SUGAR ADDICT about to go COLD TURKEY -Advice?

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  • warriorprincessdi
    warriorprincessdi Posts: 617 Member
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    I'd thank to thank everyone for their advice, thoughts, and the info you have shared.

    I am not looking to cut out all sugar, or carbs.... I am not looking to cut out natural sugar. My problem is a mental one, I am more than sure. It isn't carbs I crave, not fruit, juice... It is the stuff you see in the supermarket checkout... the last minute items. Chocolate bars, soda, that sort of thing.

    I have been given lots of good ideas here to help me try and distract myself from the urge... Really, I just want to go without giving into the 'caramilk craving' in hopes that time will lessen it's hold on me, time heals all wounds as they say... That is the hope I have in this endeavor.

    As for what happens on June 19.... I have several trips coming up this summer. As many people have goal rewards for themselves... new outfits, tattoos, etc... I am using my upcoming trips and activities as 'mile markers' on my journey. For example, I stick to my current work out schedule up to june 18, then on June 19 we leave for a road trip to QC for Amnesia Rockfest. When I get home, I start a new workout schedule that takes me up to my Girls weekend... then my next round takes me up to my trip to AB.... You get the idea. :)

    Again, thank you all so very much for taking the time to try and help me. Gifs, science, and all :P

    OP - do what you must…but IMO you would be better off using the next few months to teach yourself some moderation rather then just saying I am going to ban "some" sugars…that is just my .02….

    I do appreciate this, but I know that never works for me. I try moderation, and do 'ok' for a time... but then I find myself just trying to find ways to fit that cheesecake, icecream, whatever into my day and make that my focus instead of ensuring the day is properly healthful.

    I know, I sound frikken nuts to say it, but I know it is my weakness... my shortcoming. When quitting smoking, I couldn't do moderation. I'd cave and go past my 'daily allowance'... Same with candy bars and such... I can't seem to hold back once I start.

    last comment and then I will leave it alone..

    are you going to do this for life? Abandon certain sugars for three months, then start eating "some" again, and then end up overeating on them and repeat the cycle? If you start now, then maybe you can learn to enjoy them in moderation and not have to resort to that drastic cycle over and over …..

    For life, maybe not. This is about me showing myself it can be done... I just want to show myself I can move beyond this nightly battle with my mind telling me it NEEDS it. I can now enjoy a cigar once in a blue moon on a special occasion without running out to buy a pack of cigarettes; I'd like to reach this point with cakes, candies and sweets.

    I really do appreciate the point you are trying to make, I know you are trying to help me avoid setting myself up for failure, saying to just learn moderation now.... This IS my way of trying to do that. I do thank you for your help, I know you are trying.. same as everyone else here :)
  • ndj1979
    ndj1979 Posts: 29,139 Member
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    I'd thank to thank everyone for their advice, thoughts, and the info you have shared.

    I am not looking to cut out all sugar, or carbs.... I am not looking to cut out natural sugar. My problem is a mental one, I am more than sure. It isn't carbs I crave, not fruit, juice... It is the stuff you see in the supermarket checkout... the last minute items. Chocolate bars, soda, that sort of thing.

    I have been given lots of good ideas here to help me try and distract myself from the urge... Really, I just want to go without giving into the 'caramilk craving' in hopes that time will lessen it's hold on me, time heals all wounds as they say... That is the hope I have in this endeavor.

    As for what happens on June 19.... I have several trips coming up this summer. As many people have goal rewards for themselves... new outfits, tattoos, etc... I am using my upcoming trips and activities as 'mile markers' on my journey. For example, I stick to my current work out schedule up to june 18, then on June 19 we leave for a road trip to QC for Amnesia Rockfest. When I get home, I start a new workout schedule that takes me up to my Girls weekend... then my next round takes me up to my trip to AB.... You get the idea. :)

    Again, thank you all so very much for taking the time to try and help me. Gifs, science, and all :P

    OP - do what you must…but IMO you would be better off using the next few months to teach yourself some moderation rather then just saying I am going to ban "some" sugars…that is just my .02….

    I do appreciate this, but I know that never works for me. I try moderation, and do 'ok' for a time... but then I find myself just trying to find ways to fit that cheesecake, icecream, whatever into my day and make that my focus instead of ensuring the day is properly healthful.

    I know, I sound frikken nuts to say it, but I know it is my weakness... my shortcoming. When quitting smoking, I couldn't do moderation. I'd cave and go past my 'daily allowance'... Same with candy bars and such... I can't seem to hold back once I start.

    last comment and then I will leave it alone..

    are you going to do this for life? Abandon certain sugars for three months, then start eating "some" again, and then end up overeating on them and repeat the cycle? If you start now, then maybe you can learn to enjoy them in moderation and not have to resort to that drastic cycle over and over …..

    For life, maybe not. This is about me showing myself it can be done... I just want to show myself I can move beyond this nightly battle with my mind telling me it NEEDS it. I can now enjoy a cigar once in a blue moon on a special occasion without running out to buy a pack of cigarettes; I'd like to reach this point with cakes, candies and sweets.

    well good luck to you ...
  • Beachlady24
    Beachlady24 Posts: 29 Member
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    Hi Warrior Prince
    I understand everything you said. I am a sugar addict also. I take Spirulina and Chlorella to level my sugar cravings and keep the wolves at bay. This is a whole food, not a vitamin. .

    1. Spirulina and Chlorella (cuts sugar cravings)
    2. Cut grapes in half, place in freezer. (You are forced to eat these slowly)
    3. Chocolate Recovery Protein drink (1 scoop for 125 Calories-reward after hard workouts)

    This is my first post. :glasses: GOOD LUCK and let me know what works for you.
  • Qskim
    Qskim Posts: 1,145 Member
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    I'd thank to thank everyone for their advice, thoughts, and the info you have shared.

    I am not looking to cut out all sugar, or carbs.... I am not looking to cut out natural sugar. My problem is a mental one, I am more than sure. It isn't carbs I crave, not fruit, juice... It is the stuff you see in the supermarket checkout... the last minute items. Chocolate bars, soda, that sort of thing.

    I have been given lots of good ideas here to help me try and distract myself from the urge... Really, I just want to go without giving into the 'caramilk craving' in hopes that time will lessen it's hold on me, time heals all wounds as they say... That is the hope I have in this endeavor.

    As for what happens on June 19.... I have several trips coming up this summer. As many people have goal rewards for themselves... new outfits, tattoos, etc... I am using my upcoming trips and activities as 'mile markers' on my journey. For example, I stick to my current work out schedule up to june 18, then on June 19 we leave for a road trip to QC for Amnesia Rockfest. When I get home, I start a new workout schedule that takes me up to my Girls weekend... then my next round takes me up to my trip to AB.... You get the idea. :)

    Again, thank you all so very much for taking the time to try and help me. Gifs, science, and all :P

    OP - do what you must…but IMO you would be better off using the next few months to teach yourself some moderation rather then just saying I am going to ban "some" sugars…that is just my .02….

    I do appreciate this, but I know that never works for me. I try moderation, and do 'ok' for a time... but then I find myself just trying to find ways to fit that cheesecake, icecream, whatever into my day and make that my focus instead of ensuring the day is properly healthful.

    I know, I sound frikken nuts to say it, but I know it is my weakness... my shortcoming. When quitting smoking, I couldn't do moderation. I'd cave and go past my 'daily allowance'... Same with candy bars and such... I can't seem to hold back once I start.

    last comment and then I will leave it alone..

    are you going to do this for life? Abandon certain sugars for three months, then start eating "some" again, and then end up overeating on them and repeat the cycle? If you start now, then maybe you can learn to enjoy them in moderation and not have to resort to that drastic cycle over and over …..

    For life, maybe not. This is about me showing myself it can be done... I just want to show myself I can move beyond this nightly battle with my mind telling me it NEEDS it. I can now enjoy a cigar once in a blue moon on a special occasion without running out to buy a pack of cigarettes; I'd like to reach this point with cakes, candies and sweets.

    well good luck to you ...

    I think you just can't relate (and that's ok cos I can't relate to how you can't relate and can moderate time and again).

    It's ok to abstain.

    Sometimes you can dial it up and sometimes you have to dial it down.

    I do think the better your nutrients are as a whole and over the course of the week, the easier it is to practice moderation.
  • AbbsyBabbsy
    AbbsyBabbsy Posts: 184 Member
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    If you're like me, it's the taste of sweet that sends an instant rush to the pleasure center of my brain and causes an immediate drive to consume more. Smug posturing over the fraction of a gram of sugar in an egg is beside the point. No sweet taste, no compulsion. Cold turkey is absolutely the way to go, and I excluded fruits too, because sweet is sweet, at least for me. My bingeing has stopped cold, too. Restriction isn't right for everyone, but it is for me, and might be for you. Good luck.
  • LolBroScience
    LolBroScience Posts: 4,537 Member
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    you know if you're eating fruit you're still eating a ton of sugar right? and still taking in sugar if you have any dairy? or most carbs? in all probability you're not going cold turkey on sugar at all, just excess sweets

    EXCESS SWEETS honey, you hit the nail on the head. I don't want to cut out all sugar. I want healthy sugar, in moderation... so I can try to shake this excessive compulsion I have.

    Am I thank different, that unique of a snowflake.... that no one else out there in the land of MFP can understand how I feel or just where I am coming from with this issue? I am sure it just mental but... it's been life-long.

    ummmm sugar is sugar…your body treats it all the same…
    http://ajcn.nutrition.org/content/62/1/212S.short < please review this study that specially says no difference in how your body reacts to added sugar or fruit sugar..

    sugar is sugar…

    you really do not need to do this ..it is unnecessary ...

    do you work for the corn lobby?

    sugar in candy like sour patch kids metabolizes much differently than sugar from an apple. because fiber.

    Stupid science! How does it work?!?!

    No really, man. How dare you bring facts and things into this when people are clearly trying to be unhelpful and obnoxious?

    How's the view from down there?
  • VoodooSyxx
    VoodooSyxx Posts: 297
    Options
    I'd thank to thank everyone for their advice, thoughts, and the info you have shared.

    I am not looking to cut out all sugar, or carbs.... I am not looking to cut out natural sugar. My problem is a mental one, I am more than sure. It isn't carbs I crave, not fruit, juice... It is the stuff you see in the supermarket checkout... the last minute items. Chocolate bars, soda, that sort of thing.

    I have been given lots of good ideas here to help me try and distract myself from the urge... Really, I just want to go without giving into the 'caramilk craving' in hopes that time will lessen it's hold on me, time heals all wounds as they say... That is the hope I have in this endeavor.

    As for what happens on June 19.... I have several trips coming up this summer. As many people have goal rewards for themselves... new outfits, tattoos, etc... I am using my upcoming trips and activities as 'mile markers' on my journey. For example, I stick to my current work out schedule up to june 18, then on June 19 we leave for a road trip to QC for Amnesia Rockfest. When I get home, I start a new workout schedule that takes me up to my Girls weekend... then my next round takes me up to my trip to AB.... You get the idea. :)

    Again, thank you all so very much for taking the time to try and help me. Gifs, science, and all :P

    OP - do what you must…but IMO you would be better off using the next few months to teach yourself some moderation rather then just saying I am going to ban "some" sugars…that is just my .02….

    Your best bet would probably be to cut it back (drastically) for about a month or two. Then when you no longer crave it, try reintroducing the trigger foods in moderation.

    Otherwise if you try moderation now, you MAY be setting yourself for failure - IMO.

    You. I like you. You talk the sense and use your brain cells and stuff.
  • warriorprincessdi
    warriorprincessdi Posts: 617 Member
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    Your best bet would probably be to cut it back (drastically) for about a month or two. Then when you no longer crave it, try reintroducing the trigger foods in moderation.

    Otherwise if you try moderation now, you MAY be setting yourself for failure - IMO.

    You. I like you. You talk the sense and use your brain cells and stuff.

    I liked that thought as well :)
  • warriorprincessdi
    warriorprincessdi Posts: 617 Member
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    I wish I had called this thread "Junk food junkie looking for ways to curb cravings" or something but... as is the norm, words often fail me when it counts. It would have (maybe) helped with all the cutting carbs and fruit ideas :/
  • ninerbuff
    ninerbuff Posts: 48,585 Member
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    My experience with people who do the "all or nothing" approach? The "all" is short lived. Rarely have I seen it succeed.

    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
  • NGFive
    NGFive Posts: 125 Member
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    good luck with your sugarless quest. however, knowing i can't have something makes me want it all the more. :devil:
  • warriorprincessdi
    warriorprincessdi Posts: 617 Member
    Options
    My experience with people who do the "all or nothing" approach? The "all" is short lived. Rarely have I seen it succeed.

    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

    It's not all or nothing, I am just trying to give my body a 'breather' to get over the feeling that my body and mind scream they need it. :(
  • tennisdude2004
    tennisdude2004 Posts: 5,609 Member
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    Your best bet would probably be to cut it back (drastically) for about a month or two. Then when you no longer crave it, try reintroducing the trigger foods in moderation.

    Otherwise if you try moderation now, you MAY be setting yourself for failure - IMO.

    You. I like you. You talk the sense and use your brain cells and stuff.

    I liked that thought as well :)

    Thanks, it's what I did for my own personal study of one (sorry but it's not peer reviewed so it may not hold much water for ndj or tigersworld) and it seems to be working fine.

    Good luck with whatever you try, hope you find something that works.
  • Confuzzled4ever
    Confuzzled4ever Posts: 2,860 Member
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    My experience with people who do the "all or nothing" approach? The "all" is short lived. Rarely have I seen it succeed.

    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

    Looks at ticker..

    Seems to have succeeded for me...

    plus. she didn't say she'd never have another goodie for the rest of her life. All or nothing responses rarely succeed in making their point.

    Much much easier to not eat the entire cake once you've kick the sugar addiction to the curb. I can have 1 cookie now if I want to and be happy.
  • VoodooSyxx
    VoodooSyxx Posts: 297
    Options
    My experience with people who do the "all or nothing" approach? The "all" is short lived. Rarely have I seen it succeed.

    Well it would seem time to update that experience, friend. There are several in this thread who have done it and succeeded just fine. I would be one of them.
  • LolBroScience
    LolBroScience Posts: 4,537 Member
    Options
    My experience with people who do the "all or nothing" approach? The "all" is short lived. Rarely have I seen it succeed.

    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

    Looks at ticker..

    Seems to have succeeded for me...

    plus. she didn't say she'd never have another goodie for the rest of her life. All or nothing responses rarely succeed in making their point.

    Much much easier to not eat the entire cake once you've kick the sugar addiction to the curb. I can have 1 cookie now if I want to and be happy.

    So you learned moderation?
  • tennisdude2004
    tennisdude2004 Posts: 5,609 Member
    Options
    My experience with people who do the "all or nothing" approach? The "all" is short lived. Rarely have I seen it succeed.

    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

    Looks at ticker..

    Seems to have succeeded for me...

    plus. she didn't say she'd never have another goodie for the rest of her life. All or nothing responses rarely succeed in making their point.

    Much much easier to not eat the entire cake once you've kick the sugar addiction to the curb. I can have 1 cookie now if I want to and be happy.

    So you learned moderation?

    I think you are missing the point of this thread and subsequent posts. If you paid more attention to what others were saying than your own responses you may have a better understanding.

    Most peoples goals are to get to a point where they can easily choose to eat something or not eat something (are we agreed on that - yes, good).

    Now stay with me because here's the tricky bit - it's all about how we get to that point. You seem to favour just cutting back and getting to the point of perfect moderation. That will work for some, but sadly not for every one.

    What some of us are suggesting is to deal with the craving issue (which we all agree is psychological - but that's fine, we know what it is so we can work with it). The best way to do that IMO is to cut back on the trigger foods for a period long enough to break the habit.

    Once the cravings are gone, then look to re introduce the trigger food back to - wait for it because this is where it gets interesting - to a point of perfect moderation.

    Sometimes it may not work first, second or third time. That's just something some of us will need to work/live with.

    Hope that clears things up. :smile:
  • ndj1979
    ndj1979 Posts: 29,139 Member
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    you know if you're eating fruit you're still eating a ton of sugar right? and still taking in sugar if you have any dairy? or most carbs? in all probability you're not going cold turkey on sugar at all, just excess sweets

    EXCESS SWEETS honey, you hit the nail on the head. I don't want to cut out all sugar. I want healthy sugar, in moderation... so I can try to shake this excessive compulsion I have.

    Am I thank different, that unique of a snowflake.... that no one else out there in the land of MFP can understand how I feel or just where I am coming from with this issue? I am sure it just mental but... it's been life-long.

    ummmm sugar is sugar…your body treats it all the same…
    http://ajcn.nutrition.org/content/62/1/212S.short < please review this study that specially says no difference in how your body reacts to added sugar or fruit sugar..

    sugar is sugar…

    you really do not need to do this ..it is unnecessary ...

    do you work for the corn lobby?

    sugar in candy like sour patch kids metabolizes much differently than sugar from an apple. because fiber.

    Stupid science! How does it work?!?!

    No really, man. How dare you bring facts and things into this when people are clearly trying to be unhelpful and obnoxious?

    some more facts for you…
    ….The second aim was to examine the hypothesis that glycaemic and insulin responses to foods which contain added sugar(s) are higher than responses to foods containing naturally-occurring sugars. Eight healthy subjects drawn from a pool of eighteen consumed 50 g carbohydrate portions (except 25 g carbohydrate portions for fruits) of the test foods. The GI and insulin index were determined according to standardized methodology and expressed on a scale on which glucose = 100. The median GI and insulin index values of all foods tested were 56 (range 14 to 80) and 56 (range 24 to 124) respectively. The median GI of the foods containing added sugars was similar to that of foods containing naturally-occurring sugars (58 v. 53 respectively, P = 0·08). Likewise, the median insulin index of the foods containing added sugars was not significantly different from that of foods containing naturally-occurring sugars (61 v. 56 respectively, P = 0·16). There was no evidence of‘rebound hypoglycaemia’or excessive insulin secretion relative to the glucose response. We conclude that most foods containing sugars do not have a high GI. In addition, there is often no difference in responses between foods containing added sugars and those containing naturally-occurring sugars.

    http://journals.cambridge.org/action/displayAbstract?fromPage=online&aid=895280

    Color me unimpressed with your copy and paste skills. Why don't you answer reddy's question? Use your own words. Small ones if you have to. Unintelligable grunts will result in a deduction of points.

    and your contribution to this discussion has been…? Throwing insults around because that is all you have? when you can't debate you resort to insults = zero debate skills and indicates a brain the size of a walnut...

    Actually I provided personal experience from breaking a very similar addiction that the OP is fighting with, that actually worked. You provided obnoxious rambling and copy-pasted pseudoscience, with no intention but to derail others and make yourself feel better for your own insecurities. Oh look, there you go again..

    a peer reviewed study from the Cambridge journal is "pseudoscience", really?
  • Pirate_chick
    Pirate_chick Posts: 1,216 Member
    Options
    My advice is don't start something you can't sustain for the rest of your life. This is not a diet with an end date, but a lifestyle change. If you love sweets work them into your caloric goals by preplanning, just don't overdo it.
  • ndj1979
    ndj1979 Posts: 29,139 Member
    Options
    you know if you're eating fruit you're still eating a ton of sugar right? and still taking in sugar if you have any dairy? or most carbs? in all probability you're not going cold turkey on sugar at all, just excess sweets

    EXCESS SWEETS honey, you hit the nail on the head. I don't want to cut out all sugar. I want healthy sugar, in moderation... so I can try to shake this excessive compulsion I have.

    Am I thank different, that unique of a snowflake.... that no one else out there in the land of MFP can understand how I feel or just where I am coming from with this issue? I am sure it just mental but... it's been life-long.

    ummmm sugar is sugar…your body treats it all the same…
    http://ajcn.nutrition.org/content/62/1/212S.short < please review this study that specially says no difference in how your body reacts to added sugar or fruit sugar..

    sugar is sugar…

    you really do not need to do this ..it is unnecessary ...

    do you work for the corn lobby?

    sugar in candy like sour patch kids metabolizes much differently than sugar from an apple. because fiber.

    Stupid science! How does it work?!?!

    No really, man. How dare you bring facts and things into this when people are clearly trying to be unhelpful and obnoxious?

    some more facts for you…
    ….The second aim was to examine the hypothesis that glycaemic and insulin responses to foods which contain added sugar(s) are higher than responses to foods containing naturally-occurring sugars. Eight healthy subjects drawn from a pool of eighteen consumed 50 g carbohydrate portions (except 25 g carbohydrate portions for fruits) of the test foods. The GI and insulin index were determined according to standardized methodology and expressed on a scale on which glucose = 100. The median GI and insulin index values of all foods tested were 56 (range 14 to 80) and 56 (range 24 to 124) respectively. The median GI of the foods containing added sugars was similar to that of foods containing naturally-occurring sugars (58 v. 53 respectively, P = 0·08). Likewise, the median insulin index of the foods containing added sugars was not significantly different from that of foods containing naturally-occurring sugars (61 v. 56 respectively, P = 0·16). There was no evidence of‘rebound hypoglycaemia’or excessive insulin secretion relative to the glucose response. We conclude that most foods containing sugars do not have a high GI. In addition, there is often no difference in responses between foods containing added sugars and those containing naturally-occurring sugars.

    http://journals.cambridge.org/action/displayAbstract?fromPage=online&aid=895280

    Color me unimpressed with your copy and paste skills. Why don't you answer reddy's question? Use your own words. Small ones if you have to. Unintelligable grunts will result in a deduction of points.

    and your contribution to this discussion has been…? Throwing insults around because that is all you have? when you can't debate you resort to insults = zero debate skills and indicates a brain the size of a walnut...

    Actually I provided personal experience from breaking a very similar addiction that the OP is fighting with, that actually worked. You provided obnoxious rambling and copy-pasted pseudoscience, with no intention but to derail others and make yourself feel better for your own insecurities. Oh look, there you go again..

    a peer reviewed study from the Cambridge journal is "pseudoscience", really?

    As has been pointed out by another poster, the sample size was ridiculously small. Hence it is full of fail. It's also just plain wrong and further science has proved it so. You already know this, hence the avoiding of answering reddy's question.

    but your sample size of n=1 trumps that?

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