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

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.