Is Sugar causing all our stomach upsets?

[thecheesecake17]

Sitting on my bed, not having an attack just a usual flare-up of some common symptoms(lightheadedness, bit of dizziness, fatigue and stomach feeling a bit meh) and I am at my tethers end of feeling more or less like cr*p every other day. And so, I MIGHT finally listen to my literal gut instinct and try cutting out the one thing I am most dedicated to - Sugar.

Correct me if I'm wrong folks, at least 80% of here follow this diet : chocolate bars more than 5 days a week. Fizzy drinks. Lots of red meat, white rice, white bread, sauces, lactose and of course, fast food. I quite literally binge everyday as I find that 'good' food does weird stuff to my body...it will make me 'go' more(which is good..) And my body gives me a bit of a 'wtf' attitude towards fruits and vegetables...but i realise this is cos since the young age of about 13, I have gorged on a very unhealthy diet, and I'm beginning to think my body is getting literally sick of it. I have tried and tried to adjust my diet to ease the sugar off but my anxiety and stress causes me to eat and eat and eat more and more sugar(I can literally eat a 300g bar of Cadbury in one sitting if I was having a bad day) and since university(in 2012 til now..) I really put my body through some disgraceful foods.

So, I'm wondering what if us bingers(by this I mean people who eat desserts everyday and drink soda more than 4 days a week) should give healthy eating a go? Or moreover, a sugar free based period a try? I thought all my random stomach upsets might be linked to gluten but surprisingly ALOT of gluten foods my stomach actually works well with. I just HAVE to victimise sugars as its the one thing I just can't stop. Sugars means mainly chocolate (I'm not kidding, I've probably had 100g a day for a good five years) but, even if my troubles don't go away, at least I'll be doing my body good anyway.

The trouble is, though, is that I find sugary stuff a quick easy fix without any cooking...and proper food is time consuming and my schedule at university is pretty awwkard at the moment in terms of meal preparation.

Has anyone tried this? And if so, did you see any result?
Furthermore, if anyone wants to try and attempt this flip-side of living then I wouldn't mind some tips or advice.
Thanks so much guys, this may be the making of some of us haha and this might even help with our emet(i m pretty sure if I didn't feel as n* so much, I wouldn't even consider emet in my life). Xx

[Razzle]

Oh man, I am ADDICTED to pizza and chocolate. I eat these at least once a week, especially the chocolate.
My boyfriend has tried to get to me stop eating chocolate for a week and see if it changes anything but I couldn't get passed a few days.
I've always been a slave to chocolate, but who knows - my body is getting older, it could be processing things differently.

I sometimes wonder if it is causing me grief, but it's also a comfort food and relaxes me. I know other foods like yogurt I am starting to lik but give me TERRIBLE gas pains! Also I don't know if there would be some emotional withdraw involved if I kicked these foods.

I WILL say though that I seldom ever drink soda anymore. I grew up on it, I'd drink it with breakfast when I was a younger teenager! My family and I lived off of it...until I was 15. I started softball (only played a year but GREAT experience!) and wanted to be healthier/run faster. My diet was "meh" but I DID manage to totally kick soda in favor of water and luckily for the past 11 year it's stuck. My parents have also followed suit (but still drink it a lot more than I do) And I've gotten my boyfriend off of his Dr. Pepper addiction.
Greatest decision ever. You drop ~5lbs alome from cutting out the sugary/carbonated drinks. Any time I do drink soda and want a second glass when I DO indulge, I remind myself: "NEVER drink your calories!" I follow this rule. I only drink soda on holidays/parties, or with rum (and I hardly ever drink) I stick with good old ice water with my meals, or milk with my desserts. Actually drinking soda now hurts my stomach and burns going down because my body is no longer use to it - which I consider to be a good thing!

Seriously baby steps. Cut out the soda first and work your way to cutting out foods

[thecheesecake17]

Ahhh you're probably so much healthier than me! Cutting out soda at age 15....I wish I was as wise as you at that age! That was my peak cola time ahha I used to walk to the shop everyday in the summer with my friend and we'd gorge on sweets and cola - awful! It gives me heartburn quite ALOT tbh so I might just go ahead with it.

Do you get gaggy n* sometimes after chocolate? As much as I know its proper bad for us, I agree with you - its my relaxation food aid and is sometimes the only thing I can eat !! Even if I suffer after it, I somehow 'forgive' it and indulge even more the next day..so deluded! This could be the reason for all my strange random throat-n* attacks.

Well done on your bf BTW - mine has been away all week and had a kebab EVERY damn night along with vanilla coke...I can't judge but I don't want him getting tummy probs like me...he already complains of 'upset stomach' every few days :/... Anyway! Thanks for the encouragement! I started feeling bloated after having a Pepsi mid afternoon today so it's probably half the problem. Thanx razzle!!!!

[Razzle]

Lol I'm actually not healthy at all! I eat junk food still and don't have a proper breakfast-lunch-dinner and snacks in between diet and hardly exercise (although I do try to walk frequently spring-autumn)
Soda is just easy as it usually makes me thirstier whereas water quenches my thirst. Also I don't drink much unless I am eating and water is more refreshing and convenient. Soda always left residue on my teeth too! So it was a fairly easy habit to kick. Food on the other hand, like chocolate, cheese (cheddar specifically) pizza, Doritos, ice cream, cake etc....oh man SO much harder.

I get gaggy/throat n* whenever I have high anxiety, or after I eat pizza. Pizza makes me a bit n* but it's a specific type of n* if that makes sense, a little like indigestion but also gaggier than usual. I deal though because I know what to expect lol. Makes me SUPER thirsty too! I think certain foods have certain effects on our bodies. Have you tried dark chocolate? I like milk the most personally but can eat dark as well, certain dark chocolate/mint candies are delicious and can be a bit (although not too much) healthier than milk as it has less fat and more antioxidants.
What I would do is allow maybe 1 piece of chocolate a night after dinner or eat chocolate-like health foods (chocolate granola, I know Special K makes a cereal with chocolate bits that I eat, my one health app gave it a B+ rating so it's not too bad!) and let yourself indulge a bit that way ...moderately and controlled. And see how you feel. Maybe skip a few nights of chocolate (I know it's sacrilege but only a night or two!) and see if you feel differently. I heard if you repeat something for 30 days it becomes a habit...which I can attest to fully as that's why I am stuck in an anxiety/panic loop. But maybe you can do so positively and cut out/down on some sugary foods, it could make you feel better!

[reevagee]

ugh..unfortunately.. i am OBSESSED with chocolate. i notice that every time i eat it i get anxiety and n*. my stomach dr warned me to stay away from it but i cant. i wake up and dive for the candy bowl like a predator. it def makes everything worse! im doing my best to try to cut down but sugar makes u shakey and sick no matter what.. it sucks..

[thecheesecake17]

I might do as you suggest razzle, I already kinda failed the task today as I found two Cadbury fingers lurking in my cupboard but I literally only had the two and nothing else chocolatey. I ate some nuts and seeds and an apple so far in replacement but it really feels so bland and doesn't five me the kick. Yeah I get the thirst from pizza and the indigestion.....plus you're right about water, I've had a bottle already today and don't feel normal exceptional thirst.

Reevagee - its like a drug isn't it? I had to walk past so many Easter eggs before, what a disaster!! I am addicted, its awful...my muk wants to make this new thing called 'cake in a mug' later which ought to be chocolate triggering. Ugh.

[CathyDavies]

Although I'm not a binge eater, I do tend to reach for sugary things when I'm lazy. I also LIVE on mints (they're my safety blanket which is slowly killing me..)

The mints alone probably tear my stomach up something awful, but when I try to limit myself - I feel the craving kick in. It's scary how addictive sugar is, I watched a few documentaries that talked about how sugar is as addictive as some drugs and the links to depression and anxiety.

Sugar is powerful and in our modern world it's frightening how much stuff has sugar in... breads, pasta and curry sauces and anything processed.

I googled genuine help for sugar addicts a few months back haha! I'm so addicted its stupid.

[thecheesecake17]

Same!! It's insane how addictive it is... And you're right - they put it into the things which they call healthy - unbelievable!! What is there to eat?! Haha.

Day 1 of 'healthy eating' kinda failed guys. I had an English breakfast then for lunch an apple and some nuts and seeds then for dinner some sausege and veg but then my mum taught me how to do a cake in a mug' and my gosh my stomach turned for about twenty mins after, despite how gorgeous chocolate cake and buttercream is....I really think this is what makes my tummy upset, I overdo it.... Also coffee really really doesn't make things better. Meh.

[EvilCookie]

I love sugar but don't binge on sweets that much, my downfall is carbs. Anything white or bready, I love challah, croissants, often I end up skipping dinner and just eating buttered toast instead. I have the exact same 'body going 'wtf' ))) issue with fruit and veg..and meat or anything slightly 'heavier' to digest. I have IBS, Fruit and veg give me horrible gas and cramping, even in small amounts, which is probably because my body is not used to them. Meat or other protein, aside from yogurt, just sits in my stomach like a brick and feels like it never digests and tends to give me n. And it creates a vicious cycle: I end up avoiding these healthy foods because they make me feel like crap and trigger my emet every time, and end up eating the safe comfort foods instead, which are toast, cereal, bread, yogurt, mostly just empty calories. They actually feel soothing to me, like the soothe my stomach, but I've actually been wondering if all that gluten or sugar from refined carbs isn't actually causing the ibs in the first place... but when i try to eat healthier i end up suffering and running to the bathroom all day and I just can't handle it. I don't know how to break the cycle.