Beating sugar addiction?

You aren't addicted to sugar. You are choosing to indulge. Make a different choice. It may not be easy, but you are in control of your own behaviour.

How can you possibly say that she is not addicted to sugar.
Addiction to any and all food is a true addiction, just like drugs because food stimulates the dopamine receptors in your brain the same as drugs and I take offense to the fact that you cooly reply " make a different choice" pretty sure if it were that easy then there would be no need for web sites like this one.

This is true. But on the other hand we English language speakers really need a new word for this type of addiction to differentiate it from the ones that really do put some people in halfway houses, prisons, and very early graves (very very early, not late 50s heart attack early).

OP, I have the same issue. From late June until the past few weeks I had it mostly under control with a low carb diet and it was such a relief not to have my brain tormenting me for it.

But alas, Spring allergies are here and have triggered the cravings back somehow.

So because I am an all the cookies or no cookies girl, I've decided to try alternate day fasting, which is 500-ish calories 1 day and 2000-ish the next and on my 2000 day guess what I get to do? If you guessed stuff myself silly until I'm sick, have a cookie!

Supposedly this actually has major health benefits, at least in mice and maybe even in humans, but I'm just doing it so I can have my cake and my skinny jeans, too.

I'm not saying either of these will work for you (hell I don't even know if this alternate day thing will work for me in the long run, I've only been on it a few days) but I do know you should keep trying until you find what does work and don't give up. And don't think you're alone, and don't think it isn't a real issue because it is.

I'm dealing with the same issue, but have been doing rather well for the last month or so. I've made an effort to really cut out all processed sugar and only eat sugar from fruit and vegetables. I've read lots of books about sugar addiction to understand how it was controlling my body. I started taking L-glutamine supplements, which are supposed to curb sugar cravings, and even if it's a placebo effect, it seems to be working. I used to have chocolate and ice cream every single day - and that's no longer the case. I'm not saying it's easy - I went through some bad withdrawal symptoms and it's sometimes a daily struggle, but I am leaps and bounds from where I used to be. Keep thinking about how negatively the sugars are affecting you - both physically and mentally. Cut it out slowly until you can cut it out altogether. Feel free to add me if you want food ideas - my diary is open. :-) Good Luck.

Hi, I'm Pave, and I, too, am a sugar addict.

And scientifically speaking, it's the truth - the human brain responds to sugar just like it does to narcotics.

I have a goal of a quarterly sugar detox this year. I've found that, like junkies with drugs, when I indulge, I can have a handle on it for a while... and then it spirals out of control until I'm binging.

So the first month of each quarter, I'm doing a 21-day sugar detox. During that time, I pull ALL sugars and sweet-flavoured things from my diet. No artificial sweetners (because I dunno about you, but my tastebuds crave it), no fruit (healthy, but still a sugar), no dairy, no grains, and a strict curtailing of my startchy foods (they become glucose really rapidly). I strip it all to veggies, fats, and proteins.

Yes, it's INCREDIBLY hard. I can honestly admit that I did not realise just how entrenched sweet things were in my diet until I did this the first time, and I reacted just like an addict when I knew I couldn't indulge - it wasn't pretty. But it was very eye-opening.

I'm getting ready to do it again, starting next Monday - and I'm much better prepared for it (I hope). But, yeh, it's terrible - I find that once I begin, I seem almost unable to stop myself. I cannot moderate.

hi, I'm pave, and I, too, ama sugar addict.

And scientifically speaking, it's the truth - the human brain responds to sugar just like it does to narcotics.

I have a goal of a quarterly sugar detox this year. I've found that, like junkies with drugs, when I indulge, I can have a handle on it for a while... and then it spirals out of control until I'm binging.

So the first month of each quarter, I'm doing a 21-day sugar detox. During that time, I pull ALL sugars and sweet-flavoured things from my diet. No artificial sweetners (because I dunno about you, but my tastebuds crave it), no fruit (healthy, but still a sugar), no dairy, no grains, and a strict curtailing of my startchy foods (they become glucose really rapidly). I strip it all to veggies, fats, and proteins.

Yes, it's INCREDIBLY hard. I can honestly admit that I did not realise just how entrenched sweet things were in my diet until I did this the first time, and I reacted just like an addict when I knew I couldn't indulge - it wasn't pretty. But it was very eye-opening.

I'm getting ready to do it again, starting next Monday - and I'm much better prepared for it (I hope). But, yeh, it's terrible - I find that once I begin, I seem almost unable to stop myself. I cannot moderate.

Oooh I like this idea. I might have to try this once the worst of my allergies clears up a bit. I was already low carb for months so I know I can do it.

I don't know how to do it. I just drink water and 'power through'.
Sometimes I have a hot cocoa drink. It's more filling than a chocolate or a biscuit but is also sweet and 'chocolate'.

I have been addicted to sugar most of my life and had some terrible periods of it - feeling physically addicted and needing a "fix". Biscuits have always been my vice, they last about 3 minutes in my company.

I was so fed up, I gave it all up for Lent this year: biscuits, cake, chocolate, pudding, hot chocolate, all added sugar. The only thing I have allowed is flavoured Greek yoghurt, which I have no problem with. I felt it was the only way to beat it once and for all.

I got terrible headaches and fatigue for the first 4 days. I kept reminding myself that it was the addiction getting weaker, so to push through and it's been pretty much plain sailing since as once the cravings subsided it was only getting into the habit of saying no to offers of sweet things that was the issue. I just replaced the "ooh, that looks nice" or "just a little bit" voice in my head into a really loud screaming "NO!" and that became my default response.

When the weight started dropping off, that was all the motivation I needed to continue. I'm going to re-introduce it in small controlled amounts from Sunday so I don't feel deprived and binge but I'm very very glad I feel in control again.

My advice is:
- Either start cold turkey or start slow, whatever you feel is best. If cold turkey doesn't work, don't give up, just try reducing your intake little by little each day down to zero.
- Make a pact to never buy anything sweet for 30 days. Tell yourself it's only 30 days and by the time that's up, you'll be much more in control.
- Make sure you're eating well to keep your blood sugar stable throughout the day. Eggs and low-fat veggie sausages for breakfast really helped me survive those first few days.
- Fill your biscuit cupboard with fruit and water and grab that when you're feeling the urge.
- Mark off your sugar-free days on a calendar to celebrate how far you've come.
- If you give in and have something, just enjoy it and start afresh after that ONE item, don't turn it into a binge. Every minute is a new opportunity to do better.
- Realise that, in reality, you DO have control over your physical body. You don't have to take yourself to the cupboard/shop and put those things in your mouth, it's just a bad habit that needs re-writing.
- You may begin to replace the hit with something similar - sweet fruit, carbs like bread etc. but don't feel bad about this right now, as long as you're aware of why you're doing it, you can then replace that habit once the sugar one is dead and gone.

I promise, if you get through 7 days, you'll feel 100% stronger over your addiction.

Feel free to add me!