Sugar addiction
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jpcampbell74 wrote: »hayleyf6051 wrote: »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?
YES! Cut out sugar in ALL forms, including fruit. Also stay away from artificial sweeteners. No more bread, pasta, rice, potato corn ect. Protein, Fat, Green Veggies. And PLENTY of water. You will have the low carb 'flu' for a few days. After that you will not miss sugar at all.
Good luck!
I get the whole 'cold turkey' approach, but the OP asked for how to get back in control of her sugar cravings, not necessarily how to completely cut it out. It's a route they can go, it's not necessarily the only route. And I know plenty of people that are keto/low carb that love sugar, they just have it in acceptable amounts.1 -
CattOfTheGarage wrote: »Look_Its_Kriss wrote: »Jabbarwocky wrote: »Just found this article and thought it was interesting. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2892765/ I must admit, at this point I'm beginning to wonder if its the artificial sweetener as much as the person.
" Several large scale prospective cohort studies found positive correlation between artificial sweetener use and weight gain. The San Antonio Heart Study examined 3,682 adults over a seven- to eight-year period in the 1980s [18]. When matched for initial body mass index (BMI), gender, ethnicity, and diet, drinkers of artificially sweetened beverages consistently had higher BMIs at the follow-up, with dose dependence on the amount of consumption. Average BMI gain was +1.01 kg/m2 for control and 1.78 kg/m2 for people in the third quartile for artificially sweetened beverage consumption."
This is from the link above and if you think about it, those who are choosing artificial sweeteners are trying to lose weight. They are trying to lead healthier lives compared to those with lower BMI's who, presumably, are already doing so. Obviously not an earth shattering truth but at least food for thought.
The clipped out piece you have pasted does not give us any indicators of what these people were also consuming outside of the soda. On a page back i made a post about me at 252 pounds ordering 3 double big mac meals... i know from context that a lot of people might of thought i was being sarcastic but i actually used to order 3 double big mac meals, large fries with each and 2 chocolate shakes and then order a large diet soda... The diet soda was not the reason my BMI was up in the 40's.. It was the calories i was consuming, that one meal.. and that wouldn't of been all i ate that day was probably a good 5000 calories.
If diet drinks do have a correlation with weight gain, my hunch is that it's because of a "health halo" effect that encourages those who drink it to eat more other stuff because "I'm being good, I deserve it".
I would agree. It's definitely correlation not causation as if you ever visit an eating disorder clinic or interact with ED people you'll discover that diet soda is also the drink of choice for very underweight people.0 -
jpcampbell74 wrote: »hayleyf6051 wrote: »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?
YES! Cut out sugar in ALL forms, including fruit. Also stay away from artificial sweeteners. No more bread, pasta, rice, potato corn ect. Protein, Fat, Green Veggies. And PLENTY of water. You will have the low carb 'flu' for a few days. After that you will not miss sugar at all.
Good luck!
And then enjoy your binge 3 days later!2 -
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I'm leery of all the ingredients in sodas and many other drinks; so I drink water, unsweetened fresh made teas, lemon water, and black coffee. I stopped sugars and refined grains 6 weeks ago and picked up an exercise habit along with portion control. I can finally go into a convenience store without drooling over the candy bars, and my hand stayed out of the jar of peanut butter filled pretzels at work. I'm down 12 lbs and my sugar cravings have gone away. So it can be done. I think that research is showing that artificial sweeteners are safe within the limits set by the FDA. Unfortunately, those limits are hard to locate and are not posted on the product packaging. My source there is the new 2017 ADA Diabetes Guideline. There was a little article on the National Kidney Foundation site years ago that linked diet sodas of more than one a day with reduced kidney function, but I haven't seen any recent research on that. So, I'm not convinced that it's healthy to guzzle sodas of any variety regularly or in large amounts.3
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If anyone is interested in the science behind aspartame there is a very useful thread in the Food & Nutrition subforum posted by a scientist.3
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I'm going with 'picked your logic'. The problem I have with studies done is it states that with diet soda that there's an increase of "insert here". I haven't seen a study that says "These random mix of ethnicity people from age 30-50 who ate food at no more than a max of 100 calories above their maintenance level per day have had "insert issue here". It's all 'they drank diet soda, bad things happened.'.1
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VintageFeline wrote: »If anyone is interested in the science behind aspartame there is a very useful thread in the Food & Nutrition subforum posted by a scientist.
This one? - Why aspartame isn't scary3 -
Basically the OP wants to know how to beat cravings for sweets, and everyone's getting caught up in arguing about whether one can lose weight if he or she drinks diet pop or whether it's actually an addiction, etc. Basically I think the important thing is to have a plan for when the cravings hit. I absolutely love sweets and when the cravings hit I drink some water or have a healthy snack or gum on hand, or I go for a walk, but I plan this before the urge hits.2
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Look_Its_Kriss wrote: »jpcampbell74 wrote: »hayleyf6051 wrote: »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?
YES! Cut out sugar in ALL forms, including fruit. Also stay away from artificial sweeteners. No more bread, pasta, rice, potato corn ect. Protein, Fat, Green Veggies. And PLENTY of water. You will have the low carb 'flu' for a few days. After that you will not miss sugar at all.
Good luck!
@jpcampbell74 -- I kindly request that you scroll up to my before and after photo.
There is absolutely no need to cut out any of these things, as you can see i managed to become a healthy person by eating them.
That is awesome for you! Congrats! My input was based on the assumption that the orig poster in fact had a sugar addiction as I once did. Cutting out all sugar, artificial sweeteners and foods that convert to sugar was the only thing that helped me beat it. Just my experience.
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There are no one size fits all tricks. I am a huge sugar addict. The caffine in diet soda helps combat the lows from the lack of sugar initially so it did help me. As far as tricks to get your body off of sugar remember sugar is part of more than candy. There is a ton of sugar in things like bread crackers sauces and even salad dressing. The good news is that if you can fight the cravings and just avoid all heavy sugar items for a few weeks your cravings will become more manageable. Get the Excedrin ready your head will hurt and you will feel like crap for the first week but if you can power through that you can get a handle on it. I am not on an intentional low carb diet but I do prioritize fiber rich carbs, protein heavy items and even fats before I touch a pure carb. I have been maintaining the majority of my 100lb weight loss for nearly 5yrs. It can be done even with a sugar addiction.3
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@Look_Its_Kriss
Generally speaking, all veggies are not created equal. Especially for those of us on a low carb diet.
Typically:
Vegetables growing above ground are low carb and can be eaten more freely.
Vegetables growing below ground contain more carbs, so you’ll have to be more careful with them (especially potatoes).
If you’re on a strict low-carb diet as I am, (under 20 grams a day) you need to be more careful with some of the vegetables. You should probably be especially careful with peppers or tomatoes – these carbs quickly add up towards the 20 grams a day limit.
In my experience, whenever I would eat low calorie diets which included sweeteners, fruit, potato, rice ect; my hunger would persist and I would crave sugar. Low carb eliminated that for me.
But yes, veggies will convert to sugar. Some more than others. So if one has a real problem with sugar addiction, it stands to reason that limiting the amount of sugar (in any form) could help more than harm.
* All just my personal experience.
God Bless.
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No need for exaggeration and hyperbolic statements, just reset your taste for sweets. When I spent a few years overseas I found all food in the US very sweet and very salty. My palette had adjusted to different foods and while I was never aware of this living in the US, after being outside this became very noticeable coming back to it.
If you feel the need to change do it, but there is no evidence to support the anti-sugar nonsense.0 -
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hayleyf6051 wrote: »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?
your not addicted to sugar because sugar is not an addictive substance.
Sir, the world is not black and white and your viewpoint is not exactly correct. Sugar stimulates the exact same reward receptors as drugs (like cocaine) do. Additionally, we have mouse model studies that prove that under some conditions, the mouse can actually become addicted to sugar.
Sugar MAY be an addictive substance or it MAY not. More research is needed.
Please do not peddle medical or nutritional advice if you have no intention of citing sources or being accurate.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23719144
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2235907/0 -
Look_Its_Kriss wrote: »@jpcampbell74 -- Okay, so for a lot of people having a high fat high protein diet usually makes them feel more satiated and less hungry. So i can see why going low carb for you would be helpful because you want to eat in a way that helps you maintain a deficit. If you are hungry and always eating it's hard to have a deficit.
But a follow up question if i may?
Lets say you kept your carbs to 20g.
Your previous post suggested that the foods you removed were contributing to your sugar addiction after they converted from carbs to sugar, including fruits.
So lets say you worked out the math and you decided to have slightly less then half a banana and then the rest of your diet for that day was strictly fat and protein based foods. If your carbs are still within the target range you have allowed yourself to have to maintain your hunger levels, why is the banana any different then 20g of carbs from above ground vegetable sources?
You are correct. It is not different. However 'IN MY EXPERIENCE', eating fruit (or anything sweet) made me crave more. Also, the half a banana would not give the same full feeling as an equal amount of carbs from a high fiber veggie.2 -
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jpcampbell74 wrote: »hayleyf6051 wrote: »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?
YES! Cut out sugar in ALL forms, including fruit. Also stay away from artificial sweeteners. No more bread, pasta, rice, potato corn ect. Protein, Fat, Green Veggies. And PLENTY of water. You will have the low carb 'flu' for a few days. After that you will not miss sugar at all.
Good luck!
This post makes me very very depressed. This is a bleak, black, bottomless pit of sadness in one paragraph.2 -
I'm a diabetic and went sugar free last Wednesday, and made it a part of my Lenten fast so that I would really do it. Only 30 days until Easter! I had some headaches and drank coffee with lots of creamer. I also treated myself to Mexican queso con choriso. We only have say 5 pounds of willpower, and then it becomes exhausted, so don't tempt yourself. Keep sugar out of the house. Don't quit too many things at once. You can quit someone else after you master your sugar addiciton.0
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@Look_Its_Kriss I can get on board with that, sure. Perhaps the term 'Sugar Addict' is a little strong. Really talking about difficult to control cravings which can be triggered by whatever food type leads to more of whatever the problem for a particular individual is. Sugar for me, could be salt for others ect. We are in agreement. I think. ; )0
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Here's a thing.
I get sugar cravings if I eat a lot of sugar. At the time they feel irresistible (which they are not). The sugar also increases my hunger.
If I reduce sugar a bit, these effects go away in a week or two.
That's reduce it a bit. Not cut it out and certainly not cut out carbs in general. I eat a small amount of chocolate most days. I usually have cereal or toast for breakfast. I had a brownie with my lunch today. I'm not eating six chocolate bars a day but neither am I a sugar monk. I have no cravings for sugar at the moment. Sometimes I feel like I'd like something sweet, but I'm not compelled. Just because I cut back a little bit.
You see, it is not always necessary to take the extreme approach. Sometimes a small change can make a big difference. Sometimes the small change works better.
Also, just because your brain tells you that you need need need something right now, doesn't mean you actually have to obey that. How often do you pee yourself in public? Even if you really really need it? Exactly. Control comes with practice.2 -
jpcampbell74 wrote: »hayleyf6051 wrote: »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?
YES! Cut out sugar in ALL forms, including fruit. Also stay away from artificial sweeteners. No more bread, pasta, rice, potato corn ect. Protein, Fat, Green Veggies. And PLENTY of water. You will have the low carb 'flu' for a few days. After that you will not miss sugar at all.
Good luck!
I get the whole 'cold turkey' approach, but the OP asked for how to get back in control of her sugar cravings, not necessarily how to completely cut it out. It's a route they can go, it's not necessarily the only route. And I know plenty of people that are keto/low carb that love sugar, they just have it in acceptable amounts.
In my experience, eating sugar always led to craving more.
Cutting it almost completely helped the cravings or any physical or even physiological dependence go away.
Vs, trying to limit sugar then drinking a sweet diet DP. Which would usually trigger a craving for say M&M's for example. Again, just my experience.0 -
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jpcampbell74 wrote: »hayleyf6051 wrote: »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?
YES! Cut out sugar in ALL forms, including fruit. Also stay away from artificial sweeteners. No more bread, pasta, rice, potato corn ect. Protein, Fat, Green Veggies. And PLENTY of water. You will have the low carb 'flu' for a few days. After that you will not miss sugar at all.
Good luck!
This post makes me very very depressed. This is a bleak, black, bottomless pit of sadness in one paragraph.
Well that certainly wasn't my intention. I can assure you that my name and words bleak and bottomless pit of sadness don't often collide.
The manner by which I communicate can often be direct. I will work on that for future posts.
That said. It is based solely upon my experience doing the same - and I have never been happier.1 -
@Look_Its_Kriss Well, I'm nothing if not reasonable : ) I really enjoyed the chat!0
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Just cut the all the liquid sugars (soda, juice, energy drinks) out of your diet first I can guarantee that it is so hard for the first 3 days and as soon as you get over that, aim to keep it out for 3 weeks. It will be very difficult but it is hard work and it pays off sooner or later. When you feel yourself reaching out for soda have water (with lemon or cucumber or mint or basil if it needs to be flavored), and if you still feel that need for sweets try any of the dried fruits. Like dates, apricots, raisins, figs etc. they are dried and sweeter then their fruit counterparts because the sugar concentrates. When you feel like you can decrease the amount and focus on eating a more satisfying meal that incorporates healthy sugars, carbs, fats and protein and keep the sweets as treats so you still enjoy life. And if you slip up and drink something like a soda after you haven't had it in a long time, just feeling that gas in your stomach will make you feel uncomfortable, and juice with all that added sugar will just dehydrate you and you will be able to feel that happening. If you replace all the sugar in your diet right now with artificial sweeteners you will have massive bloating, constipation or diarrhea if you have more than 3 of those items in a day. Best bet is cold turkey on one thing, maintain for 21 days to make it a habit and then add it back in moderation/small amounts and focus on the next part of nutrition you want to tackle. Find the best place to spend calories in this case it isn't ever going to be on soda when you can have a small serving of tiramisu.1
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