I am 29 years old, and 25 lbs overweight. My skin is itchy, I am irritable, crave sugar like CRAZY, frequently out of breath, have brain fog sometimes, my joints and muscles ache, and am just tired, grumpy, and lazy. I definitely gets worse the more sugar I eat... I do eat a lot of sugar.... probably the equivalent of 5 candy bars a day at least......I try to stop but I feel like a drug addict going through withdrawals...(Probably stupid question) Could the excess sugar be causing those problems? Do you have any tips on kicking the habit?? Thank you!

i'm no nutritionist, let alone know anything about the medical aspect of this, but if it were me, i would ask my doc to do some bloodwork just to rule out any underlying medical/blood sugar issues.

assuming that is all ok, i will tell you i was/am a massive sugar addict. i can eat box after box of hot tamales, jelly beans, bags of jolly ranchers, so on. havent touched any sugar in 2 weeks, and i dont even miss it, honest. i'm eating a ton of fruits and veggies, and i am eating lean protein, and healthy oils. its amazing......sugar isnt even tempting and i swear it happened overnight.

good luck

Thanks for your responses! How do I get one of those tickers?

Oh yes, could totally be the cause of your problems!!!

Before I cut sugar out of my diet I would hit a point around 2pm where I'd literally fall asleep in my chair. That doesn't work so great when you're a school teacher!!! I haven't had that feeling in WEEKS. The brain fog was a big issue as well and that's totally gone for me too. Give it a try!

Burningstar28, sounds like you are addicted to sugar, but please don't call or think of yourself as lazy ... lack of energy is a symptom of sugar addiction. Because of the simple sugar surge insulin comes out and over compensates making your blood sugar level low, making you tired with little to no energy and then that makes your body crave more sugar to bring up your blood sugar level and the cycle goes on and on.

There are several diet plans that eliminate sugar from the diet. (Simple sugars especially- simple sugars are the ones our bodies respond to immediately with realeasing insulin). There is a section on this forum that talks about several different diet plans. I am on the Ideal Proteing diet plan. With the stopping cold of having sugar, most people feel horrible for a few days when they start. I didn't have that problem but not sure why, lol. I'm in my 6th week of the diet and have lost about 22 pounds.

We get access to getting a ticker after we have posted 20 times within 20 days. I don't recall seeing a thread that tells us how we'll get it though.

Mary

i honestly dont remember how to get a ticker, but someone will be along soon enough and steer you in the right direction

i have these same issues, and ive been wondering if its related to Candida. Going on an Atkins induction (phase 1) diet has really helped me kick the sugar habit.

Tickers are available through the User CP up at the top of the page. They are part of the signature.

Sugar and other easily digested carbs are definitely contributers (if not causes) to many of the health problems I was experiencing. It's still sometimes hard for me to wrap my brain around the fact that I have to eliminate some foods completely from my diet (if I want to feel and look good).

For me, wheat is the most important for me to avoid (I've had all sorts of skin problems most of my life, and when I'm off wheat the difference in skin is amazing - itching, swelling, redness, rashes.... all much improved when I eliminate wheat and limit sugars/carbs).

Non-fiber carbs (simple and complex sugars and starches) all break down into sugar, so you may find you need to limit those too to some degree. Still just by eliminating processed sugar alone, it's likely you'll see significant improvement.

You could try tapering off rather than "cold-turkey," but a lot of people find it easier to start with a low-carb or low-sugar diet and then start adding in healthier (higher fiber) sources of sugar/starch.