Sugar addiction!!!

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24

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  • iamthemotherofdogs
    iamthemotherofdogs Posts: 562 Member
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    Anyway, glad we agree.
  • 3bambi3
    3bambi3 Posts: 1,650 Member
    edited November 2017
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    iamthemotherofdogs wrote: »
    You just said more or less the same thing I did. I just applied kindness and empathy to mine.

    No. You seem to think there is nothing wrong with hyperbole. I think it is harmful.
  • 3bambi3
    3bambi3 Posts: 1,650 Member
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    iamthemotherofdogs wrote: »
    3bambi3 wrote: »
    iamthemotherofdogs wrote: »
    You just said more or less the same thing I did. I just applied kindness and empathy to mine.

    No. You seem to think there is nothing wrong with hyperbole. I think it is harmful.

    I think you're reaching for something to be bothered by, and deflecting. This thread is about OP's issue with sugar. Nobody is saying that by making a statement like "I'm addicted to sugar", that anyone with an honest, true, medically diagnosed addiction is somehow any less important. It's not a contest. On the contrary-- by comparing sugar cravings and dependence to an addiction, OP was by the very definition of the word doing their best to accurately describe how serious the problem is for them. OP wasn't trying to one-up anyone by asking for support for their issue. Could it have been worded better? Sure.

    As someone who has struggled with abuse and addiction, I do not feel put upon by this.

    Perhaps you should start a thread about hyperbole if it upsets you to that degree.

    I'm not upset at all. I just think the words we choose are important.

    And, really, people come on to these forums all the time citing their sugar 'addiction' and literally telling people it is the same as a heroin addiction. You don't see a problem with that?
  • iamthemotherofdogs
    iamthemotherofdogs Posts: 562 Member
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    3bambi3 wrote: »
    iamthemotherofdogs wrote: »
    3bambi3 wrote: »
    iamthemotherofdogs wrote: »
    You just said more or less the same thing I did. I just applied kindness and empathy to mine.

    No. You seem to think there is nothing wrong with hyperbole. I think it is harmful.

    I think you're reaching for something to be bothered by, and deflecting. This thread is about OP's issue with sugar. Nobody is saying that by making a statement like "I'm addicted to sugar", that anyone with an honest, true, medically diagnosed addiction is somehow any less important. It's not a contest. On the contrary-- by comparing sugar cravings and dependence to an addiction, OP was by the very definition of the word doing their best to accurately describe how serious the problem is for them. OP wasn't trying to one-up anyone by asking for support for their issue. Could it have been worded better? Sure.

    As someone who has struggled with abuse and addiction, I do not feel put upon by this.

    Perhaps you should start a thread about hyperbole if it upsets you to that degree.

    I'm not upset at all. I just think the words we choose are important.

    And, really, people come on to these forums all the time citing their sugar 'addiction' and literally telling people it is the same as a heroin addiction. You don't see a problem with that?

    I do, but I didn't see any comparison like that in this post.
  • lemurcat12
    lemurcat12 Posts: 30,886 Member
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    YepItsKriss wrote: »
    People keep claiming this addition to sugar. However no one is spooning sugar straight from the bag.
    Personally if i had an addiction to sugar i would pay 1.99 for a large bag of granulated sugar just to eat and get my fix. Also included in this list of things would be as others said, fruit, veggies, spaghetti sauce, milk, yogurt... however the only thing that seems to get the finger pointed at it is so called junk foods, cake, cookies, chocolate, ice cream, candy, etc.

    Basically this. It seems to me that if you are really craving SUGAR specifically, one of the most efficient sources (short of table sugar) is fruit. If I really just want sweet, I know I go for fruit. Of course, for me usually if I want dessert I don't just want sweet, I want something more complex (and often less sweet) like good chocolate or ice cream or a fruit pie (not commonly available as I only bake them on holidays and don't really go buy stuff at bakeries). That makes it clear to me that what I'm after is not just sugar.

    So I'd say that if you really think your issue is just sugar there's an easy solution: eat fruit. Not that hard to fit in a day if you make an effort, reasonably nutritious, there you are!

    If it's a behavioral addiction to overeating tasty things (I don't really think of this as addiction but it can become one, I'm sure, and emotional eating and bingeing disorders are probably in the same ballpark in some ways) or simply a bad habit relating to foods you think taste really good, well, that's different, but it's not because sugar -- again, if it's about sugar, fruit is an easy option.
  • lemurcat12
    lemurcat12 Posts: 30,886 Member
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    To answer the how to avoid overeating tasty things question, I think it can take some work, but one important part of it is having an answer when you ask yourself "why hold back?" WHY are you wanting to? What are your concrete goals? Have a plan and structure. For many people, I think it's hard to weigh immediate pleasure vs. longterm goals (eh, what's one more day -- becomes a problem if you say it every day), so finding a way to do that; finding a way to understand that each thing you do does matter and plays a role in meeting the real, concrete goal, is important.

    Having a structure where you can fit in a little something you enjoy and know you can't have more today (you would be over calories) but can tomorrow also can help. I think a lot of the time a problem can be thinking it's now or never "or I screwed up and won't eat it again after today so might as well go nuts."

    But thinking through your own thought processed and impulses can be helpful.

    Not having it around can make it easier too, but it may not be an option. (I don't care about Halloween candy (lucky for me), but there's a bunch in our workplace kitchen today, and there will be tastier food there that I do enjoy pretty much all of December (and it could start before).)
  • jgnatca
    jgnatca Posts: 14,464 Member
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    1. To overcome an obsession or compulsion don’t give it more power than it really has. It’s just candy. It has a lot fewer calories than a Whopper burger. There are mindfulness techniques that can teach you to let the craving pass through you without judgement.
    2. Read Duhigg’s book on Habit.
    3. Give the surplus candy away.
  • vingogly
    vingogly Posts: 1,785 Member
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    Momepro wrote: »
    What exactly is your definition of addiction? I promise I'm not being snarky, seriously. I'm honestly curious what you consider to be an actual addiction, and if and why you might consider alchohol, heroin, cigarettes or video games to be "true" addictions vs sugar.

    See the summary of the DSM-5 criteria for substance use disorders here:

    https://www.verywell.com/dsm-5-criteria-for-substance-use-disorders-21926

    The only non-substance related disorder listed in DSM-5 is Gambling Disorder (pp. 585-586). Obesity is listed toward the end of DSM-5 in the section "Nonadherence to Medical Treatment". The terms addiction and dependence are no longer used in DSM-5.

    Craving sugar and overindulging in it may be due to some medical condition or more likely, to dysfunctional belief systems related to eating and food. But there is no such thing as sugar addiction, and there is no responsible counselor or psychologist who would treat you for an addiction that doesn't exist. The problem is not with the physical reward system as is the case with true addictions, but with the role food plays in your life (i.e., it's a thinking problem).

    If you can't control your intake of sugar no matter what you do, then that is indeed a behavioral problem. It can be addressed through cognitive behavioral therapy techniques. For a self help approach, see Judith Beck's books available on Amazon:

    https://www.amazon.com/Judith-S.-Beck/e/B000APW256/ref=sr_tc_2_0?qid=1509679021&sr=8-2-ent

    She's the daughter of Aaron Beck, who is considered the "father" of cognitive therapy.

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