Dealing with sugar withdaral! how long does it take?
Hello all,
Im 4 days into a new program and its getting tough. The program is low carb but I am aloud whole grains, no sugar alcohol ect,,,, just fruit veggies and protein. I'm eating about 1800 calories a day but I'm starving! I eat big meals and feel full and satisfied for like 10 or 15 minutes then I'm hungry. The sugar thing is really killing me. I feel depressed tired and hungry all the time. Im trying to hang in there but can someone tell me why im feeling so awful and if it will last. Is it ever going to get easier? I have already lost some weight and im drinking water like crazy I just don't understand what my body is going thorough I feel like im eating all the time but im always hungery. Any advice or help would be so great thanks!!!
Hey, I felt exactly the same for the first 2 weeks. Make sure you're eating plenty of fruit-the natural sugars will help. I had really bad headaches while my body wasgetting used to the shock(so i just took painkillers to help that) Soon the sluggishness will be replaced with more energy. It sounds strange, but I found exercising actually helped me with the tiredness-it gave me bounds of energy!
Make sure you stick to your diet plan...at least until your body is used to the change, otherwise you'll be undoing your hard work. The first couple of weeks are the hardest, getting used to this change, but soon you'll be used to it.
Sugar detox is tough! I've heard it compared to having a mild case of the flu. Depending on how much sugar you were eating before going on-plan, detox can take up to a week. As far as hunger, I'm not usually hungry after the first 2-3 days. May I ask which plan you are on? How much protein is the plan allowing you? How much fruit? If possible, I recommend increasing your protein intake and drastically reducing the amount of grains and fruits you consume each day. If possible, I would remove grains and fruits totally until you finish detoxing, then gradually add them back into your plan. Basically, I've just described Southbeach, which I highly recommend!
Honestly I'd cut out as much fruit as possible also- fruit makes me hungry. Instead of fruit eat more vegetables. Vegetables also have more fiber to keep you fuller longer.
Also are you drinking enough water? Thirst can be mistaken for hunger so I suggest drinking a glass of water anytime you feel hunger coming on.
If you must have fruit go with the berries since they have much less sugar and carbs in them.
I had to ween myself off of sugar over a period of 2 weeks. That was the only way I was able to do it. And I was a sugar fanatic. Toward the end I was REALLY close to snorting powdered sugar to get it into my system faster!
I agree with the others. When I detoxed I get a bad headache and fatigue the first week. Then it gets easier. I always have to do it gradually - remove refined sugar, then the other crap (chips, popcorn) then lower the amount of grains I eat. I do find that once the refined sugar is gone about 2-3 days I lose my appetite. I think that now that you are 4 days in you should white knuckle it for a few more days and see if your issues improve.
Last edited by Watercolor; 03-22-2011 at 09:27 AM.
My "carb flu" only lasted a week, and then I felt fantastic! Please, just push through this week and you will feel much better. Now, I feel sick and get headaches if I eat stuff with sugar in it. Go figure.
From what I have read, your body reacts the same to fake sugar as it does to real sugar. I'd skip it if you are really serious about no sugar.
It takes time and everyone is different. I am never hungry on a no sugar diet but my not the case for my husband. I love that at night my cravings are down to nothings. It's the habit to eat that remains for a long time. You'll get there!!!
I also cut sugar out of my diet and it took me about a week before I stopped having those major sugar cravings.
If I were you I would lay off the fruit for a little bit. Even though fruit contains "natural" sugar it still contains a whole heck of a lot of it! Some fruits are much higher in sugar than others, choose wisely. If you don't want to cut fruit out completely stick to berries, grapefruit, honeydew melon, cantaloupe. Avoid fruits like pineapple, apples, oranges, grapes, bananas.
Well its day 4 for me and I have had NO sugar I stay under 20 carbs a day and (ok I guess there is some sugar in what I have eaten but not enough) anyway I am surprised that it has only taken a few days for me to not want it any more but my cravings are gone. I felt like utter crap day 2 and 3 though. I think the less you have the faster it goes away so it will happen soon enough! Good luck to you!
Dealing with sugar withdaral! how long does it take?
