Laura Jones wrote:

Hi,

I've had enough of being on this wild, rough and exhausting ride of sugar addiction. I am starting the detox/ re calibration program in the morning. My questions are; can I have fruit during this time? How long will it take to no longer crave sugar? How will I know when it's safe to introduce substitutes? Is rice malt syrup a safe alternative? I look forward to hearing from all of you out there.

Thanks,

Laura

Hi Laura,

Have you read David's books on sugar? Most of your questions are answered there. Here's a brief summary:

1. Two small pieces of fruit (100g) with provide your daily ration of 10g of fructose.
2. Your craving should subside after a few weeks, but it varies a lot with individuals.
3. I think D said not during the withdrawal period. Check Sweet Poison Quit Plan
   
4. .Yes. It's got lots of "sugars" but no fructose. They all metabolize as glucose which is kosher. It's not as sweet as honey but if your craving subsides you won't need as much to enjoy the toast or whatever.
5. Good luck and do keep us posted :-)
6. JohnN
   

Re the kids, David's comment is that you can't control what they eat away from home. But you can control what they eat at home. And that's mopst of their food intake.

When you settle down there are, to my mind only two criteria that matter: (1) that you feel full at the end of every meal - "Can't eat another mouthful". This indicates that your brain is getting the message from the gut hormones which are now working properly. (2) Your weight and waistline are steady. They will vary a bit from day to day, but if you measure both once a week, they should remain withing say 0.5kg and 2cm up-or-down. I find reducing my waistline harder than my weight. Walking is supposed to be very good for that.

Also, I don't worry too much if I put on 1/2 to 1 kg when I go travelling for a week or so. It's hard to avoid sugary food when eating out all the time. But if I watch carefully what I eat when I get home things generally go back to normal in a week max.

JohnN