Do not eat sweet reviews. Can you lose weight if you don't eat sweets? Visualization and morale

Sugar and flour products contain a large amount of carbohydrates, which, when broken down in the body, provide a certain amount of energy. As you know, our every action and state of rest is accompanied by energy costs. The energy received from carbohydrates must be spent on the active actions of our body (sports, walking, useful work, breathing, etc.), otherwise carbohydrates will be transformed into fats and deposited by the body "in reserve".

If you decide to lose weight in this way, then you should understand that:

Accumulation of fat occurs in case of excessive intake of carbohydrates in the body.
And with a lack of carbohydrates, fats can “burn out”, thereby supporting the vital activity of the body.

These are reversible reactions that occur in our body on a daily basis. If you look through the pages of various thematic forums, you can see that many girls write: “I don’t eat sweets, I lost a few kilograms.” However, why should one refuse, first of all, from flour and sweet?

This is due to the conditional uselessness of these food groups for our body. Take a package of any flour product (bread, for example) and read about its nutritional value. You will see that it gives your body only empty, “fuel” carbohydrates, which practically do not contain vitamins and microelements. So, eating a bun, you get carbohydrates and nothing more. At the same time, 100 grams of the simplest roll contains more than 350 kilocalories!

For comparison, most fruits and berries contain no more than 50-70 kilocalories per 100 grams, and vegetables contain even less. However, they carry much more value for our body, because they contain many vitamins and microelements.

Quickly digested and transformed into body fat in our body, sweet and starchy foods do not benefit the body. That is why, in case you want to reduce the number of calories consumed daily and lose weight, you need to give up the following foods:

Sweet and fresh baked goods
Spaghetti, pasta and noodles
Crisps
Khlebtsy
Pancakes
Wafer cakes
Cakes, ice cream, cakes and more.

Excess weight negatively affects the quality of our life, so let's take a closer look at what positive changes will lead to losing weight, giving up sweets and starchy foods.

Causes and consequences of overweight accumulation

It should immediately be noted that the cause of excess weight is not the consumption of only sweet and starchy foods, but rather overeating in general. That is why, if you replace flour and sweets with, say, fried potatoes or other saturated fat dishes, you are likely to gain a few more pounds than lose the extra ones. In other words, if you want to lose weight, you must not only exclude starchy and sweet foods, but also review your daily diet as a whole.

Excess weight can cause diseases, the severity of which is largely determined by the degree of obesity and the state of the body of a particular patient. In general, we can talk about an increase in the risk of:

cardiovascular disease
malignant neoplasms (breast and endometrial cancer)
diabetes
osteoarthritis, etc.

Even a slight excess weight not only makes a person less attractive in appearance, but also leads to consequences that are often difficult to reverse and require major treatment. The physical consequences of obesity come down to shortness of breath, impaired blood circulation, and heart problems. At the same time, a slowdown in metabolism contributes to an even greater accumulation of body fat. In other words, every day excess weight accumulates more and more, making a person less active and cheerful, directly affecting the quality of his life.

Before that, only the physical consequences of the obesity process were considered, but the psycho-emotional stress in which overweight people constantly live cannot be ignored. They are often withdrawn and unsociable, uncomfortable on the beaches and most often lead a reclusive lifestyle. If excess weight arose at a young age, then often such people are also lonely. There are many cases when weight loss radically changed people's lives. Sweet and flour, the rejection of such products will only be the beginning of a long journey to a healthy lifestyle and an ideal figure.

How to supplement the rejection of sweet and starchy foods to achieve the best result

In order to lose weight without harm to the body and at the same time not to drive yourself into a strict framework, you need to approach this process with all responsibility. If you are overweight and have a number of chronic diseases, it is advisable to visit a specialist who will recommend you measures to combat pathological changes. However, there are a number of general recommendations that will help get rid of excess weight. First of all, in addition to reviewing your diet, you should:

Calculate the number of calories your body needs daily, taking into account proteins, fats and carbohydrates. It is natural that when losing weight, it is necessary to consume food slightly less than the norm in order to activate the process of using existing fat cells. Additionally, you can take vitamin complexes, this is necessary in order to fill the body's need for nutrients.
Drink plenty of water. At the same time, the quality of water should be at a high level. Ideally, this should be a well-purified liquid containing a minimum amount of impurities. Tea, coffee and other drinks are not considered, only water in its pure form is taken into account. Water contributes to the normalization of metabolic processes and the acceleration of metabolism, in addition, without liquid, the processes of splitting fats in tissues cannot be carried out. In other words, drinking plenty of water contributes to weight loss to the fullest.
Include physical activity in your life. Intense sports, running or even evening walks can increase energy consumption in the body, and, consequently, speed up the process of losing weight. Of course, excess weight will not go anywhere if you walk with a sandwich in your hands or have a snack on borscht after exercising in the gym. Replace a sandwich with an apple, and borscht with meat with low-fat broth or diet soup, and you will immediately notice a positive result.
Refrain from eating a few hours before bed. If you still want to have a snack, drink a glass of low-fat kefir, and for dinner, give preference to protein foods. These are, first of all, low-fat varieties of meat and fish, protein from eggs.
Eat foods that help normalize stool and cleanse the body of toxins. First of all, these are beets and dried apricots, 50 grams of which, eaten at one of the meals daily, will cleanse your intestines of everything superfluous and normalize the activity of the gastrointestinal tract.

In any case, when drawing up your weight loss program, you should take into account the multiple individual characteristics of the body, because those methods that are effective in one case may be absolutely useless in another.

“I don’t eat sweets, I lost 5 kg,” or how much you can lose with this diet

The rate of weight loss with a complete rejection of sweets and starchy foods is largely determined by the amount of these products consumed earlier. For example, if earlier you ate a cake with a calorie content of 500 kilocalories for dessert every day, then it is easy to calculate that without changing your lifestyle and diet (except for giving up this very dessert), you can lose weight by one and a half kilograms per month (conditionally, one kilogram of fat contains about 9,000 kilocalories).

At the same time, if you reconsider your diet, then a couple more kilograms can be added to this value, as with daily evening walks. Comprehensive approach to solving the problem, you can achieve the best result.

Why do doctors recommend avoiding strict diets and grueling workouts, especially in the early stages? Firstly, it allows you to minimize stress for the body, and secondly, it helps to reduce the likelihood of a “breakdown”. In addition, with gradual weight loss, the skin manages to tone up, multiple stretch marks do not form, and then the hated excess weight does not return again. When losing weight, your best friends will be:

Motivation. Print out an image of a girl with your ideal figure and place it in the kitchen or in the bedroom. This image will constantly remind you of the result you can achieve.
Concentration. You should not think that having stayed on a diet for a week, you have already passed the most difficult, it will be much more difficult further when your body “misses” harmful, but very tasty food.
Daily entries. Get a notebook or diary and carefully write down your daily routine and nutrition, the number of calories consumed, as well as the weight of the daily weighing field. Additionally, you can measure the circumference of the waist, chest and hips, but for clarity, it is better to do this once a week.

The very process of losing weight can take several months or even years, depending on the amount of excess weight in each case and the intensity of getting rid of it. In any case, you should not give up, start by giving up sweets and starchy foods, and then gradually supplement your lifestyle with good habits - sports, proper nutrition. In this case, soon you simply will not recognize your body.

Compliance with the correct diet involves, among other things, reducing the amount of sweet and starchy foods. And in complex weight loss, when there are additional physical activities, such restrictions, of course, give a good result. But is it possible to lose weight by eliminating sweet and starchy foods, and by how much? If we talk specifically about the rejection of the most harmful food for the figure, then the effect will also be. And which one, will have to be considered in more detail.

If you exclude flour and sweets, can you lose weight?

To accurately answer the question, you must first understand the principles of assimilation of such products. Sweet and starchy foods have a common feature - they have a lot of fast (or, more precisely, simple) carbohydrates. They are useful to the body due to the fact that when digested, they release large amounts of energy. When energy is needed and consumed quickly, flour and sweet do not harm the figure. Another thing is if there is no way out for energy. Then it accumulates in the form of fat deposits.

This means that in some cases, flour and sweets really do not allow to lose weight. For example, when there is nowhere to spend the nutrients obtained from them. If you exclude the appropriate foods, interesting changes will occur in the work of the body. The main effects are presented below.

In the absence of a sufficient amount of fast carbohydrates, the body will begin to receive energy from previously accumulated reserves. That is, from the same fatty layer. Of course, it is difficult to process it to maintain normal life, but the body copes with this if it has no other choice.
The simple carbohydrates found in sweets and starchy foods keep sugar levels high. For this reason, a person after eating such food feels a surge of strength. But due to the rapid consumption of simple carbohydrates, strength also disappears soon after eating. Next, you need to take a new portion in order to feel normal. As a result, with consistently high sugar, there is a risk of developing diabetes and obesity associated with it. By eliminating sweet and starchy foods, you can significantly reduce the risk of such unpleasant consequences.
But what about the useful components contained in sweet and starchy foods? After all, you might think that if they are excluded, the body will not receive some substances that it needs for normal operation ... In fact, sweets and buns contain practically nothing useful. Their main nutritional value is all the same simple carbohydrates, and nothing more. No harm will be done to the body if these products are replaced with vegetables, dietary meat, fish, and seafood.

The general benefit of eliminating sweets and starchy foods is indeed great. Including for the figure. There is nothing to argue here - you can lose weight by excluding sweet and starchy foods, but by how much? But this is a more difficult question. It will also have to be carefully worked out so that the answer is as accurate as possible.

How much can you lose weight by eliminating flour and sweets

The exact numbers depend on several factors. First, the period for which the restriction is introduced matters. Secondly, it is necessary to take into account other efforts aimed at improving the figure: are there any, which ones, and so on. For this reason, you will have to name several different situations in which the effect of losing weight will vary. There are options here.

During the first week, weight loss from the exclusion of sweet and starchy foods will be 1-2 kg. This is provided that there is no additional physical activity or at least long active walks in the fresh air. That is, here the result will be minimal and almost imperceptible.
Provided that flour and sweets are completely abandoned, in a month in total you can lose about 3-4 kg. True, only if previously these products were constantly consumed in food. If even up to this point you didn’t have to indulge in sweet and starchy foods, the result will be more modest.
With the addition of effective physical activity for weight loss, the result will certainly be better. It is enough to dedicate an hour a day to active walks or half an hour to cycling to burn a lot of additional calories. And then the weight loss will be 2 times more intense. Of course, it is unlikely that you will be able to lose 7–8 kg in a month. Yes, and it's relatively bad. But 5-6 kg of “plumb” is quite an achievable goal.

Sometimes a complete rejection of flour and sweet is practiced. That is, the exclusion of them "forever". This option seems attractive enough, but it is not particularly rational. Still, weight loss will not continue indefinitely. And it is not so significant as to constantly deny yourself light gastronomic pleasures. Otherwise, life will become too boring, without colors and pleasant highlights.

How to exclude sweet and starchy foods in order to lose weight

Separately, it is worth mentioning the features of the exclusion of sweet and starchy foods. Here we must remember the most important point: the exclusion of flour and sweet foods does not mean that you can replace them with fatty, fried and salty foods. This is a key rule that for some reason many do not take into account. Eating high-calorie foods in large quantities not only will not lead to weight loss, but can also cause the opposite effect!

Replacing one product with another must be done correctly. Instead of sweet and starchy foods, you need to eat more vegetables, add bran, vegetable soups, dietary meat without fat to the diet. Also, you should not abuse spices and seasonings if they do not help in losing weight on their own.

Finally, it is also not necessary to completely exclude these products. Sometimes it is enough to reduce the amount of flour and sweet eaten by half. And from this it is already possible to lose weight, and how much depends on the accompanying efforts (the same physical activity). In general, the exclusion of flour and sweets is the right step for losing weight. But you should know the measure so that weight loss goes safely and as quickly as possible.

Sweet and starchy foods are the enemies of weight loss and a beautiful figure

Now it should be clear whether it is possible to lose weight by excluding sweet and starchy foods, and by how much. Of course, restrictions are often hard to accept. Especially if earlier buns, cakes and sweets made up a significant part of the diet. But, by showing a little willpower, it will be possible to acquire much more beautiful outlines of the body than before. This is a gentle, but quite effective method, which is worth turning to.

Sweets do not leave anyone indifferent. It is impossible to cope with stress without a piece of cake or a few chocolates. Not everything is as rosy as it seems at first glance. When consuming natural sugars in fruits, the body receives carbohydrates that regulate full-fledged cellular metabolism.

But if you become addicted to sweets of industrial production, then the body will demand more and more goodies, which will affect not only the figure with extra centimeters, but also the state of health.

How to give up sweets so as not to experience torment? You should firmly decide to switch to where there is no place for addiction.

Why do you want sweets?

The composition of sweets contains fast ones, which in the shortest possible time give a feeling of satiety, but soon the feeling of hunger comes again. When the blood sugar level rises, insulin is immediately released, destroying the excess glucose. If the blood sugar level drops, then you want to immediately eat sweets to muffle the hungry urge.

After eating sugar, euphoria is felt, because pleasure hormones, that is, serotonin and dopamine, are released into the blood. On sweet pulls before menstruation, during a diet or in a depressive state.

The symptoms of sugar addiction should not be ignored:

in the absence of the opportunity to eat a treat, irritability appears, throws into a cold sweat, trembling appears;
indigestion, flatulence;
you can’t stop until none of the sweet is left in stock;
a person gains a few kilograms.

Addiction to sweets causes discomfort, physical suffering.

Causes of sugar addiction

There are several reasons for addiction to sweets:

There are several other reasons for addiction to desserts:

The desire to eat sweets appears at night. This happens when dieting and malnutrition during the daytime. You should change the diet, stop eating junk food in front of the TV;
Sleepy after eating treats– increased blood glucose levels;
When you crave sweets after waking up- evidence of a lack of energy in the body, and carbohydrates are the fastest way to recover.

All sweets are thirsty. Such a desire is not considered a deviation from the norm, you should drink half a glass or a glass of clean water. Chocolate activates the pancreas, which is why you want to quench your thirst.

Some Reasons to Avoid Sweets

The industry produces a huge amount of high-calorie sweets. Even with a diet and proper nutrition, many cannot give up addiction, afford one more extra candy.

There are many reasons for refusing sweets so as not to harm health:

The addiction to sweets leads to immoderate purchases of confectionery, although with this money you can buy not only healthy food, but also update your wardrobe. The habit of eating troubles with sweets turns a person into a nervous creature, tormenting those around him with tantrums and whims.

Harm sweet

The conducted studies testify to the harmful effects of sweets on organs and systems. Immoderation in the use of sweets causes illness, nervous exhaustion, inability to concentrate for a long time and memory problems.

Cravings for sweets lead to serious consequences:

Bowel cancer. As a result of eating sweets, the active production of insulin begins, which causes the growth of tumors in the intestines.
Infertility. The relationship between the absorption of sweets and the ability to give birth to healthy offspring is known, the production of hormones responsible for conception is disrupted.
Urogenital candidiasis or thrush. Fungi that cause candidiasis multiply with an excess of carbohydrates entering the body. This type of fungus lives in the body of every person, but after taking antibiotics or addiction to sweets, the disease develops.
Threat for pregnant women. An excess of carbohydrate-containing food leads to the risk of having children with a tendency to allergic reactions.
Negative effect on brain activity. Contrary to the established belief that sweets are beneficial, Spanish experts conducted a detailed study, which revealed harm to brain activity.
Life expectancy depends on the amount of sugar. A group of scientists proved that with an increase in the amount of glucose in the body, a person's life is significantly reduced.

Do not replace sweets in the diet with sugar substitutes to reduce the impact on the body. Supplements are no less harmful, and in addition, they have a high calorie content. Some of them lead to a choleretic effect, while others cause allergies.

Calorie content of confectionery

The number of calories in confectionery can be judged by the composition of the ingredients used in baking. The more fatty cream and chocolate are added, the higher the energy value of the product.

The average calorie content of products is about 461 Kcal. If in marshmallow and marmalade the calorie content varies from 320 to 380 Kcal, then in caramel products the figure will be higher - 400 Kcal, and chocolate pastries already contain 600 Kcal.

What happens if you give up sweets?

With an excess of sugar in the diet, mood swings begin, a desire to eat even more tasty things wakes up, which is fraught not only with mental disorders, but also with disturbances in the functioning of the whole organism.

If you want to break free from addiction, the processes can be reversed, although not everyone can cope with the shortage of sweets.

In the first month after refusal, the following symptoms appear:

After a month, the body will get rid of addiction, memory and performance will improve. After a year of abstinence, dramatic changes will come - the body stops converting excess sugar into fat, extra pounds go away.

Only a year later, you can safely limit yourself to one slice of chocolate, without fear of breaking loose again.

Is it possible to completely give up sweets?

Do not give in to the desire to immediately give up sweets, so as not to expose the body to another stress. If a person is addicted, one should wean from the treats gradually, which guarantees the achievement of the desired result.

Secrets of getting rid of addiction to sweets:

They pass by the pastry departments in stores so as not to accidentally buy another cream cake. You should learn how to bake at home, which consist of healthy ingredients. In homemade cakes, sugar is replaced with honey, and the filling is made from marshmallow or marmalade.

How much weight can you lose by giving up sugar?

One of the main questions that torments many who refuse sweets and starchy foods, how much can you lose weight? In a month, you can lose about 3 kg if you stop eating sweets.

There are several other factors for improving health indicators:

the work of the pancreas is normalized;
the body's defenses are activated;
the intestines are populated by beneficial microorganisms;
the risk of ischemia decreases, cholesterol levels decrease;
cleared of acne and redness of the skin;
fatigue and irritability are completely gone.

Over time, the body will learn to do without the next dose of sweets, and stress and depression remain in the past.

Can sweets be helpful?

Moderate consumption of sweets will not do harm. This can only happen if the addiction is not turned into an uncontrollable addiction.

You can replace confectionery with natural goodies that will give you a boost of energy and saturate with microelements:

There are no clear boundaries of usefulness or harm of sweets. It all depends on the amount of use, the individual needs of the individual. In the absence of contraindications, you can enjoy a portion of ice cream every few days, but make sure that the love of sweets does not turn into an addiction, getting rid of which is extremely painful.

How to give up flour - psychology

Sugar and flour are vital for people, because they are the main sources of energy in the human body. Carbohydrates, to which both of these categories belong, are broken down for energy during short or light daily activities, such as walking, cleaning, or mental activity.

Psychology:

You need to make it clear to yourself that there is nothing useful in sweets and pastries, there is only harm: extra, extra sugar that the body does not need in such quantities. A constant load on the pancreas can lead to metabolic disorders, diabetes and other diseases. Yes, excess calories lead to excess weight. At the same time, sweets and starchy foods are equally harmful to children and adults.
We need to learn that the love of sweets and flour is embedded in our minds. When we say: “I need to eat something sweet”, then we need to understand “I want to enjoy sweets, eat some stress, problem, relax.” At the same time, we do not get what we strive for from eating sweets. And then there is a painful feeling of guilt in front of his figure, as well as suffering - "why couldn't I resist."
Don't tempt yourself. If you sometimes think about sweets, then you need to stop forcing yourself to buy them. Have fruits, nuts, meats, vegetables, unsweetened yogurt, and other healthy foods in the fridge. If you need to treat sweet guests, then do not buy too much, and when the guests go home, invite them to take a cake or sweets with them.
The diet should consist of complex carbohydrates. That is when the body does not ask to raise the level of glucose in the blood. Start the day with porridge, buckwheat is best, oatmeal and rice are also suitable. During the day, replace sweets with apples, pears, oranges, dry apples, nuts.

People who want to lose weight deprive themselves of all the joys of life, trying to speed up their metabolism. Under the ban are products that contain carbohydrates and give people not only energy, but also a good mood. A diet without sugar and flour excludes bread and foods that contain sugar, butter, flour. Such dietary restrictions are considered one of the most effective in losing weight, especially if you combine food restriction along with proper nutrition and regular exercise.

Can you lose weight if you don't eat sugar?

There is an opinion that the habit of eating certain foods, exercising or doing other things is developed in 21 days. This theory also applies to diets and weight loss. Although sugar is necessary for the body (since it is glucose, and it is needed for the normal functioning of the brain), eliminating white sugar from your diet for a long time, you will see a minus in kilograms on the scales. This is also proved by the reviews of people who adhere to the above diet.

How to give up bread and sweets

There are many methods on how you can stop eating bread and other pastries, sugar. One of them is to get fed up with forbidden foods. Eat just enough of them to cause disgust. After such a gluttony, you will no longer want to eat the "forbidden fruit." True, judging by the reviews of nutritionists and nutritionists, the effectiveness of this method is doubtful.

After all, everything comes from the head of a person, his desires. No one will force you to give up this or that food until you yourself want it. Strive to no longer use sugar in products? Then listen to your body. Understand why you need such efforts, find an alternative to forbidden food, for example, replace sugar with honey. Only after that your diet will become a joy.

Diet without flour and sweets

It was developed by the famous Dr. Peter Gott. A diet without bread and sweets is to minimize the use of "empty calories", thereby benefiting your body. Carbohydrates are found in chocolate, cakes, rolls and other harmful products. There are no carbohydrate days, during which protein intake rises sharply. You can drink a course of appetite suppressants for the best effect if you can not overcome your sugar cravings.

Diet Rules

In addition to the exclusion of all harmful products, such as baked goods, cake, cookies, a diet without sugar and starchy foods has some rules. They are:

Any other sweetener can be used in place of sugar. For example, natural honey or fresh fruit.
You should be careful with products that are not sweets: yogurt, ketchup and other sauces. They contain sugar.
Instead of pasta, you can and should use pumpkin spaghetti or zucchini. Instead of lasagna dough, for example, you can add grated zucchini to the dish.
If there are contraindications for the use of gluten (allergy), then it is advisable to bake the bread yourself. This can be done using corn, rice or oat flour.
Substituting bread and pastries is easy. For example, your favorite pizza can be made on the basis of mushroom caps or chicken breast.
Refined sugar or other types of sugar are prohibited.

Sugar free drinks

A sugar-free diet eliminates all sugar from the diet, even in sodas. List of TOP 5 allowed drinks:

cranberry juice;
compote without sugar from dried fruits;
chamomile decoction;
any unsweetened tea;
freshly squeezed carrot or orange juice.

Fresh can be made from fruits and vegetables that you like. It is worth being careful, foods with a high glycemic index contain a lot of sugar, as a result of which insulin levels rise in the blood. A decoction of chamomile can speed up metabolism, stop cravings for sugar-containing foods and improve food absorption (digestion).

Sugar Free Products

This product is said to be "white death". However, sugar is sucrose, which is converted in the body into glucose and fructose, and they are necessary for a person as energy sources. If you want to lose weight, then you should eat foods that do not contain fast carbohydrates.:

meat;
seafood;
fish;
all kinds of cereals.

If you feel unwell after cutting down on carbohydrates, you can eat a little whole grain or rye bread for breakfast or lunch. When you really want sweets, sugar can be replaced with the following products that will delight you with their taste:

marshmallow;
oriental sweets;
black chocolate;
paste;
marmalade.

Video: 21 days without sweets

Reviews

Lera, 20 years old

I've always had a terrible sweet tooth. Rolls, cookies, sweets and bread - all this was my drug and weakness. I ate problems with bakery products. But I decided to take matters into my own hands. I gave up all forbidden foods, changed my eating behavior, and here is the first result. Dropped 3 kg. Insanely happy! I advise everyone to throw away all these rolls and sweets.

Oleg, 38 years old

My wife always baked. At first everything was fine, but over time I began to notice that I was getting better. And then the weight reached a record figure for me - 110 kg! I decided to act, excluding all the sweet culinary delights of my beloved. And yes, it was worth it. Dropped 6 kg in a month! Not a single bun will please you like a reflection in the mirror!

Anna, 57 years old

After menopause and hormonal changes, she recovered greatly, her health deteriorated, as happens with many women. Yes, and at that time I especially fell in love with eating pastries. I went on a diet without sugar and flour, went in for sports and lost 5 kg in a month! My figure can give odds to girls, my body has noticeably tightened up, my face has become younger.

“I often write about sports and healthy eating, but in order to advise people on something, you first need to try it on yourself,” the journalist of the site Victoria is convinced. “In order to finally understand whether chocolates are the main problem for girls who cannot lose weight in any way, I, as an experiment, gave up sugar for a whole month.”

Motivation

Since childhood, sweets have been taboo for many of us: something that is possible only after a “serious” meal, something that “damages your teeth” and “butt sticks together”. But, having met with restrictions, children's desires only grow stronger. And now, when you become an adult and you can decide for yourself when and what you eat, it seems that the time for happiness is finally coming. But this is not acceptable to everyone.

Girls and women who always have to watch their figure at one fine moment realize: "This cake will lie on my stomach with an even layer of fat." And then it remains only to make a choice. Many people try to exclude absolutely everything sweet from the diet in order to prevent breakdowns. But here the question arises: how effective is it?

Some nutrition experts advise not to eat sweets at all, others - categorically remove carbohydrates from the diet after 17 pm, others - allow yourself something sweet every morning. And for those who go in for sports, a new loophole appears - a protein-carbohydrate window, which, it seems, should open immediately after a workout: you can throw "embers" into it, which will burn without a trace. Oh yes, there is another good excuse: "I work (study) a lot, my brain needs sugar." So who is right in the end?

Rules of the game

I decided to experience first hand what happens to a person who completely refuses sugar. For a month, my only joy was one fruit a day - and absolutely nothing sweet or sugary. At the same time, I work and study every day, and also go in for sports on average 10 hours a week, that is, I lead a full-fledged active lifestyle. I also do not welcome sweeteners and fructose as a replacement for regular sugar and do not intend to cheat. No sweets means no!

By the way, I love sweets very much. Not a day usually goes by without drinking yogurt and curds. A separate kind of pleasure is ice cream, which, no matter how hard I tried, I could not refuse.

Starting the experiment, I decided to weigh myself and measure the volumes in order to evaluate the results later. Just in case, I passed tests for hormones, measured the level of sugar in the blood. After all, not only the tangible result is important, but also the impact of changes in nutrition on my health.

Starting weight: 58 kg
Blood sugar level: 3,8
Volumes: 86 - 64 - 92
Cravings for sweets: huge
Hormonal background: fine

Start

On the first day, the task seemed easier than a steamed turnip. Well, think about it, a month without sweets, what nonsense. Moreover, my suffering will be daily consoled by fruits. In fact, everything turned out to be much more complicated.

So that you understand, I do not live alone, and my favorite sweets are somehow constantly present in the refrigerator and on the table. And my forced relationship with sugar does not end there. I have never been a supporter of making my man suffer because of my own diets and figure problems. Therefore, the morning begins with the preparation of a cottage cheese pie - naturally, with sugar and a sweet filling, everything is as it should be. A satisfied man eats a pie, I have cottage cheese with a banana for breakfast - also not bad.

At work, it’s not customary for us to have tea and carry bags of cookies and sweets to this business. But for some reason, it was on the first day of the experiment that I was offered my favorite dark chocolate. I courageously refuse: it is not in my interests to flog the experiment from the start.

On the way to the university, I pass a pastry shop, from where I can smell the pleasant smell of freshly baked bread. I would not say that I have a weakness for rolls, but here for some reason the body begins to scream, how incredibly it wants a warm croissant right now. Indeed, the forbidden fruit is sweeter than ever. I gather my will into a fist and do not go into this haunted place.

Snacking problem

The biggest problem in proper nutrition with an active lifestyle is to eat normally out of the house. Especially when you're in a hurry. The university has nothing more harmless than sweet yoghurts to offer me. There are no stalls in the passages and small regional shops right away, there’s nothing to even put an eye on. And you don’t always have time to go to the hypermarket for bread or fruit.

We have to focus on this and think through everything in advance. It turned out that all this is also a force of habit. Throwing a small snack into the bag is not at all so difficult and takes very little time.

The hunt begins

They say that the human body is able to get used to anything, so over time it should become easier, and cravings for sweets - less and less. At least that's how I consoled myself. But in fact, the difficulty in eliminating sugar is not only in having an iron willpower.

Going to the grocery store was no longer like a normal grocery shopping, but like hunting. Reading labels, of course, is entertaining, but rather tedious and eventually leads you to another disappointment.

Yoghurts, curds, cottage cheese desserts and juices, muesli and “quick” cereals… In general, a lot of food that is positioned as a healthy diet, something that flaunts the inscription “fitness”, is immediately blacklisted. With the same success, you can pour sugar into kefir and say: well, this is kefir! In a standard half-liter drinking yogurt, for example, there are about 5 tablespoons of sugar.

Of course, everything is not limited to some “healthy” products. Seemingly harmless bread, ketchup, soy sauce, as well as mayonnaise, sausage, canned vegetables and fruits - even baby food - all contain sugar. Obviously, the entire sweets department, as well as chips, croutons and dried seafood, is no exception.

As a result, I had to stop looking for a loophole and buy something that certainly cannot contain sugar: fresh and frozen vegetables, cottage cheese, fruits, oatmeal. Leaving the store, I looked sadly at my purchases and tried to figure out how to cook all this now so as not to choke and not wince.

change

The exclusion of sugar makes you specifically reconsider your diet. As a result, whatever one may say, it turns out not as appetizing and varied as before. Especially when at first you don’t know how to turn all this healthy food into something more or less tasty.

Cottage cheese desserts have to be replaced with ordinary cottage cheese, yoghurts - fermented baked milk and kefir, sauces - oriental spices, desserts - coffee with milk, muesli - oatmeal without additives, bread - dietary loaves (with the right composition, of course), Nesquik cocoa - Belarusian 99% "Kommunarka".

Of course, at first, all the food seems somehow insipid. But over time, when the body weans itself from sugar bombardment, even low-fat cottage cheese acquires a taste. And if you also learn how to cook vegetables, then the problem of dietary diversity disappears by itself. The only sad conclusion that I made for myself is that you should not cook the same as usual, only without the usual ingredients.

I once tried to bake a classic cottage cheese casserole, only without sugar and other sweeteners. The result is not that I spit, but after two spoons I didn’t want to eat this same pastry.

Sports and sugar

Those who go in for sports at least 3-4 times a week usually adjust their nutrition to the needs of the body, which spends much more energy. Personally, I am always hungry the next day after a workout. And most often it is carbohydrates that you want. Given that there are five days a week of sports in my schedule, there is a vicious circle of classes and the subsequent desire to eat.

According to the rules of my marathon, from simple carbohydrates, I can only afford one fruit. I decided that it is better to determine it for a time two hours before training, as a snack, to supply the body with energy. Upon returning home after a workout - cottage cheese and a protein shake. They saved, of course, weakly. But, as they say, in any incomprehensible situation, the main thing is to go to bed.

The next morning, my desire to “throw” something carbohydrate was completely satisfied by a good portion of oatmeal. And if during the day the body screamed furiously that it lacked calories, I simply ate an extra pack of cottage cheese. Protein, as it turns out, solves this problem very well.

social traditions

We get most of the calories from fast food and sweets for the company. We go to enjoy the movie with a huge box of popcorn and soda, we always associate all traditional holidays with a large table of hearty dishes; when gathering with friends in the evening, we take alcohol and snacks more abundantly, and even seagulls in the office during a break between work must be accompanied by something tasty - otherwise, what's the point of it?

In fact, social traditions are the main enemy of proper nutrition. We eat not because we want to, but because we are used to doing so from childhood.

So, it turned out that the height of the experiment with a month without sweets exactly fell on my birthday. Half the way was passed, and I was not going to give up. Of course, they gave me chocolate, which was left to wait until better times. The party in honor of the holiday was held according to the standard: with branded burgers, a cake and other delights.

The guests were satisfied, and I had to eat fruit, which I allowed myself in unlimited quantities in honor of my birthday. Conditions were violated, but not catastrophically. Did I feel oppressed and inferior? No. I had a great time in good company and did not suffer at all because everyone was eating cake, but I was not.

finish line

It turned out that a simple scheme works with sugar: the less you eat, the less you want. Over time, I figured out and clearly knew what I could and what not. The desire is gone on a psychological level, and with it the physical cravings are gone. Plus, in a month, habits managed to change. Now it was oatmeal in the morning, fruit before training, cottage cheese in the evening.

A big plus in giving up sweets is banal savings. Just calculate how much per month you spend on “something for tea”, on cheesecakes and cakes in a cafe, on ice cream in a shopping center and other delights.

Does the rejection of sweets interfere with full work, study and training? I don't think so. It seems to me that many people use "delicious" as an encouragement after a hard day, painstaking work and exhausting classes in the gym. But the main pleasure, in fact, is the result itself, and not the chocolate bar. And the first is easy to do without the second.

happy end? It wasn't there...

In theory, now my experiment was supposed to have a happy ending and delights like “you can easily refuse sugar”, “quit the habit of eating sweets and fit into that very dress”, but in reality everything turned out to be completely different.

Having completed my marathon, I quickly ran to measure my blood sugar and stand on the scales. The result didn’t really surprise me - it just wasn’t there.

Final weight: 59 kg
Blood sugar level: 4
Volumes: 86 - 63 - 91
Cravings for sweets: missing

So, it turns out, all in vain? However, this is not the end yet. Well, I think I’ll finally eat some chocolate, since I’m so good, I survived for a whole month. And that was a fatal mistake. The next day, the face and body were covered with red spots, which, fortunately, quickly disappeared.

But the skin of the face was still in an unstable state: if before everything was perfect without a layer of “tonal”, now every mistake in nutrition turned into a rash and acne for me, which were weakly treated and disguised.

After the first “step to the left”, I began to crave something incredibly sweet. And not just harmless fruits or one candy, but a cake, a pack of cookies, a fatter cake. And it was very difficult to fight this desire. Weight slowly began to gain even despite all my sports and efforts to eat less. As soon as something sweet slipped through, it immediately went to the ass and stomach, “in reserve”.

Of course, this state of affairs did not suit me. I went to a weight management program specialist and explained the situation. Her opinion was predictable: the body was completely weaned from sugar and, as soon as it received an unusual product, it began to protest. It turned out something like diathesis in children - hence the skin reaction.

When I asked what to do next, the specialist replied that you should no longer go to extremes, gradually introduce sugar-containing foods into the diet and try to eat them no later than 4 hours before bedtime. It turned out that the complete rejection of sugar is not only practically impossible, but also does not make sense.

But it's still worth limiting yourself. From sweets, it is best to give preference to fruits, dried fruits, honey and marshmallows. Cakes, biscuits, chocolate are trans fats, which are dangerous not only for their high sugar content, but also for the combination that is detrimental to the figure: fats + fast carbohydrates. It is also better to give up sweet yogurts, because they are actually no healthier than the same sweets.

I was advised to fight the desire to eat sweets with the help of ... No, not diets, hunger strikes and a strict regimen. It turned out that a strong craving for sweets occurs due to a lack of protein in the diet. Roughly speaking: if you want candy - eat a couple of spoons of cottage cheese or a piece of boiled chicken.

What now? Of course, I'm going to go to a nutritionist, get my hormones tested and get my diet back on track. As clichéd as it sounds, the phrase “everything in moderation” seems to work here as well. I did not make any supernova conclusions and discoveries, but the experience was useful.

Here are a couple of conclusions from personal observations and experience:

Giving up sugar is completely pointless.

Can't live without sweets? Don't torture yourself. Give preference to healthy sweets: it is better to eat a 200-gram persimmon than a strip of white chocolate.

Control portion sizes. Sweet is a small dessert, not the main meal.

Physical and mental stress, of course, requires a lot of carbohydrates, but not cookies and cakes, but oatmeal, durum wheat pasta, whole grain bread, vegetables and fruits.

Not eating with friends and while cooking for the family is quite realistic. Learn to listen to your body, and minimal sacrifices for a good figure will not seem so tough.

Do you want something bad? Try eating some protein.

Perhaps the most tangible plus in giving up sweets is saving your budget.

The less sweet you eat, the less you want it.

Try to eat varied. Sometimes even fresh and nasty vegetables cooked in a new way cause delight and turn out to be unexpectedly tasty.

Do not drastically change your diet in any direction, do not torment the body with stress. Everything should be gradual and meaningful. When deciding to refuse some products or switching to a new nutrition system, consult a doctor, take tests, and undergo an examination. If health is “planted”, there will be no point in gastronomic manipulations. With diets, as with doctors, the main principle is to do no harm.

A photo: tumblr.com