Sugar addiction

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hayleyf6051
hayleyf6051 Posts: 52 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
Hi,

I'm a massive sugar addict. I can't go several hours without sugar or diet soda. I want to get some control back. Any ideas? Is cold turkey best?
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Replies

  • CattOfTheGarage
    CattOfTheGarage Posts: 2,750 Member
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    It tastes similar.

    Try it. You might find it's just the sweetness you are craving rather than the actual sugar
  • robthephotog
    robthephotog Posts: 81 Member
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    Yeah or treat sweet like a reward. Still count the calories. But, if you are sticking to your diet reward yourself a little here and there. Diet soda is my God send right now. No cal, no sugar. Just drink it in moderation.
  • lemurcat12
    lemurcat12 Posts: 30,886 Member
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    (I agree that for many it's not worth trying to quit diet soda when also focusing on changing eating habits, and if you do remember that the effect of quitting caffeine can make you tired/low energy/headachy at first if you don't sub with some other caffeine. But if you think it might be affecting your palate or want to see how you feel without it or just want to quit, I think the same advice applies. You might want to try cutting back more gradually, though.)
  • Jabbarwocky
    Jabbarwocky Posts: 100 Member
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    Just remember that artificial sweeteners tend to cause the same reactions in the body as sugar does, then, when there isn't any sugar it freaks out and craves more. This is coming from another sugar addict btw. Sugar is one of the things I'm tracking on MFP because I need to get that monkey off my back before it kills me. About to have to start medications for being pre-diabetic and I have NO desire to live my life like that. Personally, I've found that when I have a craving its best to have something small and sweet. If you wait, the craving only gets worse and that's when a binge is possible. I've been known to eat a full half pound bag of M&M's or a half gallon of ice cream within a day or two. Do what you can control.
  • kshama2001
    kshama2001 Posts: 27,981 Member
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    Ps - if your sodas have caffeine, going cold turkey will bring on caffeine withdrawal. If you want to stop drinking soda be prepared for that. You can get caffeine elsewhere, or plan to suffer.
  • crzycatlady1
    crzycatlady1 Posts: 1,930 Member
    edited March 2017
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    kshama2001 wrote: »
    Ps - if your sodas have caffeine, going cold turkey will bring on caffeine withdrawal. If you want to stop drinking soda be prepared for that. You can get caffeine elsewhere, or plan to suffer.

    Ditto to this. Up to last week I was a 4+ cans a day diet soda drinker. Decided to cut it out after I discovered the awesomeness of coffee :) I'm a 30+ year soda drinker (regular or diet), and I cut it out no problem last week-but I'm now getting my caffeine from the coffee. To cut out soda without replacing the caffeine is going to most likely cause headaches and such for a few days.
  • eener201
    eener201 Posts: 9 Member
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    crzycatlady1 wrote: »
    Jabbarwocky wrote: »
    Just remember that artificial sweeteners tend to cause the same reactions in the body as sugar does, then, when there isn't any sugar it freaks out and craves more. This is coming from another sugar addict btw. Sugar is one of the things I'm tracking on MFP because I need to get that monkey off my back before it kills me. About to have to start medications for being pre-diabetic and I have NO desire to live my life like that. Personally, I've found that when I have a craving its best to have something small and sweet. If you wait, the craving only gets worse and that's when a binge is possible. I've been known to eat a full half pound bag of M&M's or a half gallon of ice cream within a day or two. Do what you can control.

    Source please.

    Google is your friend, but here's a good link to get you started:

    https://www.hsph.harvard.edu/nutritionsource/healthy-drinks/artificial-sweeteners/

    From Harvard, School of Public Health. Here's a clip of the article.

    aau50msvfqxi.jpg

    Our bodies all respond differently. You may not be able notice that your sugar cravings increase after drinking diet soda. Or maybe you're just lucky and your cravings don't increase at all. I have to avoid diet soda like the plague, if I have a diet soda I spend the next week on a huge sugar binge. However, artificial sweeteners and an increase in sugar consumption tend to go hand in hand.

    I try as much as possible to limit sweets to only the weekends and special occasions. Though with all my friends getting married and/or having baby showers I've now started to limit myself to only the treats I truly enjoy.

    Same thing goes for going cold-turkey or slowly weaning yourself off of sugar. What are you actually capable of doing? You have to figure out what works best for your body and your level of self control. Personally, I would like to be able to go cold turkey, but I'm weak and cave when out to dinner with friends and they want to order dessert. I have SUCH a hard time saying 'no.' Though I have noticed the more often I make it to the gym in a week the easier it is for me to say 'no' to sweets. I try to eat as much fruit, especially berries, whenever I have a sugar craving. That has helped me quite a bit.
  • VintageFeline
    VintageFeline Posts: 6,771 Member
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    It's not a true addiction, though I'm not here to open that can of worms but changing how you think of your behaviours around sugar and how they are driven can help with changing what you perceive as a negative habit.

    Your sugar snacking is habitual behaviour. You're just used to reaching for a sweet snack at certain times. Perhaps you have a mid afternoon lull and the calorie dense burst of energy in chocolate or candy peps you up. Or the caffeine in the diet soda also gives you a little lift. It's not an addiction, it's just a learned response. You could instead switch out the candy for an apple. You'll still get the perk up from sugar but with fewer calories and a few extra nutrients. No need to ditch the diet soda as it has no sugar and no calories.
  • GottaBurnEmAll
    GottaBurnEmAll Posts: 7,722 Member
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    lemurcat12 wrote: »
    My recommendations:

    (1) Structure -- whether you go "cold turkey" or not, have a plan for when and what you will eat in a given day. It makes it less likely you will just grab something sugary without thinking about it. You can also remind yourself if you are wanting to eat that you will have something soon that you will enjoy.

    (2) Related to that, Enjoyment -- make sure you are eating food you like. (This could include some sweets or not, depending on what you want to try.)

    (3) Sleep -- try to get enough and if you don't remind yourself that you aren't wanting sugar, just energy and have some caffeine or do something else that wakes you up.

    (4) Probably the most important -- have a concrete reason in mind for why you are doing what you are doing, including a way to focus on the longer term and remember why individual decisions matter.

    (5) Don't be too restrictive or low cal -- makes it harder than it needs to be and can backfire. Eat a reasonable number of calories for your activity level.

    (6) Get enough protein and a satisfying diet (related to (2).

    (7) If you are a stress/emotional eater be aware of that and ready for an alternative thing to turn to.

    (8) Remember the first few days of changing a habit are the hardest and it will get easier. Don't beat yourself up if you aren't perfect.

    Cosigned.

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