cant curb sugar addiction! I need help ruining my life!! lol

MaximalLife

I could live off of sugar. its all i think about and the main reason why i have gained 10lbs. does anyone have suggestions on how to beat sugar addiction?

You beat sugar addiction the same way any addiction is conquered.
You just stop.
And it's going to be painful for a season.
You work through that pain, and in a month or so, your cravings start to subside.

Most fail in this which is why America is a nation of fat people.
There are many ways to stay in the fight and avoid the typical failures we see all around. Find what works for you, set your goals and punch through.

You can do this.
Good luck.

auntiebabs

Watch out for sugar in "real foods" like tomato sauce didn't used to be a significant source of sugar, but now most have about 7-9g per 1/2 cup serving... Yogurt is jam packed with sugar... Just track it for a while you'll be surprised where it's hiding.

The more you cut out the less you crave.

I love snacks I'd rather eat 15 Trader Joe's Cat Cookies than 1/2 pasta sauce.

Myhighway2

I had to get all the bad stuff out of the house, now if I don't get hungry I won't crave it as much, one I eat a little Debbie I going to eat three. wonder why they called her little?

ajbeans

You're not gonna like my answer but.....

IF you go without long enough, you stop craving it. <ducks from flying tomatoes>

This.

I used to crave sugar ALL the time. I could not stay away from it. I had to have candy around all the time, and anything I drank needed to be sugary. Had to have it. So I just stopped having it cold turkey. When the cravings would hit, I'd drink a big glass of water and it usually helped, and I made sure to get enough sleep since I noticed that lots of times I'd crave sugar more if I was tired. After a couple of days, the cravings passed.

Now I don't have it that often, but when I do, it's ROUGH. One bite and I can't stop thinking about sweets for the rest of the day. So if I'm going to have it, I make sure it's in the evening, after dinner. That way I can't binge all day.

Jomoli

I'm a sugar addict too. Things that seem to help me (cookies and ice cream are my big ones):

1. never have a bag of cookies, carton of ice cream, etc. at home or work.
2. If I have a serious craving, I allow some indulgence occasionally with buying a single cookie or ice cream bar, but I only do this if I have exercised the same or greater calories as the sweet.
3. Never bake any sweets
4. If I am at a work party, pot luck, etc., I plan ahead on how many sweets (or none) I allow myself
5. Every once in a while I do mess up and indulge, but I have found that when I have been eating healthy and eating sweets in moderation, when I do indulge it makes me feel aweful and bloated and it is a great reminder of why I limit myself.

For me, it is extremely difficult to limit sweets, but I have had no luck cutting them out completely. Good luck!

KLo924

best advice i can give is to just stay away from it all together, if at all possible! it's like a drug- once you get it out of your system, you won't forget about it completely but you probably won't crave it as much!

This. I've gone without for long periods of time (nothing with added sugar past a couple grams, whole wheat pasta and breads (not wheat blends) in moderation, oatmeal instead of cereal, etc.), and it does get easier. In fact I felt worlds better. Unfortunately things like Christmas come up and I seriously feel like a drug addict now, breaking the cycle again! lol Knowing that I feel like a drug addict about a food helps with the quitting - but I think it is mostly a matter of cutting it out to stop craving. Also, make sure you're not just plain ol' hungry or thirsty!

As a ray of hope - my mom cut out sugar a few years ago, only having the occasional sugary treat for a special occasion. She lost around 25 lbs. (she's only 4'10" and she's 67 so that's huge) and has kept it off WITHOUT counting calories, points, etc. She credits just cutting out sugar, and says she feels much better.

kelliemackey36

It is a toughee. I am currently chewing gum, I have tried freezing grapes so they are like lollies. Still high in sugars of course but a fruit. I tend to get things artificially sweetened and have very hard candy. I allow myself 3-6 anniseed balls a day, I think this is probably bad for me but I still get a fix and can have coffee with art sweetner or stevia, I have tried liquoriche tea, caramal tea. I also like the lite hot chocs made with water or a little lite milk. For a person who used to eat a cake of chocolate in a day, I think that is a big improvement. Good Luck. I am not sure how good all of these artificial sweeteners are though, so may look for a stevia plant or sugar supplement. My addiction is to read and have sweet food or to get an iceblock, once again I am trying to go for the lighter version, sugar free lollies. The sad thing is if it tastes good, it is probably bad for you. I think once we wean off sugar, other things take it's place and we begin to taste natural sugars e.g in carrots, still to happen for me. The great thing about weaning off it though is that when you do have something delicious, like a chocolate bar, you savour it and taste the flavour and don't feel so guilty. You are what you eat and all that. Add me as a friend and we can give each other tips if you want to.

teagin2002

I used to, then kicked it and this is how:

when you are addicted to sugar you need two parts. One is the sweet taste, the other is the insulin spike it causes.
If you are addicted to it, then your body think that insulin spike is normal and craves it, even though it will be followed by a crash. It is easier to start by getting your body off the insulin spike and then crash for a while by consuming only complex carbs and sweeteners that don't cause your insulin levels to spike such as stevia and splenda (there are others but these are the ones that worked for me). You will still feel odd and off till your body starts to recognize that it is not normal to have those spikes and crashes.
It will take a lot of going back and forth in order to kick this habit. It took me a entire year, but that doesn't mean it will take you that long. I just had a lot of issues with food I had to deal with.

After you take care of this part you will be able to slow down on sweeteners or add back in sugar (half regular sugar and half non sugar sweetener is an idea). Till you feel comfortable eating sugar without being addicted to it.

Good luck!

MinnieInMaine

Fruit! Yes, sugar is sugar but chances are you're going to feel more satisfied from eating some fruit than 1 piece of candy so you probably won't keep going back for more. Another thing I do is drink some water when I feel myself "craving" something.

(snip)

I totally agree with this. On the days that I do cave in and have a big treat (like the huge cookie I had yesterday), I don't kick myself for "cheating on my diet" (because I hate that mindset) but rather kick myself for wasting perfectly good calories on something that leaves me unsatisfied. A piece of fruit or even a good luna or clif bar would be a much better treat because it would actually benefit me in the long run instead of leaving me hungry.

When I first started out on this weight loss journey, I found substitute treats like 90 calorie special k or fiber one bars, vitamuffins and hungry girl dessert recipes (check out her website - great ideas!). That might be a good place for you to start, OP.

Jazzyrose77

Thanks for posting. I'm so addicted to candy.

alishuman

I'm on day 6 of no sugar whatsoever, and no refined carbs: no bread, pasta, nothing. The first few days were killer. I mean REALLLLLLLY hard. But today I made a pan of brownies for my kids' school lunches, and I didn't even want one. A tangerine sounded better. So I think the advice of quitting it cold turkey is dead on. Of course, with the brownies, I did take the precaution of cutting the entire pan up, wrapping each one individually in saran wrap, then popping them all in the freezer!

rebeccap13

I'm on day 6 of no sugar whatsoever, and no refined carbs: no bread, pasta, nothing. The first few days were killer. I mean REALLLLLLLY hard. But today I made a pan of brownies for my kids' school lunches, and I didn't even want one. A tangerine sounded better. So I think the advice of quitting it cold turkey is dead on. Of course, with the brownies, I did take the precaution of cutting the entire pan up, wrapping each one individually in saran wrap, then popping them all in the freezer!

You paleo-ing?

JennieAL

As boring as this sounds... FRUIT. It has really helped me. I quit drinking wine about 2.5 months ago and was eating sugary desserts a lot... finally, about 2 weeks I started incorporating fruit (scary for me, because I was trying to do low carb, and everyone tells you NO FRUIT). I added in berries, cherries, pears, apples and now grapes. I eat them usually with a small handful of almonds or 1/4 or 1/2 cottage cheese or greek yogurt... totally, totally has helped me wean off white sugar.

alishuman

I'm on day 6 of no sugar whatsoever, and no refined carbs: no bread, pasta, nothing. The first few days were killer. I mean REALLLLLLLY hard. But today I made a pan of brownies for my kids' school lunches, and I didn't even want one. A tangerine sounded better. So I think the advice of quitting it cold turkey is dead on. Of course, with the brownies, I did take the precaution of cutting the entire pan up, wrapping each one individually in saran wrap, then popping them all in the freezer!

You paleo-ing?

Almost, but not quite... It's The Perfect 10. I like the science behind it - normalizing your hormones through diet to make them work for you instead of against you.

clairer2282

Avoid it at all costs, once you withdraw (yes it's a physical addiction like a drug) you won't crave it, your addiction will purely be psychological after that, so don't buy it's too tempting to resist! Also, beware of pre-made food and sauces with hidden sugars, and lay of the white refined carbs such as white flour, white bread, white rice and pasta, as these break down in to sugars and fuel your addiction. Just remember, it takes 2 weeks to withdraw, but only one piece of sugar to be hooked again, is it worth it? If you're anything like me you'll get headaches, mood swings, shakes and cravings while you withdraw. Sweetener will not affect your efforts though so try that as a substitute in coffee and on cereal if necessary. Me, I prefer to not tempt myself with sweet things, including sweetener, as it triggers the psychological (but not physical) cravings again. I hope that made sense, i've rambled on a bit. Good luck! (=

lynnjunior

I started and completed the AdvoCare 24 day challenge and I have conquered my sugar addiction. It cleans your system of the "things" that you crave and once you ar edone...you truly have no craving for those items. It works. and I lost 7.5 lbs in 24 days as well as 2 dress sizes!!!!

I hope this helps!

I would love to hear more about the AdvoCare 24 day challenge!!

clairer2282

Would just like to add, when I want a treat I have an unsweetened, caffiene free capuccino, I don't have a caffiene addiction so can control my intake of this so it works for me, unlike sweets, once I get that sweet taste I want more...lesson? Choose a cheat food that isn't sweet or addictive to you!

jodycoady

Gum might help. WATER WATER WATER

Elizabeth_C34

I have the same trouble with salty snacks. I just had to eliminate them from my house.

Jendulin

when you refuse your body something you will crave it more. So some sugar is good. It should help cut the craving. You just have to be disiplined. But if you cut it out all together you will just want it more. :happy:


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