I did tempt fate!

I hear you, Jordan. I have to consume sucralose sparingly. I know one person wrote of eating a piece of sugar-free candy as her laxative. Works that way for me, too, so that keeps me from subbing "treats." I had a massive episode once from eating too much SF ice cream. So maybe I have a bit of an insight into dumping syndrome. Don't want it, that's for sure.

Be so careful of the sugars in cakes and pies. They are so dense that a few bites equal more than you think they do. People have given you lots of good advice here. If you don't want to follow some of it just be mindful of what you put in you. It is so easy to mindlessly eat. I know I have to watch myself like a hawk or I will go snack when I don't need to. Little bites can add up!

I didn't eat any sugar almost at all for the first 2 years. Any sugar I had was within the guidelines and I kept to a strict minimum. I didn't want to test the dumping thing at all because I wanted to learn new good habits for the rest of my life.

After I met the weight that I feel is right for me I did loosen up on the strict eating 24/7. I occasionally go out to eat and every once in a while I have had sugar. I discovered that I do not dump. BUT I do not love how I feel after I eat sugar. Many times I feel overly full, even if I eat only a little bit. I feel kind of sweaty and and my heart races. It's not pleasant and not something I want to experience a lot. So I don't eat sugar almost ever. I can but generally the cons outweigh the pros.

Sugar within the guidelines: What are the guidelines you were given? I am amazed how we have all been prescribed different diet progressions and guidelines. The diet guidelines I've been given include bread, pasta, and cereal, which are an absolute NO for me. My guidelines are also very low fat, and that does not work for me either. One reason I do "OK" with a bite of cheesecake now and then is that it is more fat than sugar. I've made cheesecake from scratch, and bite for bite, it is pretty low in sugar compared to most desserts. I don't include the crust in my bite---no wheat flour for me as that reaction is far worse than sugar. As a rule, I do avoid all sugars. I am fairly certain at this point that fat does not cause me to dump, for which I am grateful.

It wasn't enough sugar to make me feel horrible because enough sugar does affect me that way. I come from a family of alcoholics (some recovering). Food addiction is, I think in many ways, more complex. My father traded whiskey for chocolate. After some study, I am convinced that there is a sugar mechanism associated with alcoholism. Like you, mute, whenever I consume sugar, I feel sick and horrible. I can ingest a few grams now and then, but on the whole, no. I agree: The cons far outweigh the temporary pleasure.

I agree that everyone is given such different guidelines. I was given insane guidelines that I threw out the window because they included pasta, rice, and potatoes. So when I say within the guidelines I mean within my guidelines because obviously we all have different rules that we follow. But for me it was nothing over 5 grams of sugar ever. I did low carb as well.

Honestly - did I see that you're 3 months out? - 3 months seems incredibly early to be testing these things to me. You should be learning the habits that you'll need for the rest of your life, not what limitations you have. Everyone is different but it seems the earlier people test these things out the more likely they are to continue to stretch those limitations throughout the process and never actually make peace with the new way they have to live and the way they have to eat.

Good luck!

Yes, 5 grams of incidental "sugar" is my limit only occasionally. As I said, I ate that yogurt with 15 grams one day and did fine. The protein offset the sugar somewhat.

Yes, nearly three months and doing great, actually. I am not new to this process or this type of eating. Have been working at it for a couple of decades. Thanks for all of your shares and advice. Very helpful.