How to break sugar addiction?
peilover010202
Posts: 32 Member
I started my "diet" early this year like so many, resolving to loose weight. I had been doing really great up until late this week. But now everything with sugar is calling my name!
From the beginning, I wanted to make this a positive experience so I would stick with it. I cut way back on soda (I'm drinking 1 mini-can - 90cals per day). I've been staying within my calories each day. I bought some special K pastry crisps to help curb the sugar cravings, giving myself the "treat" as long as I had exercised that day. I've been exercising 6 days a week, mostly circuit training. But, some treadmill sprints and weights too.
Anyway, the sugar cravings are actually getting worse instead of better. What have you done to help curb those cravings?
From the beginning, I wanted to make this a positive experience so I would stick with it. I cut way back on soda (I'm drinking 1 mini-can - 90cals per day). I've been staying within my calories each day. I bought some special K pastry crisps to help curb the sugar cravings, giving myself the "treat" as long as I had exercised that day. I've been exercising 6 days a week, mostly circuit training. But, some treadmill sprints and weights too.
Anyway, the sugar cravings are actually getting worse instead of better. What have you done to help curb those cravings?
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Replies
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If it's a MUST HAVE..I budget the calories. I crave Peanut Butter and Chocolate, so I came up with a decent cookie recipe. If that means less supper or no wine so I can have my two cookies, then so be it. I've also heard that it is better to have your sugar later in the day, your body will reset itself over night. But if you eat the sweets early (say cereal or breakfast or snack) then it perpetuates the craving.0
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Switch from soda to diet soda, no sugar! Really it's a compounding problem, the more sugar you eat the more your body craves it (and increases your appetite in general, see relationships between insulin and leptin/ghrelin, etc). You'll get sugar cravings pretty bad but soon they will subside, I promise. While it's true that the more sugar you eat, the more you crave it, it works in reverse too.0
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I don't do artificial sweeteners. So, maybe it's just time to skip the soda (and deal with the caffeine withdrawal too).0
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OMG I know! I started Dec 27. I've had good habits but I ate 2 sugar cookies about 4 days ago after dinner. I made them myself so I knew they were delicious (and worth it). But the next day...I was like a caged animal looking for sugar!!! The craving was over-powering and very real. I poured honey into tea that night. So for me, I can't do the sugar every day thing (except fruit or honey) because it's a trigger for failure.0
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Best thing to do its not have any in the house! only have healthy snacks in. if you like sugar in your tea have sweetex, also comes in a little tub so if you out or working you can have it in your bag. Plus every once in a while its good to have a little treat x0
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Sad to say cold turkey is the only thing that has worked for me. I just don't eat sugar. Diet or otherwise. The only sugar I get is in my chewable vitamins and whatever is in things like cayenne peppers.
It's a huge relief for me, much easier than trying to portion it out in small enough sizes to keep me losing weight.0 -
Just cut out the sugar since your down to a mini-can it's not the biggest step to remove that last item. If you really want something sweet and sugary then reach for fruit, it's filled with natural unprocessed sugar that is good for you and good to your sweet cravings.0
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Cut the soda out and don't do diet soda either. There are no sugars in it, but it'll make you crave them more. Try and go for more natural sugars from fruit, honey etc. If you do need a sugar hit then what I do is make my treats rather than buy them. Then you know what's going in and can limit yourself or find healthy alternatives. I have been trying to curb my sugar this year and I had a bakewell cake today and it tasted so sugar laden it made my teeth ache!0
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do 1 time per 10 days a cheat meal to stop cravings...0
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Cut the soda out and don't do diet soda either. There are no sugars in it, but it'll make you crave them more. Try and go for more natural sugars from fruit, honey etc. If you do need a sugar hit then what I do is make my treats rather than buy them. Then you know what's going in and can limit yourself or find healthy alternatives. I have been trying to curb my sugar this year and I had a bakewell cake today and it tasted so sugar laden it made my teeth ache!
^^ agreed0 -
I agree with the saying "if it's out of sight it's out of mind"...most of the time. We don't have any chocolate in this house..but god damnit I want a snickers bar right now lol. It is true though..if you start keeping healthy snacks in the house and reducing your sugar every couple days I bet you will notice a difference. I had to do this with my coffee creamer and putting sugar ontop of it. I am definitely a sugar addict. It just takes time to get used to.0
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For me, the only way to break it is to go cold turkey. After about 1-2 weeks the cravings stop. Then, I allow myself to have one small piece of dark chocolate a day, and that works for about a month or two, when I start to eat more sugary stuff. I then I repeat the whole process.0
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I don't do artificial sweeteners. So, maybe it's just time to skip the soda (and deal with the caffeine withdrawal too).
Fair enough, I find the aspartame involved in a can of diet soda is worth the trade off but some people don't like it or their bodies don't handle it well. In that case, kick it entirely - for the amount of sugar in a can of soda, you could eat a tasty baked good WITHOUT high fructose corn syrup! Or better yet, no sugar at all. :-)Cut the soda out and don't do diet soda either. There are no sugars in it, but it'll make you crave them more.
Can I get a source on that? Anecdotally I'd have to disagree, and the reading I've done indicates this is speculation, the sort of fact that is "true" because it "makes sense", and works only psychologically per person.0 -
Dairy : milk and especially yoghurt! Can find sweet and creamy but low cal yoghurts, and can make them even more decadent with cacao nibs or stir in fruit. Fruit has lots of sugar, and frozen mango, pineapple, grapes, and berries make amazing snacks. Come off the sugar gradually and you'll notice you crave it less often and can go for less of it each time.
If you're really jonesing, a little chocolate or meringue nests go a long way.. Also mash banana and mix with flavoured quick oats and cinnamon (bake at 325 F 20 mins) to make healthier cookies.
Edit: also check out Stevia. Natural plant sweetener that's super potent but low cal.0 -
I started my "diet" early this year like so many, resolving to loose weight. I had been doing really great up until late this week. But now everything with sugar is calling my name!
From the beginning, I wanted to make this a positive experience so I would stick with it. I cut way back on soda (I'm drinking 1 mini-can - 90cals per day). I've been staying within my calories each day. I bought some special K pastry crisps to help curb the sugar cravings, giving myself the "treat" as long as I had exercised that day. I've been exercising 6 days a week, mostly circuit training. But, some treadmill sprints and weights too.
Anyway, the sugar cravings are actually getting worse instead of better. What have you done to help curb those cravings?
Your diary is locked so it's tough to know where the issue is. One possibility is you are overexercising, six days a week intensively is too much for many and can put you into a state of stress which messes with blood sugar control, your body needs rest days. Remember even athletes cycle hard and easy days, hard and easy weeks. Are you eating enough overall calories, netting above your basal metabolic rate, and a balance of ALL the nutrients from ALL the food groups?
Sugary/ processed junky stuff should comprise no more than 10% of daily calories, that is one small treat for most of us females. You may find you are over with the drink and the pastry crisps, more so if you are having stuff with hidden sugars like breakfast cereal. Caffeine also messes with blood sugar control. Realise that some starches behave like sugar in the body - watch white potatoes, any processed wheat, white rice and corn/ maize, instead have more beans, lentils and barley.
ETA are you breast feeding and cutting calories and exercising that intensively?0 -
I think it has been already said - not-sweet sugar always helps. Choose dairy products: milk, yoghurt, cottage cheese... You can add extra protein powder to fulfill you. And of course, avoid fake sugars - sweeteners. They would definitely increase your cravings even more. Personally, I haven;t had such a problem for like four years now until last Christmas. I couldn't stop eating sugary food since then but glass of milk with a scoop of protein powder always helps me when I feel craving coming on. :}0
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I started my "diet" early this year like so many, resolving to loose weight. I had been doing really great up until late this week. But now everything with sugar is calling my name!
From the beginning, I wanted to make this a positive experience so I would stick with it. I cut way back on soda (I'm drinking 1 mini-can - 90cals per day). I've been staying within my calories each day. I bought some special K pastry crisps to help curb the sugar cravings, giving myself the "treat" as long as I had exercised that day. I've been exercising 6 days a week, mostly circuit training. But, some treadmill sprints and weights too.
Anyway, the sugar cravings are actually getting worse instead of better. What have you done to help curb those cravings?
Your diary is locked so it's tough to know where the issue is. One possibility is you are overexercising, six days a week intensively is too much for many and can put you into a state of stress which messes with blood sugar control, your body needs rest days. Remember even athletes cycle hard and easy days, hard and easy weeks. Are you eating enough overall calories, netting above your basal metabolic rate, and a balance of ALL the nutrients from ALL the food groups?
Sugary/ processed junky stuff should comprise no more than 10% of daily calories, that is one small treat for most of us females. You may find you are over with the drink and the pastry crisps, more so if you are having stuff with hidden sugars like breakfast cereal. Caffeine also messes with blood sugar control. Realise that some starches behave like sugar in the body - watch white potatoes, any processed wheat, white rice and corn/ maize, instead have more beans, lentils and barley.
ETA are you breast feeding and cutting calories and exercising that intensively?
In a word: yes. I've talked with my dr about it. I wouldn't call my exercise too intense though. I exercised regularly throughout my pregnancy (lots of cardio) as well. Again, all approved by my dr. My base calorie intake is 1440 cals per day, more if I exercise. I don't always eat back all my calories, but I do eat back some of them.
I can unlock my diary. But I'm a little scared of getting ripped apart! I mean that in the nicest way. :happy:
My hubby is vegetarian, so I do get a pretty wide range of veggies each day. But, after looking at my breakfast, I do notice that it's awfully high in sugar. Maybe that is part of my problem. I thought it would be a good option because greek yogurt is so high in protein, and it does keep me full. But, I get vanilla or other flavors. Maybe I should try some eggs/eggwhites instead.0 -
I've never been a soda drinker but have liked juices like orange and grape juice, but now only water, and its really haven't been that hard to give up. Try to eat a jolly rancher when you get your sugar cravings, it has helped me a lot.0
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drop the sugar, add in fruit? Not juice but the whole fruit.0
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Eat some fruit! Sugar is not a bad thing.0
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bump.0
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I was addicted to carbs and sugar. I basically went cold turkey when i joined mfp.
It is the only way, you will get a headache initially but once you substitute your fast release carbs with slow release carbs, the sugar rush stops.
Try brown bread (or even better no bread at all), bananas, frozen berries, yoghurt, peanut butter, nuts, seeds, veggie home made soups, frozen veggies. These things all break down slowly in your body and therefore provide a steady stream of carbs so you do not get sugar spikes and depressions.0 -
I've been hopelessly addicted to sugar for a long time, but I've slowly been breaking the habit. I have two main weapons: eating fruit when I'm craving sugar, and if that doesn't cut it, using the two-bite rule. If you're craving something specific and nothing else will do, take two bites of whatever it is. Chew slowly and savor it. Between the two, I've been beating this thing (:0
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I started my "diet" early this year like so many, resolving to loose weight. I had been doing really great up until late this week. But now everything with sugar is calling my name!
From the beginning, I wanted to make this a positive experience so I would stick with it. I cut way back on soda (I'm drinking 1 mini-can - 90cals per day). I've been staying within my calories each day. I bought some special K pastry crisps to help curb the sugar cravings, giving myself the "treat" as long as I had exercised that day. I've been exercising 6 days a week, mostly circuit training. But, some treadmill sprints and weights too.
Anyway, the sugar cravings are actually getting worse instead of better. What have you done to help curb those cravings?
Your bowel flora is probably "calling out" for sugar. Candida fungus for one, thrives on a steady diet of sucrose (table sugar). Scientists have discovered that our bodies are not exactly our own. Various microorganisms in our bodies outnumber the actual cells in our body by a factor of TEN! :noway: They have also discovered that the microflora colonies "talk" to each other and have some kind of bio-chemical affect on the neural cells that line the human gut! (There are as many neural cells lining the human gut as there are neural cells in the brain.) As they are challenged by the lack of sugar, could it be that they "tell" us to "EAT MORE SUGAR---NOW!" Who knows? As you continue to stay away from sugar, the cravings will eventually stop. Another technique that I have found particularly helpful is to stay away from fruit for a couple of weeks in addition to staying away from sucrose. That will help lower the level of fructokinase in the body (fructokinase is an enzyme that our bodies produce to help us to digest fructose). Eating sucrose (which is 50% fructose) causes fructose levels to rise abnormally high because of the amount of fructose we are getting. The average consumption of sucrose is about 500 calories worth a day. Processed food contains a lot of sugar. Experts recommend eating only 25 grams or less of fructose every day. One can of soda (sweetened with high fructose corn syrup) contains about 26 grams of fructose (and it is totally empty calories). A small Valencia orange has, by comparison, 2 grams of fructose.0 -
Cut the soda out and don't do diet soda either. There are no sugars in it, but it'll make you crave them more. Try and go for more natural sugars from fruit, honey etc. If you do need a sugar hit then what I do is make my treats rather than buy them. Then you know what's going in and can limit yourself or find healthy alternatives. I have been trying to curb my sugar this year and I had a bakewell cake today and it tasted so sugar laden it made my teeth ache!
Try sweetening with glucose instead of sucrose. Our bodies know well what to do with glucose and as long as you don't overdo it, you shouldn't have a problem with addictive impulses. I make my own chocolates using a small amount of glucose with unsweetened chocolate. I add nuts to keep the glycemic value down. There are substances in chocolate, that help your body repair the damage done to one's DNA by eating too much fructose (in the form of table sugar). You can buy both the unsweetened chocolate and the glucose at your local bulk food store. Just melt 4 oz. of chocolate in a double boiler and add 2 heaping TBS of glucose and a splash of real vanilla. Stir in the nuts and divide it into four portions, dropping the portions onto parchment paper. Chill. The recommended amount of chocolate per day is one oz. This chocolate is very intense and rather bitter but it certainly satisfies chocolate cravings. Has about 190 calories for one ounce (plus the nuts).0 -
I cut all high fructose corn syrup from my diet and that helps a lot. I find as soon as I eat a highly processed sugar the cravings start again. The only way I can deal with it myself is cold turkey. I don't believe in sugar substitutes so I use honey, maple syrup, raw cane sugar, and occasionally agave nectar. I also have tried to cut back on carbs that release a lot of sugar into the bloodstream like white breads, white rice etc.
I struggled with sugar addiction for many years and this year is the first year I'm feeling its under control. When I asked my doctor about it when I was 23 and a super sugar binger she looked at me like I was a whiner and that there was no such thing as sugar addiction. I used to eat a full bag of candy to fall asleep almost every night back then. Now I know that my doctor was the crazy one and I should have listened to my own instincts to correct the problem. It's now 13 years later and I'm finally doing something about it.
Good luck and feel free to message me with any questions.0 -
Hi aroundthemulb,I started my "diet" early this year like so many, resolving to loose weight. I had been doing really great up until late this week. But now everything with sugar is calling my name!
From the beginning, I wanted to make this a positive experience so I would stick with it. I cut way back on soda (I'm drinking 1 mini-can - 90cals per day). I've been staying within my calories each day. I bought some special K pastry crisps to help curb the sugar cravings, giving myself the "treat" as long as I had exercised that day. I've been exercising 6 days a week, mostly circuit training. But, some treadmill sprints and weights too.
Anyway, the sugar cravings are actually getting worse instead of better. What have you done to help curb those cravings?
Your sugar 'addiction' ,might be related to something else, like stress. Keeping a food diary can help with these things. In addition to noticing what you eat, record your emotional state or how you are feeling along with it. Keep it for a few weekdays and a weekend and review it, see what patterns emerge. You may be a stress eater, or you may just be eating sugary foods because they are available and you are hungry.
I don't recommend using sugar substitutes (splenda, equal, etc.), these don't really fix the problem, which is your self-identified sensitivity to sugar. Sugar substitutes are many thousands of times sweeter than sugar, and can in fact make a bad problem worse.
Eat whole fruit, not dried or juice or anything else like that. This is a great replacement for sweets, the sweetness is generally lower, and actually has a dietary benefit vs. plain sugar.
Don't keep sugary foods around. Walk away. Remove yourself from the situation. Eliminate your cues to eat sugary foods. Treat it like an alcoholic would treat a beer/wine/etc.
The 21day Sugar Detox gave me some great insights and actually helped me to overcome (most) of my cravings.( An interesting review on http://timreviews.com/rg )
Timmi0 -
Just cutting out the soda isn't going to get rid of your sugar cravings, you have to cut out all sugar AND processed food. I really don't understand why people would choose fake, processed food over REAL food. If you want sugar, eat some berries or a banana, stop feeding yourself poison in the form of processed food. Switch to diet soda??? Are you serious? There's tons of research saying that diet soda is actually worse for you than regular soda.0
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i eat chocolate granola!... the kind the does not come in granola bars... not having any sugar is hard..so limit yourself and its okay!.. the granola i get has no high fructose corn syrup or bad ingrediants0
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i felt the same in the past. however after discovering a serious love for natural, fat free yogurt with 100 g of blueberries mixed in (and then left in the freezer for approx an hour) i am able to eat suger twice daily and not feel guilty about it. the best part is that it keeps you full and so your cravings disappear. this way i can stick to my diet because i dont feel like i am missing out. i definatly recommend it. all the best!
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