Crave sugar

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Replies

  • lemurcat2
    lemurcat2 Posts: 7,885 Member
    chipsgirl123 wrote: »
    @lemurcat2 I mean an added sugar craving non dairy chocolate, cake and biscuits. I eat two pieces of fruit every day but I still need to eat some of the bad stuff!

    Oh, sorry -- I wouldn't call that a plain sugar craving, but a craving for a specific treat.

    If you don't feel out of control about it, there's nothing wrong with saving some cals for whatever it is.

    Or, if you feel out of control about it, you can sometimes break a habit by cutting it out for a while.

    When I started I felt a little out of control about food (I was stress eating at work, mainly), and so I tried cutting out snacking and also had no added sugar as an experiment. But I also made sure I was eating delicious filling meals. At times I wanted to snack I initially let myself have raw veg or a pickle, but I mostly found it not that hard to stop snacking once I got in the habit. If I wanted to eat outside of meal time I'd journal a bit about what was going on or plan the delicious meal I'd have next.

    After a month or so I felt much more in control, but liked not snacking. I added in a post-dinner dessert if I had the calories, and around 3x a week it was ice cream (about 200 cal, 1/2 cup). I initially didn't have something sweet and dessert-y after dinner every night because I didn't want it to feel like I needed it. Sometimes I would have fruit (which can be desserty IMO), sometimes interesting cheese, sometimes nothing.

    So really if you feel in control and are not getting excessive cals from your sweet treat, I wouldn't worry about it. If not, I think cutting it out for a while or not having it in the house can help some, although others will have other approaches.

    For me for whatever reason it's easier to have something right after dinner. I think it's more because of the snacking thing -- around Christmas I sometimes get back in the habit of snacking on food items that end up in my office, and then I have to break that habit again.
  • missysippy930
    missysippy930 Posts: 2,577 Member
    youngmomtaz wrote: »
    I am on amitriptyline as well. One of the side effects is increased carb cravings. Be aware of that and moderate as you see fit. I am on a low dose(tried it a year ago with odd side effects, chose another med but am on it again since early May and it is working fine aside from the cravings and maybe a bit of bloat) but I still notice the increase and I am a sugar person; as a child I got scolded many times for eating out of the sugar bin with a soup spoon... My solution is to avoid all added sugar. If I am hardcore craving I stick to fruit but even that doesn’t solve it some days.

    I have a sister who climbed up on the kitchen table as a toddler, to eat out of the sugar bowl and butter dish.

    I read an article a few months ago that talked about some people that benefit from reducing sugar to reduce joint inflammation. After a few weeks, I noticed a big difference for me. Especially my knees. I’m talking about cookies, candies, my particular weakness. I still enjoy a piece of candy or a cookie now and then, but really limit them. This week, my fruits have been watermelon and plums, both of which taste really sweet to me. I don’t know if it’s psychological, but it’s working for me.
  • amy19355
    amy19355 Posts: 805 Member
    In the beginning, I had good luck by Replacing refined sugars with complex carbs that are sweet - such as dried fruits or sweet potatoes. While dried fruits are calorie dense and easy to overeat, at the same time they are incredibly sweet and the satisfaction seems to hang around a little longer on the tastebuds.

    After a week or so, and continuing to this day, when I eat refined sugars my body reacts almost immediately with strong hot flashes and a sort of crawling-ants feeling.

    Good luck to you!
  • mmapags
    mmapags Posts: 8,934 Member
    amy19355 wrote: »
    In the beginning, I had good luck by Replacing refined sugars with complex carbs that are sweet - such as dried fruits or sweet potatoes. While dried fruits are calorie dense and easy to overeat, at the same time they are incredibly sweet and the satisfaction seems to hang around a little longer on the tastebuds.

    After a week or so, and continuing to this day, when I eat refined sugars my body reacts almost immediately with strong hot flashes and a sort of crawling-ants feeling.

    Good luck to you!

    There is always confusion over simple and complex carbs. Fruit is a simple carb. Sweet potatoes are a complex carb. The distinction is only important in how fast one raises your blood glucose vs. the other. Simple sugars raise blood sugar faster. Not an issue for most non-diabetics.
  • nooboots
    nooboots Posts: 480 Member
    chipsgirl123 wrote: »
    xx I don’t overeat but I have definitely noticed since my pain meds were upped I am craving more biscuits and cakes. I have a gluten allergy and my specialist wanted me to try no dairy which has helped. I would find giving up sugar really really hard. @GaleHawkins You are so inspirational.

    So when you say sugar, you mean biscuits/cakes? What about bread, pasta etc?

    Personally I have to stay away from the above mentioned within some parameters. I do eat some bread now and then but find it comes in waves and I eat more when Ive had some. It affects my cravings.

    I think what you're experiencing with your pain killers is fairly common, it does affect appetite and cravings, its very hard, well done for losing what you have already.

    Some people can seem to eat small portions of those items and it meets their needs, others like me need to just stay away as much as we can as it leads to over eating.
  • earlnabby
    earlnabby Posts: 8,171 Member
    mmapags wrote: »
    amy19355 wrote: »
    In the beginning, I had good luck by Replacing refined sugars with complex carbs that are sweet - such as dried fruits or sweet potatoes. While dried fruits are calorie dense and easy to overeat, at the same time they are incredibly sweet and the satisfaction seems to hang around a little longer on the tastebuds.

    After a week or so, and continuing to this day, when I eat refined sugars my body reacts almost immediately with strong hot flashes and a sort of crawling-ants feeling.

    Good luck to you!

    There is always confusion over simple and complex carbs. Fruit is a simple carb. Sweet potatoes are a complex carb. The distinction is only important in how fast one raises your blood glucose vs. the other. Simple sugars raise blood sugar faster. Not an issue for most non-diabetics.

    It used to be easier when the categories of carbs were sugars and starches rather than simple and complex. I still think of them that way.
  • cmriverside
    cmriverside Posts: 34,412 Member
    I just think of carbs as carbs. Simples.

    The sugary treat foods? I know what those are.

    Those are Special Occasion foods. My birthday. Christmas. A few other times during the year. Not every day (at least not for me if I want to stay at my current weight.)

    Fruit I eat every day. Same with dairy, and potatoes, and grains. High carb foods, percentage-wise. Not "treat" foods. That's how I look at it.
  • vggb
    vggb Posts: 132 Member
    I eat fruit daily in variety and season. I no longer wish I had the "sugar added" treats.

    This works well for me and my husband who was getting close to pre-diabetes and warned by his doctor to stop refined sugar.

    Thank goodness for WinCo and their wonderful produce department. I purchase fresh produce, fruit and veggies, at least twice a week.

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