[Thin Desire]

This is a question I've been wondering about. Are some of us just sugarholics from the start? I have always been obese and fat, actually compared to a lot of fat kids today, I was pretty near normal until I was about 11, I hit all of my milestones at the times normal-weighted kids do from about 7-10, which is amazing to me because when I was actually that age, I was told I was "so fat" and have been on diets since I was 7. I'm a guy by the way.

At any rate, my father has never had to deal with his weight, at most he got up to 210 in the army and that was a "fat time" for him. He's 174 now and has let his weight drop to 139 in the past due to picky eating habits (he's 5'11").

So, he buys donuts the other day, and I noticed he's taken a bite out of it and left the rest, and I'm thinking to myself: "Who does that?!". I didn't actually say anything to him.

This wasn't a huge fritter, this was just your basic buttermilk glazed donut. And, to me, no matter what, no matter how skinny I get, no matter how comatose, I will never be able to cut a small sliver of a single donut and leave the rest. He will nurse a single can of coke for 2 or 3 days.

I can't do that. Sugar really messes with my blood glucose levels, seems pretty standard when I say that, lol. But yet, apparently not so for him. Even if I'm cutting back I will always have one donut or a can or two of soda. Mostly I just drink water and go months without soda. So for me I just cut these kinds of trigger foods out altogether. And yet he can portion them.

I was wondering if some people are born "sugarholics" like with me, I've been around smokers my entire life, but have never felt the urge to partake, not even once. I have drank alcohol once or twice, but have never had a burning compulsive need to do it over again, so I'm thinking I don't have the "nicotine" or "alcoholic" gene. I could give or take those. But give me a donut, and I will feel a compulsive need to eat 20 more, and fight myself not to. Give me a can of coke, and I will want to drink 10 more, and fight myself not to. Does anyone else think that somehow some of us are just born with the "sugarholic" gene that makes us prone to this and others with the "alcoholic" gene or lack it or whatever? It's odd to me.

[Beach Patrol]

Originally Posted by Thin Desire

I was wondering if some people are born "sugarholics" like with me, I've been around smokers my entire life, but have never felt the urge to partake, not even once. I have drank alcohol once or twice, but have never had a burning compulsive need to do it over again, so I'm thinking I don't have the "nicotine" or "alcoholic" gene. I could give or take those. But give me a donut, and I will feel a compulsive need to eat 20 more, and fight myself not to. Give me a can of coke, and I will want to drink 10 more, and fight myself not to. Does anyone else think that somehow some of us are just born with the "sugarholic" gene that makes us prone to this and others with the "alcoholic" gene or lack it or whatever? It's odd to me.

Honey, I SO FEEL YOUR PAIN! - I, too, have never felt the urge to partake in nicotine, drugs, etc. I do drink on occasion, but I can certainly take it or leave it, & most often choose to leave it.

But put a sugary food in front of my face? "Get outta the way! SHE'S GONNA EAT!!!!!" yeah, something like that.

And I can be eating healthy-healthy-healthy for days & days, and then suddenly, without warning, I WANT SOMETHING SWEET. Not "fruit-sweet"... ain't no banana or strawberry gonna quell that demon. Nope! Gotta be something MAJOR SWEET, like a donut, cupcake, biggggg cookie, etc. And if I have ONE, I want MORE. The trick, for me, is completely walking away, and OMG, that is SO hard to do ...I very seldom succeed, BTW, when I'm in that "sugar monster" mode.

Is there a special "gene" that makes us sugaraholics? I don't know. But I truly do not doubt it at all. And it's very weird how it works in families... I've been prone to chubbiness all my life, while my brother has always been tall/slim, even tho he had the sugar demon hiding in him, too. (not fair! not fair!!! )

What I really wonder about is... if us sugarholics had NEVER had ANY sugar from womb to present day, would we still crave it? I mean like, if we'd had only natural sugars (thru fruit & honey, etc.) ... would we still be crazy for it? Would we risk 1000 bee stings to get near the honeycomb? Would we climb every tree to get the juiciest apple?? Things that make you go Hmmmm....

[tea2]

My answer is yes, because I'm exactly the same. I have to keep some things out of my house. Increasingly, when I have a craving, it has to be satisfied by something super sweet, like fudge, or it doesn't hit the spot. I am ok with pop, though, because I didn't grow up drinking it.

[130orbust]

I would consider myself addicted to sugar, for me too fruits don't satisfy the craving either. I can easily enjoy two 2-litres of coke (4 litres a day!) and polishing off an entire large bag of M&M's or say three whole kit kat bars in one sitting...piece of cake...did someone say cake? *looking around* LOL

I was one of those lucky kids who could eat all that junk growing up and stay stick thin. I held physical jobs through college and was in the best shape of my life, I was always skinny but got toned too, never had to give a second thought to what I was eating. Then I got a desk job out of college. I started getting "puffy". I had some decent curves going on by my mid 20's but was still "normal" BMI. THEN I started having children and my metabolism has apparently done a 180 on me. And here I find myself fighting sugar demons daily and losing at least 1/2 the time.

I guess I think of my sugar addiction more as a lack of self control than an actual physical addiction, I have not noticed any physical withdrawl symptoms if I don't have sugar when I want it. Unlike my caffiene addiction where I get headaches, crabby etc when I go with out.

(BTW I'm 4 days caffiene free right now and doing pretty well considering!)

[redhead14]

People in ND call it being "german", a meal is not complete without something sweet! I LOVE sugar which I get from my Dad but he didn't give me his metabolism

Learned that if I stay away from starchy foods the need doesn't seem so bad, but oh boy there are days were I just want to buy a big white cake with tons of frosting.

Being here on "3 Chicks" makes me realize that I'm not alone with my sugar addiction makes me feel better

[Lovely]

I'm so with you on the "who does that?!" part. Your story reminds me of that Seinfeld episode where George picks the eclair up out of the trash. Link for Laughs

I've stopped myself from eating a normal meal if I'm getting full, but I'll always finish whatever what served to me if it's a sweet dessert. So it just boils down to limiting when I'll have them and keeping them out of the house completely the rest of the time.

[NotTheCheat]

I am in the yes crowd. When it comes to sugar, I don’t think I have an off switch. I really tried to eat it moderately, and I succeeded to a small degree for awhile, but it was so hard that it is frankly unmanageable. One bite is enough to send me over the edge. If there is more I will want it, whether I am hungry or not, up until the point of being painfully full.

I don’t know if this is because sugar affects me differently biologically or psychologically than people who don’t have sugar issues. Well, I know it affects me at least somewhat differently biologically now because I have crossed the line into diabetes. I have to wonder if I have always had some type of sugar issue that has lead me to this spot.

I have basically decided not to eat it, except for maybe a few times a year and under very controlled circumstances. There is a part of me that hates that this is the case, but I have finally surrendered to the fact that this is how things have to be for me. As it is, I am so much happier not eating it, that as long as I can stay in that place, I don’t feel deprived. As fantastic as the rush is in the moment, in the long run it makes me feel terrible.

[bookwmn1]

Whenever I consider going off plan, it's always for sugary stuff. I grew up in one of those families where every meal ended with something sweet, even if it was just bread and jam.

I think some of us are wired differently when it comes to sugar (I have friends who couldn't care less about sugar, but salty crunchy fried foods are their downfall). It's best if I don't keep any kind of sweet treats in the house. I love to bake and I have all my grandmother's recipes, but now I only bake for holidays and birthdays.

Nancy

[fitness4life]

I'm totally into sugary snacks. Occassionally I have the salty snack urge, too. Sometimes I combo both - like M&Ms and pretzels.

I am also one who will take a bite out of a snack and leave the rest.

I think this may be why I can "eat whatever I want and not gain a pound" as I am often accused of.

Here's the mental process - and I've been like this my entire adult life - I have a craving. I identify if it's sugar or salt that I crave and dig around my pantry for the suitable snack.

I take/cut off one bite. If it doesn't hit the spot 110%, I don't eat the rest. I often say that it's not worth the calories if I don't love it at the moment.

[Beach Patrol]

I have learned (in the past) that when I get off sugar completely (except for natural sugar, like fruit) I. FEEL. SO. MUCH. BETTER! The longest I've gone w/out sugary-laden foods is 8 months. But one snickety-snack of a candy bar put an end to that.

I've also learned that I have a better reaction to "fatty-type" desserts as opposed to "sugary-type" desserts. Say something like... cheesecake instead of birthday cake. My sweet tooth is satiated without making me want more-more-more. If I have something like a regular glazed Krispy-Kreme donut or a piece of b'day cake, I just want another & another & another.

Also, I've learned that even tho I would much rather have candy/cake/cookie/etc instead of fruit, IF I CHOOSE FRUIT, overtime, my sweet tooth aches quite a bit less. So the more I choose fruit, the less I want candy. Does that make sense? Yeah, I don't know how that works, but it does.

But then... no matter how *good* I am, when TOM rolls around? It's like the sugar monster takes over and everything I've worked so hard for just seems to die away. PLUS, the ravenous SALT-FIEND jumps in to make matters even worse. It's like willpower simply doesn't exist at all during TOM. And yeah, I DO feel better if I just go ahead & indulge. Cause if I don't, my mood swings become akin to a T-Rex on a hobbling caveman rampage! ARGH!

[jennylou]

Our society is a formula society. Guess what one of the big ingredients in formula is? Corn Syrup. And babies are supposed to be primarily nourished by breastmilk or formula for their first year of life. If people are even a tiny bit predisposed to having problems with sugar, it seems to me that formula is a major start to it. There are tons of studies that link to formula increasing the risk of obesity.

[berryblondeboys]

I don't think we are born sugarholics, but I think some of us become sugarholics and can become that way very early on. I was (am) certainly. I'm with you. If there is a box of donuts. It's not one, but sneaking 3-4 and I could eat the whole box - NO PROBLEM. Which is so odd, because besides that sugar fix I needed (simple carbs - as that includes breads, rice, pasta) I ate really well. I love vegetables and ate a really good dinner - every night - love it, but for snacks and lunches - pure junk.

When I was told my blood sugars were out of whack, I dropped all simple carbs and I felt so much better - immensely better. AND I lost the cravings for them. I just know I can't have them as they make me feel horrible AND they start a uncontrollable 'need' for them.

I can now have 'a' small something once in awhile - like once a month and I don't feel the need for a binge or more, but that's it. I don't need it or want it.

My husband and my son can eat a square of chocolate a day. Or pass up sweets - no problem. Me???? NO WAY. (now I can, but before? Uh-uh.)

[Emme]

I don't have an off-switch when it comes to sugar, either. I am not one of those people who can buy a bag of gummy bears, have a few, and then wrap them up for later. I bought a mondo-sized box of Nerds at a store one day and ate the whole thing in 3 hours. I was on a sugar high for quite a while! I would set the box down and it felt like it was literally calling me back to grab another handful.

[fitness4life]

Originally Posted by jennylou

Our society is a formula society. Guess what one of the big ingredients in formula is? Corn Syrup. And babies are supposed to be primarily nourished by breastmilk or formula for their first year of life. If people are even a tiny bit predisposed to having problems with sugar, it seems to me that formula is a major start to it. There are tons of studies that link to formula increasing the risk of obesity.

This is curious to me. I breast fed my 4 kids. Because of over active lactation glands, with each child breastfeeding became unbearably painful.

The first child I breast fed for 1 year.
The second, 6 months.
The third, 3 months.
The fourth 8 weeks.

Formula was fed after breast feeding ceased.

My first child is not chunky but she fights her demons with food and is naturally curvy. She is not a rail by any means.

2nd child is a rail.
3rd child is even more of a rail.
4th child is chunky and self conscious and fights with his food demons and gives in almost every time. I think he'll thin out when his height catches up to his weight but he has the worst relationship with food out of all my kids.

I wonder if it's linked to him being fed formula the most. ??

[shishkeberry]

I agree about the formula thing. I don't think it always causes problems, but it can certainly exacerbate things. One of the reasons I tried so hard to make breastfeeding work for my two kids, even to the point of exclusive, seven times a day hospital grade pumping with my youngest.