Need serious help with SUGAR!!!!

fructose turns to fat!
keep your sugar intake to 10%!!!!!

skullshank and joanne moniz

Yes and YES. I battle too and you have to go cold turkey and never look back. Look at it as a cocaine addiction. Do it once and you are back in your cycle. Trust me. It will take a week or two, but you will notice your whole frame of mind change, you will become more peaceful and the cravings will go away. That means the white breads and stuff like that too. Don't even go there.

I'm going to disagree with all of this.

Sweets are my weakness, too. I gave up dessert for years. I gave up bread and pasta and rice and potatoes, too. And while I truly feel like I could go the rest of my life without the latter four things (if I had to), I have come to accept the fact that I love sugar. Cookies, cupcakes, cake, ice cream, anything involving chocolate, peanut butter, or both. Sign me up. I eat sweets every day. I've still lost weight. I still look awesome. You do not have to quit cold turkey and never look back. It is most definitely not a cocaine addiction. It's just food. You can do anything you want with it, including leaving it alone. It is not easy. It's never going to be. But you do have control. The mind is primary.

A wise and accomplished man named George S. Patton once said "Now if you are going to win any battle you have to do one
thing. You have to make the mind run the body. Never let the body tell the mind what to do. The body will always give up. It is always tired morning, noon, and night. But the body is never tired if the mind is not tired."

I don't know about you, but I thought it was a valid point.

I agree with YES, you have to quit cold turkey. I've always felt the same about myself.... I DO feel it's an addiction in that I KNOW if I cheat even once, I'll be throwing all my progress away.... You need to quit for awhile then find an acceptable substitute.... I have desert every day, FF/ sugar free jello or pudding with 2 tbs free whip topping.... If you QUIT sugar for awhile ( just a week or so) the pudding/ jello will be a TREAT and taste SO much better ( than it probably sounds right now) Sugar was always my weakness too.... Good luck.....

Who hasn’t experienced the overwhelming desire to eat some­thing specific, whether it be chocolate, potato chips, a burger, or some other food? We’ve all experienced cravings, but we should be careful about the way in which we satisfy them. By understanding what your body is actually deficient in (assuming it is a physical, not an emotional food craving) you can get to the root cause of the crav­ings, and eventually kick them all together.

There are numerous possible meanings of cravings, depending on the type of craving and your eating habits. Before you satisfy cravings, drink a tall glass of pure water. Quite often we misinterpret our body’s signal for thirst as a signal of hunger. By drinking a tall glass of water first, you may be giving your body exactly what it wants and alleviate craving. Some experts estimate that up to 80 percent of the population is chronically dehydrated, so start with water before you try to decipher your cravings.

Chocolate.
If you crave chocolate, it doesn’t mean your body has a chocolate deficiency, although I think most people would prefer that. Chocolate is high in magnesium. Cravings for it often indicate that your body is deficient in magnesium, which is a common deficiency. If you’re going to eat chocolate, choose organic cocoa and mix it into a healthy smoothie, or eat a small amount of dark chocolate. Because that is unlikely enough to deal with a magnesium deficiency, it’s also important to eat other foods high in magnesium, such as nuts, seeds, fish, and leafy greens.

Sweets
If you crave sweets you may be experiencing blood sugar fluctuations. When your blood sugar drops, your body may be try­ing to get you to give it more fuel to keep your blood sugar levels stable. If this is a chronic occurrence you may have hypoglycemia, which simply means low blood sugar. Whether your sugar cravings are sporadic or chronic, it is important to choose the right type of food to bring your body back into balance. Giving in to cookies, cakes, candies, or other refined sweets will only make the problem worse and cause a blood sugar roller coaster that leads to more crav­ings. Instead, choose a piece of fruit when you’re craving sweets. In the interim, add more high-fiber foods like beans and legumes, and complex carbohydrates like whole grains to give you the fuel you need without the blood sugar spikes. If you’re really struggling with sugar cravings, you may also wish to supplement with the mineral chromium since it helps to regulate blood sugar levels and ward off cravings.

Salty Foods
Cravings for salty foods like popcorn or chips often indicate stress hormone fluctuations in the body. Getting on top of the stress in your life is step one. The adrenal glands help your body cope with stress and, in our fast-paced, hectic lives, tend to become worn out, especially from stress-hormone production. Try medita­tion, breathing exercises, or other stress management techniques. Research at the University of Utah in Salt Lake City showed that people who take a break to breathe deeply or meditate before reach­ing for salty snacks reduced their stress hormones by 25 percent and cut the bingeing in half.

If your adrenal glands are worn out, you can also support them with a high-quality B-complex vitamin, with extra pantothenic acid (that’s vitamin B-5) and vitamin C. Eating more leafy greens helps to supply your body with minerals that support the adrenal glands, especially potassium.

Next: Learn about cravings for cheese, red meat, and the general desire to snack



Read more: http://www.care2.com/greenliving/what-your-cravings-mean.html#ixzz2r9bhV91q

I highly recommend the 21 Day Sugar Detox. It's a book written by Diane Sanfilippo. This is her website: http://balancedbites.com/21dsd. I'm on day 18 and I can't believe how my cravings for sugar and carbs have all but disappeared without "suffering".

fructose turns to fat!
keep your sugar intake to 10%!!!!!

skullshank and joanne moniz

Untrue. Fructose doesn't turn to fat if the liver is low in glycogen. Fructose doesn't turn to fat if the energy is used. ANY sugar over consumed will result in fat storage.

A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
IDEA Fitness member
Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness industry for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition

cravings =/= addiction

I have battled sweets all my life. It wasn't so bad when I was in my teens and eating a bag of oreos because I was skinny!! Now I'm FAT. 5'3 and 185lbs AND almost 50! I am a sugar-aholic. I love cookies, donuts, cakes, brownies, not just one piece and walk happily away either. I have to eat it until they are done.

I am worse now than I have ever been. Being a stress eater doesn't help since my job is very stressful and there is crap to eat everywhere!!

I've tried just limiting myself to a "serving" so I get my sweets without feeling deprived but it never seems to work.

Do I quit cold turkey?? Is this to be looked at as any other addiction?

Thank you all in advance.

I completely understand because I love sweets too!!! So I weighed the options and decided which would be harder in the long term -

1. Give up sweets forever (oh what a sad sad world)
2. Practice willpower, learn discipline, eat healthy and reward myself EVERYDAY with a treat and still lose weight

I'll take what's behind door number 2. I've learned that I can eat healthy and still enjoy a treat. There are no foods that are off limits to me. I've ditched the 'diet' mentality. It's all about portions and moderation.

we may be different kind of sugar addicts, but what has worked for me when I'm feeling out of control is to break the addiction cold turkey, and then eventually I can enjoy A treat once in awhile, I feel satisfied, and I don't have to fight the crave constantly. But if I let myself go crazy, I'm starting all over again I think one has to be aware always of what they are putting into their body and stay on top of it, not let bad habits get the best of u - good luck!