Calling all sugar addicts!

Jess732008

I love it when things that should be taken solely tongue and cheek are suddenly taken seriously.

Sugar addiction.

Yes. You are "addicted" to food.

Good luck breaking that one.

Well, you can be addicted to white processed sugar, but you can control it by not having it in the house.

PhearlessPhreaks

Unlike a heroin addict who would risk using a dirty needle or a cocaine addict who would snort spilled cocaine of a urine infested floor, I truly doubt any sugar addict here would eat any sugar laden product after abstaining from it for however many days, if I sprinkled poo on it. If you could, then maybe you are a sugar "addict".
Physiologically we use glucose for energy, so we're never "abstaining" from it anyway. Psychologically people adhere to habitual behavior until it's changed. Habitually "needing" sugar will keep people wanting it. IMO it's really not an addiction since you really can't moderate addiction.

A.C.E. Certified Personal/Group FitnessTrainer
IDEA Fitness member
Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition

I'll concede that no, you won't find someone who considers themselves a 'sugar addict' to act as you mentioned. However, I have two points: the first being that sugar is much easier to access; someone who is 'addicted' to sugar has an extremely easy time getting their next fix. It's at nearly every store, every drive-thru. And it's cheaper; if heroin and cocaine were as easy to obtain at the same price as sugar without the legal ramifications they currently hold, you might see heroin addicts passing over the used needle; the cocaine addict not being so worried about the spillage on a dirty floor. Second, while there might not be actual 'sugar' addiction, I do believe there is such a thing as food addiction. Perhaps the people we are discussing are, in fact food addicts, and sugar is their 'drug', so to speak, of choice?

I think there are many different kinds of addiction, and they don't all produce the same effects.

ApocalypticFae

Some of these comments are so ignorant! OP, have you tried upping your healthy fats intake, along with upping your water intake? Doing these two things helps me a lot! Extra virgin olive oil, coconut oil, flax oil, walnuts, and avocados are my favorite sources of fat lately. Having said this, I can't remember the last time when at least a couple squares of chocolate were not listed in my diary! :flowerforyou:

Joebob8

I think sugar addiction is very, very real. I will never forget years ago my French friend's mother telling me how shocked she was at the sugar content in american foods ("even the salad dressing!). And I think it is worse than meth. There are more fat sick over eaters in this country than there are meth addicts. Sugar has no health benefits, it destroys teeth, causes diabetes, over eating, blood sugar problems...it is normalized in our society and therefore people think its okay.

That being said, I love sweets! But there is a difference between having a treat and being on a constant sugar high/crash cycle. The way I curb myself: no processed garbage, no fruit except berries 80% of the time, extra dark chocolate (like mast brothers), and no mixed cocktails (I rarely drink, I prefer to get my calories from food, but when I do it's red wine or whiskey). Keeping my blood sugar in check helps a lot. One mini Snickers bar and I'll eat every sugary food in sight. Much better to keep that crap at bay.

I think it also depends on the individual, some people don't seem to get as high as I do off sugary food....but I think many ppl do

Joebob8

Oh, and in response to the following:

"Unlike a heroin addict who would risk using a dirty needle or a cocaine addict who would snort spilled cocaine of a urine infested floor, I truly doubt any sugar addict here would eat any sugar laden product after abstaining from it for however many days, if I sprinkled poo on it. If you could, then maybe you are a sugar "addict". "

Who would risk eating a box of powdered donuts if he/she was 100 pounds overweight, had type 2 diabetes, and rolled around in a wheelchair?

Jess732008

You know, I was just thinking. Sugar has a major affect on me emotionally as well. I am so much more moody when I eat a lot of sugar products. Really moody. When I get off of the sugar my emotions normalize.

Jess732008

Unlike a heroin addict who would risk using a dirty needle or a cocaine addict who would snort spilled cocaine of a urine infested floor, I truly doubt any sugar addict here would eat any sugar laden product after abstaining from it for however many days, if I sprinkled poo on it. If you could, then maybe you are a sugar "addict".
Physiologically we use glucose for energy, so we're never "abstaining" from it anyway. Psychologically people adhere to habitual behavior until it's changed. Habitually "needing" sugar will keep people wanting it. IMO it's really not an addiction since you really can't moderate addiction.

A.C.E. Certified Personal/Group FitnessTrainer
IDEA Fitness member
Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition

I'll concede that no, you won't find someone who considers themselves a 'sugar addict' to act as you mentioned. However, I have two points: the first being that sugar is much easier to access; someone who is 'addicted' to sugar has an extremely easy time getting their next fix. It's at nearly every store, every drive-thru. And it's cheaper; if heroin and cocaine were as easy to obtain at the same price as sugar without the legal ramifications they currently hold, you might see heroin addicts passing over the used needle; the cocaine addict not being so worried about the spillage on a dirty floor. Second, while there might not be actual 'sugar' addiction, I do believe there is such a thing as food addiction. Perhaps the people we are discussing are, in fact food addicts, and sugar is their 'drug', so to speak, of choice?

I think there are many different kinds of addiction, and they don't all produce the same effects.

Yes, I think fat people may have trigger foods that cause them to pig out on certain foods. I have to have them out of the house and not buy them at the store. I was trying for months after my last weight loss of 60 lbs to get my eating in control when I decided that I could "control" my trigger foods and let them in the house again. I ended up gaining all of the weight back. It was not until I went to an OA meeting that I learned how overeaters like myself just cannot have certain foods in the house. I cannot have any kind of nut butters, dairy products ( cheese, yogurt, and ice cream), or sweet treats in the house. They are my trigger foods. I can control fruit, vegetables, whole grains, nuts, meat, eggs, but not those foods.

ndj1979

I've got to admit it, I'm a sugar addict!

Has anyone read The Sweet Poison Quit Plan? Did it work? I've got to break out of this cycle! :explode: I know I'm an addict because I can go so many days with nothing and and I quite literally start jonesing for chocolate and I have an almighty binge and then feel gross!
I've read that sugar is as addictive as nicotine! Is there anyone on here that's managed to kick the habit?

Without sugar you'd die, true story

I would imagine you and she are not talking about the same definition of sugar.

No, I'm on about chocolate and cake and biscuits - processed sugar? Refined sugar?

so you eat fruit, honey, etc…you know sugar?

Jess732008

You really are being insulting. A simple visit to an OA meeting shows that food addiction and trigger foods are real. The people at the meetings will vouch for these concepts. I have seen it even in thin people I know. My sister who is 130 lbs still has foods that she pigs out on. My cousin who has always been thin will eat a lot of packaged cookies at one sitting. My parents have problems with sweets and potatoes. I have seen my son control nearly every food he eats but give him pizza or sweets and he pigs out. Why is that? Oh, my son is just 6 years old. Why do many kids pig out on sweets but not anything else?

ninerbuff

Sugar is PALATABLE. This is why people have issues with it. It's not an addiction issue, it's an issue that it tastes good and people just keeping eating it till they get sick of eating it.

Fruit and vegetables contain sugar in them. If sugar was truly an addiction, then why aren't people gobbling down bananas, mangoes, tangerines, grapes, cherries, or even dried fruit all very high in sugar?

A.C.E. Certified Personal/Group FitnessTrainer
IDEA Fitness member
Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition

Jess732008

True, but what about my experience cutting out my trigger foods and my weight gain problems stopping immediately? I lost 60 lbs a couple years ago when I cut out my trigger foods, and then gained all the weight back when I reintroduced them. After I stopped bringing those foods in the house, not all are unhealthy, the weight gain stopped and I was able to lose weight again and I have lost 40 lbs in the past year. There are just some foods I cannot have in the house. Now, if I buy it eating out in a predetermined amount I don't have problems and do not have it in excessive quantities at home.

People just need to find what works for them and go with it.

Jess732008

Sugar is PALATABLE. This is why people have issues with it. It's not an addiction issue, it's an issue that it tastes good and people just keeping eating it till they get sick of eating it.

Fruit and vegetables contain sugar in them. If sugar was truly an addiction, then why aren't people gobbling down bananas, mangoes, tangerines, grapes, cherries, or even dried fruit all very high in sugar?

A.C.E. Certified Personal/Group FitnessTrainer
IDEA Fitness member
Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition

I'm sorry but why are you, a personal trainer, saying people should eat foods that give them problems? what is wrong with giving processed sugar up or only eating them in ways they can control? It is not better to eat something you cannot control.

This documentary called Hungry for Change has people in it that describe why modern processed sugar can create problems and how it is processed in a similar way to drugs. I don't agree with everything they say relating sugar to drugs, but I stand by the stance of getting rid of things in your life you can't control if they are bad for you and if they can be gotten rid of.

ndj1979

if people are addicted to sugar then why are they not addicted to fruit? A banana should have the same affect on a sugar addict as a candy bar does...

ndj1979

Sugar is PALATABLE. This is why people have issues with it. It's not an addiction issue, it's an issue that it tastes good and people just keeping eating it till they get sick of eating it.

Fruit and vegetables contain sugar in them. If sugar was truly an addiction, then why aren't people gobbling down bananas, mangoes, tangerines, grapes, cherries, or even dried fruit all very high in sugar?

A.C.E. Certified Personal/Group FitnessTrainer
IDEA Fitness member
Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition

I'm sorry but why are you, a personal trainer, saying people should eat foods that give them problems? what is wrong with giving processed sugar up or only eating them in ways they can control? It is not better to eat something you cannot control.

This documentary called Hungry for Change has people in it that describe why modern processed sugar can create problems and how it is processed in a similar way to drugs.

because you can't be addicted to one kind of sugar, just like you can't be addicted to one kind of cocaine…You can't say "wow, I am really addicted to crack cocaine, but I do not have any addiction to powder cocaine" They are both cocaine…just like fruit and candy bars are both sugar ...

ninerbuff

Sugar is PALATABLE. This is why people have issues with it. It's not an addiction issue, it's an issue that it tastes good and people just keeping eating it till they get sick of eating it.

Fruit and vegetables contain sugar in them. If sugar was truly an addiction, then why aren't people gobbling down bananas, mangoes, tangerines, grapes, cherries, or even dried fruit all very high in sugar?

A.C.E. Certified Personal/Group FitnessTrainer
IDEA Fitness member
Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition

I'm sorry but why are you, a personal trainer, saying people should eat foods that give them problems? what is wrong with giving processed sugar up or only eating them in ways they can control? It is not better to eat something you cannot control.

This documentary called Hungry for Change has people in it that describe why modern processed sugar can create problems and how it is processed in a similar way to drugs. I don't agree with everything they say relating sugar to drugs, but I stand by the stance of getting rid of things in your life you can't control if they are bad for you and if they can be gotten rid of.

I haven't said people should eat foods that give them problems. I've been refuting that sugar is actually an addiction. If someone has no discipline when it comes to eating certain foods, then don't eat them.
But as I mentioned, sugar is palatable which is why it's in so many foods today. You spoke of your son choosing junk over more nutrient dense food. Why? Because kids don't eat for nutrition, they eat for taste. Would you agree that if you placed a brussel sprout and a banana in front of him, he'd probably eat the banana? Even if you told him that the brussel sprout had more nutritional value?

A.C.E. Certified Personal/Group FitnessTrainer
IDEA Fitness member
Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition

blackberrymuffintop

I think much like some people can handle alcohol fine without addiction, there are likely many people who can handle processed sugar without any trouble. For some of us, it is a gateway that leads to addictive behaviors (hiding while eating, hoarding, seeking...unable to think of anything else until you get that fix...then great for a bit until you come down...then feeling crappy...but the crappy feeling only makes you seek to get more to feel good again even though logically we know it's stupid.) Yeah...addiction.

Dude, this describes me perfectly.
To some of the other "experts" on here, of course sugar isn't as addictive as Schedule I drugs like heroin and cocaine, no one is saying that it is. But that doesn't mean it can't be an addiction or it doesn't destroy lives. Just because you don't experience something personally doesn't mean it doesn't exist. Food addiction and binge eating disorder are actually quite common and medically valid, and MUCH worse than "cravings" or "desire for palatable food". It's certainly not unbelievable that sometimes these would be oriented around sugar, especially as refined sugar actually has been shown to be addictive

Charlottesometimes23

Oh no, Groundhog Day!

blackberrymuffintop

if people are addicted to sugar then why are they not addicted to fruit? A banana should have the same affect on a sugar addict as a candy bar does...

First of all, what if I told you that there are multiple types of sugar? Fruit has fructose in it. Candy/refined sugar is usually a processed version of sucrose or different chemicals. Your body processes them completely differently
That being said, I've binge-eaten bananas before. But even if I eat all the bananas in the house, which is usually six, that's only 600 calories and 96g of sugar, so they're really not the problem compared to eating a bag of chocolates or a box of cookies per-say.

Acg67

if people are addicted to sugar then why are they not addicted to fruit? A banana should have the same affect on a sugar addict as a candy bar does...

First of all, what if I told you that there are multiple types of sugar? Fruit has fructose in it. Candy/refined sugar is usually a processed version of sucrose or different chemicals. Your body processes them completely differently

And what if I told you, fruits contain multiple types of sugar, even sucrose? How does your body tell processed sucrose from natural sucrose

Loisxyz

[/quote]I think it would depend on the poo and the chocolate....American chocolate I'd probably just eat the poo.
[/quote]


Love it!