Sugar Addiction!! Any tips to beat it?
 

I am proclaiming myself a sugar addict. I have been trying to eat better in general, but the past 2 days I have done nothing but crave sweets! I feen for sweets like an addict would drugs. I can't stop cold turkey because I know eventually I would binge and eat an entire dozen doughnuts or something as equally bad.

Does anyone have any suggestions on how to conquer this? Or to slight it even? Maybe healthy(ish) sweet treat ideas. I love fruit, but as of now that doesn't do it for me.

I know you say you can't stop cold turkey, but have you tried stopping all grain/sugar/fruit for a week just to see how you feel? Many of us find the cravings just disappear, but others feel the way that you do. It's worth a shot, even if just for a week.

Detox. I am also a sugar addict. When it starts getting out of control, where all I eat is sugar and carbs, I do south beach diet phase one. This is usually once a year. It cuts out sugar, grains and starchy vegetables for 2 weeks. Really helps me.

I cut sugar for a day. Then eat it like crazy the next day. Then go for two days. Then eat it. Then three. What happens is I know I'll get it eventually, and then when I do get it, it eventually stops being a big deal. And then while you're waiting for your Sugar Day, one day you'll forget you're waiting!

I'm quoting you and replacing the word "sugar" with the drug words.

I know it's hard to go cold turkey and I hear you about the bingeing. I always splurge again, but abstain as much as possible. I set myself up for a few days of no sugar and then I accept the fact that I will eat enough pancakes to feed a small village by the end of the week. But then I get on the wagon again, maybe the next day or maybe a couple of days after. But I'd rather binge every once in a while than do a slow steady sugar binge like you're on now (like I've been on before). I get on the horse then I fall off the horse. But I'd rather fall and get back on numerous times because then it gets easier to stay on the horse and if I do fall it's easier to get back on again.

I had the same deal with chocolate, have found that if I stay away from it I don't crave it, now I let myself have some on the weekend and as mentioned above, it doesn't have the same power it used to.

I understand sugar is in so many things now it's harder to manage. I like the idea of lengthening the time in between.

Best of luck to you, keep trying, don't let something outside of you control you :sunny:

There's a great book called "Sugarettes" that advocates 30 days of completely avoiding, not just added sugars, but also potatoes, bread, rice, pasta, etc. I did that for a couple of months, and found the sugar cravings completely disappeared.

Now I just avoid added sugars, and have some rice/potatoes/bread, but not a lot. It's working for me.

My diet actually has a built-in cheat day. I don't have to feel guilty about it because it's a recommended part of the diet. I too LOVE sweets, especially chocolate, but somehow I've been able to do without them for 6 days a week, knowing that on the 7th day, cheat day, I can have them all I want. Surprisingly, I haven't gone crazy eating them when I can. I do eat them, but it's not an all-out binge. It's worked out really well for me!

I'm a sugar addict as well. I've found that if I go cold turkey from ALL sugar, the withdrawl, and it is withdrawl, gets easier after a few days and eventually I crave NO sugar at all.... BUT since sugar is everywhere, I end up eating it again eventually (like holiday party) then the crash is worse because I've gone from NO sugar to eating it. I dont want to go the rest of my life avoiding...

I have noticed that if I lower my sugar intake, I crave it less. And I just have to be careful not to "treat" myself to something like bananas foster or else I will spiral into a sugar binge. I'm ok in small controled moderation.

Some people are successful with cutting out sugar 100%, some avoid trigger foods....You have to find what works for you. It is like a drug, the more you eat the more you need, which is why I have found I can handle it in small amounts.

Oh an for my alcohol triggers sugar cravings so if I get in the habit of drinking wine at night, I find my sugars cravings over all increase. HTH

One VERY important thing for me to realize is I was a carb addict not a sugar addict. I thought it was sugar but carbs act the same to your body. I think of bread now as cotton candy. Even whole wheat: it might get processed a bit slower but it is still going to raise your insulin.

I pretty much went cold turkey on fast food and sweets, bread and pasta. Ice cream, chips, etc. It can be done. First few weeks were hard now it is better. And I am free and in control. Ironically my body handles and processes carbs much better now. But that would never have happened without taking time away from them.

Don't think its sugar only, it is probably all carbs. Need to be aware of that, then you can get a handle on it.

Ditto for me. I sounded just like you, thinking that I could not possibly quit. After struggling my entire life with this, I waited until my late 50s to try a low carb diet. It has been wonderful. No more cravings for me. The first couple of weeks were very rough but now it is blissful to not have to deal with the cravings.

PS - For full disclosure, when at something like a party with cake, I still want the cake but if I eat a slice, it is very hard to stop.

I don't know if I'm a sugar addict or a carb addict -- or both -- but have found that since restricting my carb intake to 75g of carbs/day or less that I don't have as many cravings. It still allows you to have foods that are high in carbs, but that means that you need to be careful with what else you eat during the day. You'll hopefully get to the point where you prefer a piece of fruit to get your sweets and if you do have a high carb trigger food (chips, chocolate, ice cream for me), then portion it out. It also might help to identify your danger behavior. For instance, if I just put a bag of chips on the table even with the intent of eating only one serving, that bag of chips will be gone by the end of the day. But if I put a portion on my plate and then put the chips away, I'm ok. Don't ask me why, but it's a danger behavior, and I'm trying to learn to deal with it.

From all the posts, you know you're not alone and sometimes just knowing that helps with dealing with the cravings. Good luck.

I am a sugar/carb addict who is a binge eater. The only thing that has worked for me is cutting all sugar, grains, and flour out of my way of eating. Atkins is the only thing that has helped me get control of binge eating and sugar/carb addiction. It took so many failed attempts to get thru the first week. But, once I did the second week got easier.

I am on day 16 currently. I had been sugar free and following Atkins for several years until I fell off the wagon. An addict can have a relapse, but its important to try to keep getting up and try again. For me I've had to really try to figure out what drives me to eat, be truly honest with myself. Its difficult.

I don't even have this strength, if the chips are in the house they will be gone. I can have the best intentions in the world, but I will go back and keep eating until they are gone, even if I put some out on my plate..I go back for more.

Great advice from everyone! Sounds like I need to try a detox -again - and maybe schedule a cheat day every now and then.

I tried Atkins/low carb before, but adding in the (sad) fact that I don't like many veggies, it was very difficult to do.

It is the worst timing for me with the holidays coming up, but it's definitely something that I need to do! Seems like more research and reading on 3FC is in order.

Thanks everyone!

I was a binge eater. Like every single day I'd binge in the evenings.

I tried the Primal Blueprint earlier this year but I just kept binging so I gave up, but then I gained 30 pounds and the scale almost read 300. When I saw that I just broke down crying and I decided I had to give it a real shot with all my willpower and discipline, because in my heart I believe a paleo/primal diet is the best diet for me.

So I managed to plow through that first week without sugar or grains because I was so motivated not to see 300 on the scale.

After that first week everything became easier. It's a miracle for me not be burdened by thoughts of binge eating.

I also found I really needed to count my carbs because even on a primal diet I was getting a lot of carbs from honey and fruits, which are healthy yes, but not good for my cravings and hunger.

So...that's my story. I'm five days away from being in the triple digits of days spent binge free! I haven't touched bread, although I did have a little candy around Halloween. Like, three candy corn, and that was it, because I didn't want to risk falling right back into constant cravings.

People see how I eat and they say "Oh that sucks you can't have sugar or bread!" and I used to think that way too, but now I think about how it would really suck to be ruled by my food cravings again.

When you did it before, did you try planning out your meals ahead of time? It's one of the easiest ways for me to stay within my dietary budget. Just taking a minute to write down something like this could really make or break it.

B: Cheese omelette with side of sausage
L: Bowl of bean-less chili topped with cheese and sour cream
D: Meatballs with zucchini noodles and marinara
S: Cucumbers with ranch dressing

B: Scrambled eggs with bacon
L: Turkey and cheese in lettuce wraps with mayo
D: Steak, cauliflower mash, and green beans
S: Peanut butter w/celery

I didn't really plan my meals out like that, no. Those sound like very good options! I will have to look at more ideas like this and work on a weekly eating plan. Thanks!

Thewalrus0, I truly enjoyed reading your post, especially that last paragraph.

Munchy, your menus sound amazing!!

:sunny:

I second Munchy's suggestion of having a plan. I sat down and planned out every breakfast, lunch and dinner that I'd eat throughout the entire month of August. Planning every meal and having a firm plan in place was key, because I never allowed myself to reach a point where I got hungry and needed to "just grab something to eat." Every day, I knew exactly what I'd be eating for each meal, and I knew exactly when I'd be eating it, so there wasn't any room left over for cheating.

I basically went cold-turkey on sugar for a month, and it was pretty hard, but I just pushed through it. I approached it like a personal challenge; a competition to win. I kept on saying "I'll be so proud of myself if I just make it to the end of this month!!" Whenever I felt tempted to eat sugar, I just told myself that I'd be letting myself down. I planned a big sugar-binge as a reward for myself at the end of the month (and ended up not needing to do it!) The first month was hardest. It became enormously easier after the first month.

The reason I was able to go cold-turkey without bingeing on doughnuts was because I had this really detailed daily meal plan. I never allowed myself to get so hungry that I wanted to binge on anything. I ate my healthy meals and kept myself suitably full and satiated all the time. There were never any hunger pangs.

I also learned a lot about how sugar is manufactured and processed, and it was so revolting and disgusting to me that I kind of lost my appetite for anything full of processed sugar. Every time I wanted to eat a sugary doughnut, I'd think to myself "But do I really want to eat a bunch of ammonia-treated toxic chemicals?" and then I'd lose my appetite for that pretty quickly.

Over the course of that month, sugar lost its power over me and my tastebuds genuinely changed. Fruit started tasting sweet and delicious instead of tasting sour. I think it's worth it to try to go cold-turkey because it's true, the cravings completely disappeared. I used to be intensely addicted to sugar, and I used t have the biggest sweet tooth ever. I never thought it would ever be possible for me to quit cold-turkey, and I never though it would ever be possible for me to not crave sugar, but I bit the bullet and I did it, and it worked.

I could never cut sugar entirely 100% out of my diet in the long-term, though. Since August, I've added (homemade!) sweets back into my diet in a limited way, and it keeps me sane, and it keeps me on track. I have dessert once a week, and it's something to look forward to. The occasional homemade healthy treat won't derail your weight loss efforts.

Thanks! I have been planning my meals for about six years and have never had much of a problem with staying on plan. This isn't my menu plan, but just an idea for the OP.
What I like so much about it is that things like chili or meatballs can be pre-cooked, portioned and frozen so they can return again on a menu plan for months without having to actually cook again :)

Munchy, the suggestions that you made sound so much like what I have every day! And I, too, have both chili and meatballs in little 1 cup containers in my freezer. I make a big batch in my crock pot. This week alone I've dipped into my frozen supplies for 3 meals. It's very convenient and I really enjoy everything I've frozen.

Tweetie, I was really worried about cutting out sugar and especially carbs as well. It has been hard at times and I've messed up a couple of times since I started 3 weeks ago, but overall, it's been easier than I expected. Do you enjoy cooking? Cooking is something I really like to do, so I've been amassing a collection of lower carb recipes. All kinds of recipes! Many recipes can be adapted to be lower carb. Then at the beginning of each week, I make a meal plan for the week and buy what I need. For instance, this week's dinners will be pizza chicken (baked chicken breasts topped with homemade pizza sauce, mozzarella, pepperoni, and olives), Greek salad, stir fry made of pork, cabbage, and mushrooms, and spinach-feta crustless quiche. We'll have leftovers of the chicken, stir fry, and quiche, and I'll serve some sort of veggie or salad with each meal. Nothing I'm cooking this week is bound for the freezer, but like Munchy, whenever I make something freezer-friendly, I make extra and freeze it for lunches and dinners.

To my surprise, a lot of lower carb meals are actually really good and almost better than with carbs. Take a tuna sandwich, for instance. I've always liked tuna sandwiches! Now I prepare the tuna as usual with some mayo and a bit of mustard, but I put it on top of a diced tomato or cucumber, or BOTH and put a few slices of black olive on top. It has much more flavor than just tuna on bread, which is how I used to mostly eat tuna.

In my experience, the meals I cook without carbs have a lot fewer calories, because pasta and rice and the like are packed with 'em. Plus, if I make something with a sauce, I don't need as much sauce since I don't have pasta or whatever to coat with it.

Let me note that I'm not following the Atkins Diet or any other specific diet, just cutting out grains, starches, and non-fruit/veggie based sugars.

So I too was a sugar junkie. At the end of August I gave my self a challenge--no sugary sweets--chocolate, brownies, pie, cakes, etc for 30 days. And to my surprise I did it! I was so happy. I did allow myself to have fruit, it seemed to help with my sweet tooth! These days I am not so I must have sweets...maybe once a week...and my DH and I don't keep sweets in the house so that really helps. I am happy to know that I no longer have to have all those sugars, and enjoy fruit a lot more than I did.

I recently watched 'toxic sugar' which you can find on youtube. very enlightening. I try to eliminate all the 'white stuff' from my diet including sugar. But sometimes I think it is psychological 'desire' for a piece of chocolate or something sweet. Though my body doesn't really crave it, my mind does. How does one get over this hurdle?

Every diet I have tried that cut out those things I love mainly chocolate and sugary snacks always failed. This is my first successful diet and it doesn't feel like a diet because I allow myself a small snack each day, usually chocolate. I don't feel like I am jipping myself and it keeps me from binging. I have lost 51 pounds since july and I don't feel the urge to stop I am happy. Sometimes its not always about getting rid of the "bad" stuff its about finding a compromise that will allow you to live both healthy and happily. I even found recently I don't want my snack and will opt for more healthy food, it is losing its grip on me and I don't feel like I am fighting hard to do it.

This is really well worded.

I just wanted to add that when it comes to things like sugar addiction you have to consider if you're truly addicted or if you're just masking something deeper.

The psychology of food as it relates to depression or compulsions is not a subject I know much about but I do think in some people it plays a role.

Regardless, in my opinion, I think the best way to beat it is total abstinence for a period of time. Easier said than done, I realize. I've never heard anyone say that the cravings got bigger after the initial "detox" of abstaining. Most seem to say the cravings diminished.

From there it is a matter of determining if you're an abstainince person or a moderation person. (If I may over simplify a complex topic)

If you've got the abuse or trauma in your background and you think it is part of your eating, help exists. If nothing else, talking to others anonymously on the internet in support groups can help. A friend of mine talks about this on her blog.

Tweetie, you mentioned that you may have a rough time avoiding sugar since the holidays are almost upon us. This is something I've been concerned about as well. Although I'm not that much of a sweets eater- I'd pick something salty over something sweet 9 out of 10 times- I've been concerned about it as well. One of my favorite Christmas pastimes is baking lots of cookies and making candy. It's just so fun and festive and yields such tastiness. Of course this year I won't be able to do as much of that. While I do plan to bake a few things and allow myself to have 1 of whatever I've made, it definitely will not be like it has in the past. Instead, I've been brainstorming other festive things I can do that won't make it feel like I'm missing out on Christmas. Here are some of the things I've come up with:

-Make low sugar desserts and treats. I plan to make some fancy Jello with sugar free ingredients, pumpkin custard (pumpkin pie made with Splenda and no crust), a recipe I found for low carb/sugar free peanut butter fudge, and I'm going to roast some spiced nuts. Of course I'm not planning to eat too much of any of these treats.

-Do a holiday puzzle. I'm kind of snowman crazy (always have been!) and I purchased a snowman puzzle to start working on soon. Skip this idea of course if you hate puzzles- I love puzzles :)

-Do some holiday crafts. I'm making several appliqued shirts for my little nephew, making my in-laws a handmade Christmas card, and making some ornaments. There are tons of ideas out there for handmade ornaments! If you can crochet or knit, there are even cute patterns for crocheted ornaments and decorations.

-Make lots of paper snowflakes. Haven't done this since I was a kid! Yesterday I bought a package of white coffee filters for a dollar and plan to make some long chains of snowflakes to hang from the ceiling.

-Send out holiday cards. Always fun!

Hopefully these ideas are a little helpful, sorry some of them are pretty silly.

I honestly never thought I could go without a sweet but I finally have. I know someone a LONG time ago in HS had a bet with her mom that she wouldn't eat candy for 30 days which her mom never thought she'd be able to do but she did and won the bet (I think it was for $100 or something like that).

I had NEVER been able to do that before but that's what I just did. Once or twice I dreamt of eating my favorite candy and that really made it difficult but I got through that and waiting for the next phase.

I did go cold turkey, tho, because I knew I was in a place where I could just power through. Drinking an iced latte with Splenda every once in a while helps and water enhancers in 1 or 2 of my waters every now and then just for something different. Hadn't really wanted a soda for a long time so that was easy but we were drinking iced tea made from a mix so that was bad. But we gave up cold turkey on that, too, which I wanted to do anyway.

So just super proud of myself for not having or even coming close to eating candy, donuts, etc. for as long as I have.

Sugar Free
 

I am very new to the 3FC site, in fact only registered yesterday :carrot: so I am not really sure what to do, but here goes!

I began my new journey to good health around six weeks ago. The very first thing I chose to do was eliminate all obvious sugar and cut right back on the "hidden" sugars, although I am not obsessive about those.

I have been doing great and have lost about six kilos with no real effort. Once I cut the sugar healthy eating just fell into place and I have found things fairly easy.

Christmas was a challenge but even though I had some hiccoughs I was able get right "back on the horse". Yay :carrot::carrot:

My biggest challenge at the minute is that I have an eye infection and can't were my contacts so I can't drive to the gym. Hopefully tomorrow. I really love how I feel when I go regularly.

Anyhow, thanks for listening, it's good just to talk to like-minded people.

I used to be addicted to sugar years ago. I stopped by allowing myself a small sugary snack each day and that seemed to work well. At first I seemed to have sugar withdrawals and then I got used to it. I only have a sugar binge once every 5 or 6 months now and it's been like that for about 2 years. But it really depends on the person, you have to find out what works for you, there have been some interesting tips in this thread so far.

Sugar Free - Cold Turkey?
 

Hi, me again

When I first decided to go sugar free, I thought I would go "cold turkey", but it wasn't a huge success, it was just a bit too hard. I then changed something every day.

Started with very small things, eg no chocolate on my cappuccino and each day added something else. I did cut out lollies, biscuits etc right away though and now have a small snack of dry roasted nuts whenever I need something to eat.

I think my mind set has had a lot to do with weight loss, I made up my mind I am over being an unhealthy weight and I believe that's most of the battle. The other thing I believe is "the best" is not "going on a diet"!

Choosing to be slim and healthy and choosing unprocessed foods, I think, is the answer.

Let's see if this works :dizzy: -so far I have found it fairly easy, even though I have had some slip ups.

Can't wait to get back to the gym : I am stoked :dancer:

:ebike::ebike:

Sugar Free -Well Almost
 

Yay - I have made it back to the gym and I am loving it. I was always a sporty person in the past until I became overwhelmed by my sugar addiction and fell off the roundabout :woops:

It is a great feeling when you can really work up a sweat, I always feel great for the whole day :carrot:.

I truly believe that sugar was robbing me of energy and surely killing me. Well, no more !

I have been doing strength training around three times a week and last week started the "Couch to 5 kg in 10 Weeks Challenge". I didn't really think I would be able to do this, but so far so good. :running:.

The other thing I have been intermittently is boxing. I am not very good at it, but I love it. Belting something is sometimes ver satisfying. :boxing:

Once again thanks for listening,

Cheers

I was a carb and sugar addict. I adored chocolate. When I started on my current journey, I told myself that I would not deny myself chocolate. That I would work it into my calorie intake. I kept a bag of mini chocolate chips in my pantry. When I would want something sweet, I would go throw 2 or 3 mini chips in my mouth. After a while, my cravings subsided. Then I worried that one day I would binge because it had been so long since I had had chocolate. So then I forced myself to eat a few. It was enough of a mind trick to get me to stop craving it.

Congratulation on losing your 6kg, AJdog! I think of myself as a sugar addict as well. I love all kinds of chocolate and chocolate-covered stuff.

I'm not really out of it at the moment, because I just started my diet, but in the past I used to have a list of things to do before eating sweets, when I was craving them and when I got through it, my cravings usually reduced. Sometimes even when I just did the first thing on the list.

Here is the list:
- drink warm tea
- chew gum
- do a mini workout
- wash dishes
- paint your nails
- facial mask
- shave your legs
- ...

If anyone has something good to add to the list, please notify me! :)

What has worked for me is this: Eliminate sugar and fast acting carbs (bread, including wheat, pasta etc) completely for 2-3 weeks. Basically, until I'm not craving them anymore. It is **** for several days and then becomes easier and easier. Once I do this, I go back to a more moderate plan where carbs can be included in moderation, and sugar treats can be included at a cheat meal for 1-2 meals a week and they no longer trigger me. I have to redo this process after times when I fall off the wagon (Christmas!) But to me this works - in the throws of addiction, I can't pretend its possible for me to have sugar in moderation. Once I "detox", I can get back to a more normal lifestyle plan that includes sugar in moderation.