Sugar addiction...where do I start...

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  • 111orBust
    111orBust Posts: 41
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    Same deal as quitting smoking - go cold turkey.
    Yes, it'll hurt for a for a while, but if you keep your wits about you, ultimately you'll defeat the addiction.
  • Lupercalia
    Lupercalia Posts: 1,857 Member
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    The only way for me is to cut sugar and most refined carbs out completely. It's hard for the first week but after I get through withdrawals I feel so much better!

    This.
  • Ohnoes
    Ohnoes Posts: 98 Member
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    i thought i was addicted to sugar once upon a time... i would crave it all the time, i would have to make sure that there was some kind of chocolate/cake/cookie/candy in the house at all times, i ate desert every night even if i was full and if i didnt have any i would leave to buy something. then i quit drinking every day, and now i dont really care about sugar at all. i dont know the science behind this, just sharing a personal experience... for me it was directly related to alcohol consumption. i drank several glasses of wine/beers a night at one point and needed sugar. now i drink maybe a glass of wine a week, and the one chocolate bar i buy every time i do a weekly shopping often gets forgotten in the cupboard.
  • CrystalDreams
    CrystalDreams Posts: 418 Member
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    I would be careful with fruit because I know for me it makes me go on sugar binges. Oatmeal, vegetables, sprouted breads, whole wheat pastas, etc, etc.
  • Wimbledongal
    Wimbledongal Posts: 64 Member
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    I am doing this currently and am on day 5 - I feel a lot better already. But can anyone advise on yoghurt? I only have plain natural organic stuff for breakfast with seeds and oats - is that ok or should I be cutting out yog completely?

    Thanks
  • amandamotley
    amandamotley Posts: 63
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    I tend to avoid it for the most part, although I do enjoy a bowl of protein "ice cream" pretty regularly as my nighttime snack. There are a million ways you can do it, but I throw some almond coconut milk (the drink, I buy the unsweetened - 45 cals and 3.5g fat per cup) frozen into ice cubes, a splash of it unfrozen (total of 1 cup between the cubes and liquid), a scoop of protein powder, and if I am dying for something treat-y a tiny bit of sugar free instant jello pudding mix, into the vitamix. Blend (add regular ice if it's too liquidy), then I top with whatever fits into my macros for the day, since it's usually my last meal of the day. Usually it's peanut butter since I'm a lower carb/higher fat gal, but sometimes special k protein cereal, fruit, nuts. Delicious, filling, gives me something to look forward to. Since it's filling I don't want to go crazy on other stuff after.
  • TeaBea
    TeaBea Posts: 14,517 Member
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    Cold turkey will help you stay on a DIET.

    The probelm with that strategy is this ....... will you be on a diet for the rest of your life? Are you willing to give up sugar forever? Not me .....I have to develop strategies to reduce my sugar dependence. I love cereal, but I look for something really low sugar. #1. because low sugar cereal still tastes good & # 2. I want to "save" my sugar for something that counts .... a piece of chocolate.

    Nail down the "thing" that you crave .... allow yourself that thing (a small portion anyway). I typically save this until late in the day.
    Get rid of as much unnecessary sugar as you can.
  • hbunting86
    hbunting86 Posts: 952 Member
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    I'm curious as to when exactly sugar intake became pathologised as an addiction? I'm only asking from a pure interests sake... I'm doing research at the moment and everyone seems to come to the same conclusion - as far away as New Zealand and in Singapore.

    H :)
  • gottogetinshape
    gottogetinshape Posts: 124 Member
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    My friend Emily recommended taking Bio-Chromium. I've been taking it for about a month and I still get sugar cravings sometimes and I do still eat sweet things but I think it's less so than before. It might be worth a try. Here's one of the pages I read before deciding to buy some:

    http://uk.pharmanord.com/contentServlet/bio_chromium.htm

    All the best! :)
  • Ohnoes
    Ohnoes Posts: 98 Member
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    I'm curious as to when exactly sugar intake became pathologised as an addiction? I'm only asking from a pure interests sake... I'm doing research at the moment and everyone seems to come to the same conclusion - as far away as New Zealand and in Singapore.

    H :)

    speaking as a former addict, there was a time when i thought about sugar in the same way that i thought about my other addictions. do i have enough sweets in the house to last the night? when/where can i get some more? if there are other people in the house eating the treats, will there be enough for me?

    if a person cant go sugar free for a night without obsessing about it, does that make it an addiction? maybe idk! im curious too! :)
  • sparrow747
    sparrow747 Posts: 87
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    I'm on Day 7 of my sugar detox. Honestly like everyone else said... go cold turkey. It's on your mind now, so just do it and hang in there. I felt great on Day 1. A little woozy on days 2 and 3, it was clearly withdrawal symptoms and it didn't feel good. Since Day 4, I've felt totally normal. I don't feel like I'm Superwoman or anything, but I feel fine and have no cravings for sugar. Even the smoothie I made this morning was too sweet. I've really been enjoying sweetness through a little fruit every day. I'm planning to reintroduce sugar on a "treat only" basis and definitely not every day. Also, funnily enough, I can eat SO MUCH MORE now that I'm focusing around nutrient dense meals, not loosing 300 cals to some cookies and being starving after.
  • tsh0ck
    tsh0ck Posts: 1,970 Member
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    I do not have diabetes. This means I can enjoy whatever sugar I want.
  • dark_angel1554
    dark_angel1554 Posts: 65 Member
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    Ok, so I am obviously addicted to sugar. Any suggestions on how to start reducing sugar besides the obvious? No Cokes, no candy etc....frustrated that it has become a cycle.

    Thanks for your help :)

    Been there! I definitely agree with the cold turkey method. I also found that I had some trigger foods in my diet that caused me to crave sugar more - like if I ate a ton of bread or grain-products...I would crave it instantly. Seems odd, and everybody is different so I'm not sure if it's the same for you. I was eating WAY too much of that food group so I cut it down and started eating more protien-rich foods and my cravings started subsiding.

    Also, I find that yogurt helps if I do get cravings, and so do fruits - like berries.
  • Acg67
    Acg67 Posts: 12,142 Member
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    I'm curious as to when exactly sugar intake became pathologised as an addiction? I'm only asking from a pure interests sake... I'm doing research at the moment and everyone seems to come to the same conclusion - as far away as New Zealand and in Singapore.

    H :)

    When people decided they needed another excuse on why they can't lose weight
  • magerum
    magerum Posts: 12,589 Member
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    I'm curious as to when exactly sugar intake became pathologised as an addiction? I'm only asking from a pure interests sake... I'm doing research at the moment and everyone seems to come to the same conclusion - as far away as New Zealand and in Singapore.

    H :)

    When people decided they needed another excuse on why they can't lose weight

    ^
  • magerum
    magerum Posts: 12,589 Member
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    It it's fresh fruit, don't worry about the sugar levels unless you have a medical reason to do so.

    Life feels so much better without the sugar spikes and crashes. I don't miss white sugar at all, but I do get a lot of sugar through fruit - just remember to eat it with a protein rich product to minimize the effects.

    All those blueberries you eat? Have sucrose in them...

    Sugar doesn't count if it comes out of the ground, only if it's an ingredient in delicious food. Duh.
  • holyforge
    holyforge Posts: 7 Member
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    Read all labels, you'd be surprised where you find sugar. Things like pasta sauce, ketchup, breads, etc. One trick the food industry uses in low-fat deserts is added sugar, more so than the regular fat option (for flavor of course).

    Good luck!
  • 1ConcreteGirl
    1ConcreteGirl Posts: 3,677 Member
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    I would be careful with fruit because I know for me it makes me go on sugar binges. Oatmeal, vegetables, sprouted breads, whole wheat pastas, etc, etc.

    How in the name of grabass are any of these foods considered a sugar binge?
  • Mainebikerchick
    Mainebikerchick Posts: 1,573 Member
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    I would be careful with fruit because I know for me it makes me go on sugar binges. Oatmeal, vegetables, sprouted breads, whole wheat pastas, etc, etc.

    How in the name of grabass are any of these foods considered a sugar binge?


    Yes!!! HOW????
  • ks4e
    ks4e Posts: 374 Member
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    I don't consider myself addicted to sugar, but I do tend to start off my day with coffee (cream and sugar). After cutting that out, I began to lose weight. Why? Because I use a ton of sugar in my coffee, which meant my body was too busy trying to burn off that sugar all day that it wouldn't get around to burning off the fat. Also consider the fact that it was white sugar (processed crap) with corn syrup for flavoring (more processed crap). Totally not healthy at all. My medium cup of coffee had about 28 grams of sugar!

    So if you are indeed intent on stopping, stop cold turkey. Don't worry too much about sugars that are naturally found in foods (like fruits) but instead focused on foods with ADDED sugars, especially artificial sugar.

    If you are dependent on sugar, you will notice withdrawal-like symptoms the first few days. You might get headaches, get shaky, and feel like you have no energy. After the 4th day or so, you will be fine. And you'll find you have way more energy than before.

    Basically, cutting out sugars will allow you to eat healthier in general, avoiding processed foods and processed sugars. it's a win-win situation in my book!

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