raw foods diet

serenak73

Hi everyone! I've struggled with my sugar addiction forever and I've never been able to break it. I've heard the raw foods diet would help break this cycle. Anybody heard anything? Bad / good/ other suggestions??

cityruss

If you are suffering/struggling with an addiction you should seek professional help.

RodaRose

Try it if you want. Is a raw foods diet mostly fruit -- items with lots of sugar?
You might do better with focusing on protein, good fats and oils, and adding low calorie vegetables to your days.

ndj1979

so you are going to eat no vegetables with this diet…because those have carbs, and you know what that means…sugar…

if you feel you are truly that addicted to sugar then I would suggest a 12 step program or recovery over a raw diet...

natte77

Hey, I am 80 % raw and I enjoy it! Sometimes I NEED hot food then I eat potatoes, rice/chinese noodles with tomato sauce, quinoa soup and so on.. I would like some more friends who go RAW feel free to add me!

Actually, if you eat dates, then you dont have any sugar cravings anymore I like the banana girl on youtube

Sabine_Stroehm

serenak73 wrote: »

Hi everyone! I've struggled with my sugar addiction forever and I've never been able to break it. I've heard the raw foods diet would help break this cycle. Anybody heard anything? Bad / good/ other suggestions??

That actually doesn't sound like the best approach as it would be a primarily CARB based diet (with some fats from raw nuts and avocado I guess). A high carb diet to help with a carb craving?

Have you tried a short term total elimination of the hyper palatable sugary foods you crave? Eliminate all cookies, pastries, candies, sodas, white breads with lots of sugar etc. for a few weeks. Eat lots of nutrient dense foods: lean meats, dairy, lower sugar vegetables, nuts and seeds, legumes. And see how you feel after a couple of weeks. Then make some sensible additions: dark chocolate, for example.

lemurcat12

serenak73 wrote: »

I've struggled with my sugar addiction forever and I've never been able to break it.

I agree with Sabine and others that a fruit-based diet seems unlike to be helpful, and also am skeptical that picking some extreme diet/change in how you eat normally is the way to go.

What would help us give you advice or know if we have similar experiences is to elaborate on what your particular issues are: binging, emotional eating, having issues with will power in certain times or situations, or what? Also, what you've tried.

I don't believe sugar is addictive, although I know there are claims to the contrary all over the internet these days and you get told that if you have will power issues with sweets it must be an addiction, but I do think there are many people who struggle with overeating sweets in various forms and depending on the specifics different things tend to help.

My issue was/is emotional eating, so I used tactics that helped with that, including cutting out sweets for a time to teach myself not to rely on them for emotional purposes, and being conscious of the situations and circumstances in which I tended to overeat or feel out of control and avoiding those. I also found it was helpful to make sure my meals were generally balanced with protein and fat, but I think that had more to do with wanting to grab something sweet as a quick source of energy. (This can be a huge issue if you don't get enough sleep.) It also helps because I think lots of us feel more satisfied if we are eating a generally nutrient-rich diet with adequate protein and fat, and also it gives you something to focus on (eating nutrient-rich foods) vs. the focus on simply "not eating" your favorites.

serenak73

maybe addiction is not the right description. ie I could be surrounded by chips and crackers and never feel the slightest urge to eat them but if there is any kind of cake/ cookie/dessert of any kind in the house I will track it down and eat it. I still would eat eggs and meat and veggies (oddly enough I've never been a big fruit eater) I just thought if I got rid of all the processed crap (boxed food/tv dinners) it might help.

RodaRose

serenak73 wrote: »

maybe addiction is not the right description. ie I could be surrounded by chips and crackers and never feel the slightest urge to eat them but if there is any kind of cake/ cookie/dessert of any kind in the house I will track it down and eat it. I still would eat eggs and meat and veggies (oddly enough I've never been a big fruit eater) I just thought if I got rid of all the processed crap (boxed food/tv dinners) it might help.

You have figured out what works for you. Do some cooking for yourself instead of buying stuff that comes in boxes.
And for now, keep the sweets out of the house -- lots of us have to do that, esp in the beginning.

Lovestoscrapbook

Agree with RodaRose. I am the same way - I can walk past chips, crackers, anything salty but love, love, love anything sweet. I had to go cold turkey and not have any sugar (I was drinking Mountain Dew at least once a day for years). I found that by giving it up completely for a short period of time and then slowly introducing some back into my diet, I had fewer urges and on my "off" day when I don't have a soda or anything sweet, I can get by because I know I can have a SMALL treat the next day. And, best way to avoid temptation is not invite it into the house to begin with. Make some healthy meals/snacks so you have them to munch on. And yes! Lack of sleep caused me to crave sugar even more - I remember reading a medical explanation for why that was - can't remember it now LOL but ensuring you get enough sleep will also help.

BoogiesMom10

I'm confused so correct me if I'm wrong, but why would a raw food diet be just fruit? There are a ton of veggies that you can consume raw and whole on a raw foods diet, as well as whole grain rice, nuts, and seeds. I am in the process of going 70-80% raw but with a tree nut allergy and a distaste for items like avacado, it will be a slow process. I also refuse to give up my favorite snack.

Have your sweets,but mix them in a morning smoothie with greens or snack on some watermelon, mango, apples etc. While focusing on greener based dinners. There are a lot of great recipes out there.