SUGAR ADDICT about to go COLD TURKEY -Advice?

br00kette

Oh, and if suddenly you have a sugar craving, try drinking 8oz of water with a tsp of apple cider vinegar (with the mother, like Braggs), it is known to help curb sugar cravings, while giving you a bucket of other benefits.

But what does that taste like?

It tastes like watery, sour apple juice. There are great benefits to consuming unpasteurized apple cider vinegar. Just google it!

warriorprincessdi

I cannot help that I love sweets.

pretty much everyone loves sweets. Allow yourself sweets in moderation and enjoy life. Nothing should be cut out completely unless you have a medical reason to do so. Just don't go over your allotted calories and you will be fine :flowerforyou:

I mean, it is like smoking or being an alcoholic.... I have cold turkey'd my way out of drug addiction years ago on sheer willpower, yet I can't go a single night without crippling want of candy...? I need to do this, just to show myself I can ignore that voice. Diabetes and other such illness run in my family, and I need to get a handle on my vices.

I must admit you're the first person I've ever heard of to battle drug addiction and call yourself a sugar addict. Even still, the combination of sugar and fat is a tasty one, and one that many people cannot control. If you must restrict yourself, I advise only to do it to a point where you can learn moderation. There are going to be many situations throughout your life where you will be faced with the decision of whether or not to eat the goods. I say eat the goods, but learn when to push the plate away.

I am just trying to convey just how deep this want, this URGE is when it hits. I have literally gone flying to the store at 3 minute to 10 in the evening before they close so I can have a caramilk or a wonderbar. It's shameful.

I went cold turkey on a pack and a half a day smoking habit....
Left behind all the chemical drugs I used to let my life revolve around...

and yet I can't seem to ignore the thought when I start to dream of an icecream sandwich.


I am trying to just get to the point where I don't feel like I HAVE TO HAVE SUGAR every day.

So it sounds like your issue is not really sweets, but addiction. What new addiction will you trade your sugar for?

Hopefully an addiction to a healthy lifestyle? All I know is this is not a healthy problem to have, and I am trying to fix it.

seizethefray

I struggle with the same issue. Lately, I've found that adding Zipfizz to my water helps a ton. It's a natural healthy(ish? haven't done all the research I will admit) supplement that provides electrolytes and vitamins. Some flavors are better (and stronger) than others, but I find after drinking a bottle of water or two, I have zero desire for sweets. Usually one Zipfizz will get me through two, sometimes three 16 oz. bottles of water. It's win/win too because the water fills you up and eliminates the confusion of thinking you're hungry when you just need more H2O. My faves are grape and Creamsicle.

Oh and it's supposed to give you energy but that part is meh for me. Nothing can replace my coffee. Best of luck, girl. Don't mind the internet tough guys who fight over apples and nonsense. I hear what you're saying.

JessG11

i'll just leave this here



for those of you saying: sugar is sugar is sugar. i've never binged on apples.

YES!

wamydia

I also have been a life long fan of sugary junk food and my advice is first to make sure that you are eating enough calories throughout your day. If you save up a bunch for the evening and are ravenous by the time you eat dinner, you're probably going to still be feeling hungry immediately after dinner (while your stomach and hormones are still figuring out that you just got fed). The go-to food at that point will be sugary junk and it may be hard to stop yourself. I find that when I eat enough through the day and am not starving at dinner time, it is much easier to manage after dinner cravings.

I agree with recommendations to eat fruit. Apples and berries seem to help kill my sugar cravings the best. Another possibility is to chew sugar free gum when you are craving sugary stuff, but I guess that depends on how you feel about artificial sweeteners.

One last thought is to consider whether or not you feel it is necessary to cut out 100% of sugar in order to get yourself under control. I know some people feel that need to do it for a little while just to get themselves on track, but I found that I was able to cut back drastically without cutting out completely. The trick was to only keep a limited amount of sugar snacks in the house and to make sure to eat enough through the day as I said above. For instance, I might only have a bag of dark chocolate minis in the house, so after dinner I would have one or two. I didn't feel deprived of my sugar treats which really helped me to not lose my mind when confronted with something else that I was trying to cut back on (like donuts).

warriorprincessdi

Thanks so much! I actually LOVE water and drink a lake every day (sarcasm, yes :P) ...I have never heard of zipfizz and will look into it. If I want to dress up my water I usually just add a few drops of lemon juice

JessG11

It took me quite some time to kick my Pavlonian response to candy bars at the checkout stand. There were times at the grocery store where my hands would seriously get clammy and I would grab a candy bar, put it back, grab it again, put it back. I'm sure I looked freaking insane.

BEEN THERE!

Me too!!! The apple in the car is a good idea!

warriorprincessdi

I also have been a life long fan of sugary junk food and my advice is first to make sure that you are eating enough calories throughout your day. If you save up a bunch for the evening and are ravenous by the time you eat dinner, you're probably going to still be feeling hungry immediately after dinner (while your stomach and hormones are still figuring out that you just got fed). The go-to food at that point will be sugary junk and it may be hard to stop yourself. I find that when I eat enough through the day and am not starving at dinner time, it is much easier to manage after dinner cravings.

I split my day into three 'sections': Morning, afternoon and evening. I allow myself apporx 500 cals per meal to keep an even split all day

sham777

You are consuming sugar in fructose form when eating fruit. But the fructose in fruit is bonded to the fibers in fruit meaning the fructose wont immediately spike your insulin and sugar levels like a candy bar would. Fructose is digested slower by the fibers and wont spike blood sugars or store excess sugars into fat, like candy bars theoretically can. Also Fruit has more vitamins vs a candy bar that will make you feel more energized compared to foggy from coming down from a sugar high.

moosedrooler

I gave up all added sugars for Lent and my doctor wants me to do another 45 days after that. The first several days were more challenging, but it definitely got easier. I'm also not including artificial sweeteners in my diet as I feel I needed a clean break and I have huge negative reactions to them anyway.

I would say - let everyone you know that you are doing this so they can support you versus sabotage you.

I increased my raw veggie and fruit consumption significantly as well as my water intake. This way, I could initially distract myself from the sugar and ended up now craving more of the veggies. You will want to read labels as you may very well be surprised as to what foods have sugars in the top 3 ingredients.

If I want a dessert, I will grill or roast fruit and have that with plain greek yogurt (no sugars added) and it is wonderful. Even the grilled fruit by itself is a huge treat. I also like the dried fruit that has no sugars, sulfur or anything added. They are a nice addition in the afternoon or evening as a treat.

Food tastes so much better not having is altered by sweeteners. I'm really glad I did it.

aarondnguyen

Sugar isn't your enemy. Or baked goods. Or chocolate.

A consistent caloric surplus is.

Plan ahead and have your sweets in moderation! Make them fit into your daily caloric allowance. Simple.

Holly_Roman_Empire

i'll just leave this here



for those of you saying: sugar is sugar is sugar. i've never binged on apples.

YES!

For the "never binged on apples" comment, read my prior posts about the combination of sugar and fat. Sugar IS sugar, and it's not the sugar you're craving. It's the highly palatable combination of sugar and fat.

JessG11

OP good luck to you. I have been refraining from buying and eating the foods I couldn't control and I'm just now starting to feel that freedom from the obsession of them. I myself plan to eventually introduce them back in once I have changed some habits and patterns, but honestly, I would be completely okay if I never eat these particular foods again. I've had enough to last me three lifetimes already! Fruit has been a great option for me because it is squishing the desire to have my old go to's yet I don't binge on the fruit. Last night we grilled pineapple slices and they were wonderful! Baked apples with cinnamon are a good one too. I am finally eating these things and not having all the crazy cravings any more. Once again good luck to you!

Brandolin11

I mean, it is like smoking or being an alcoholic.... I have cold turkey'd my way out of drug addiction years ago on sheer willpower, yet I can't go a single night without crippling want of candy...? I need to do this, just to show myself I can ignore that voice.

I must admit you're the first person I've ever heard of to battle drug addiction and call yourself a sugar addict. Even still, the combination of sugar and fat is a tasty one, and one that many people cannot control. If you must restrict yourself, I advise only to do it to a point where you can learn moderation. There are going to be many situations throughout your life where you will be faced with the decision of whether or not to eat the goods. I say eat the goods, but learn when to push the plate away.

"I must admit you're the first person I've ever heard of to battle drug addiction and call yourself a sugar addict."

Wow, really? Did you attend AA, NA, and/or OA and still never heard anyone testify to having this issue? I find that rather amazing. I went to OA for two years and I heard it all the time. Many people who quit one addiction move on to another one. With all due respect, you should educate yourself on addictions and addictive behaviors before doling out advice to addicts.

I'm noticing that many of you here really, REALLY don't understand what addiction is all about and though I'm sure you mean well, you're doing more harm than good. I highly recommend you start reading the OA literature and even attend a meeting or two so you can build some empathy and get the facts about addiction, instead of spreading misinformation.

To the OP, please consider attending OA, at least for awhile to get your bearings and to get some support. If you beat a drug addiction I'm sure you already know the incredible benefits and support you get at group! It's such a loving and welcoming community, and they can help you navigate the waters of overcoming this issue. You know yourself best and what you need, and if that's abstinence from sweets, then you know in your heart what you must do. Standing beside you and with you, and if you'd like to PM me to discuss my journey I'd be happy to talk with you. Blessings!

Brandolin11

Plan ahead and have your sweets in moderation! Make them fit into your daily caloric allowance. Simple.

This is a perfect example of what I was just saying. You're misinformed. Please educate yourself on addiction and attend some OA meetings before giving out bad advice such as "it's simple".

Holly_Roman_Empire

I mean, it is like smoking or being an alcoholic.... I have cold turkey'd my way out of drug addiction years ago on sheer willpower, yet I can't go a single night without crippling want of candy...? I need to do this, just to show myself I can ignore that voice.

I must admit you're the first person I've ever heard of to battle drug addiction and call yourself a sugar addict. Even still, the combination of sugar and fat is a tasty one, and one that many people cannot control. If you must restrict yourself, I advise only to do it to a point where you can learn moderation. There are going to be many situations throughout your life where you will be faced with the decision of whether or not to eat the goods. I say eat the goods, but learn when to push the plate away.

"I must admit you're the first person I've ever heard of to battle drug addiction and call yourself a sugar addict."

Wow, really? Did you attend AA, NA, and/or OA and still never heard anyone testify to having this issue? I find that rather amazing. I went to OA for two years and I heard it all the time. Many people who quit one addiction move on to another one. With all due respect, you should educate yourself on addictions and addictive behaviors before doling out advice to addicts.

I'm noticing that many of you here really, REALLY don't understand what addiction is all about and though I'm sure you mean well, you're doing more harm than good. I highly recommend you start reading the OA literature and even attend a meeting or two so you can build some empathy and get the facts about addiction, instead of spreading misinformation.

To the OP, please consider attending OA, at least for awhile to get your bearings and to get some support. If you beat a drug addiction I'm sure you already know the incredible benefits and support you get at group! It's such a loving and welcoming community, and they can help you navigate the waters of overcoming this issue. You know yourself best and what you need, and if that's abstinence from sweets, then you know in your heart what you must do. Standing beside you and with you, and if you'd like to PM me to discuss my journey I'd be happy to talk with you. Blessings!

Oh you again...

In case you missed it in the rest of my posts, I feel I have been fair and even gracious in this thread.

I have never said there's no such thing as food addiction. Everyone will have a different opinion on it, but I do believe it can be a psychological problem. I never said otherwise. But this thread isn't about food addiction, is it? And how do you know

Words matter. In this case, the OP was seeking was to combat her need for sweets, or in her case, her trigger foods. The way she labelled it is what mostly got attacked, not her. Besides that, people are just trying to educate that their problem with food, sugar, tasty treats, etc., is not that that substance is addictive. It's a problem with themselves.

I see no problem in abstaining from trigger foods until you get them in control. I taught myself moderation by keeping cookies and m&ms out of the house until I gained control of myself. And now today, there's always m&ms in my cupboard, and cookies are a delight.

ETA: And since you brought it up, yes, I have attended AA. Several times. Still don't think I understand what addiction is?

rbiss

I have the same problem. I have been pre entering everything into MFP and then working out. When I see that cookie eating away at my spin class calories, it's easier knowing its not worth it. I swear the first week I was dreaming about swimming in pasta noodles.

And I am trying to incorporate the apple test, if your not hungry enough to eat an apple, then your not hungry. I was MISERABLE for 2 weeks but working out has helped immensely. I am happy to say in week 3, I do not crave sugar anymore or pasta which was another hard one.

The first week I gave in alot and worked out to make up for it but it does get easier. I still can't keep anything like that in the house EVER because I know the first chance I get, I will binge and it will start back up again. I've been down this route before and was successful for maybe 7 months, then had a couple of bad months and it snowballed. This time around, I made the decision to keep everything out and the cravings do go away, but the control to not eat something that you used to associate with comfort might always be there.

Brandolin11

I mean, it is like smoking or being an alcoholic.... I have cold turkey'd my way out of drug addiction years ago on sheer willpower, yet I can't go a single night without crippling want of candy...? I need to do this, just to show myself I can ignore that voice.

I must admit you're the first person I've ever heard of to battle drug addiction and call yourself a sugar addict. Even still, the combination of sugar and fat is a tasty one, and one that many people cannot control. If you must restrict yourself, I advise only to do it to a point where you can learn moderation. There are going to be many situations throughout your life where you will be faced with the decision of whether or not to eat the goods. I say eat the goods, but learn when to push the plate away.

"I must admit you're the first person I've ever heard of to battle drug addiction and call yourself a sugar addict."

Wow, really? Did you attend AA, NA, and/or OA and still never heard anyone testify to having this issue? I find that rather amazing. I went to OA for two years and I heard it all the time. Many people who quit one addiction move on to another one. With all due respect, you should educate yourself on addictions and addictive behaviors before doling out advice to addicts.

I'm noticing that many of you here really, REALLY don't understand what addiction is all about and though I'm sure you mean well, you're doing more harm than good. I highly recommend you start reading the OA literature and even attend a meeting or two so you can build some empathy and get the facts about addiction, instead of spreading misinformation.

To the OP, please consider attending OA, at least for awhile to get your bearings and to get some support. If you beat a drug addiction I'm sure you already know the incredible benefits and support you get at group! It's such a loving and welcoming community, and they can help you navigate the waters of overcoming this issue. You know yourself best and what you need, and if that's abstinence from sweets, then you know in your heart what you must do. Standing beside you and with you, and if you'd like to PM me to discuss my journey I'd be happy to talk with you. Blessings!

Oh you again...

In case you missed it in the rest of my posts, I feel I have been fair and even gracious in this thread.

I have never said there's no such thing as food addiction. Everyone will have a different opinion on it, but I do believe it can be a psychological problem. I never said otherwise. But this thread isn't about food addiction, is it? And how do you know

Words matter. In this case, the OP was seeking was to combat her need for sweets, or in her case, her trigger foods. The way she labelled it is what mostly got attacked, not her. Besides that, people are just trying to educate that their problem with food, sugar, tasty treats, etc., is not that that substance is addictive. It's a problem with themselves.

I see no problem in abstaining from trigger foods until you get them in control. I taught myself moderation by keeping cookies and m&ms out of the house until I gained control of myself. And now today, there's always m&ms in my cupboard, and cookies are a delight.

I'm sorry....was this a private thread between you and the OP? You thought I was interrupting or something?

Your words were: "I must admit you're the first person I've ever heard of to battle drug addiction and call yourself a sugar addict."

I responded by saying this is actually very common. You did not seem to know this. Because this was the "first person" you said you'd ever heard of. So now I'm telling you - it's very common. This isn't a matter of opinion. It's fact.

And foods that contain sugar are...um...foods...so yes - this is about food addiction. An addiction to a particular type of food. The OP even suggested it as such for herself. She's reaching out for help. You're not helping because you don't understand the real need.

Read my post again. I never claimed the OP was being attacked. I said *you* do not understand what addiction is and I am asking you to please educate yourself before continuing to give out advice to people who are addicts, who are struggling with real addictions, or just with addictive-type behaviors.

I realize that you see no problem in abstaining from trigger foods until you get them in control. I realize that you taught yourself moderation until you gained control of yourself. Good for you. This doesn't always work for addicts. Again - educate yourself. PLEASE.

Again. If you TRULY want to help these people, then the best way to do this is to start reading the OA literature. Get acquainted with personal stories by going to OA meetings. Go, and listen. Don't advise! Just listen. Hear the testimonies. Hear the solutions these people used to overcome. Many, MANY times - in fact, almost always - those solutions involve some form of abstinence. Abstinence is not necessarily the enemy. Maybe it wasn't right for YOU. But you're going to have to pull yourself out of your own experience and learn about the experiences of others, if you're truly going to *understand* others - or help them.

sloth3toes

In

aarondnguyen

Plan ahead and have your sweets in moderation! Make them fit into your daily caloric allowance. Simple.

This is a perfect example of what I was just saying. You're misinformed. Please educate yourself on addiction and attend some OA meetings before giving out bad advice such as "it's simple".

I wouldn't necessarily say misinformed. Throughout most of my adolescent years, I binged on sweets among other things. I was a junk food junkie. I had family-sized bags of potato chips all to myself. And then I bought into the whole notion of "clean eating" by labeling foods as "good" and "bad" -- and restricting myself completely by trying to avoid them. That's how I developed borderline eating disorders and started yo-yo dieting.

If you can practice planning ahead and having things in moderation... and not labeling foods as either "good" or "bad", you wouldn't need to limit yourself to something like "avoiding all sugar". Everything has sugar, including fruit. Whether that sugar is processed or not is a different story. Having balance is key.

No food is "bad". There are only bad quantities.

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/1216925-confessions-of-a-former-yo-yo-dieter