Addicted to sugar, how to wean myself off?

Shaynelle

I eat way too much sugar. I plan to change that, so I have started small, by not adding sugar to things when it's not necessary (ie my coffee). I still get cravings, which I hope will get less and less as I consume less sugar.

Has anyone here weaned themselves off sugar? Do you have any tips for me?

jeanninecurran

I've found that when I eat sugar I crave it even more. Right now I am trying to back to clean eating also. i worked hard to lose weight and have gained 10lbs back. Easy to gain and hard to lose. One thing that helps is to eat natural sweet things such as dried figs (high in fiber and not too high in calories) or fresh fruit. It really does help. I don't crave sweets as much when I eat naturally sweet things. I also am addicted to fats. Butter is a big culprit (I work in a bagel store and the softened butter is hard to resist). Today I added fresh avocado to my salad but i did eat a few cookies. I didn't allow that to be my green light to throw my eating plan away and "start tomorrow" which I usually do. I guess that's progress. I am back to logging my food which is a huge eye opener.
Good luck to you. Remember you're not alone.

OhCora

go cold turkey. don't add sugar to anything and satisfy your sweet tooth with a SMALL amount of fresh fruit. I say this because if I try to allow myself a little, I end up having a lot. If I cut it out entirely, there's no slip ups!

SharonNehring

The less you eat it the less you will crave it. For the sake of weight loss, I'd suggest cutting sugary foods from your diet for a period of time, until you feel like you can plan a treat into your meal plan and stay within your calorie goals.

I've had to do this with potato chips. I can't seem to eat a few and put down the bag, so we've stopped buying chips at all for now.

karen1105mfp

I went cold turkey. I feed my body a lot of good nutrients in the form of veggies, some fruit, clean protein, which I truly believe helps keep the cravings away. You might feel like crap for a day or two, but trust me, it goes away :-)

Shaynelle

Blah! You're probably right, I need to go cold turkey. It's going to be difficult but I know I can do it. Tomorrow I'll not add sugar to anything and avoid anything sweet, but I have packed yogourt for lunch and I know it has sugar (I don't like sweeteners) so I will eat that, but other than that I think I should be able to not eat any or at least much sugar. I will feel like crap for a few days probably, Karen is right! I feel like that for a few days when I withdraw from coffee/caffeine (another vice, to be conquered another day!).

Thanks everyone for your advise

Losing_Sarah

Yes. Cold turkey is the best way. The fist few days will be hard, but it will get easier and after a week or two your cravings go away. You can do it!

ndj1979

calorie deficit is what you need for weight loss ..

sugar is not the devil.

you can eat sugar and lose weight..I probably eat 50+ grams a day and am 12% body fat…

just make sensible choices, do not restrict foods, and maintain your deficit...

ndj1979

go cold turkey. don't add sugar to anything and satisfy your sweet tooth with a SMALL amount of fresh fruit. I say this because if I try to allow myself a little, I end up having a lot. If I cut it out entirely, there's no slip ups!

so keep eating sugar (fruit) to get off sugar? interesting concept…

are carbs out too? Because they are sugar as well..

shaynepoole

I was with you until the dropping coffee/caffeine post - I need my pot of coffee to jump start my day :happy:

Another thing to keep in mind is that carbs convert to sugars - so if you are cutting back on sugar and don't cut carbs back, it converts to sugar in your body anyway

It took me a really long time to realize that as a type 2 diabetic who wasn't getting any control over her blood sugars... I scratched my head a lot until I took a diabetes education class because I basically didn't eat any additional sugary sweet things... except the carbs which then made my blood sugars shoot all over the place

FoxyLifter

With trigger foods, it really is best to go cold turkey. Later, you can wean them back into your treats list, but until then, have none of it. Out of sight, out of mind. For me, it's bread. Every time I eat it, it's so hard not to eat more. Caffeine, I think, is something you can "wean off", at least in my experience, but certain sweets/carbs have to be removed entirely, at least for a little while. I had a biscuit tonight and it took nearly all my strength to refuse an offer from the hostess to have the last buttery biscuit. Pop and pb&j sandwiches are also trigger foods/rinks for me... although now I find my pop tolerance to be quite low. It burns!

I find a piece of fruit more satisfying than a piece of bread. I will eat bread until I'm sick (something I'm really trying to work on so please don't bash me), but when it comes to fruit, I feel like it's easier to control. I wouldn't cut out sugar completely. That would be silly. Sugar tastes great and provides great energy.

Ok, I think I'm done rambling. :drinker:

Charmainedelaney

I have recently gone cold turkey myself on all sugars. Except in one cup of tea a day there are no cakes, breads or dairy, sweets, pastrys & I found the first week was fine the second week I had a mild sore head, nothing that a pill would not fix & now honestly I dont miss it.
I have lost 7 kgs & feel so much better for doing it. It is now a way of life for me. I'm with everyone else that says go cold turkey. Track your foods & keep active & you will loose weight & the cravings will go too - good luck

AwesomeGuy37

I'm diabetic so I stopped eating sugar and sweets, bread, rice, fruit, sodas and such. I just eliminated them from my diet and in about 2 - 3 weeks the cravings go away for most people. If you keep a little bit here and there, you will probably not get used to not having it.

Shaynelle

God, dropping sweets is bad enough it will be difficult to drop carbs as well. I just popped two girl guide cookies in my mouth because I had 357 calories left and thought it would be okay. Bad choice of course, I should not be eating cookies of all things!

sodakat

I don't see the point in making yourself miserable but I also don't see the point in using almost 400 calories of an already Restricted diet on cookies. Flavored coffee creamer is important to me so I now measure 2 T into my cup each morning. I have a bit less coffee than did previously in order to have it as light as i want. Those 70 calories for the creamer keep me from feeling deprived but I am not willing to give up another 70 calories in order to have a second cup. It has not affected my weight loss a bit.

Choosing how to eat those extra calories at the end of the day is where I am learning how to meet my macros. Last night i needed more protein so chose Greek yogurt and cottage cheese with 2 tspoons of sugar sprinkled on top.

ndj1979

God, dropping sweets is bad enough it will be difficult to drop carbs as well. I just popped two girl guide cookies in my mouth because I had 357 calories left and thought it would be okay. Bad choice of course, I should not be eating cookies of all things!

why not?

if you are in a deficit, have hit you fat and protein minimums for the day then it does not matter….

If I have left over calories I fill it in with ice cream and a cookie or two ..keeps me sane...

l_ashley

I am in the same boat. Taking all sweets out of the house is really helpful, because usually I'm too lazy to make a trip to the store/drivethru for a fix. I also have started replacing high calorie sweets with fruits. Dole has made frozen chocolate-covered strawberries. 60 calories and 4 grams of sugars. They are delicous! They also have chocolate-covered bananas, which are 100 calories and 7 grams of sugar. These are also amazing. :happy:

GlitterGurl2

Me too. Its either feast or famine. I know I can't control myself so I just say no!

zoquo

I recommend not buying it and start getting your taste buds used to the natural sweets like figs for example. The others are right the less crap food you eat the less you crave it! And i know that for someone who likes sweet food dark chocolate tastes bitter. HOWEVER, i have 2 pieces once in a while to curb my sugar cravings. I didn't used to like it but got myself to. Now i cant stand milk chocolate! Try getting into a 70% coco dark chocolate with orange or mint. These taste less bitter to start with. Now it is my treat and its good for me in small amounts :happy: Some of the others are right though, you dont have to go cold turkey sometimes that just makes it all the more alluring, allow yourself a once a week treat like a sugar doughnut or whatever sugar you like then eventually make it less and less once every 2 weeks once every 3 etc etc... just try not to buy these things and have them in the house. When you have had a good week go out and buy yourself something that way you avoid snacking on it cos its in the house.

Peace

alicias51

I unfortunately crossed the line into the world of diabetes when I went for my physical in Feb. I have cut my carbs way back but refuse to completely deny myself all the things I really like - I know those are the things that got me here, however in approximately 6 weeks since day one I've dropped about 14 lbs and A1C is down. All I have done so far is cut carbs and use myfitnesspal to keep me in check daily. Portion control is helping without having completely deny ALL the things I like including a little sugar.

tisha3000

I have been reading a lot about garcinia cambogia. Has someone try it? does it work? they say it takes the cravings away and you loose weight
I know there is no magic pill