The No Sugar & Junk Food Thread, For Those That Are Serious About Quitting

[whatday]

I've got a really bad sweet tooth, and I'm wanting to give up sugar (sweets) and junk food in general, completely, starting from today. That means sweet breads, chocolate, ice cream, potato chips, etc.

We can use this thread to keep each other on track, mark how many days we've gone without sugar, and post up articles about the negative health effects of sugar and junk food. If you're paleo or not, it's cool, whatever diet you subscribe to is cool for this thread, as long as it's zero sweets and junk food.

We can do cool stuff like have a thread leader, whoever holds the longest time without sweets/junk, for example. If you want to be a part of the thread, just post a response saying you're in and feel free to add your story.

As for me, I'm in good shape, but I have this bad habit of going to the gas station, buying $20 of junk food, and then binging on it. I don't do it too often, and I always end up making up for it later by eating healthy, but I'd like to kick the habit for good, so I'll use this thread to hold myself accountable.

Also, if you commit to doing this and then you break, you've got to come on this thread and post "I'm a little bitch, I ate junk food today." I'll hold myself to that as well. You only have to do it once, if you crack and then keep eating junk, so be it, no need for masochism, but if you crack and want to get back on No Sugar/Junk Food, then it's cool, keep it up!

So yeah, I'm starting no sugar as of right now and making it a goal to go as long as possible, ideally permanently. I just finished a $20 junk food binge, and I don't want to do it ever again.

Ideally the goal is to kick the habit, then if you ever want to have some yogurt or ice cream on a date, for example, so be it, but only once you're in control of the sweet tooth, if ever.

So yeah, let's kick our sweet tooth to the curb, replace it with some self-discipline, and also, each do what we can to bring the forum back to the self-improvement it was founded on.

Anyone else in?

 

[wi30]

Good timing, I'm starting a 10 week cut after Easter.

I've been slacking on going to the gym, been eating pizza or quick meals and not cooking, and have generally been unhealthy across the board.

In the past year and a half I've probably gained a solid 30+ pounds of fat.

I need to get back into solid meal prep, eating healthy, and consistently working out. I'm not into sweets but am a sucker for shitty chips and fried food.

I'm going to use this thread to hold myself accountable over the next couple months. I've been half assing dieting here and there but haven't gotten my shit together.

 

[whatday]

Awesome, man, tomorrow at dawn begins Day 1!

Let's do it!

 

[JR301]

I’m in! Actually been doing this for about 6 weeks now. Went vegan too and cut out alcohol till summer. Doing a mix of mostly calisthenics and weight training an been seeing pretty good results, especially losing stubborn belly fat.

 

[Nordwand]

Dark chocolate instead of the sugar loaded stuff that passes for chocolate in most people's minds. Better for you, and impossible to eat in the same quantities.

 

[Mercenary]

Dark chocolate instead of the sugar loaded stuff that passes for chocolate in most people's minds. Better for you, and impossible to eat in the same quantities.

This is very accurate.
Dark chocolate (i'm talking at least 75% or more pure cocoa) is supposed to be good for testosterone.

 

[mickeyd]

Great thread idea. Ive been trying to get back on track myself. So far my current goal is to get rid of all processed sugars and sugar snacks such as baked goods, junk food, etc. But im still consuming things like preserves, honey, juices, milk. I understand all sugar is sugar, but i feel like natural products reduce the extreme sugar overload that most processed stuff seems to be. I'd say its pretty damn hard to legitimately go to zero sugar.

 

[Eusebius]

I'm in. I'm inconsistent in my diet, today has been a no-carb day already so let's keep the momentum.
For me the goal is: no sugar, no deep fried foods, no processed snack foods, no bread, noodles or pasta. Small quantity of rice and potatoes/sweet potatoes are the only allowable carbs.

 

[Georges89]

Great idea, I'm interested.

I've been wanting to cut back on junk food for a while but it's become completely built into my life.

I always feel '1 month' away from having a much better body, but that dedication in my diet has always let me down.

Just a couple of thoughts / ideas for this thread;

First of all, it seems it could be more productive to either have a set goal in mind for how long we want to avoid junk food OR have a set number of cheat days each week or month for example. We could all look forward to the cheat days together, and motivate each other to stay on track.

In other words, I think its important to have some rewards and not to feel that we can't eat any bad food or sugar at all.

Secondly, what kind of food do we consider junk food. Perhaps we each have to decide for ourselves.

All chocolate and crisps/candy minus 80% dark chocolate.
All soft drinks.
Macdonalds, other fast food chains.

My particular vices are cookies, and chocolate coated biscuits.

I guess my grey area is that I eat a lot of Asian style food out - thai, chinese. Often this food is generally high in refined carbs and sweet and probably very salty. So, if I'm being honest with myself, this food would probably be categorised as junk food.

But there are different levels of junk food. A meal that contains some nutrients and is mostly protein and carbs is much better then a milk chocolate bar.

Anyway, I digress.

Perhaps the first step for me is cutting out all junk food that I see is completely processed, e.g. my list plus cookies, biscuits etc.

 

[Eusebius]

Suggest that those who are in should report back at least every week and share how they're going. I have no illusions this will be tough for me as my record for years is having a junk/sugar binge at least once a week.

 

[Montrose]

Are fructose (in fruit) and lactose (in milk products) allowed?

Don’t forget to read the labels. There is sugar in everything nowadays, most sauces, ready-made dishes, anything made in a factory will have added sugar.

 

[Hypno]

Its up to you and fructose and lactose, but certainly don't kid yourself that processed fructose is anything better than sugar. And try to avoid fruits like bananas that have high glycemic counts.

Also, another way to approach this is to set a goal to eat 5 servings of vegetables a day. After about 2 weeks of eating more vegetables, your body will crave them like it does junk food now. This is because you reset the balance of good/bad bacteria in your gut. Those bacteria can be responsible for your cravings by excreting signaling chemicals that are absorbed by your blood and taken to your brain.

 

[Mercenary]

After about 2 weeks of eating more vegetables, your body will crave them like it does junk food now.

I can confirm this is accurate.
Also, sweet stuff will start tasting waaaay too sweet, disgusting and sometimes chemical like.

 

[The Stronger Sex]

Your body (and particularly your brain) needs sugar. A no sugar diet is dietary suicide. What you need to avoid as much as possible is processed food.

 

[Montrose]

The body needs glucose, that is true, but it can make it from non-sugar carbs, proteins and fat. Sugar in diet is not necessary at all.

 

[eradicator]

I quit eating shit about 5 years ago, drink plenty of water. Fruits and veggies are great. Good luck

 

[whatday]

Suggest that those who are in should report back at least every week and share how they're going. I have no illusions this will be tough for me as my record for years is having a junk/sugar binge at least once a week.

^^ This, I'm in the same boat. Seems like an easy habit to kick, but I don't think I've ever gone longer than 30 days. When I've done it, though, I feel great and I start getting catcalls/compliments from girls, so it's pretty cool. It's only a 5 to 10 pound difference for me, but for some reason, the weight I lose comes directly out of my waist and my jawline, so cutting sugar always makes me look more like a GI Joe action figure. Girls really notice the change in the jawline, some guys can gain 20 or 30 pounds or more and keep a chiseled jawline, but my fat goes straight to my face and tummy. It's a mixed blessing, though, because since any weight I gain is so noticeable, I've never allowed myself to gain whatever I felt was too much.

Still, you only live once, why not be the best version of yourself, especially if the sacrifice isn't even really a sacrifice, we're talking about accomplishing a negative, NOT eating something.

 

[whatday]

Are fructose (in fruit) and lactose (in milk products) allowed?

Don’t forget to read the labels. There is sugar in everything nowadays, most sauces, ready-made dishes, anything made in a factory will have added sugar.

It's up to you.

Each man makes his own determination. The point is to stick to whatever you decide as long as possible.

And report back on the results, too!

 

[whatday]

Great idea, I'm interested.

I've been wanting to cut back on junk food for a while but it's become completely built into my life.

I always feel '1 month' away from having a much better body, but that dedication in my diet has always let me down.

Same here, I've reached my goals several times, up to 30 days of zero sugar, I think, and up to 6 months or so at a time of being extremely fit, like graduating first in my military class or maxing out on bench press, for example, but for the last 5 years or so, it seems like I'm always 2 weeks or a month away from my ideal form. I'm always so close, but then I binge on junk and there goes all the progress I make in that area, wipes out a week or two of discipline every time.

And the cycle repeats itself, damn sweet tooth, that stuff is addictive.

I'm thinking I may move abroad again in about 4 months, for a longer period of time than my prior moves, so it would be pretty cool to be my best self when I do! I've already accomplished a ton of my goals in other areas, but I seem to always sabotage myself in this area.

Even if it's only a few pounds, I want to stop. I notice I'm way more productive and clear headed when I'm on my non-binge days or weeks, and since I'm moving abroad and will be focusing on creating more remote income and dating beauties, I want to be at my best in both the physical and mental realm.

It's also good to give those self-discipline muscles a good workout. To start flexing them regularly.

 

[Mercenary]

Your body (and particularly your brain) needs sugar. A no sugar diet is dietary suicide. What you need to avoid as much as possible is processed food.

That sounds like nonsense.

If you mean natural sugars like those from fruits, or sugar which is added to food and drinks ? There's a big difference.