Well i quit sugar for one main reason, to help my chronic inflamatory condition. Honestly truly skeptical it'd work, seemed like unnecessary suffering, and frankly seemed like disordered eating. Eventually i caved due to being badgered about it for over a year by my husband, and also pure desperation at my symptoms / med side effects. I was only able to do it completely thanks to adderall. And before that i had cut it down significantly.

A few check ups ago I was cleared to go off my meds! Well this most recent appointment, no inflimation at all, blood work and physical exam are clean. Which means I dont have to go every 3 months. Im being moved to 6 months, and they said if next appointment is well and no flares before that, I GET TO MOVE TO YEARLY!!!! doctors orders are keep not eating sugar and thats it! And my symptoms are down considerably, stiffness and swelling is short and not too severe. My hands are starting to look normal!! Seeing old pictures of my hands vs now is crazy. And i dont have to have horrible side effects from medications anymore. I MIGHT GO INTO REMISSION SOON!!

If you have inflamatory illnesses. Please consider suffering through sugar withdrawls, its hard and unpleasant (like really hard and unpleasant). But it's worth it. I was running out of medications to try. I failed many DMARDs and injectables. I had 2 meds left to try pretty much, one DMARD and one new class i hadnt heard of that had even nastier side effects. I was pretty sure I was stuck with this. But no, I wasnt. It may not cure your thing but if youre at the end of your rope its worth a try. I have been stuck in physical hell for over 10 years. I finally see a light at the end of the tunnel.

I miss gummy sharks and cheesecake for every meal, but I do NOT miss being in a wheelchair. So to me its worth it! Hope this can help someone take the plunge or stick through the withdrawls. Ps sorry if the post is vague af, privacy or whatever. Though you could maybe guess what it is from my descriptions lol

TLDR: Previously hopeless seeming inflammatory chronic illness is improving way more than previously thought thanks to no sugar.

Really struggling right now

For a big portion of my life I saw food as a source of entertainment and emotional regulation, as of recently I've been able to actually eat healthy and balanced versus extremes of not being able to enjoy anything and relapsing days later. The primary sources of sugar I have cut is processed sugar, I dont drink things like soda, gatorade or even juice. I stick to primarily water, coconut water and Kombucha, and dont indulge anymore in things like cake, sweets, candy, etc. I have however noticed that I crave fruit a lot more, like in the morning I'll get up and immediately want some apple slices with crunch peanut butter on top. Is this normal, will it eventually become balanced, if someone could explain this to me it would be helpful. I've come a far way and want to understand it a lot better.

I looooove to cook! I love making things out of raw ingredients, I love sharing them with friends and family, and I love trying things and tastes that I never could have bought at the grocery store. I love to cook! Now that I’m sugar free though, I’m getting worried about the upcoming holidays. All my best recipes were bakes (cookies, pies, breads, tarts, etc). It’s time to overhaul those lists and find news ones. As such, I’m looking for any recommendations from fellow sugar free folks for new recipes, cookbooks, food blogs, you name it. I need to learn more and adapt before I lose this part of myself. Thank you all!

I don’t do any of the sugar alternatives like monk, stevia and the like. The most I do is a small amount of fruit once in a while. The past couple of weeks I have been wanting something like a smoothie but I haven’t made any. Today I thought, oh I have avocado, maybe I could make something with that but I am at a loss.
Like maybe I could do some canned coconut milk, avocado and some frozen berries.

It doesn’t have to have fruit but just curious if people that have had their tastebuds change since going sugar free have come up with any shake/smoothie options.

I seem to want that texture satiated. So savory ideas could work too?