Excellent question.  You'll find if you read the 'quit plan' that a lot of the stuff given, David will say 'use 1/3 cup of dextrose, or 1/2 if you're sharing with people who eat sugar, they will find it bland otherwise'.  The point is that we're addicted to fructose, not to 'things that taste sweet'.  your mouth has the ability to detect sweetness, and it likes it.  But, what someone who is off sugar calls sweet, is bland to a sugar addict, and there's a difference between being marinated in syrup, and eating something sweet once in a while.  For example, I used to eat sweets as a meal, quite often, and eat lots of chocolates and cakes between meals, and was never full.  Now, I have dessert once a week, and I look forward to it, but I also have no problems in waiting for it, I don't ever crave it, and I don't eat as much as I used to when it came around ( I have a small serve now, I used to have a double serve then finish my wife's plate and look for leftovers, seriously ).

Hi Geraldine,

I am new to this new way of life and like you I struggled for a while. I am now week 4 into no sugar and have to say I have not had the desire or craving for cake, biscuits or such like. For me it was longer than two weeks to experience this and I am now finding I don't eat as much either. This was put to the test on Sunday when my son and partner came for afternoon tea. I made banana cake and cream buns for them ( with sugar) but for myself I baked cupcakes filled with unsweetand cream from the quit plan book, let me tell you I was really looking forward to this treat. Upon sitting down with a nice cup of black green tea I tucked into one of the cup cakes and felt disappointed. I would have enjoyed some water crackers with some slices of cheese a whole lot more. Funny I thought It was something I had been deprived of whilst on detoxe. When I first started all I kept thinking was only two weeks of this detox and then I can start baking all of those goodies in the quit plan book. And now I don't feel like them. Amazing! I do wonder why it is so many on this site seem to be seeking out new ideas on how to adapt sugary recipes and such like!

Hang in there. It may take a little longer than the two weeks but if you stick to the quit plan it is truely worth it.

Bev :) 

That is a very good and interesting question.  David does specify in his book that dextrose treats is just that treats and not to have every day.  I've made and got all sorts of recipes, chocolate caramel slice, cheesecakes, chocolate cakes, chocolate, pana cotta, red velvet cupcakes etc.  In saying that it doesn't really phase me all that much, I don't have them every day, I make it because I love baking.  I may make some muffins or doughnuts for me and the kids to have a special morning tea to take with us if we go out say to movies or park or if I'm entertaining.  I've been sugar free now for 21 months so dextrose tastes really sweet for me and I don't add much to anything I'm making.  Also everyone is different and I actually sometimes do still get sweet cravings (around that time of month), it's got nothing to do with me eating sugar it's more to do with hormones.  I don't need to cave in and eat sugar simply because things taste so sweet I don't need it, maybe a piece of 85% chocolate, mini muffin or even some strawberries.

I like to bake the dextrose things to keep my family happy - sadly they haven't all embraced my fructose free lifestyle (but I'm working on it). In fact, if I make something with dextrose instead of calling it that - eg dextrose ice cream or fructose free icecream, I call it glucose icecream (or muffins or whatever it is) and they seem to accept it better.  Just marketing, really, but it seems to work.

Christian Graus wrote:

Geraldine Trivett wrote:It is great to get feedback on these things; I am only 5 days in so I eagerly read what people are experiencing further on in the process. I can say that I am never hungry any more, and I used to be, or did I just want to eat something? But the "gotta have sweet stuff" thing seems to me like vegetarians who eat fake meat & sausages. No offence !

*grin* I tend to agree with this though, but I can also see that if you're cooking for the family that's not sugar free, that makes it hard.  My family has learned what dextrose means, so I say 'glucose' now, too, although they know I do sugar free desserts only.

I don't even tell the family lol