help! addicted to sugar

slackerwoman

Take it from me as I was forced to make the change because of gestational diabetes. Plan your meals without the sugar. Get your "sweet fix" from fruits. I agree with the others that you need to stop cold turkey. And plan out your whole days worth of meals. Do six small meals a day with lots of protein in it. When you eat something like fruit combine it with protein. Pretty soon you won't really crave the sugar anymore. That's really the only way to do it.

joleenl

I would phase out sugar for a while and then slowly introduce it back in moderate quanties. It helps to find your "trigger" foods and avoid these all together because like most addicts moderation is not possible specially for these "trigger" foods. When I am craving something sweet I tend to eat the sweeter fruits like grapes and pineapples. I tend to avoid dried fruits because I am a visual person so a "serving" looks to small to be filling (Not to mention lots of dried fruit has added sugar and oil and preservatives). While phasing out sugar if you must have something sweet and fruit isn't cutting it, try natural sweetners like maple syrup (real), honey, aguva or stevia. Also, you can use fruit juice to sweeten stuff like smoothies. I personally would avoid artificial sweeters because for me they cause cravings.

cicisiam

May or may not be helpful, but I just removed all processed sugar(sweets) from the house also I refuse to buy it or acknowledge it in the store. refusing or let it come home with me. I drew a line in the sand, and now I am just loving fruit. Now real sugar tastes so much better. I do believe my taste buds have changed. I did cave awhile back on cookies for a time, but finally just dumped them in the trash since I could not stop once they were opened.

bostonwolf

I have the same problem accept for that fact its craving sweets. I find when I eat fruit with each meal I don't crave the sweets as much. the natural sugar is okay its your sugar in cookies, cakes, pies etc that is a problem. they have a no sugar group here on mfp and a group for sweet addicts. they are inactive ones.

Fructose is fructose and sucrose is sucrose. WIth fruit at least you get vitamins and fiber, but eating fruit with every meal is excessive and counterproductive to fat loss IMO.

I'm not perfect, but when i decided to get serious about my diet I largely eliminated sugar. Lost 30 lbs so far and more on the way. It's a matter of making a decision and taking control of what your hands put into your mouth instead of making excuses as to why you have to eat sugar.

I don't mean this to be overly harsh, but that's the simple truth. You do NOT need sugar in any way shape or form.

DatMurse

dehydrated fruit, flavored waters, using truvia instead of sugar, sugarfree candy, (do NOT eat more than a serving at a time, bad gastrointestinal things will happen), gum.

if you have netflix watch the "addicted to candy" episode of Freaky Eaters, their experts help a woman get over her addiction to sugar and candy.

Unfortunately, it is the fructose portion of sugar (sucrose, i.e. "sugar" is 50% fructose, high fructose corn syrup is even worse at 55% fructose) that is the "addictive" part. Eating ANY fruit (and worse yet, dried fruit, which is very high in fructose) will just prolong the "detox" period. If you just go "cold turkey" the physical addiction is broken in about two weeks (for some people, it only takes a week) and then you can go back to eating normal amounts of low-fructose fruit per day (one or two servings). But if you go back to eating sugar, the sugar addiction (which is progressive, by the way) will start up again. It is very similar to alcohol addiction in its physical aspects (in fact, fructose is assimilated by the liver in ways that are quite similar to how alcohol is assimilated).

according to what? fructose is not a toxin to the body, you do not suffer from withdrawal from getting off fructose as you do with alcohol.

Sugar is not a true addiction. one may crave it but that is OPs fault. I would stop cold turkey because it isnt going to kill you

FATJAKE5

My mother has this problem - what's helped her is having it out of the house.

And quit eating it cold turkey - don't phase it out., just stop (I know, easier said than done).

Here is a link that shows if you are craving something, and what some healthy alternatives may be (sorry for the small font, that's just the way it shows up)

http://media-cache-ak1.pinimg.com/originals/dc/21/fb/dc21fb4bfdb3282bb957b86514dc2301.jpg

^^^^^^^^^^^^
This is the answer. Cold Turkey and keep it out of the house. Period!

bostonwolf

What you call fear mongering, others call drawing attention to a real problem some people face.
It wasn't all that long ago things alcohol addiction were called a moral issues Now they are recognized in the DSM-IV. Addiction is a very real thing, and it doesn't help to shame people. Eating sugar in moderation and having a drink here and there may be doable for you - it's not that case for everyone.

An alcohol addict who quits cold turkey will seize and die.

Sugar is not even in the same category as alcohol and narcotics. Addiction is real, but all addictions are not the same. An addiction to sugar or even marijuana is not of the same class as one to alcohol or cocaine/opiates.

To even suggest as much is irresponsible on your part and only serves to enable people to continue doing something they clearly know is bad for them.

bostonwolf

Thanks for posting this, I may read through it. But I'll take my scientific research over a thread on MFP.

Because research is never found to be wrong....

And the author of the above link is clearly not a scientist....

MARK KERN, PHD, RD, CSSD,
PROFESSOR OF EXERCISE AND NUTRITIONAL
SCIENCES AT SAN DIEGO STATE UNIVERSITY

sunshyncatra

Do not keep it in the house. Replace it with fruit, carrots, freshly juiced fruits and veggies, dried fruit, and dark chocolate (chocolate from out of the house if you can't control portions). Stay full with protein, whole grains and a balanced diet. Eat real, unprocessed, healthy food. You can detox. It might not be pretty, but you will feel so much better in the end.

KatLifter

What you call fear mongering, others call drawing attention to a real problem some people face.
It wasn't all that long ago things alcohol addiction were called a moral issues Now they are recognized in the DSM-IV. Addiction is a very real thing, and it doesn't help to shame people. Eating sugar in moderation and having a drink here and there may be doable for you - it's not that case for everyone.

An alcohol addict who quits cold turkey will seize and die.

Sugar is not even in the same category as alcohol and narcotics. Addiction is real, but all addictions are not the same. An addiction to sugar or even marijuana is not of the same class as one to alcohol or cocaine/opiates.

To even suggest as much is irresponsible on your part and only serves to enable people to continue doing something they clearly know is bad for them.

Detoxing alcohol is the on;y one that will kill you. Detoxing off of cocaine, heroin, etc. will not kill you.

Edit for spelling

sunshyncatra

I also have to add that you shouldn't deprive yourself a treat. Just keep it out of the house and exercise portion control. Try different things, like having a day a week that you can have your treat or see if you can satisfy it with good dark chocolate in small portions.

candacefausset

And quit eating it cold turkey - don't phase it out., just stop (I know, easier said than done).

This. If you want to quit sugar, just quit. The first week or so will be hell, but it will get easier, and after a while you won't even miss it. Trust me. I used to be the biggest sugar junkie ever.

True story. Sugar causes insulin production to increase in the body in order to get your blood glucose levels back to where they need to be. This causes a perpetual desire for sugar because it gives the feeling of a "crash". Quit cold turkey is the best advice I have seen. It helps your body to basically reset your blood sugar and insulin levels back to normal. And yes, it will be hard at first. Like any addiction and yes, you can call it an addiction because that is literally what it is, it has positive and negative "coming down" symptoms. In the beginning it feels like a lot more negative. Constant cravings, lethargy, ,possible headaches, light headed and more. In the long run though, it will be so much better for you. You will feel more energetic without it after a few weeks, your body will learn to function without it, allowing you to focus better on the rest of your weight loss and fitness goals.

I cut out soda cold turkey this last Easter Sunday. It was hard. I was miserable for the first week. And by the end of week three I noticed a huge increase in my energy. I was getting up an hour earlier every day than my alarm whereas before I was hitting the snooze button 2-3 times. I went from drinking 60+ oz of soda a day to none. It was a little bit of sugar and caffeine addiction I am sure but I have never felt better in my life than I do now without it. It jump started my weight loss journey too and allowed me more energy so that I could start working out which in itself gave me more energy! It becomes a very good cycle when you break your addictions.

Before making any drastic changes with your diet though, be sure to check with a doctor or dietician. If you by chance happen to be diabetic without knowing it, any advice followed by someone who is not a doctor or dietician could spin you into something bad. But if your doctor says it is ok to quit cold turkey, go for it! I was pre-diabetic and had to really focus on what that was going to do to my future and the future of my family in order to quit.

tomg33

That's an incredibly offensive and ignorant stance to take.

I work in substance abuse, so I've spent a ridiculous amount of time reading and researching addiction. Some people are more prone to addiction than others. Sugar is as addictive, if not more than cocaine. http://www.nydailynews.com/life-style/health/researcher-sugar-addictive-cocaine-obesity-diabetes-cancer-heart-disease-article-1.1054419

I'd just like to point out here that there is no way that sugar is more addictive than cocaine. I'm a science guy and I almost always defer to the evidence but in this case there's just no way. I respect your work in addiction and I know you must realise that Cocaine is not glamourised for no reason.

SanteMulberry

dehydrated fruit, flavored waters, using truvia instead of sugar, sugarfree candy, (do NOT eat more than a serving at a time, bad gastrointestinal things will happen), gum.

if you have netflix watch the "addicted to candy" episode of Freaky Eaters, their experts help a woman get over her addiction to sugar and candy.

Unfortunately, it is the fructose portion of sugar (sucrose, i.e. "sugar" is 50% fructose, high fructose corn syrup is even worse at 55% fructose) that is the "addictive" part. Eating ANY fruit (and worse yet, dried fruit, which is very high in fructose) will just prolong the "detox" period. If you just go "cold turkey" the physical addiction is broken in about two weeks (for some people, it only takes a week) and then you can go back to eating normal amounts of low-fructose fruit per day (one or two servings). But if you go back to eating sugar, the sugar addiction (which is progressive, by the way) will start up again. It is very similar to alcohol addiction in its physical aspects (in fact, fructose is assimilated by the liver in ways that are quite similar to how alcohol is assimilated).

according to what? fructose is not a toxin to the body, you do not suffer from withdrawal from getting off fructose as you do with alcohol.

Sugar is not a true addiction. one may crave it but that is OPs fault. I would stop cold turkey because it isnt going to kill you

Fructose, like alcohol, does not do any particular harm in small doses. But it does a great deal of harm in large doses (the kind of doses that OP was speaking of---or the 300 calories worth that some people eat every day). Diabetes researchers are zeroing in on just what happens in the body in response to excessive fructose consumption (because of our sugar "habit"--do you like that word better?). For one, fructose assimilation causes a rise in serum uric acid levels and that has many deleterious effects on the body.

KatLifter

That's an incredibly offensive and ignorant stance to take.

I work in substance abuse, so I've spent a ridiculous amount of time reading and researching addiction. Some people are more prone to addiction than others. Sugar is as addictive, if not more than cocaine. http://www.nydailynews.com/life-style/health/researcher-sugar-addictive-cocaine-obesity-diabetes-cancer-heart-disease-article-1.1054419

I'd just like to point out here that there is no way that sugar is more addictive than cocaine. I'm a science guy and I almost always defer to the evidence but in this case there's just no way. I respect your work in addiction and I know you must realise that Cocaine is not glamourised for no reason.

That's fine. This is one study (I haven't had much time to look for others, if they exist) so it is by no means definitive. Of course there are flaws, but it may give hope to people who are suffering. Eventually there will be more research that leads the discussion one way or another.
In an anecdotal discussion with 2 co-workers who used to use cocaine, they agreed with the results. They've both kicked cocaine, but not sugar. Of course I'm sure there are several external factors that contribute to this.

SanteMulberry

dehydrated fruit, flavored waters, using truvia instead of sugar, sugarfree candy, (do NOT eat more than a serving at a time, bad gastrointestinal things will happen), gum.

if you have netflix watch the "addicted to candy" episode of Freaky Eaters, their experts help a woman get over her addiction to sugar and candy.

Unfortunately, it is the fructose portion of sugar (sucrose, i.e. "sugar" is 50% fructose, high fructose corn syrup is even worse at 55% fructose) that is the "addictive" part. Eating ANY fruit (and worse yet, dried fruit, which is very high in fructose) will just prolong the "detox" period. If you just go "cold turkey" the physical addiction is broken in about two weeks (for some people, it only takes a week) and then you can go back to eating normal amounts of low-fructose fruit per day (one or two servings). But if you go back to eating sugar, the sugar addiction (which is progressive, by the way) will start up again. It is very similar to alcohol addiction in its physical aspects (in fact, fructose is assimilated by the liver in ways that are quite similar to how alcohol is assimilated).

according to what? fructose is not a toxin to the body, you do not suffer from withdrawal from getting off fructose as you do with alcohol.

Sugar is not a true addiction. one may crave it but that is OPs fault. I would stop cold turkey because it isnt going to kill you

What is now thought of as "normal" uric acid levels would have been thought to be "elevated" in the 1920s, before sugar consumption really took off. High uric acid levels are associated with hypertension, Type II diabetes, gouty arthritis, renal disease and failure...

DatMurse

dehydrated fruit, flavored waters, using truvia instead of sugar, sugarfree candy, (do NOT eat more than a serving at a time, bad gastrointestinal things will happen), gum.

if you have netflix watch the "addicted to candy" episode of Freaky Eaters, their experts help a woman get over her addiction to sugar and candy.

Unfortunately, it is the fructose portion of sugar (sucrose, i.e. "sugar" is 50% fructose, high fructose corn syrup is even worse at 55% fructose) that is the "addictive" part. Eating ANY fruit (and worse yet, dried fruit, which is very high in fructose) will just prolong the "detox" period. If you just go "cold turkey" the physical addiction is broken in about two weeks (for some people, it only takes a week) and then you can go back to eating normal amounts of low-fructose fruit per day (one or two servings). But if you go back to eating sugar, the sugar addiction (which is progressive, by the way) will start up again. It is very similar to alcohol addiction in its physical aspects (in fact, fructose is assimilated by the liver in ways that are quite similar to how alcohol is assimilated).

according to what? fructose is not a toxin to the body, you do not suffer from withdrawal from getting off fructose as you do with alcohol.

Sugar is not a true addiction. one may crave it but that is OPs fault. I would stop cold turkey because it isnt going to kill you

Fructose, like alcohol, does not do any particular harm in small doses. But it does a great deal of harm in large doses (the kind of doses that OP was speaking of---or the 300 calories worth that some people eat every day). Diabetes researchers are zeroing in on just what happens in the body in response to excessive fructose consumption (because of our sugar "habit"--do you like that word better?). For one, fructose assimilation causes a rise in serum uric acid levels and that has many deleterious effects on the body. There

We had this conversation but you backed down.

Abstract
OBJECTIVE:
The effect of fructose on cardiometabolic risk in humans is controversial. We conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis of controlled feeding trials to clarify the effect of fructose on glycemic control in individuals with diabetes.
RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS:
We searched MEDLINE, EMBASE, and the Cochrane Library (through 22 March 2012) for relevant trials lasting ≥7 days. Data were aggregated by the generic inverse variance method (random-effects models) and expressed as mean difference (MD) for fasting glucose and insulin and standardized MD (SMD) with 95% CI for glycated hemoglobin (HbA(1c)) and glycated albumin. Heterogeneity was assessed by the Cochran Q statistic and quantified by the I(2) statistic. Trial quality was assessed by the Heyland methodological quality score (MQS).
RESULTS:
Eighteen trials (n = 209) met the eligibility criteria. Isocaloric exchange of fructose for carbohydrate reduced glycated blood proteins (SMD -0.25 [95% CI -0.46 to -0.04]; P = 0.02) with significant intertrial heterogeneity (I(2) = 63%; P = 0.001). This reduction is equivalent to a ~0.53% reduction in HbA(1c). Fructose consumption did not significantly affect fasting glucose or insulin. A priori subgroup analyses showed no evidence of effect modification on any end point.
CONCLUSIONS:
Isocaloric exchange of fructose for other carbohydrate improves long-term glycemic control, as assessed by glycated blood proteins, without affecting insulin in people with diabetes. Generalizability may be limited because most of the trials were <12 weeks and had relatively low MQS (<8). To confirm these findings, larger and longer fructose feeding trials assessing both possible glycemic benefit and adverse metabolic effects are required.

Lustwig is a moron with his study
I dont know if i I spelled his name wrong, nor do I care. He will go down in the history books as someone that was wrong if he is lucky.

alcohol is processed as a toxin
fructose is stored

many of the studies you posted in previous arguments were old study that were 30+ years old
I dont know where I will encounter 100+g of fructose.
I probably hit about 200-300 of carbs a day if I am lucky, but even then... those old studies are very extreme

natasa26ca

I cant live without sugar and i use to consume too much of it as well. When i tried quiting it, it seemed almost impossible because it would drive me nuts. It was like a splinter in my mind, poking me constantly until i would break and indulge in something sweet. However when i would break i wouldnt stop at one cookie. Oh no, i would eat the whole box of cookies lol.

What has worked for me (and i cant really pin point out specific thing cause many things have happened at the same time) but i've created a stress-free environment for myself, got myself busy with things i love to do to keep my mind off of sugar, exercised regularly, replaced junk sweets with fruits and i've created a cheat day once a week, usually saturday night when we go to a restaurant for a dinner. I've made sure there are no sweets in the house to tempt me and i consumed large amounts of water. Water seemed to lessen my sugar craving. Most importantly, i've joined MFP and it has transformed my eating habits entirely.

Love MFP!!!!

The only time i use sugar is in my morning coffee and its only one bag of raw sugar.

Hope this helped.

Good luck!

SanteMulberry

dehydrated fruit, flavored waters, using truvia instead of sugar, sugarfree candy, (do NOT eat more than a serving at a time, bad gastrointestinal things will happen), gum.

if you have netflix watch the "addicted to candy" episode of Freaky Eaters, their experts help a woman get over her addiction to sugar and candy.

Unfortunately, it is the fructose portion of sugar (sucrose, i.e. "sugar" is 50% fructose, high fructose corn syrup is even worse at 55% fructose) that is the "addictive" part. Eating ANY fruit (and worse yet, dried fruit, which is very high in fructose) will just prolong the "detox" period. If you just go "cold turkey" the physical addiction is broken in about two weeks (for some people, it only takes a week) and then you can go back to eating normal amounts of low-fructose fruit per day (one or two servings). But if you go back to eating sugar, the sugar addiction (which is progressive, by the way) will start up again. It is very similar to alcohol addiction in its physical aspects (in fact, fructose is assimilated by the liver in ways that are quite similar to how alcohol is assimilated).

according to what? fructose is not a toxin to the body, you do not suffer from withdrawal from getting off fructose as you do with alcohol.

Sugar is not a true addiction. one may crave it but that is OPs fault. I would stop cold turkey because it isnt going to kill you

Fructose, like alcohol, does not do any particular harm in small doses. But it does a great deal of harm in large doses (the kind of doses that OP was speaking of---or the 300 calories worth that some people eat every day). Diabetes researchers are zeroing in on just what happens in the body in response to excessive fructose consumption (because of our sugar "habit"--do you like that word better?). For one, fructose assimilation causes a rise in serum uric acid levels and that has many deleterious effects on the body. There

We had this conversation but you backed down.

Abstract
OBJECTIVE:
The effect of fructose on cardiometabolic risk in humans is controversial. We conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis of controlled feeding trials to clarify the effect of fructose on glycemic control in individuals with diabetes.
RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS:
We searched MEDLINE, EMBASE, and the Cochrane Library (through 22 March 2012) for relevant trials lasting ≥7 days. Data were aggregated by the generic inverse variance method (random-effects models) and expressed as mean difference (MD) for fasting glucose and insulin and standardized MD (SMD) with 95% CI for glycated hemoglobin (HbA(1c)) and glycated albumin. Heterogeneity was assessed by the Cochran Q statistic and quantified by the I(2) statistic. Trial quality was assessed by the Heyland methodological quality score (MQS).
RESULTS:
Eighteen trials (n = 209) met the eligibility criteria. Isocaloric exchange of fructose for carbohydrate reduced glycated blood proteins (SMD -0.25 [95% CI -0.46 to -0.04]; P = 0.02) with significant intertrial heterogeneity (I(2) = 63%; P = 0.001). This reduction is equivalent to a ~0.53% reduction in HbA(1c). Fructose consumption did not significantly affect fasting glucose or insulin. A priori subgroup analyses showed no evidence of effect modification on any end point.
CONCLUSIONS:
Isocaloric exchange of fructose for other carbohydrate improves long-term glycemic control, as assessed by glycated blood proteins, without affecting insulin in people with diabetes. Generalizability may be limited because most of the trials were <12 weeks and had relatively low MQS (<8). To confirm these findings, larger and longer fructose feeding trials assessing both possible glycemic benefit and adverse metabolic effects are required.

Lustwig is a moron with his study
I dont know if i I spelled his name wrong, nor do I care. He will go down in the history books as someone that was wrong if he is lucky.

alcohol is processed as a toxin
fructose is stored

many of the studies you posted in previous arguments were old study that were 30+ years old
I dont know where I will encounter 100+g of fructose.
I probably hit about 200-300 of carbs a day if I am lucky, but even then... those old studies are very extreme

You are apparently remembering a "conversation" that you had with someone else. I posted nothing having to do with Robert Lustig. If you want to eat sugar--go right ahead. Why is it so important to you that everyone else do the same? I personally have my own experimentation with myself that shows how a high carb diet is deleterious. When I restricted carbs and especially sugar, my blood pressure returned to normal EVEN BEFORE I LOST MUCH WEIGHT. Believe what you want. For me, seeing is believing.

Unfortunately, I have to leave and I won't be back till late tonight. Carry on.

tomg33

That's fine. This is one study (I haven't had much time to look for others, if they exist) so it is by no means definitive. Of course there are flaws, but it may give hope to people who are suffering. Eventually there will be more research that leads the discussion one way or another.
In an anecdotal discussion with 2 co-workers who used to use cocaine, they agreed with the results. They've both kicked cocaine, but not sugar. Of course I'm sure there are several external factors that contribute to this.

I agree. I just don't think cocaine should be compared to sugar. That said, I actually think commonplace addictions like sugar can be much longer lasting and harder to shake (but not necessarily more "addictive") than hard drugs because they're so easily accessible and don't necessarily ruin your life. Sex addiction is one that comes to mind, or caffeine.

There seems to be some underlying psychological component that predisposes certain individuals to addiction, and no matter the form in which it manifests itself, it should be taken seriously.