I'm addicted to sugar and sweets...

Annabelle_M

I've battled this addiction for years, and never even really considered it an addiction until I see myself go through withdrawals when I don't have sugar. I'm fine with fruits but what I'm talking about is the BAD sugars in candy and cookies. Any advice would be great. Thanks.

dj_stevie_c

No you're not addicted.

Okay I love my sweets, I could eat a 1kg bar of chocolate, no problem at all, I could eat 2 bags of M&M's no problem, I could eat 4 snickers bars in one sitting, I ate it like food not like 'its a treat' it made up most of my diet, I put sugar in my coffee, 3 in each cup, I put sugar on my cereal.

I have a sweet tooth to end sweet teeth, I can't have one biscuit, I have the pack, I can't have one sweet I eat the bowlful. I could eat a whole box of cereal as long as it was sweet, no problem, I am Mr Sweet tooth.

I've been like this my entire life.

Recently I haven't eaten any kind of sweet/chocolate/biscuits for the past 3 months and I do NOT miss them.

I just think of myself, think of where I need to be an how long, because of the damage I've done to myself, it's going to take me to get there, I don't need sweets at all, they are evil. Nasty things.

And you know what, a bit of will power and you can overcome it. You can get healthier alternatives to 'wean' you off it, but I believe in cold turkey myself

If you can't do it then you're not ready. Sad reality but it is the truth, I really wish you the best of luck and I promise you, you can do it as long as you want it.

naturebaby

I find the longer i go without these things the less craving i have for them..try chewing sugarfree gum or suck a sugar free life saver if it's too bad..eventually it will ease up. Everytime you just sneak a bite you start the craving process over again. Hang in there i get it!!:grumble:

LisaNa10

I know exactly what you mean. It's almost like I mourn the bad fatty/sugary foods when I don't have them. Or even when I think about giving them up. It's a struggle, but the way I see it if people can overcome other drug addictions like heroin or cocaine then this should be something that we both can overcome.

MiniRose2B

I'm another "sugar addict" I don't think I can quit cold turkey, but I have stop eating bags of Oreo's and Hershey 6 packs, when I want a sweet now I have a cup of coffee latte (International coffee) and a fiber 1 oats and chocolate bar. It's not that many calories and really is satisfying. : )

AlisaToth

Desserts and sweets are not something I think i will EVER be able to give up. I have just learned how to budget them into my daily consumtions! So i plan out my meals around a 1200 calorie diet, then i workout to earn more calories and try to portion control something yummy in for dessert. I found the more "restrictions" i put on certain foods the more i want them.
Some of my guilt free fav's are Brownies (most are under 200cal), The Mini-Bettycrocker microwavable cakes (150 cals) and i just recently found a recipe for Mini Tirimisu's that are only 110 calories! It's all about moderation!

Annabelle_M

Thanks so much everyone!! I'm so glad I'm not alone in this! I could eat a whole bag of marshmallows if they were around!! I will try and cut out sweets but slowly because I know myself and I don't do well with cutting cold turkey. Thanks again everyone!

dj_stevie: Congrats on giving up sweets!!

MrsWibbly

As a kid and into my 20's I used to eat a huge amount of sugary anything. Drinks, sweets, whatever - but I was so active it didn't make a difference to my weight (just my mood!)

I had to go cold turkey in 2004 when a medication I was on caused carbohydrate cravings and I gained 3 stone in 9 weeks!! Once I had been off the sugary foods and sweets for a while I found that things were too sweet and I no longer craved sugar - in fact every time I eat too much now (which could be as little as one small packet of sweets) I feel sick - and I have to drink a pint or two of water and sit down until I feel better.

I think the key for me to making the cold turkey work was my doctor recommended a low GI diet - in that I should switch any high GI carbs in my diet for low GI carbs. So swapping regular potatoes for sweet potatoes etc. This meant that I didn't get the downs that fed the need for sugary foods.

Bonus was when I came off the meds I dropped the weight nearly as fast as I had gained it.

jasonweinberg

i've been off sweets for 7 weeks now. i generally crave something sweet after dinner. other than that, its more the corrupting influence of my daughter, who is skinny as a rail and loves her sweets. i guess i was also always prone to enjoying danishes and stuf for a morning snack. now i pick up yoplait fiber one yogurts which are 50 calories and high fiber. i also eat the special k high protein snack bars for an afternoon snack and they are fairly sweet. but as far as cake, ice cream candy bars, etc. i really think those are a thing of the past for me. if anything, i miss my beer more, although beer is also loaded with sugars...i even cut back on fruits so i can make my sugar goals. i definitely find my energy to be on a much more even keel without sweets.

MrsWibbly

Jason - if you are missing beer have you tried Bud's new one - Select 55? I'd be interested to know what you think of it as I have a friend who is piloting their promotional hot air balloon (currently doing the rounds at events all over the US!)

jasonweinberg

that's not the kind of beer i like. i like the high alcohol microbrews. that stuff would be like water for me. i'm having the lap band surgery and have to be off all alcohol and carbonated beverages. so, that's two strikes...

jacerulli

I don't think you should completely deprive yourself of the things you love. Its all in moderation !!! Trust me, I couldn't go 1 night without a big bowl of ice cream, or grabbing a candy bar every time I went through a check out line, and don't even get me started on cupcakes !!!!!! I tried to cut the sweets out but honestly, that just drove me crazy. Then I'd end up saying "forget it, I can't do this" and I would shove every kind of chocolate or sweet there was in my face, or I'D be the one begging my daughter to come with me to the local ice cream shop. Now, I don't deprive. I call the little sweet treats rewards. They are small, VERY small - but it works. I will either have one of those sugar free chocolate pudding cups that are only 60 calories, or a weight watchers cake (its seriously like the size of my thumb) but it kills the craving and I DON'T feel deprived. I started dieting 3 weeks ago with this new state of mind of eating the right foods, but also allowing myself to have those little treats, and I have lost 10 lbs in 3 weeks. So Im losing and Im still happy. Everybody is different, I know. But try to do what is right for you. If you get an urge for chocolate, don't grab a 2lb bag of M&M's. Grab the weight watchers chocolate cake, or a sugar free pudding cup. I just don't think completely depriving yourself is going to work.

peggy60

I totally understand. I am a choc-o-holic my self. I like "The Skinny Cow" ice cream. They come in single servings 150 cal. 1.5 grams of fat. And they taste really good. Actually just the right size too...that says alot for me! : :huh: I love the choc. w/ brownie chunks and the cookies and cream....maybe this will help with the cravings. Good Luck.

AMOMONAJOURNEYTOCHANGEHERLIFE

I completely know what you mean. I tried that south beach diet thing and I felt horrible. I mean I was eating boxes of cookies, candy bars, ice creams, all kinds of high sugar foods heck I would take shots of pure 100% real maple syrup.

So first what I had to do is recognize what triggered me eating them the most. Then I truly had to make a conscious decision not to eat it. But if I just can't kick that pull to the kitchen I found some sweet alternatives look at low cal low fat low sugary diet foods. They have cookies and chocolate bars that have half the sugar or more then some of the other crap I used to eat. Also I've found low cal no fat sugar free ice cream bars from schwann's It takes care of that ice craving for me really well. The other thing I do is really pay attention to labels and ask myself before I eat if it's worth it to me and think a few minutes. That has really helped me out. Of course there is going to be a down day where I might just loose control. But at the end of my moment I pull myself up and tell myself this is a new day and I will do better today. Soon the cravings get less and less the longer you go low sugar and you really can wean yourself off or almost down. I have noticed when I do eat something now with high sugar in it surprising to me is too sweet and I stop eating it. I used to be the person that could eat a 1/4 double fudge brown with fudge frosting in one sitting and not take a drink. Now I couldn't eat all that with out making myself feel ill. And I have only been really committed this time for a month.

cccng

Ahahahaha I own a CANDY STORE! For real. And I LOVE my sweets soooo much. (Obviously) I spiked my weight in just a couple months by making my inventory a regular part of my everyday diet!!!

Withdrawals... I had them. For the first 4 days no pain killer or amount of water could help the headaches I got. But I just told myself to stick with it! YOU can DO it girl! I walk past over 1000 items of candy all day, and I've managed. It's tough, but I think just staying right away from it at first is a good 'cleanse' . I'm an all or nothing too, if I have 'one' candy, I may as well just forget about it, because 1 turns into 50. Lol. So far I only have a couple of temptations per day but I shake them out, and if I feel like sugar, my fridge in my office has plenty of fruit. I most certainly plan on treating myself, but right now, I'm focusing on self control, and just saying no all together.

And in a month, those chocolate covered gummie bears that laugh at me in their bins will be mine. But only a few of them.

Good luck and stay strong!

cccng

By the way... headaches are gone and I feel great. You will too!

dj_stevie_c

Withdrawals... I had them. For the first 4 days no pain killer or amount of water could help the headaches I got. But I just told myself to stick with it! YOU can DO it girl! I walk past over 1000 items of candy all day, and I've managed. It's tough, but I think just staying right away from it at first is a good 'cleanse' . I'm an all or nothing too, if I have 'one' candy, I may as well just forget about it, because 1 turns into 50. Lol. So far I only have a couple of temptations per day but I shake them out, and if I feel like sugar, my fridge in my office has plenty of fruit. I most certainly plan on treating myself, but right now, I'm focusing on self control, and just saying no all together.

I had a massive crash 7 days into my diet, friends bought chocolate for me but I decided not to do it and just gave the chocolate to my flatmate who was very happy.

I'm not trying to paint myself as a saint, I have my treats, popcorn at the cinema, the odd beer at the weekend and I love my Quavers but all in all I know I can't have one small bar of chocolate, or one or two sweets I MUST HAVE MORE. So I don't touch. For me it's the only way

Annabelle_M

Thanks everyone!! You have all gave me so much great info and encouragement! So far this site is really helping me stay motivated.

candican

I find that eating something sweat that's more healthy (like a fruit or raisins etc.) when that urge is really getting bad helps. It gives you a little time to convince yourself to stay away from the cookie. I find it helps if I remind myself that the fruit or 100% juice is sweet and try to reason with those urges in your brain..lol..hope that helps a little.

etarre

I read recently that 4 grams of sugar is equivalent to one teaspoon of granulated sugar. I try to make myself picture those spoonfuls of sugar going into sugary foods before I allow myself to eat them, and it really helps. Somehow, reading sugar content on labels in grams is very abstract for me, but picturing actual teaspoonfuls of sugar is really helpful.

That said, I'm an addict, too! I'm very good about other diet issues (usually) but sugar? Definitely my downfall...

a1schwei

i am right there with you...i love just about anything sweet...i've been able to lose weight here though because i've learned to limit my candy obsession a bit but there is no way i could give it up entirely because then i would be more prone to binge...moderation is key