Getting a sugar addiction under control?

JoJoP · 02-22-2012, 08:56 AM

So all my life I've LOVED sweets. Binged on them all the time, really. Like, two chocolate bars at a time, 6 cookies at a time, have eaten whole cakes myself over the span of a week....

I started this diet in mid-January with the intention of completely staying away from sugar and refined carbs, because in the past, if I had just a taste of sugar, I'd go on a crazy binge.

But now I'm finding that I can have, say, a taste of the cookies I'm baking, a little square of milk chocolate, etc, and NOT go crazy. I can have that little bit of sugar and then get back to whatever I'm doing without obsessing about it or feeling this powerful urge to continue to EAT.

I'm wondering if I've finally gotten this addiction under control...?

So I'm wondering -- To anyone else who's had a sugar addiction all their life and now don't....how did you do it? What's the trick to being satisfied with just a little sugar once in a while? I'm not certain that I DO have my own addiction under control, so I want to hear from you guys!

berryblondeboys · 02-22-2012, 09:14 AM

First of all, my therapist from years ago would say that what you had was not a binge. A binge is not 6 cookies. Or a cake over a week. A true binge is eating the cake in one day. Eating a batch of cookies in one sitting and so on.

What you were doing was overeating and it seems perhaps you have found a balance of being able to eat a little and to move on. I can do that now too (usually) and I think for me it is that it's in balance with the rest of my diet. I am not spiking my sugar levels so that they come crashing down so that I'm begging for more sugar within 30 minutes to an hour. Also, I think we can train our minds to STOP - we just didn't have as much desire to stop before.

inglesita64 · 02-22-2012, 09:28 AM

Yes, I think you were just overeating, not binging. What may be happening to you is that as you got used to other tastes, your body claims those new tastes and not the old ones. We tend to repeat what we eat, so the less sweets we eat, the less we want; and the same with salt...
I have also found I do not think about sweets any longer. I look at them and know they are delicious, but then when I taste them they do not seem to be THAT good. If this is what doctors meant by "a change of habits", now I get it!

freelancemomma · 02-22-2012, 10:08 AM

<<have eaten whole cakes myself over the span of a week....>>

A whole cake in a week? You consider that a binge? I'd hate to tell you about my former habits... :-)

<<But now I'm finding that I can have, say, a taste of the cookies I'm baking, a little square of milk chocolate, etc, and NOT go crazy. >>

I've noticed the same thing with myself. I think it boils down to your mindset. As long as your mind is "on plan," you'll be able to put down the sugar after a small portion. Once you (generic you) lose the mental control, the "addiction" takes over.

As an aside, now that I'm eating fewer calories I find I crave salty/savoury things much more than sweets.

Freelance

krampus · 02-22-2012, 11:06 AM

I think a lot of people give sugar too much power and call it an addiction when it doesn't have to be. You've just taken that power back from the sugar!

tessendicott · 02-22-2012, 11:07 AM

I had THE WORST (always had to have something sweet in the house CONSTANTLY) sweet tooth before I started WW again.
I have found that when I started drinking a lot more water and eating fruits, my sweet cravings are COMPLETELY gone.
Now I will allow myself to have a cupcake every great once in awhile.

I've also found that pudding (jello, sugar free, fat free pudings) pies (reduced fat graham cracker crust) are low in points and absolutely delicious when you throw a little whip cream on top.
There are also PLENTY of healthy recipes out there for desserts if you don't want to stop eating them completely.

Do you have a pinterest page? If not, send me your email and I'll invite you, there are several WW pages that have absolutely yummy looking desserts.

surfergirl2 · 02-22-2012, 12:21 PM

I would love to know the answer to this. I THINK i've begun to get my addiction under control. For the first time ever, i don't constantly crave sugar. I used to be miserable on my low-carb diets, just dreaming constantly about the day i could eat sugar again. I don't know what's different this time, but i think it's the mindset. Instead of focusing on the deprivation, i just try not to think about it. I'm not giving sugar such a huge power over me anymore. I'm trying to make it not a big deal. I'm simply not eating it. That's what i tell myself.