slice my apples! 🍎 I like to do that and then cut them in to thin slices too. 😋
Eating 🍏 watching this.
Already had my PB tho.
Another way to break through the sugar crash of quitting cold turkey is to do a short fast.
A 24-hour fast helped me get past the cravings really fast. Went back to normal eating the next day, but I didn't feel as hungry nor did I crave sugar that much.
Good suggestion. The longer the Fast the "harder" reset for your taste buds, appetite and satiety
Biggest thing I learned from this video is: perfect is the enemy of the good.
The moral of the story is and always will be - eat whole fresh foods and avoid processed foods.
True, and tips and experiences from others can help inspire us to keep with that, or get inspired to start. You're not wrong, but that's often not enough to motivate most people.
I once ate a big piece of cake before going to bed (several hours later after having the usual dinner). The next day when I woke up I felt hungry for breakfast as always, but MAN this time the "hungry" feeling in my belly felt so much much more intense, it was almost painful. I guess that's what sugar does, makes you crave food (and sugar) more than usual.
It's likely not just the sugar, but the carbs in the highly refined flour that all combined to bring on the cravings. Even highly processed carbs can cause sugar spikes, which leads to more cravings. That is why rice and pasta are considered high glycemic on their own, but add in meat, legumes or grains, then they are not so bad as you are now adding bulk to them and now the sugar spikes are minimized.
I enjoyed this video, it has lots of great tips. There is just one thing, you're not taking my American breakfast away from me, lol. I watched Johnny Harris' video and I thought it overly critical. There are plenty of people who really enjoy American-style breakfast foods (including me) and for me what I've found is helpful is just to be aware of how much sugar is in stuff and eat strategically less of the things that are sugar bombs. I'll have just a few bites of a cinnamon roll, for example, but a whole banana and eggs. That's what works for me and I'd rather that than eat a breakfast that doesn't even taste like "breakfast."
Good advice and presented in an entertaining way .... Wheezy standard. Thanks!
Good is the enemy of perfect. How we compromise our ideals before we know what they are. A video essay.
I gave up sugar for 7 days and lost 4lbs. Days 2-6 were awful. Like I was seeing blue flashes of light and was super angry kind of awful. Then I felt ok. I felt different. I realised I just felt normal and off sugar for the first time in my life. 10/10 would recommend.
Ayyy, Peak Freshness back with a new video
Love the humor. Thank you.
From one forty (why does four have a "u" but forty doesn't) year old, bearded and (soon to be) dad to another - thanks for all your terrific , interesting and bingeworthy videos. I was going to ask if you ever did one on "Zero Waste Living..."
Giving up soda 20 years ago was such a huge change in my life. Watching your video now, it was great to see a lot of changes I've already made, but it also made me think of the bad habits I still have. I credit the lack of soda for allowing me to lazily maintain reasonable fitness, but I think reducing added sugar to 30g would probably give me an equally healthy boost within a year or two, combined with walking. Another habit I luckily already share.
"YOU'RE NOT THE MOM OF ME!!!!" Thank you Craig and Chyna. You are Rockstars.
I still enjoy dessert breakfast, but what i do is make it healthy with fruits, greek yogurt, oats, and a protein powder :)
I've recently cut out all but 20g added sugar a day. Yes, my yogurt (dairy free, Greek style, yum!) had 10g... and I realized that half a serving was all I really needed, so I split each container into two days' worth. The biggest thing for me was cutting out my 1 (or sometimes 2) bottled Frappucinos a day. I made my own substitute. I'm not supposed to have dairy anyway, so this is perfect. I make my own using a an old 13 oz. SBUX frap bottle: a little unsweetened dark cocoa powder mixed with a tiny bit of water (to dissolve it), some mocha flavored cold brew (a couple splashes), and fill the rest of the bottle with my unsweetened soy milk. So it has about 1g of sugar, not many carbs, and about 110 calories. Yes it's a treat that I have almost every other day... but until 2 years ago I was having 1 or 2 iced soy chais at Starbucks and those have 63g of sugar EACH!! I almost find my yogurt too sweet these days and may actually cut that out at some point... like you said, the less you eat it the less you want it. Also, I now know what my European friends are always on about with food here in the US being too sweet!
I tried quitting sugar and wheat for 5 days, on the second day I woke up and realized my plantar fasciitis was gone(it was really bad first thing in the morning). I also realized my tennis elbow was not bothering me either. In 48hrs of quitting sugar both forms I of tendinitis I had was gone, I spent a lot of money on physical therapy to correct them and missed work (carpenter) from them as well. I have not eaten any sugar or wheat since. That was seven years ago. I do put a couple drops of local honey in my tea, I enjoy berries and an apple here and there but mainly keep my food low glycemic and mainly meat and plants. Nothing processed.
Good stuff, also using Swerve with erythritol and cooking your own food and making your own sugar-free desserts tastes as good if not better than the sugary stuff
The sneakiest is Juice. Plenty of fruit juices have about the same amount of sugar as coca cola or fanta.
Gaseous sugar happens when you pour your sugar (or substitute) from one container to another rapidly and create a cloud of sweetness. Also cotton candy, but that may be its own state of matter entirely.
Dark chocolate and fruit help for me. It still can be difficult to go without, though. Even watching this video made me think about grabbing a sweet treat 😛 (so advertising doesn't help either) but I did try to go for some watermelon.
Haven't watched a weezy video in a minute and I'm just so fuxking happyn you're still at it