Former Sugar Addicts!!! Help!!!

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octleigh
octleigh Posts: 86 Member
in Food and Nutrition
I am working on cutting out sugar and highly processed foods. I am doing this by cutting out something each week for the next month. This week I am cutting out desserts. Next weeks cutting out chips and crackers. Ending with giving up my coffee creamer and diet soda. My question for you guys is this. Is it true that when you cut out these items that you no longer crave them like a mad women? If you eat something like chocolate after you are "off" the sugar do you totally relaps? And finally do you have any advice for me to help make this stick. I truly believe this is one of the things holding me back. Thanks y'all!!
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Replies

  • charlena48
    charlena48 Posts: 192 Member
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    It has been 8 mos. since I cut sugar out and yes you will not have the cravings. I thought I had to have dessert after every meal. I cut out fruit for awhile but then added it back slowly. Now and then I buy Dove Sugar-Free Raspberry cremes or York Sugar-Free Peppermint Patties if I "need" something. Also, I may have a treat now and then - portion control is the key. I just don't have the cravings. I actually think it's good to have a little treat now and then, but that is the key - now and then. Right now would not be a good time to look at my log because there are more foods I can't eat than I can. I am going to have to recalibrate my healthy eating because of a disease I was just diagnosed with. Still recovering. I do give support - so feel free to add me as a friend if you like. :smile:
  • octleigh
    octleigh Posts: 86 Member
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    Thanks for the reply. Did you quit cold turkey? Or did you slowly cut it out?
  • Dawnhasajeep
    Dawnhasajeep Posts: 180 Member
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    My trainer and nutritionist is a realist. She has people switch to sugar free options and then cut them out if you want. It worked well for me.
  • dognamedpig
    dognamedpig Posts: 38 Member
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    Anytime I have cut out sugar and was past the cravings... I thought I could eat a bit and it would be ok, because I wasn't craving it. That never worked for me. If I eat sugar after not having any, it's as good as months before I get the feeling to try again. Even dark chocolate can set me over the edge. My doctor's office has Crystal Light hard candies that taste great and you won't feel like eating too many because they have a laxative effect. Automatic portion control!
  • octleigh
    octleigh Posts: 86 Member
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    Thanks Dawn!! I was thinking about using stevia in my Greek yogurts. I thought that would be better then the added sugar in the flavored varieties. I have tried cold turkey and have not had success. It's crazy because I didn't even eat sweets much until getting pregnant with my son. He's two and I haven't stopped eating them. :)
  • littlepinkhearts
    littlepinkhearts Posts: 1,055 Member
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    i cut out sugar a while ago (don't look at my diary for the last week as i just came off vacation) While i'm at home I very rarely eat sugar. I have brown sugar in case i feel like making a coffee every now and then. It's true for me that I never crave it anymore. It's awesome. I never believed that would happen, but it did. However, if i eat something loaded with sugar? I soon want more and more and it starts all over again. So i just stay away from it for the most part. Good luck cutting it out. Hopefully you'll feel as great as i have!!!
  • octleigh
    octleigh Posts: 86 Member
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    How did you cut it out? Slowly or all at once?
  • ellenfairie
    ellenfairie Posts: 3
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    It is hard sugar is like an addiction; your body craves it . for me i can' t keep things like cookies ,cake in the house. i buy fruit but use it as part of my new healthy diet. i find it provides just the right note to quiet that sweet tooth.
  • JeSuisPrest
    JeSuisPrest Posts: 2,005 Member
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    It's all in moderation. I'm not a believer is deprivation, however I have cut way back in sugar and processed foods. I also discovered that when I started eating enough I craved less!
  • MSimm62385
    MSimm62385 Posts: 227
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    I had to walk the length of Wal-mart this morning to get to the only available register. The entire path was filled with displays for skittles, chocolate, suckers, etc. The whole way I just thought to myself how all of it was just fattening JUNK. Didn't desire it at all.
  • invictus8
    invictus8 Posts: 258 Member
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    I use stevia and xylitol instead of sugar (in its various forms). Both have very low glycemic index levels, and stevia might actually improve insulin sensitivity.
  • JWB42
    JWB42 Posts: 112
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    I think you have a good idea about quitting things slowly. However, I did it cold turkey...the only time I crave a sweet now is when I am stressed. BUT if I give in, I know I'll just quit the healthy life and go CRAZY. Back to eating chips, sweets and processed foods. So, for me, just saying no is gonna be part of my life now. There's NO DOUBT it's hard. But I just have to remember that crap got me 124 lbs overweight in the first place. And I don't want to be overweight any more.
    Keep up the good work! I'm rooting for ya!!!!
  • cindybickler
    cindybickler Posts: 113 Member
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    sugar is the hardest for me!!! i cut it gradually. I use stevia now and eat a lot of fruit to satisfy my sweet tooth. it took time to enjoy fruit as much as a candy bar but it does work for me now! i also have at least one protein shake a day which is a strawberry shake. I do have an ounce of dark chocolate a day. Why I can do that and not eat the whole bar really is a mystery to me, but I can. : ) It does take time and I really don't see myself totally giving it up. There is no way I can stay away from birthday cake so I enjoy it and run an extra 5 miles that week!!!
  • jaj68
    jaj68 Posts: 158 Member
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    I have cut out sugary things and diet soda slowly. I have only been doing this for a month though. But I can safely eat ONE cookie. Yesterday I was really worried. I had grocery shopped and bought the little candy bar sized Dove chocolates. ....hey they were on clearance. I told my husband I wanted one, but I didn't want to eat the whole thing. He suggested I break off one of the five squares. I thought "yeah right.....then I will scarf down the others" But I did it. I ate one square and was satisfied.
    I have been without diet soda for nearly a week.(I have slowly been eliminating it) Yeah I still want it.....and when I do, unless I am drinking it with a meal, it tastes so chemically to me.
  • cramernh
    cramernh Posts: 3,335 Member
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    Took a good solid week for my body to adjust to the elimination of breads, pasta, rice, corn, flour - I have medical conditions that warranted this move. And its the best damn thing I have done for my cardiac health! Ive been off soda now for well over 12 years... this was the best thing I have ever done! It was a BAD addiction!

    I do though, allow the ability to have one grain-item once per week. It doesnt effect me, I dont get the cravings even with that one item. I do get swollen the next day but thanks to enjoying tons of water, its gone in a matter of hours.

    Dont let the Moderation-police try to swarm you with the "moderation is the key, I dont believe in eliminating anything" - its perfectly healthy, and recognized by the medical community, thus MFP has no problem with it as well.
  • nomoreFA
    nomoreFA Posts: 40
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    The first time I gave up sugar, flour and processed food, I did it "cold turkey." It took me two months to completely detox. I was a very angry lunatic during that two month period. My two teenage sons told me I shoud just start eating again because I was so mean. I persevered and eventually the cravings stopped. I was part of a food addiction program that was really rigid. I didn't eat one bite of sugar for 2 1/2 years. For me I needed that discipline. (I lost 70 lbs in 9 months) Once I left the program I was actually afraid to eat sugar or anything that wasn't part of the program. I did manage to gain 25 lbs back. After not eating sugar for so long once I started eating it again, I discovered that I didn't enjoy it as much. Everything tastes too sweet. I am working on losing the 25 lbs and today I can enjoy a treat once in awhile without going overboard. It gets easier. When I want something I decide if it's worth the risk of sliding back into old habits. Sometimes I tell myself that sugar is posion and my body doesn't need it, sometimes I go ahead and enjoy a small portion. I feel so much better when I don't eat junk. I have more energy, I'm more clear headed, I don't have mood swings, I sleep better. I'm nice to my kids!!

    Feel free to add me as a friend. I will help you any way I can.
  • littlepinkhearts
    littlepinkhearts Posts: 1,055 Member
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    i didn't have a lot of sugary things in my place. I tend to buy a lot of one particular thing at a time. My serious weakness is ice cream. So I stopped buying it. After I did that, found I went searching for other things in the house. I started eatiing icing right outta the tub. So i stopped having that in the house. If there is sugar in my house, i know exactly where it is and how much is there lol. So I emptied my house out of sugar completely. Soon I wasn't craving it at all. Now I seem to be safe with Kraft Cool Whip Light in the tub. I always have one in the fridge. That on my smoothie seems to be taking care of any sugar I may need in my system. Of course I still eat ice cream, but I don't bring it home.
  • MeganDominique
    MeganDominique Posts: 229 Member
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    I was sugar free till last week having started in may. My suggestion? go cold turkey i mean cut it all. Why i say this is because your less likley to crave it. I have decided im allowed a treat once in awhile tho so ive had a couple of recess minatures and a cinnamonbun. I do not crave it, i find icecream really gross, most chocolate gross and many more things i didnt before but i do after cutting it. I just prefer my healthier paleo recipes :) i pick up blueberries instead.
  • kateowp
    kateowp Posts: 103 Member
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    I quit sugary food like I quit smoking- cold turkey. Like smoking, the first week or 2 was the hardest for me. Sometimes I catch myself thinking things like "I have enough calories to budget that piece of cake in today" or "that peppermint pattie is only a few calories"- I have to remind myself that the issue isnt the calories, it is the intense cravings I will have for days afterwards.
  • Ellyabell
    Ellyabell Posts: 49 Member
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    I quit eating sugar completely (besides fruits and protein powder) completely since middle of June. Was eating a lot before during my exam time.

    The worst cravings stopped after about two weeks and now it is really ok. I stopped cold turkey, was fasting for 10 days and just drank a bit of juice each day. I don't want to go into the discussion if fasting is healthy or not, I really needed to have this clear break to change my eating habits, which were quite bad before.

    I thought about starting to eat sugar in small amounts again, but I know myself. Right now I can even watch people eating chocolate cake or ice cream and it's not too hard, but if I start eating even a tiny bit, it probably will be hell again to resist. Been there, done that.

    I also tried to quit coffee at that time, which lasted for about two weeks and now I am back to 3-4 cups a day. Can't have it all ;-).

    So for the moment I won't start eating sugar again. I am thinking about keeping it like this for the rest of the year, don't know yet though.

    Oh, and I had a bit of honey once, which did not lead to the cravings coming back.

    Good luck for you.

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