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Sugar is Poison – Stop Eating It

I think everybody knows it but we can’t seem to admit it – the food that we’re eating is killing us. The main culprit is sugar. Sugar is poison. Plain and simple. Study after study proves that sugar is just as harmful as cigarettes, alcohol and some hard drugs. The thing of it is – quitting sugar is 100x harder because it has a strong hold on our brains and it doesn’t help that the stuff is EVERYWHERE. Sugar is in everything and it can sneak up on you if you’re not paying attention. It’s even in that “healthy” processed food that you’ve been eating – IF IT HAS ADDED SUGAR, IT IS NOT A HEALTHY OPTION. PERIOD.

In the past, I’ve gone the “low carb”/Keto route to lose a couple of pounds – and while successful, I always reverted back to eating cabs and a lot of times, I would end up eating more than when I did before I started the “diet”. Eating low carb is very difficult because of how addictive sugar is on the brain. It is very powerful. It is very addicting. The withdrawal symptoms can be worse than quitting alcohol, cigarettes and heroin. Sugar is a drug and it’s harming and killing millions of people every year. Sugar is poison.

I always said to myself “I’ll only have one bite of this (insert junk food here)”. . . well, one bite leads into another and then another and before you know it, the whole container is empty and the viscous cycle continues. The sugar enters our blood stream and while the dopamine kick feels good at first, it quickly goes away and all the while, our body is being poisoned by the sugar as it travels throughout our body. It might be hard to admit, but sugar is poison and we’re killing ourselves everyday. I’m no longer going to poison my body.

This information is nothing new. In fact, if you do a quick google search like “Why is sugar bad” – well, you get 106,000,000 results. This information is out there and there are A LOT of excellent sources to read and watch about the damaging effects of sugar on the body and how much sugar is in your everyday food items. It’s amazing. Even though this information is everywhere, I want to be another voice (albeit a small one) to spread the word to however many people I can reach. I want to help as many people as possible.

How Did I Start?

Here are links to some documentaries that I’ve watched and which helped open my eyes. ‘Fed Up’ was really the one that got me to enter the rabbit hole and the others got me deeper and deeper into it!

1. Fed Up – Everything we’ve been told about food and exercise for the past 30 years is dead wrong. FED UP is the film the food industry doesn’t want you to see. Watch Fed Up on iTunes
2. Jamie’s Sugar Rush – Jamie has spent the past year travelling the world and finding out a lot more about the effects that eating too much sugar can have on our health. Global obesity figures are now soaring and currently there are 42 million children under five who are obese or overweight. This figure will rise to 60 million by 2020 if we don’t do something urgently to turn the tide.
3. WHY Sugar is as Bad as Alcohol (Fructose, The Liver Toxin) – This video shows how Sugar leads to the same problems as Alcohol by examining the Biochemistry.
4. What Does Sugar Do To Your Body? 10 Proven Negative Effects of Sugar – The Health Nerd answers the question of what does sugar do to your body and the 10 negative effects of sugar in this very informative documentary.

These videos are what helped me realize I needed to quit my addiction to sugar because I was only killing myself. They made me realize that sugar is poison and I hope they do the same for you.

I’m going to be changing my lifestyle by eating a very restrictive diet that will allow me to only have natural foods and the majority of processed foods will not be allowed to be consumed. I’ll be eating a lot of chicken, beef, pork,  eggs, fruits and veggies, salads, cheese, hamburgers (without the bun) . . . I will not consume anything that has added sugar – I’ll also be banning grains and starches as well.

Why Did Low Carb Fail Me?

When I think back to the other times I went “low carb“, I never really got rid of the sugar – I always looked at the carb count and if it was below a specific amount, I was ok with eating it because it wouldn’t kick me out of ketosis. Well, that method backfired on me because my body kept craving sugar and unbeknownst to me, I was feeding those cravings by eating low carb foods that had small amounts of sugar. I now realize that I need to cut out ALL added sugar and eat and drink natural foods and beverages. If I don’t cut them out cold turkey, my brain is going to continue craving the sugar and it won’t accept just a small little tease.

Sriracha Sauce is a great example of an item being low carb but still have sugar in it. I used to pour this stuff on everything when I was on low carb and while it didn’t kick me out of  Ketosis, it was still putting sugar into my body and my brain was loving it and wanted more . . . that’s why I always ended up reverting back. Now I know why. And I want to try and  let other people know this as well. If you keep sugar in your diet, you’re going to have a bad time.  Cutting it out cold turkey might be hard at first, but the more you press on, the easier it will get. I think it’s the only way you can be successful on a diet.

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For the past week, I’ve been eating sugar free and I really thought it was going to be hard to do, but actually, it’s quite the opposite. I have had zero cravings for sugar or junk food or any of that stuff that has added sugars and one of the reasons is because I’m now actively looking for added sugars in my food and staying clear away from them. I’m not “teasing” my addiction by only giving my brain just a taste of sugar – it doesn’t get any at all and it’s ok with that!

I pretty much quit cold turkey. I planned it out for a few days leading up to Easter Sunday and on Easter Sunday, I allowed myself to pig out and eat any sugar and carb infested food, that by the end of the day, I was a) disgusted with myself for allowing myself to do it and b) feeling sick and blah and so by Monday morning, I was happy to to be done with it.

I do have to admit, eating sugar free isn’t an easy task because, like I said earlier, sugar is everywhere and it’s fricking annoying. That’s the hardest part about it – trying to find foods that don’t have any added sugar. So basically, you have to eat natural foods and foods that you have to prepare/cook yourself. I don’t mind that aspect of it. I like to cook and I use it as therapy. It’s just a pain in the butt trying to find the foods that don’t have hidden sugars. It’s unbelievable how much sugar is around us and in our foods.

Always remember, if the sugar isn’t natural (like in a fruit), and the company had to add it in to the recipe, it’s not going to be good for you. Sugar is disguised as many different names. There are at least 56 different names for sugar and you probably wouldn’t know that some of them are actually sugar.

Here are some examples of the different names of sugar:

Sugar / Sucrose

High-Fructose Corn Syrup (HFCS)

Agave Nectar

Beet sugar

Blackstrap molasses

Brown sugar

Buttered syrup

Barley malt

Brown rice syrup

Cane juice crystals

Cane sugar

Caramel

Carob syrup

Castor sugar

Coconut sugar

Confectioner’s sugar (powdered sugar)

Crystalline fructose

Date sugar

Demerara sugar

Evaporated cane juice

Florida crystals

Fruit juice

Fruit juice concentrate

Golden sugar

Golden syrup

Grape sugar

Lactose

Malt syrup

Maltodextrin

Maltose

Rice syrup

Fructose

D-ribose

Galactose

Honey

Icing sugar

Invert sugar

Maple syrup

Molasses

Muscovado sugar

Panela sugar

Raw sugar

Refiner’s syrup

Sorghum syrup

Sucanat

Treacle sugar

Turbinado sugar

Yellow sugar

Corn syrup

Corn syrup solids

Dextrin

Dextrose

Diastatic malt

Ethyl maltol

Glucose

Glucose solids

So as you can see, sugar has a lot of names and there are a couple of them where you wouldn’t expect it to be a sugar and so when you’re reading the ingredients, you’re looking for the obvious names that would tell you that it’s sugar. Reading the nutrition labels on the packaging will tell you how many grams (but not the percentage) of sugar that’s in the food – now you have to look to see if it’s a natural sugar or an added ingredient and if it’s an added ingredient, you do not want to eat that food.

It’s really hard trying to find foods that don’t have the added sugar and that’s where I believe people screw up on their diets. They think they’re eating healthy and everything is going smooth, but they don’t realize that they’re still feeding their sugar addiction and eventually the brain is going to want more than what you’re giving it and will make you have very strong cravings and if you don’t fight them, you’ll go and get a small cup of ice cream or a bag of 100 calorie crackers and think you’re helping yourself because you’re feeding the craving just a tiny bit and then you can carry on with your diet… well, now you fed your addiction (again) and now your brain is going to want more and more and continue making you crave those foods. That’s why a lot of people fail on their diets… the sugar sabotages them. Plain and simple.

If you get rid of the sugar from your diet, you’re going to improve your health. You’re going to lose weight and you’re going to feel better. But remember, this is not a diet, this is a lifestyle change; you can’t go 2 weeks without sugar, lose 10 lbs and think you’re ok to eat a little bit of sugar – you’ll end up gaining back all the weight plus some and then your diet is forgotten about and you return back to your old habits.

I know this. This is what happened to me – I’ve been there, done that. I always followed the old adage: Calories In, Calories Out and while the weight did come off at first, I often would stall and have strong cravings for junk food and eventually I would succumb and pig out.

This time, it’s different for me. I’ve been eating sugar free for the past 6 days and not once have I had any cravings for sugar or junk food. In the past, by day 3, I would be craving everything and anything and by day 5, I would be eating those forbidden foods (even though I used to tell myself “only a little bit because it won’t hurt”)… this time, I feel different and things are going better. I’ve lost over 10 pounds already (yes, I know it’s mostly water weight, but every little bit helps!) and I’m one belt size smaller! Since I’m not having any cravings, it’s making this lifestyle change very easy for me.

I don’t know how many people will read this post or who will take my advice, but if you are reading this and you want to become healthier and look and feel better, then I recommend you getting rid of the sugar in your diet and start eating natural foods that don’t contain the added sugar. Yes, it might be hard at first (or it might be easy like it has been for me) but once you start, the easier it’s going to be. You will be amazed at how much better you feel and look and you’ll be thinking clearer.

How Do You Start?

There are a lot of programs out there that suggest a 10 day sugar detox and to try it and see how you feel – I highly recommend those. All you have to do is not eat anything that has any added sugars for 10 days and within those 10 days, you’ll probably lose some weight and feel a whole lot better. After those 10 days, you can decide for yourself if you want to continue or not. For me, it’s a no-brainer – I’m going to continue eating natural foods and stay away from the processed junk food with the added sugar.

I’m not trying to sell you anything. I just want to be another voice to let people know the dangers of sugar and how sugar is poison. If I reach just one person, I will be happy.

I will be giving updates on this new lifestyle and will continue to post about tips and tricks, recipes, my thoughts… and if you’re interested, follow along!

Check out this week’s episode “Sugar is Poison – Stop Eating It!” on my podcast where I talk all about how sugar is poison and  it’s negative effects on the body.

Leave a comment or send me an email dad@theinspiringdad.com and let me know your thoughts or if you need some advice or a kick in the pants! I reply to most everybody!

Update (August 31, 2017): 

I’ve been very successful on the no-sugar lifestyle! Today is day 136 in which I haven’t had any sugar in my diet and I’ve lost 45.4lbs! I’m not looking back! I look and feel amazing. I love when people ask me how I was able to lose the weight because I’m able to talk about this lifestyle change and try to get them to do it too. I talk about it weekly on my podcast and I’ve made several blog posts about my journey as well. Cutting out sugar from my diet was one of the best things I could have done for my body and brain. I really, really hope you give it consideration. 

Here are more blog posts I’ve written while on my no-sugar journey – go and read them to get more information and see how things are going.

• Quit Sugar – It’s Killing You!
• Sugar Free is for Me… and YOU
• This is How I Lost 21 Pounds in 21 Days
• Sugar is Sabotaging Your Diet
• Going Sugar Free? It’s All or Nothing
• What 30 Days of Eating No Sugar Did For Me

If you decide to start a no-sugar lifestyle, good luck and congratulations on taking the first step on bettering your overall health!

You can always email me at dad@theinspiringdad.com if you ever need more information, have any questions or just want to talk!

Remember, I talk about the no-sugar lifestyle on my weekly podcast – so if podcasts are your thing, go take a listen!

#SugarIsPoison

-TID

theinspiringdad.com