Sugar addiction is messing up my low carb and weight loss

Jennym93

I don't know if this is quite the right place but I'm trying to go low carb but sugar addiction is ruining my efforts, more than once a week I end up eating really sugary high carb junk, I don't even want to eat it but before I know it I'm eating sugar and I can't stop until I feel ill from it (I ate sugar today about 1-2 hours ago and still feel ill now from it)
I'm scared how the sugar is going to effect me as I have family members on both sides who were diagnosed with diabetes or pre diabetes and have PCOS myself, but even the fear doesn't stop me binging.
How do I beat the sugar craving and stick with low carb when the sugar is always right in front of me (not by choice)?

Lrdoflamancha

you really need to hit your macros... Fat for me seems to cut off my cravings for sugar. I had to force myself to eliminate sugar until I hit ketosis... Then I just did not crave it anymore. I just looked at your food log and you really need to increase your protein. You are no where near your goal.

wabmester

It's hard to fight biology. If somebody hands me a tasty treat, I can resist 3 out of 4 times.

It helps to have them out of the environment. If the problem is at home, ask your family to help. If it's at work, take all the treats and toss them out the window as soon as you see them.

Jennym93

wabmester wrote: »

It's hard to fight biology. If somebody hands me a tasty treat, I can resist 3 out of 4 times.

It helps to have them out of the environment. If the problem is at home, ask your family to help. If it's at work, take all the treats and toss them out the window as soon as you see them.

tried asking multiple times and I get the same response that it's not fair on my brother to not have it in the house

wabmester

You just need to go cold turkey for a few weeks. Bribe your brother with something. Video game maybe?

Jennym93

Lrdoflamancha wrote: »

you really need to hit your macros... Fat for me seems to cut off my cravings for sugar. I had to force myself to eliminate sugar until I hit ketosis... Then I just did not crave it anymore. I just looked at your food log and you really need to increase your protein. You are no where near your goal.

yeah my protein is lower than normal today.
I'm going to admit I have no idea about macros at all, my goals on here are just plucked from thin air pretty much I just tweak them every now and then

gsp90x

Then I suggest doing some research. The more you know, the more likely you are to succeed. I second, or is that third the macro thing. Don't be intimidated, you can do it.

To help set macros (not out of thin air) a lot of people use this keto calculator.

http://keto-calculator.ankerl.com/

or will set them by percentages something like 5% carbs, 30% protein, 65% fat I think that's what mine is set at but it is not set in stone. People tweek it too depending on goals and personal experience.

When I was trying to cut the sugar (sugar addiction is very real) I focused on saturated fat. A bunch of will power as well as some self awareness. (Why are you craving it). Sometimes it's habit, sometimes we're simply (although not simple to do) afraid to let go of it because it's what we know, makes us feel good. Instead of looking to how good we'll feel without it. It feels scary and a big risk because we've never known a good feeling without it. Trust me though, it comes. With all kinds of other amazingness you never thought of.

moonius

I'm a Type 2 diabetic and I beat the sugar craving by using stevia. These days I have eliminated stevia and artificial sweeteners from my diet and no longer crave sweets. If I feel I need something after my meals, some nuts always suffice.

wabmester

It's nuts and very dark chocolate for me. But I still couldn't resist the free salt water taffy at a vacation resort recently. Only 5g carbs each, after all.

Almoshposh

The first few days are really the hardest so I feel you there. But I found out that if I wanted to get over the sugar cravings I had to stick to low carb. The more I gave in the more I craved the sugar. I needed to knuckle down and grit my teeth for a couple of weeks. Sometimes I had to physically leave the room to avoid eating the carbs. Eventually they went away. Now I can watch my hubby wolf down a slice of chocolate cake and wonder what the fuss was about. Believe me just stick to it. It gets easier.

Jennym93

Thank you for the help
I think I've got my macros right now, I'm not sure how I'm going to stick under 16g of carbs but I'll give it my best and hopefully in time I'll actually stop craving sugar

sljohnson1207

I know this may be hard to hear, but breaking your soda/diet soda habit may help tremendously. SOME people experience intense sugar cravings when consuming artificial sweeteners. Others are not affected. Since you are still having those cravings, eliminate them and see what happens. Drink water.

Make sure you get your protein macro, and eat as much fat as you want until satisfied. I don't know why you need to keep your carbs at 16. If you were eating a lot of carbs before, dropping to that low right out of the gate may not be the best plan. How about aiming for 30-35 NET carbs (carbs - fiber) for a week, meet your protein and fat goals, and see how you feel. Then if you need to drop them more, go ahead.

Also, try to eat some real food (fresh whole foods not in colorful packages). Planning is crucial here. You also don't need to eat "light" anything. Get rid of the light mayo and either make your own or get real full fat mayo (preferably without sugar). Get rid of breaded food (fried chicken and battered sausage) for now and the scampi fries.

The best thing for killing the cravings is to eat fat and very low carbs. And the carbs you do eat should be the small amount in cheeses, heavy cream, eggs, and non-starchy veggies. This way you get to eat the skin on your chicken, fry eggs in bacon grease, eat cheese on your burger, etc. Once you actually do it, your cravings will subside, and you will feel better. You will also be less likely to binge. I say less likely, because I still struggle with this from time to time, but I tend to plan splurges (as I call them) around vacations.

I hope these tips help you. YOU can do this.

Jennym93

Thank you, very helpful
16g was what I ended up with when calculating macros using the website linked above, I'm not sure if it's quite right, I was trying to keep it 20g or less.
Only using light stuff because it's in the house, once it's gone I'm getting full fat versions

sljohnson1207

In that calculator, you set the carbs you want, then pick a protein level, and then the rest is fat. If 16 is too low for you, up it some. That is pretty low, and is difficult for some of us. I have stuck to approx 25-30 net carbs, and lost 47 pounds since June 2014.

GSD_Mama

I can't add much to what already have been said. It takes time, patience and a lot of self control. It's hard to give in and to ignore all the sugary treats, you have to completely turn your mind around and concentrate on what is important. What is your goal? To lose weight, to improve your health? It will get easier as you go without sugar, trust me! Picture yourself 10-20-30 lb lighter, picture yourself not having cravings, all the health benefits and mental clarity. It will come, and once you experience how good you feel you will wonder what took you so long.
Every addiction is mental, it's not your sweet tooth, it's your brain that needs to be trained and you are the only one who have a power to do so. Every time you say NO to junk, it's a victory. Be good to yourself, you only have one body that you have to carry for the rest of your life.
Good luck on your journey

radiii

sljohnson1207 wrote: »

I know this may be hard to hear, but breaking your soda/diet soda habit may help tremendously.

This was the biggest thing for me. For years I would try to cut sodas and start some kind of diet all at the same time, but my soda addiction was feeding into everything else on its own. I couldnt' change the sodas and the eating together, it was just impossible for me.

Eventually, I committed to cutting out soda, I made it work, I didn't care about my weight at the time, or my eating at all, just the soda. After being off sodas for awhile, other changes started to become possible that were simply too hard for me previously.

MDAPebbles67

I would suggest trying to supplement amino acids as recommended in "The Diet Cure" and "The Mood Cure" by Julia Ross. I Have been posting about my experiment with these in the Binge eaters support group. Ross believes that part of the sugar craving problem is a brain chemistry imbalance; a lack of feel good chemicals such as serotonin and dopamine. I am in my third week on them and my cravings are greatly diminished. I have had very few binges. Three weeks ago, I was binging every day for several hours.

Jennym93

MDAPebbles67 wrote: »

I would suggest trying to supplement amino acids as recommended in "The Diet Cure" and "The Mood Cure" by Julia Ross. I Have been posting about my experiment with these in the Binge eaters support group. Ross believes that part of the sugar craving problem is a brain chemistry imbalance; a lack of feel good chemicals such as serotonin and dopamine. I am in my third week on them and my cravings are greatly diminished. I have had very few binges. Three weeks ago, I was binging every day for several hours.

That is a really good point, I noticed my binging has worsened since I stopped taking fluoxetine.
I'll check out your posts in the other group too, thank you

KarlaYP

Once you get past the sugar cravings you won't even be hungry, or want the other foods. At least that's how it is for me and I have a fifty year old husband (who has never had weight issues), and an 18 year old son, who love their snacks, sodas , and sweets.

robert65ferguson

@Jennym93; I echo most of the advice given above. Setting a carb target of <16 is maybe a little ambitious especially when you're struggling with sugar cravings. It's always better to deal with one issue at a time. Have a look at a typical day, making sure that you log honestly. Establish that as your baseline and then reduce your carb target in stages until you reach your desired target. Many of the very low carb ie <20 people on here have been at this for some time. When you have more sugar than you should it tends to cause a rapid spike followed by an equally rapid fall. For most people it is the sharp dip which causes the desire for more sugar. One thing which may help would be to stick labels on the sugary drinks eg NO or DANGER or something like that. The momentary pause this would cause may be enough to give the rational part of your brain time to overcome the hot response part and enable you to make better decisions.

KnitOrMiss

MDAPebbles67 wrote: »

I would suggest trying to supplement amino acids as recommended in "The Diet Cure" and "The Mood Cure" by Julia Ross. I Have been posting about my experiment with these in the Binge eaters support group. Ross believes that part of the sugar craving problem is a brain chemistry imbalance; a lack of feel good chemicals such as serotonin and dopamine. I am in my third week on them and my cravings are greatly diminished. I have had very few binges. Three weeks ago, I was binging every day for several hours.

@MDAPebbles67 How do you specifically supplement amino acids? I have a number of friends who could benefit from this information.

MDAPebbles67

You can take them in pill or powder form. I am taking 6 supplements, 3 times a day. It may seem like a lot, but the change in my BED behavior is stunning.

I would recommend to anyone who is interested, that they search Julia Ross. She has very specific recommendations for different issues in her books. There is also some free information on her website.

GaleHawkins

I fought the carb addiction all of Aug-Sept 2014 and got pissed and when off them Cold Turkey the first of Oct. First two weeks were hellish then the physiological cravings just started to fade fast.

Now I did still remember how they tasted and wanted them for that reason but it was not like "get in the car and go find sugar" cravings.

A plus for me was the huge drop in my arthritis pain level then the weight lose that followed and the 40 year old IBS problem just fading away.

I had tried many tricks but being 63 with serious health issues I just told myself I was going to die because sugar was like poison to my body because I had a sense I was going down for the third time so to speak.

Now that I have my taste buds back food tastes better than ever without sugar.

It is not easy but two weeks is not a long time either.