Sugar Addiction

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Replies

  • tigersword
    tigersword Posts: 8,059 Member
    I stopped eating all sweets about a year ago. Baked goods, desserts, ice cream, candy. Basically anything delicious. It's really, really hard but has come with a freedom from that monster, just like alcohol or drugs.

    I had one relapse in February and it was the worst month of my life. I was completely out of control and it was a good reminder of why I can't eat just one. I stopped again and can't go back.

    I won't lie; I still crave it like crazy. What stops me is knowing that I can and should live without it. There is zero reason to ever eat a donut.
    Donuts are delicious.
    Donuts are a quick energy source.
    Donuts are a great way to quickly refill glycogen after a long exercise.

    There are plenty of reasons to eat a donut. There are plenty of reasons to eat every food. Whether you eat it or not is a personal choice.
  • HollisGrant
    HollisGrant Posts: 2,022 Member
    I stopped eating all sweets about a year ago. Baked goods, desserts, ice cream, candy. Basically anything delicious. It's really, really hard but has come with a freedom from that monster, just like alcohol or drugs.

    I had one relapse in February and it was the worst month of my life. I was completely out of control and it was a good reminder of why I can't eat just one. I stopped again and can't go back.

    I won't lie; I still crave it like crazy. What stops me is knowing that I can and should live without it. There is zero reason to ever eat a donut.

    Great comments. Calling it a monster is right. I quit smoking many, many years ago and getting away from processed sugar is very similar.
  • As my auntie would say I have a mouthful of sweet tooths so I know the feeling!

    Generally I allow myself to have a low cal hot choc/mocha sachet at home with a few biscuits or portion of cake every arvo and it does the trick.
    I could never cut these treats out and still enjoy my life
  • I need help. I am what most people consider a very healthy person. I workout 6 times a week (Insanity) and I am training for a marathon. I don't drink anything but water and the occasional beer or glass of wine. My BMI is about 21-22 which is in healthy range. My problem: I am completely and totally addicted to sweets. I cannot turn them down. I am not talking about a small candy bar once a day. Since Monday, I've eaten six very large greasy cookies, two dense brownies, apple pie, and three servings of ice cream. I see the treats (work, mostly - ice cream is all I have at home as far as sweets) and I have to have one. I eat it, love the way it tastes, and have another. This is not an issue of me being hungry so I eat what's available. This is a sugar craving/addiction. Has anyone gone through this? Otherwise I am a very healthy person and I fear that these sweets are ruining my Insanity results. I complain to my husband about my stomach fat and I'm sure it's continually getting worse because of these sweet treats. Any advice to wean myself from this?

    It's possible your cravings are being caused by a nutrient deficiency, particularly if you have cut some types of food out of your diet for health reasons or you eat a lot of processed foods.

    There are several supplements on the market that claim to reduce sugar cravings. If you have a look at those to see what's in them and what they claim to do, you can then do some research to find foods that are high in those nutrients and include more of them in your diet rather than take a supplement.
  • cjlarsen77
    cjlarsen77 Posts: 10 Member
    This thing about magnesium is fascinating. I too crave sweets. I am a chocolate addict. So, I looked up foods high in magnesium at http://nutritiondata.self.com/. What I found was a list of foods that I have long history of craving (those I was familiar with at least)
    cocoa powder, chocolate, mint, coffee, various spices that I love (including sage, parsley, rosemary, thyme, oregano, dill, saffron, cloves, curry, and a bunch more) almonds, sesame seeds, cashews, pine nuts, etc.. Also soy (which don't care much for), seaweed, rice bran, wheat bran, oat bran, white beans, and peanuts. It's a 20 page list. Anyway, I'm going to try upping my magnesium intake, and see if my sweets cravings go down. Thanks! :-)
  • IronSmasher
    IronSmasher Posts: 3,908 Member
    There's no such thing as a sugar addiction.

    It sounds like the high intensity aerobics, coupled with the long daily runs required for marathon training is causing you to choose fast, easily digestible calories in the form of sugar.
  • Find sweets that dont spike your blood sugar, Quest bars, moderate fruit. It is what worked for me!

    (Lost 30, quit came back for my last 10, very close to goal now:)
  • cclark1203
    cclark1203 Posts: 244 Member
    I was addicted to sugar and then I came under the care of a dr. for pre-diabetes and food sensitivities. From the moment I walked out of her office the first time I have not had sugar or sweets of any kind, except fruits. It's important to keep your blood sugar level and I eat something good (nothing processed) every 3 hours including a snack at 9:30 before bed. I also suffered from detoxing that first week, headache, jittery, etc. Good luck, it's a ***** to leave behind.
  • strongmindstrongbody
    strongmindstrongbody Posts: 315 Member
    It's likely not an addiction, but simply a habit. Try switching to fruit for some of your sweet snacks.