I'm addicted to sugar and sweets...

No you're not addicted.

Okay I love my sweets, I could eat a 1kg bar of chocolate, no problem at all, I could eat 2 bags of M&M's no problem, I could eat 4 snickers bars in one sitting, I ate it like food not like 'its a treat' it made up most of my diet, I put sugar in my coffee, 3 in each cup, I put sugar on my cereal.

I have a sweet tooth to end sweet teeth, I can't have one biscuit, I have the pack, I can't have one sweet I eat the bowlful. I could eat a whole box of cereal as long as it was sweet, no problem, I am Mr Sweet tooth.

I've been like this my entire life.

Recently I haven't eaten any kind of sweet/chocolate/biscuits for the past 3 months and I do NOT miss them.

I just think of myself, think of where I need to be an how long, because of the damage I've done to myself, it's going to take me to get there, I don't need sweets at all, they are evil. Nasty things.

And you know what, a bit of will power and you can overcome it. You can get healthier alternatives to 'wean' you off it, but I believe in cold turkey myself

If you can't do it then you're not ready. Sad reality but it is the truth, I really wish you the best of luck and I promise you, you can do it as long as you want it.

I know exactly what you mean. It's almost like I mourn the bad fatty/sugary foods when I don't have them. Or even when I think about giving them up. It's a struggle, but the way I see it if people can overcome other drug addictions like heroin or cocaine then this should be something that we both can overcome.

Desserts and sweets are not something I think i will EVER be able to give up. I have just learned how to budget them into my daily consumtions! So i plan out my meals around a 1200 calorie diet, then i workout to earn more calories and try to portion control something yummy in for dessert. I found the more "restrictions" i put on certain foods the more i want them.
Some of my guilt free fav's are Brownies (most are under 200cal), The Mini-Bettycrocker microwavable cakes (150 cals) and i just recently found a recipe for Mini Tirimisu's that are only 110 calories! It's all about moderation!

As a kid and into my 20's I used to eat a huge amount of sugary anything. Drinks, sweets, whatever - but I was so active it didn't make a difference to my weight (just my mood!)

I had to go cold turkey in 2004 when a medication I was on caused carbohydrate cravings and I gained 3 stone in 9 weeks!! Once I had been off the sugary foods and sweets for a while I found that things were too sweet and I no longer craved sugar - in fact every time I eat too much now (which could be as little as one small packet of sweets) I feel sick - and I have to drink a pint or two of water and sit down until I feel better.

I think the key for me to making the cold turkey work was my doctor recommended a low GI diet - in that I should switch any high GI carbs in my diet for low GI carbs. So swapping regular potatoes for sweet potatoes etc. This meant that I didn't get the downs that fed the need for sugary foods.

Bonus was when I came off the meds I dropped the weight nearly as fast as I had gained it.

Jason - if you are missing beer have you tried Bud's new one - Select 55? I'd be interested to know what you think of it as I have a friend who is piloting their promotional hot air balloon (currently doing the rounds at events all over the US!)

I don't think you should completely deprive yourself of the things you love. Its all in moderation !!! Trust me, I couldn't go 1 night without a big bowl of ice cream, or grabbing a candy bar every time I went through a check out line, and don't even get me started on cupcakes !!!!!! I tried to cut the sweets out but honestly, that just drove me crazy. Then I'd end up saying "forget it, I can't do this" and I would shove every kind of chocolate or sweet there was in my face, or I'D be the one begging my daughter to come with me to the local ice cream shop. Now, I don't deprive. I call the little sweet treats rewards. They are small, VERY small - but it works. I will either have one of those sugar free chocolate pudding cups that are only 60 calories, or a weight watchers cake (its seriously like the size of my thumb) but it kills the craving and I DON'T feel deprived. I started dieting 3 weeks ago with this new state of mind of eating the right foods, but also allowing myself to have those little treats, and I have lost 10 lbs in 3 weeks. So Im losing and Im still happy. Everybody is different, I know. But try to do what is right for you. If you get an urge for chocolate, don't grab a 2lb bag of M&M's. Grab the weight watchers chocolate cake, or a sugar free pudding cup. I just don't think completely depriving yourself is going to work.

I completely know what you mean. I tried that south beach diet thing and I felt horrible. I mean I was eating boxes of cookies, candy bars, ice creams, all kinds of high sugar foods heck I would take shots of pure 100% real maple syrup.

So first what I had to do is recognize what triggered me eating them the most. Then I truly had to make a conscious decision not to eat it. But if I just can't kick that pull to the kitchen I found some sweet alternatives look at low cal low fat low sugary diet foods. They have cookies and chocolate bars that have half the sugar or more then some of the other crap I used to eat. Also I've found low cal no fat sugar free ice cream bars from schwann's It takes care of that ice craving for me really well. The other thing I do is really pay attention to labels and ask myself before I eat if it's worth it to me and think a few minutes. That has really helped me out. Of course there is going to be a down day where I might just loose control. But at the end of my moment I pull myself up and tell myself this is a new day and I will do better today. Soon the cravings get less and less the longer you go low sugar and you really can wean yourself off or almost down. I have noticed when I do eat something now with high sugar in it surprising to me is too sweet and I stop eating it. I used to be the person that could eat a 1/4 double fudge brown with fudge frosting in one sitting and not take a drink. Now I couldn't eat all that with out making myself feel ill. And I have only been really committed this time for a month.

By the way... headaches are gone and I feel great. You will too!

I read recently that 4 grams of sugar is equivalent to one teaspoon of granulated sugar. I try to make myself picture those spoonfuls of sugar going into sugary foods before I allow myself to eat them, and it really helps. Somehow, reading sugar content on labels in grams is very abstract for me, but picturing actual teaspoonfuls of sugar is really helpful.

That said, I'm an addict, too! I'm very good about other diet issues (usually) but sugar? Definitely my downfall...

I used to be you about nine months ago!! I was a total sugar addict and I NEVER thought I could ever get off the sugar. Well I was wrong because I no longer even crave sugar. I know what I have to do to keep away from the sugar and it's a mind set thing really. You just have to make up your mind that your going to eat sugar in moderation and that is it!!

I started Atkins about nine months ago and at the start of the lifestyle plan I went through major withdrawals to the point I was physically sick and I thought I was going to die :grumble: But I am still here and off sugar and I actually can control what I eat of it now. Atkins says you can get off the sugar roller coaster on their plan of eating higher fat /higher protein and very low carbs and of course I didn't believe it but I am living proof that it does work.

Now I am not saying you have to go low carb in order to control your sugar intake but it does help. I tried other ways while on WW for about a year and it didn't work. I would crave sugar constantly and I was so miserable!! So I got serious about Atkins and told myself I was going to do it and eat the right way on it and see what happens. On April 26, 2010 I committed myself to be on Atkins for at least a month with NO CHEATING and to my utter amazement the sugar cravings went away. My cravings stopped , I have energy , skin is clearer , my head is no longer in a fog anymore and I just feel GOOD!! I credit it to the way I am eating now.

Sugar feeds off of more sugar and the cycle is vicious. All I was doing was eating more sugar and I was making my body crave more sugar. I was NOT a believer in Atkins before I started it and I guess that is why it took me so long to completely commit to it but once I did I saw RESULTS!! Any ways that is my two cents on the subject!! Hope it helped some

Twix ice cream has a 90 calorie version- the bar is small but tastes so good when your craving sweets. Just enough to tide you over.