Major sugar addiction and I can't stop!

positivepineapple
positivepineapple Posts: 87 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
I'm getting so frustrated..... My diet is usually so good, lots of fruits and vegetables and protein, very little dairy or grains,(I'm guten and lactose intolerant), but....

looking through my diet history, I eat anywhere from 400 to 800 calories worth of chocolate or some kind of sweets ALMOST DAILY for the past few weeks.

I try so hard to be good all day but I can't help it at the end of the day, I crave sugar like no other.

my diet would be perfect if I could overcome this one thing.

I drink lots of water, I've tried having fruit instead of sweets, tried upping my fat, protein and fiber.

I know it can take a week or so of no processed sugar to overcome the addiction, its just that I can hardly last 2 days without it!

anyone had this problem and overcome it? And how did you do it? Suggestions?

Thanks in advance.

Replies

  • Fozzi43
    Fozzi43 Posts: 2,984 Member
    What kind of chocolate do you eat?
    If I'm craving chocolate I will have one or two small squares of really rich dark chocolate..that normally helps me.

    But I will have the same problem after the new year..one of my clients has gone to the US for 3 months and brings me back bags full of Hershey kisses and miniature chocolates coz she know Hershey is my favourite....
  • misswager
    misswager Posts: 67 Member
    I use to have a treat everyday... from a small piece of chocolate, to an indulgent piece of cake.

    To overcome this you have to be strong. Set goals, like you will have a treat only on Saturday. Now when you have a treat, dont have a week's worth in one day!

    When you have your sugar cravings try and have protein. A late snack of cottage cheese, or if you want a chocolate flavour, make a sugar free hot chocolate. I use sweetener, skimmed milk and pure cocoa powder. Chocolate flavour minus huge calorie intakes.

    Also make your hot chocolate and go to bed and drink it. STAY IN BED. If you get up you might binge. Get into a habit of going to bed early with your cocoa. The protein in the milk will also help you sleep better. Well it does for me anyway.

    I am afraid its hard. Stay strong!!!
  • EroseT23
    EroseT23 Posts: 74 Member
    http://www.stumptuous.com/how-to-dump-sugar

    This is a pretty good article about how to stop sugar cravings. Warning though, the language is a bit inappropriate. Good luck with this.
  • positivepineapple
    positivepineapple Posts: 87 Member
    I use to have a treat everyday... from a small piece of chocolate, to an indulgent piece of cake.

    To overcome this you have to be strong. Set goals, like you will have a treat only on Saturday. Now when you have a treat, dont have a week's worth in one day!

    When you have your sugar cravings try and have protein. A late snack of cottage cheese, or if you want a chocolate flavour, make a sugar free hot chocolate. I use sweetener, skimmed milk and pure cocoa powder. Chocolate flavour minus huge calorie intakes.

    Also make your hot chocolate and go to bed and drink it. STAY IN BED. If you get up you might binge. Get into a habit of going to bed early with your cocoa. The protein in the milk will also help you sleep better. Well it does for me anyway.

    I am afraid its hard. Stay strong!!!

    thanks for the advice, this is helpfully.... But I've tried only having a little bit and I can't just have a little bit, I think I'll have to totally stop having sweets for awhile until I'm not craving sweets like a drug addict lol.... Do you think I should cut out fruit as well for awhile and just stick with protein and vegetables?

    thanks everyone for the help!
  • zoerunsfaster
    zoerunsfaster Posts: 5 Member
    Find something to replace some of it. Have a couple of squares then something else as well. It may take you a while to find something suitable - for me, it's full fat Greek yoghurt mixed with nuts and berries. I don't need much, but that's the only thing I've found that feels indulgent enough but is still healthy.obviously with a lactose intolerance, that's not going to help you, but I'm sure there must be some alternative for you that would work. Good luck!
  • positivepineapple
    positivepineapple Posts: 87 Member
    http://www.stumptuous.com/how-to-dump-sugar

    This is a pretty good article about how to stop sugar cravings. Warning though, the language is a bit inappropriate. Good luck with this.

    thanks I'll read this!
  • positivepineapple
    positivepineapple Posts: 87 Member
    I use to have a treat everyday... from a small piece of chocolate, to an indulgent piece of cake.

    To overcome this you have to be strong. Set goals, like you will have a treat only on Saturday. Now when you have a treat, dont have a week's worth in one day!

    When you have your sugar cravings try and have protein. A late snack of cottage cheese, or if you want a chocolate flavour, make a sugar free hot chocolate. I use sweetener, skimmed milk and pure cocoa powder. Chocolate flavour minus huge calorie intakes.

    Also make your hot chocolate and go to bed and drink it. STAY IN BED. If you get up you might binge. Get into a habit of going to bed early with your cocoa. The protein in the milk will also help you sleep better. Well it does for me anyway.

    I am afraid its hard. Stay strong!!!

    Yeah I guess I'm just gonna have to accept the fact that its gonna be tough and stick it out till the cravings subside... Thank you :-)
  • Rho_Ro
    Rho_Ro Posts: 201 Member
    See I know I have a wicked sweet tooth - I always have. But I don't have the strength or willpower to fight it so I've finally accepted it. I make sure I have one or two sweet items per day every day - if I'm doing okay I cut a small piece of cake in half and have one half for morning tea and the other in the evening. Other times it's a full but small piece in the morning and the evening or perhaps one portion of lollies each time or even 4 squares of chocolate. And that seems to keep the cravings at bay. If I have a yearning for something sweet later in the evening then I drink diet soda and all is ok. I hope these ideas help you in some way.

    Good luck. :-)
  • TavistockToad
    TavistockToad Posts: 35,719 Member
    whether you think you can, or you think you cant, you're right!
  • positivepineapple
    positivepineapple Posts: 87 Member
    Thank you that is helpful... I've always had A sweet tooth as well and once I get these cravings under control I do plan on allowing myself something small and sweet a few times per week
  • positivepineapple
    positivepineapple Posts: 87 Member
    whether you think you can, or you think you cant, you're right!

    simple and wise... And very true
  • kelly_e_montana
    kelly_e_montana Posts: 1,999 Member
    The only thing I've ever been able to do is give it up completely for an extended period of time. Otherwise I am like the crack addict of sugar! Even a little will make me crave it. If I stop eating it, after a couple of weeks, I stop craving it. I usually give it up for Lent so I feel like I *have* to stick with it.
  • kelly_e_montana
    kelly_e_montana Posts: 1,999 Member
    P.S. For my chocolate cravings, I make hot cocoa with skim milk, unsweetened cocoa powder, and stevia. Works like a charm!
  • positivepineapple
    positivepineapple Posts: 87 Member
    The only thing I've ever been able to do is give it up completely for an extended period of time. Otherwise I am like the crack addict of sugar! Even a little will make me crave it. If I stop eating it, after a couple of weeks, I stop craving it. I usually give it up for Lent so I feel like I *have* to stick with it.

    yeah that's exactly how I am.... I'm going to stop eating it completely for awhile.

    do you stop eating fruit as well?
  • AnnaMC1977
    AnnaMC1977 Posts: 241
    I'm a HUGE sugar fan! And this time of year is the worst....halloween. I have a hard time completing a meal w/o some type of sweet..even if it's fruit...I HAVE to have something sweet after each meal (except breakfast). So, I pay more attention to my carb intake as opposed to my sugar intake....I'm also trying to reduce the carbs and sugar from my diet. I've hit a plateau and need to change a few things.
  • misswager
    misswager Posts: 67 Member
    personally I wouldnt cut out fruit, unless you think it triggers you to crave refined sugars. If you try cutting fruit out, up your veggie intake. You could always try it and see if it helps you? Also increasing protein might help,
    good luck!
  • lauryn6061
    lauryn6061 Posts: 8 Member
    The first few days of cutting back on sugar is really hard. Sometimes I immediately go out for a workout if I start craving, and it takes my mind off of it. Or I use Stevia and trick my mind into thinking I'm having some sugar in my drink (lemonade with stevia, or coffee/tea with stevia). It'll be manageable after the first week. Hang in there!

    Oh, and they come back, every 5 weeks or so for me. I usually indulge a lil bit and then start on controlling my intake again with the help of stevia.
  • bilberryjam
    bilberryjam Posts: 72 Member
    There's a really good ebook called "I Quit Sugar" by Sarah Wilson.

    It isn't a bunch of scare story essays about how bad sugar is for you, it's really chatty in tone and easy to read. It suggests cutting sugar as an experiment - making little changes to your diet week by week and seeing how you feel - and being kind to yourself (by feeding your body good, wholesome food.)

    I can honestly say it's changed my life. I have a whole host of health problems and cutting down on sugar has helped *so* much. My doctor is even using the 'recovery' word.

    I totally recommend trying it. Even if it doesn't work for you, there's no harm done, and you'll probably have learned something about yourself.

    And if you do this, it's not as if you're never going to have chocolate again. But you'll get to a place where you can have those two squares of really good chocolate *when you want it*, instead of binging on cheap crap because you're a slave to your cravings.

    Take the first step :)
  • goodnamegone
    goodnamegone Posts: 237
    Try eating other foods like dates, sultanas, make a hot chocolate drink with skim milk and sweetners. Sugar is very addictive, rather than not eat anything and end up having a sugar binge, have bananas in the house and honey as a way to wean yourself off. Hope this helps.
  • alishamarioliver
    alishamarioliver Posts: 9
    You could try making a smoothie to help satisfy your cravings.. I usually do 1 banana, 1 tsp of Hershey's cocoa powder,1 tbs of peanut butter and 1 cup of fat free milk.. It's delicious!!!
  • ktsmom430
    ktsmom430 Posts: 1,100 Member
    I love chocolate, and pre-MFP I ate way more than my fair share. I did not eat any sweets at all, for the first 3 months here. In June I was reading a topic here, where they were discussing denying yourself things you love. The gist of the conversation was moderation, and it was very good advice for me for everything that I eat. Now, I have a Dove Dark Chocolate Caramel with Sea Salt Promise as the very last thing I eat every day. Knowing I can have this at the end of the day helps me make it through. It is working for me, and I am losing weight every week.
    Good luck!
  • trobbin88
    trobbin88 Posts: 38 Member
    I agree and was going to say the same thing...two or three squares of dark chocolate can help with those cravings.
  • jodiebarrette
    jodiebarrette Posts: 41 Member
    I have the same problem - especially Mocha's. I am ADDICTED to them and I've been drinking them a lot! Almost every day. As a result I have gained a little weight back instead of losing the last 5-7 pounds! I took a look at the Stumptous article reference above and I think Im going to give that a try! Thanks for posting this topic - I've been thinking about doing the same for days now! Good luck to you!
  • emandbri
    emandbri Posts: 45
    I'm a big sugar addict as well. I've been doing low carbs for almost 2 weeks and doing okay without it, I do kind of want ice cream. I've been eating ready to eat cheesecake filling. It doesn't have a lot of carbs and satisfies my sweet tooth. I also sometimes have a tablespoon of honey because I noticed my allergies were worst after I stopped eating it. Today I'm going to brown up some italian sausage, I'm getting tired of eating the same foods and it is kind of sweet. So those are my only sweets. I'm a bit worried about what is going to happen when I start to reintroduce carbs again, I'm going to try really hard to stick with low carbs and just add some.
  • lacewitch
    lacewitch Posts: 766 Member
    me too!
    I can quite easily eat 3-4 chocolate bars without stopping for breath. entire 'sharing' packs of sweets disappear around me
    I managed to cut back previously then i creeps up again...
    so as I have a performance in 2 weeks I am going to try and cut out processed sugar and make everything myself.
    wish me luck!
  • IUGB
    IUGB Posts: 15 Member
    I also have a horrible sweet tooth. I gave up sweets (processed sugars) for a month. I was miserable. I'm struggling with a way to allow myself something sweet without destroying my diet.

    I eat about 400 calories/day of chocolate (usually snacks). I want to get it down to about 200 calories/day when I work out (or 0 when I have a rest day). Right now, I'm working on keeping my calories overall down.

    Keep us updated! :)
  • ibach08
    ibach08 Posts: 61 Member
    I totally understand where you are coming from. For a long time I ate probably about 50-100 grams of milk chocolate a day. It took me some time where I figured out what I really wanted in life. I wanted that great body, I wanted tight skin, I wanted a gap between my thighs (that is never going to happen!). Honestly I hate 80 % chocolate and I decided that substituting with other things is not really a solution.
    So I guess my advice is to figure out what you really want. Are you happy with your body? Are you feeling healthy?
    I've been on the paleo diet for about 6 weeks now and sure it was a bit hard in the beginning. But cutting out sugar have really improved my energy level and feelings of selfworth. I don't trust my self around chocolate so it is better not to have any at all:)

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