Quitting sugar

[DGuller]

About five weeks ago, after reading a couple of articles about how bad refined sugar is for you, I decided to quit sugar on the spot.  My motivation was curiosity more than anything, I was interested in what would happen when I did, and if I could do so easily in the first place.  I didn't quit sugar religiously, I just cut out all the obvious sugar-packed junk, like my daily bar of Snickers, or my daily bottle of soda.  I wasn't doing it to lose weight, but being a non-muscular 6'2", 195 pounds was a bit much, so it wouldn't hurt to lose a few.

I've had a couple of surprising results.  First of all, I really didn't miss that junk all that much, and still don't.  It turns out that I forgot to get rid of one bottle of soda, but I still left it untouched in the fridge, so even with some temptation within my reach I'm able to stay clean.  I also noticed that my appetite plummeted, and so did my weight.  I'm already down to 180 pounds, and it seems like more slimming is on the way.  I expected to have a change in energy level, but so far I haven't noticed anything one way or the other.  It's now also more of a challenge to stay hydrated, because apparently chugging all that soda does help in that department.

After this little experiment, my beliefs about various diet beliefs became challenged.  For a long time, I though that there is no such thing as bad food that's responsible for obesity.  Every food just has a caloric value, and the culprit is people's bodies that don't regulate caloric intake for stable weight.  However, it now seems apparent to me that at least in some cases, it's in fact the sugary crap that makes your body go haywire, and messes with your appetite.  Now I'm starting to view all the junk food companies as not that much better than tobacco companies; they're just peddling their crap for profit even at the cost of health catastrophe for society.

Does anyone here have a similar experience, or just anything to say about this?

[citizen k]

Congrats on the healthy changes.

  (sugar-free beverages)

[Josquius]

I couldn't live just drinking water.

[Sahib]

I couldn't live just drinking water.

Drink diet sodas.

[grumbler]

I drink little in the way of sugary beverages, and never add sugar to anything I eat, so I have missed the hallucinations that lead one to believe that food companies are like the tobacco industry.  Pity.  It sounds like a fun delusion to have.

I suppose I could work on the delusion that my subjective experiences while avoiding a given foodstuff creates an objective reality.  Maybe I'll give up peanuts and see if I come to believe that peanut companies are run by aliens.  That sounds like a fun delusion.  I'll have to practice being ultra-judgmental, though, if I am to duplicate the process described in the OP.  That just doesn't come naturally to me.

[DGuller]

I drink little in the way of sugary beverages, and never add sugar to anything I eat, so I have missed the hallucinations that lead one to believe that food companies are like the tobacco industry.  Pity.  It sounds like a fun delusion to have.

I suppose I could work on the delusion that my subjective experiences while avoiding a given foodstuff creates an objective reality.  Maybe I'll give up peanuts and see if I come to believe that peanut companies are run by aliens.  That sounds like a fun delusion.  I'll have to practice being ultra-judgmental, though, if I am to duplicate the process described in the OP.  That just doesn't come naturally to me.

Venom is like spices.  It's most effective when used sparingly.  Maybe that could be thing you could try cutting down on.

[Darth Wagtaros]

HOney is better for you.  Enjoy the bee vomit whilst it lasts, as the bugs are going extinct.

[DGuller]

HOney is better for you.  Enjoy the bee vomit whilst it lasts, as the bugs are going extinct.

Did anyone ever figure out what's killing them, or is it still a mystery?

[Admiral Yi]

Did anyone ever figure out what's killing them, or is it still a mystery?

I read an article in The Atlantic a while back talking about pesticides.

[Faeelin]

Did anyone ever figure out what's killing them, or is it still a mystery?

I read an article in The Atlantic a while back talking about pesticides.

At first glance, I thought you said "I read an article in the Atlantic a while back about talking pesticides", which would have fit this thread wonderfully.

I'm not sure if it's the sugar, but I've noticed even a slight change can have a huge effect. I gave up eating a pint of B&J a week, and my weigh rapidly fell below 160. Which was unintentional.

[Ed Anger]

I think Gully is a goddamned communist with that junk food hatred.

[Razgovory]

I think Gully is a goddamned communist with that junk food hatred.

Apple doesn't fall far from the tree.

[The Brain]

About five weeks ago, after reading a couple of articles about how bad refined sugar is for you, I decided to quit sugar on the spot.  My motivation was curiosity more than anything, I was interested in what would happen when I did, and if I could do so easily in the first place.  I didn't quit sugar religiously, I just cut out all the obvious sugar-packed junk, like my daily bar of Snickers, or my daily bottle of soda.  I wasn't doing it to lose weight, but being a non-muscular 6'2", 195 pounds was a bit much, so it wouldn't hurt to lose a few.

I've had a couple of surprising results.  First of all, I really didn't miss that junk all that much, and still don't.  It turns out that I forgot to get rid of one bottle of soda, but I still left it untouched in the fridge, so even with some temptation within my reach I'm able to stay clean.  I also noticed that my appetite plummeted, and so did my weight.  I'm already down to 180 pounds, and it seems like more slimming is on the way.  I expected to have a change in energy level, but so far I haven't noticed anything one way or the other.  It's now also more of a challenge to stay hydrated, because apparently chugging all that soda does help in that department.

After this little experiment, my beliefs about various diet beliefs became challenged.  For a long time, I though that there is no such thing as bad food that's responsible for obesity.  Every food just has a caloric value, and the culprit is people's bodies that don't regulate caloric intake for stable weight.  However, it now seems apparent to me that at least in some cases, it's in fact the sugary crap that makes your body go haywire, and messes with your appetite.  Now I'm starting to view all the junk food companies as not that much better than tobacco companies; they're just peddling their crap for profit even at the cost of health catastrophe for society.

Does anyone here have a similar experience, or just anything to say about this?

There is no bad food that is responsible for obesity. People are responsible for their obesity. If you don't want to be/become obese avoiding it is very simple.

[DGuller]

I think Gully is a goddamned communist with that junk food hatred.

Apple doesn't fall far from the tree.

Fuck you, Brutus!  My parents weren't communists, even when they were in a communist country.

[grumbler]

Venom is like spices.  It's most effective when used sparingly.  Maybe that could be thing you could try cutting down on.

Truth stings you like venom, eh?