Maybe no one will read this, but I wanted to get it out somewhere if thats ok?
So, Im an old lady, when I was younger food wasnt particularly important to me, it was all clothes, make up, going out, like most teens, but as I got older and had kids the weight came on, maybe a stone a year, [thats easily done even just 1 pound a month will do it!]
Cut to the present day, and Im struggling with arthritis, and various other things, so I decided to cut out sugar, I dont eat a lot of food, but Im not very active, so its a vicious circle, do too much= pain, rest= get fat, I never know what to do for the best!
So for the past 3 days Ive cut out as much as I can of sugary things, Ive not given up wholemeal bread, or root veggies [although Ive been eating salad sandwiches mostly cause its summer] Then last night I had such aches and pains, headache, tired, I slept for 2 hours in the evening! grumpy with my hubby, so I googled it and it turns out its withdrawal symptons for the sugar! apparently its as addictive as C. its in every cell of your body, and your body likes it, it uses it for energy, and everything else just sits on your tum. Im just hoping I can get past this first week, and itll get better, Ive still got a few bad things in the house like biscuits [I'm English] but theyre for him and I feel bad throwing stuff away so theyve been moved to the kitchen [I had the stash in a drawer at my side]
I am so silly, I go shopping then feel guilty and throw the sweeties away that Ive bought after a bit of time, hoping that he doesnt notice them in the bin lol.
Ive read that water, nuts, veggies, good fats,protein,fiber, all help you wean off it So Im really going to try wholeheartedly this time. Anyone else struggling with sugar?
Even just writing this has made me see a bit clearer how much I was dependant/using? the hateful stuff.

@ Raggy

Never heard of sugar addiction / withdrawl symptoms before so there you can see how much I concern myself about my food. ^^;

Anyway, I never had an issue with sugar. I'm in the lucky position that I quickly get fed up with sweet stuff like chocolate, bonbons or fruit gum. To make up for that I have to be cautious with the salty stuff because otherwise it goes like whoosh and my salt and vinegar potato chips are gone, who knows where...coughs

I wish you all the best with your plan though and I hope it'll help to improve your health and to make you feel better again.

Yup those are normal. I had the same symptoms with a 4 day headache. I guess are you just cutting out refined sugars? I found making sorbets really helpful - frozen fruit + a bit of non sweetened yogurt in a blender usually takes the cravings away. A lot of sugar free blogs online https://iquitsugar.com/recipe/ - most people will make their own treats! I'm quite slim but managed to lose 3kgs and get a lot fitter. I feel better for it. I had a friend who did the same and lost 15kgs over 3 years.

It will be hard to start with as most stuff on the shelves in the supermarkets are crammed with sugar :( happy to answer any questions :) you still have to like what you eat - it makes it so much easier!

Thanks for the info, Its been a little while now, and Im free of it, in fact I cant believe how sweet most products are! my daughter got us some dunkin donuts as we'd never had them, and they were shocking, in fact I threw the jaffa cake one away lol. Im so glad I did it. I do like fruit/veg smoothies they fill you up taste great, last ages and are pretty good for you so you cant lose really, unless they start stuffing the shop ones with sugar. If I want a treat after dinner I have sugar free jelly or a yoghurt, but you have to watch everything.
The biggest joke is 'slimfast' the diet meal replacement it was 53% sugar the last time I checked lol.

- I've had some friends cut sugar out and it's surprisingly hard with all these products on the shelves these days. It sounds like you're doing a good job of keeping the natural sugars and tossing the processed stuff. I always say everything in moderation. I'm terrible at cutting things out completely, but I am very good at limiting it severely. How is the battle going for you now? No more headaches?

Yes thank you its going well, its surprising how sweet everything is when you stop having so much. Of course this time of year is awful hard, but Im doing well.
I have been suffering from gout, in various joints, its really painful,especially in the big toe! it looks like too much sugar is one of the main causes,Im on tablets now to slowly dissolve the uric acid crystals that gather in your joints and cause the pain, but cutting out sugar was so weird, considering the state I'm in now. Thank you for asking.

- That's definitely true, even just limiting sugar had the same effect on me. I can't stand some candies anymore because they just taste too sugary. I enjoy chocolate a lot more because it's got flavor to it. My aunt has gout, it's a really tough thing to manage. I wish I could remember any of her tips. I'll think healthy thoughts your way!

Well I had to take some colchicine tablets for a while to clear some of the uric acid, and now I take Allopurinol, that slowly dissolves the purines in my blood and joints, so the pain will be less over time. I do know ,if i drink more water [tough going in a cold country] and hardly any sugar it feels lot better. Thank you for your interest, and I hope your aunt is coping with it, its miserable being woken up at 5am with what feels like red hot pokers being stabbed into your toe!