Addicted to sugar and it's always at work!

Moonbeem11
Moonbeem11 Posts: 32 Member
in Introduce Yourself
Hey everyone,
I just joined MFP, wanting to lose some weight and get in shape. One problem is, I crave sugar once or twice a day, and in my workplace people are always bringing in things to the staff room for everyone - cookies, cakes, bagels etc. Even if I'm not that hungry, or I have my own healthy alternative, I can't resist it once I see it. Any advice how to get past this?

Also, unrelated - please add me as a friend as I would like to be exercise more and have some accountability - I'd like to say I'll exercise tomorrow then actually do it! Hoping to get some people who wish to do the same - we'll hold each other to it! :happy:

Replies

  • sarski77
    sarski77 Posts: 79
    In my experience it's simply a matter of saying NO :) Unfortunately there are no other ways of doing this.

    However, the one thing that does help is making sure that you don't go hungry throughout the day! Bring your own sweet but healthy treats to work!
  • Unknown
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  • crzyone
    crzyone Posts: 872 Member
    My sugar attack hits at night, right before I go to bed. I've not found any secrets yet; I usually give in. Having something low cal on hand to easily grab sometimes works for me. I have tried having fruit ready to eat, low cal pudding cups, a spoonful of peanut butter, something I enjoy that would be lower cal. At home, I try not to have anything else in the house, but you cant' do that at work. I just try to stay away from wherever they have the food at work...I know that's not always possible...especially when people come around trying to pass it out to you...thinking they are being nice by having brought it to you....helpful...but unnecessary!!

    Good luck..let me know if you find some tricks to over coming the sweet attacks.
  • sewilliamson
    sewilliamson Posts: 2 Member
    Hi I have the same issue..mine is not only sweets but snacks in general. Working on it though
  • foody44
    foody44 Posts: 21
    Yes making sure you dont go hungry throughout the day is a good idea. Pre packing and bring your own snacks is good too. But if the cravings get too much, then have a little. not lots, just make sure you burn it off :) moderation!
  • whitecapwendy
    whitecapwendy Posts: 287 Member
    Is there any way you can avoid going into the staff room? If you can avoid refined sugar, after a while you will lose the craving for it, and it will be easier to see the stuff and not eat it. Or just taste it. One bite and call it quits. I too have a sugar addiction, but find that if I stay away from it for a while, I lose the taste for it.
  • Cheeky_0102
    Cheeky_0102 Posts: 408 Member
    I have learned to abstain... just consider it like "i'm allergic" or "i'm lactose intolerant"
    some people can eat sugar and be fine... some people can have just one, some of us can polish off a dozen donuts in one sitting without looking back.
    I fall in the second category, so its just no.
    try warm brothy soup... I find the heat and protein keep me warm and full... I also like a half sweet skim milk steamer when I really need to indulge
  • Moonbeem11
    Moonbeem11 Posts: 32 Member
    I figured I wasn't alone on this lol. I use stevia as a sweetener which I love in lemonade and my coffee substitute - teeccinio - which is like a healthy dessert beverage I recently discovered. I actually know all about sugar cravings and the only way to get rid of them is to not eat sugar at all - and eventually they subside - of course which is extremely difficult. Maybe just knowing you are face the same thing will give me more willpower to walk away!
  • RedneckMomma77
    RedneckMomma77 Posts: 85 Member
    Can I ask you a few questions? (like that isn't a question! lol)

    How is your will power?
    Are you a binge eater?
    If you totally deny yourself sweets, are you eventually going to go to town on sweets?

    The reason I ask these questions is I know that if I try to completely cut out sweets, eventually I'm going to eat way too many of them. It may not be today or tomorrow, or even next week, but it is going to happen. So, I avoid this with actually allowing myself a sweet if I want one. My absolute favorite candy bar is a 3 Musketeers. I keep two of the regular sized bars, quartered in my refrigerator. If I am craving something to eat, and nothing else in my fridge screams "Eat Me!", I'll allow myself to eat one piece of the candy bar. But I only allow myself to eat one piece at a time, and the max I allow myself is two pieces in a 24 hour period. I log the piece, and go on about my day. It is there if I want it, I know that it is there, but I don't feel like I have to eat it just because it is there. It actually makes saying no to other sweets easier for me.

    This works for me, so it may be something that you could try if you think that your will power is strong enough to resist eating it non-stop.
  • bluebird321
    bluebird321 Posts: 733 Member
    I have the same issue with work. To get around it; I always have a bag of walnuts or mixed nuts on hand.
  • SanteMulberry
    SanteMulberry Posts: 3,202 Member
    I have been off three years and counting (and I never ate a lot of it). But I too was told that I was headed for diabetes because my fasting blood sugar numbers were climbing (and I'm also a good candidate because my brother has it and I had gestational diabetes). That was when I decided to TOTALLY cut it out. For a while, it was hard when I would go to a party or something and knew that they were having cake or something for dessert. But after a while, it got easier and easier to say "no, thanks" (of course, I just told them I was pre-diabetic and that was enough to get them to accept my refusal graciously).

    I would still get an occasional craving for a couple more years and that is when I read up on fructose metabolism (sucrose, i.e. table sugar is 50% fructose). Eating a serving or two of fruit per day does not significantly elevate fructokinase (the enzyme responsible for helping us to digest fructose). BUT, eating sugar, especially in those sensitive to fructose, DOES significantly raise fructokinase levels and also, the researchers noticed that many obese individuals are able to efficiently convert blood glucose into fructose! So then I went on a lower carb diet (I keep my carbs to an average of 100 grams per day--more on heavy exercise days, less on less active days) in order to bring my fructose and fructokinase levels down. I cut out fruit for about 10 days as well. And now, if I try to eat a piece of cake, it tastes nauseatingly sweet to me. I now never get cravings for sweets. I eat one or two servings of low-fructose fruit a day. But that's it and you can see how much weight I've lost (and the best part is that I feel better than I have felt in a long time). :smile:

    p.s. Here's a link to the proceedings from a conference on "food addiction" and a number of the scientific papers cover the research into the role of sugar in food addiction. At the turn of the 20th century, per capital sugar intake was about 5 pounds a year. It is now 150 pounds a year! And only 40% of it is from sugary foods---the rest is hidden in processed foods of all kinds. http://www.foodaddictionsummit.org/presenters-johnson.htm
  • susanswan
    susanswan Posts: 1,194 Member
    I can so relate to all of the sugar addicts already posted. I'm a life long sugar addict, too. Found out the secret when I decided to lose weight once and for all. You simply need to stop eating sugar, refined grains, white flour, white pasta, white rice, anything refined and the cravings WILL go away within a week or two. Believe me I wanted to find another way to live with sugar, but I couldn't. I actually cried because I didn't want to stop eating it. If I wanted to continue to have my weight spiral out of control and have the only happy spot in my life being a mouthful of sugar, then great. But I was tired of letting food rule my life. I knew there had to be more to life than food. I stopped eating sugar, etc. This was over 6 years ago and I've since been able to lose over 70 pounds in all. Unfortunately when I reached my goal weight (<135) I started nibbling again on those types of treats. "moderation of sugar" does not work for me. Much like I would imagine only drinking beer on the weekend doesn't work for alcoholics. The up side is I feel sane again. I've stopped indulging in a cookie here, and candy there, and 2 donuts there. I've gained 9 pounds rather quickly since Christmas so just when I was becoming depressed and feeling quite helpless again I took control. It is tough love for yourself. No one else can do it for you. It is completely up to you. You just have to tell yourself no. No. No. No. No. You need to develop new standards for yourself. I want to live in harmony with food, too. Just because I see a plateful of cookies, it doesn't mean I have to eat them. Much like if you see your friends purse laying there and she leaves the room, do you automatically go looking for money because you like money, too? I hope not. These are standards of conduct. Just because smoking is also mostly socially acceptable doesn't mean I need to smoke just because someone offered me a cigarette. "I didn't really want it." works for eating cookies in the break room, too. I'm not saying it is easy, but it does get easier. I still love sugar. I still want to eat sugar, but I am in control now and have the ability to say no to it. You do gain a feeling of empowerment when you have control over your life again. My life was miserable with out of control eating. I even stooped to eating molasses out of a jar with a spoon when the cravings hit because my house was clean otherwise. I am one of those people like an alcoholic who must abstain. If the occasional single bite comes my way I'll decide if I want to take it or not. Sometimes I do and sometimes I don't. I tell myself that "this is available at any time to me, day or night, and at gas stations, grocery stores, etc. I can have it anytime I want. I just don't want it right now. Maybe next time." Feeling in control feels way better than all of the bags of candy I could eat. You have to decide for yourself. You are a big girl. Would you feed a 3 year old a whole bag of cookies for a snack? I hope not. Treat yourself with as much love and care as you'd treat a growing child that you'd feed. You are worth it. There are so many more nutritious foods out there that actually will nourish your body. I love spring when the farmers markets start selling their beautiful produce. That is my idea of candy now.
  • Natdogg37
    Natdogg37 Posts: 31 Member
    If I had a dollar for every person that offered me sweets at work.....I wouldnt have to work ever!!

    Its very hard to say no when some yummy treat is in front of you but you need to say NO!!!! I bring healthy snacks so if I get a craving for sugar I eat my snacks and not the 600 calorie donut!
    They have these new snacks call Skinny Cow and they come in chocolate and carmel treats. Only 100 calories and you get 4 of them.

    Good luck :)
  • 2FatToRun
    2FatToRun Posts: 810 Member
    I was looking for something other than peanut butter and came across a new product call MaraNatha All Natural Caramel Almond Spread. It is wayyyyyyyyyy too sweet. So what I had been doing is rolling a tbsp into a ball (2 times) and putting them in the fridge. It is easier now though to just refrigerate the whole jar and scoop out balls. If I get hungry and want something sweet I will grab a half of banana and one of the balls, if I am not satisfied I eat the other half of banana and the other tbsp sized ball. It is good for you too. Also you can keep some dark chocolate and a snack bag size of nuts. Frozen grapes are awesome taste like candy. Chilled peanut butter balls rolled in sunflower seeds are good as well. Good luck!
  • CrazyTrackLady
    CrazyTrackLady Posts: 1,337 Member
    Sweet and salty are the two opposing tastes in your mouth. Sweet hits one set of taste buds, salty the other. Somehow, salt cancels out the desire for sweet. I find eating a pickle cures my sugar cravings.

    BUT, if I really need something sweet, I will eat a few bread and butter chip pickles, as they are both healthy AND sweet.

    Oh, if you're looking for something that is sweet but also healthy, try bananas rolled in melted dark chocolate then frozen. It's a healthier sweetness than refined sugar.
  • gailowens75
    gailowens75 Posts: 5 Member
    I too am so addicted to sugar, I have to practice complete anbstininence. I actually go to overeaters annonmymous, I lost 119lb, I was morbidly obese for 27 years, in the end I was told I wouldn't live another ten years, I didn't stop eating rubbish. At my high point I ate 26 bars of chocolate a day, as well as cakes, biscuits (cookies).

    I have been abstinint a whole year, and I am one of these people who cannot eat sweet things in moderation.

    My saving grace was paleo diet and lifting weights!

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