Addicted to sugar

theloodevil

I know I need to get off of my addiction to sugar. I just don't know if I am powerful enough to do it cold turkey. Does anyone have any advice?
I have tried sugar free gum when I would normally want it. I think I would need gum 24/7. Has anyone ever talked to a doctor about this?
I have 200 pounds to lose I know I have to get rid of this horrible habit.

Need2Exerc1se

If going cold turkey is too big a task, then take baby steps to reduce it. Try eating sugar ONLY with foods that have fiber and/or protein. This will lessen the rapid blood sugar rise and fall that often leads to binge eating.

Try getting sugar from fruit sources more than candy or baked goods.

Then set a goal to eat XX grams less than you did last week. Repeat that until you find your happy place with sugar.

Fruitylicious03

Just don't eat it. As simple as it sounds... it is. Don't buy it. And don't have it in the house. That's it.

2lhasas

When I kicked the sugar habit, I stocked up on berries. Anytime I had a sweet craving, I would grab some. I still use frozen blueberries as a dessert. I would avoid substituting artificially sweetened foods, as there is growing evidence they impact your blood sugar the same way. I know it's hard, but I promise it gets easier, and by 7-10 days you won't even notice it's gone.

I agree with the advice above too - purge, purge, purge. If you don't have it, you can't eat it.

WisheeNY

Why would you give it up completely? Why not just try to stick within the sugar goal MFP gives you?

agal129

WisheeNY wrote: »

Why would you give it up completely? Why not just try to stick within the sugar goal MFP gives you?

This may be a problem if you want to eat fruit. If you eat the recommended allowance of fruit, you will always go over your sugar allowance.

lemurcat12

Rather than focusing on giving up something, especially giving up something you like completely, why not focus on something positive, like eating an overall healthy diet within your calories and macros.

I found that when I focus on eating adequate protein (I try to get at least my lean body mass in grams, so more than what MFP would assign) and the amount of vegetables and fruits that I think are appropriate (lots, with every meal), and otherwise eating in a way to create nutritionally balanced meals, I don't end up with lots of room to eat sugary snacks. I do have room for some treats, though, and include those--often half a cup of ice cream at the end of dinner. But since it has to fit into my healthy diet, by necessity the calories I devote to that are not that high--moderation is the idea. This way I don't feel deprived, but I also generally feel satiated and don't overeat items.

When I first started I did have some habits of eating at non-meal times (generally sweet stuff), and when I cut those out (which was best for me), I missed them at first, but just getting out of the habit made that go away pretty quickly. I had other things to munch on until I was out of the habit--raw veggies and nuts, mostly. I just fit it in my calories.

These are what worked for me, but you may have specific issues, so if there are specific things you are struggling with (cravings, not overeating, mindless eating), you might want to be more specific and people may have advice based on similar struggles.

KDar1988

I have the same problem, as hard as I try, sugar always wins. No advice, just wish you good luck

TeaBea

I've gone cold turkey when starting a "new diet".....a couple days before (my diet) I didn't reduce calories.....my only goal was no added sugar. That helped me start my diet and stick to it. Then I added a sugary treat back in everyday. Here's why - I am not going to be sugar free in maintenance....so I have to figure out how to deal with sugar sooner or later.

DonnaJones7

After about 3 weeks, I am finding that some things get easier. I fail, I slip up, I get up, I try to do better. I have never been successful going cold turkey for more than about 2 days. I'm trying to make changes for the better. It is slow, but it IS happening. I try to keep it simple and let MFP set my goals. I am committed to logging everything I eat. I have not always stayed under my calorie and sugar goals, but I know that I am eating better and many days, stay under. You know you have a problem. Please realize that you are NOT alone. Try to do something good everyday.

I like the advice from people who recommend REPLACING rather than cutting out food. It really helps when there's less junk food in the house and more fruits and vegetables. I am finding that a banana or some yummy fruit can be a snack and taste good. I don't ever have to limit VOLUME of food if I make it good food.

You can do it!
Good luck. And Friend me if you like.

theloodevil

I shouldn't have said SUGAR I should have said sweets (I do understand the good from the bad there). Thank you everyone for help, encouragement and some ideas on replacements. I am glad that "just don't eat it" works for some of you but I guess you are stronger than me.
I did last weekend throw away all my sugar, flour and the containers I store them in. They were a trigger to bake so they had to go.

Milvardea

Good luck, friend! I am a bit of a weirdo, and I didn't have much trouble quitting sugar. But I have friends that had a hard time. Something I know helps my friends when they are trying to purge sugar it to brush their teeth more often. My friend, Nadia, read a study a few years ago that said that your saliva and tongue hold sugars after you eat them, and make you want them even more because you can still taste the residue in your mouth. Also, I know that one of my coworkers uses gum or little sugar free candies to help the transition. She also drinks a lot of water because she says that helps (I don't know what the science is behind that, but it's something to try, right?). I think everyone is different enough that it's hard to have a rule that "works for everyone," but I hope these are ideas that you can try out!

jkwolly

IN for sugar vs. sugar lolz.

999tigger

The good thing about MFP is that you know thousands have confronted this problem and dealt with it.

I would sort this out in your head before I started the diet because its potentially tortuous to you. By commiting to wanting to lose weight then you have to take the sacrifices that come with it, but MFP is abut lufestyle, so it merely asks you to learn about portion control and moderate. That means moderate sweets. They are a treat of pretty dense calories with little nuritional value. Dont cut them out, but start to wean yourself off them, they arent a meal. Replace them with healthier alternatives like fruit, which is also more likely to fill you up. Decide how many candy bars a day you need as a minimum and then start having less or smaller ones.

If you are eating within your calorie limit and have spare calories then you can spend them on sweets. Learn how to make them last, hard candy lasts longer than chocolate.
There was a thread on alternatives to chcolate, use the search function.

Please give up the non diet soda, its just got too much sugar, drink milk, water, tea.
Same goes for chips/crisps. Eventually you will get used to the new lower levels. The weight loss if it is what you want will then start to motivate you.

Take baby steps, plan them and then you will have less chance of quitting or bingeing.
Get soem friends and prepare a stregy you think will work, but aims at limiting the amount of sweets. Toy dont have to ive them up forever, but just treat them a bit differently.

theloodevil

Not to get in to a serious debate but what if you do need to give it up completely to be able to control it. (Not that it is the same as alcoholism) I wouldn't think it would be ok to have an alcoholic pick a different drink of choice you know. I could really use some cake eater anonymous. haha just trying to lighten the mood ;-)

Tigg_er

999tigger wrote: »

The good thing about MFP is that you know thousands have confronted this problem and dealt with it.

I would sort this out in your head before I started the diet because its potentially tortuous to you. By commiting to wanting to lose weight then you have to take the sacrifices that come with it, but MFP is abut lufestyle, so it merely asks you to learn about portion control and moderate. That means moderate sweets. They are a treat of pretty dense calories with little nuritional value. Dont cut them out, but start to wean yourself off them, they arent a meal. Replace them with healthier alternatives like fruit, which is also more likely to fill you up. Decide how many candy bars a day you need as a minimum and then start having less or smaller ones.

If you are eating within your calorie limit and have spare calories then you can spend them on sweets. Learn how to make them last, hard candy lasts longer than chocolate.
There was a thread on alternatives to chcolate, use the search function.

Please give up the non diet soda, its just got too much sugar, drink milk, water, tea.
Same goes for chips/crisps. Eventually you will get used to the new lower levels. The weight loss if it is what you want will then start to motivate you.

Take baby steps, plan them and then you will have less chance of quitting or bingeing.
Get soem friends and prepare a stregy you think will work, but aims at limiting the amount of sweets. Toy dont have to ive them up forever, but just treat them a bit differently.

Sounds like reasonable advice to me.

999tigger

It can have addictive qualities I think but too many people have a victim mentality because. Low levels of self confidence means they prepare excuses and dont think things through instead of getting their mind right and preparing properly imo. Thats why I suggest baby steps and tiny targets so they start getting into a winning and progress mentality. The whole comfort eating thing becomes a duvet, but clearly in most situations if its not done in moderation it leads people into a far more depressing place.

We are all going to hit obstacles, just have a common sense stragey of how to get past them.

AmandaHugginkiss

Hypoglycemia sucks. Don't give up sugar because your body needs the stuff to properly function. If you give up all sugar, you will probably go into a coma and die. If you eat more protein and fewer carbs, however, you'll probably feel better.

Holly_Roman_Empire

agal129 wrote: »

WisheeNY wrote: »

Why would you give it up completely? Why not just try to stick within the sugar goal MFP gives you?

This may be a problem if you want to eat fruit. If you eat the recommended allowance of fruit, you will always go over your sugar allowance.

What's so wrong with eating fruit? Or any sugar for that matter? What is this arbitrary level of sugar that constitutes an individual person's "allowance"?