Addicted to sugar?

the trouble with chocolate is that it calls you lol (well mine does anyway),in an ideal world chocolate wouldn't have any calories but unfortunately it's loaded, that said i have lost all my weight still eating a bar most days, i can't give it up either

My mom used to tell me that when you are craving something unhealthy, like chips or candy or in your case chocolate, there's something missing in your body as far as vitamins and minerals and such go. Whether that's true or not, I've heard that waiting 15 to 20 minutes to see if the craving still lasts is a good way to go. If you still have the craving, and you just can't moderate (which is nothing to be ashamed of, nobody is perfectly disciplined) try buying chocolate in the form of chocolate covered dried fruit or nuts. It's a healthier alternative to Snickers, no matter what the commercials tell you.

I used to have a real problem eating far too much rubbish food when I wasn't really hungry, I had genuine concerns that I had no willpower and couldn't understand why not - I can normally be very determined about something when I put my mind to it. About 18 months ago I switched to a lower carb diet and limited (but haven't completely cut out) how much sugar is in my diet (I still have some fruit, all veg, and dark chocolate for instance). I have found (for me at least) that a lower carb diet helps me with appetite control and allows me to stick to a reasonable number of calories to lose weight (42 lb and counting). I was very sceptical of trying low carb to begin with as I believed all the "conventional wisdom" of a high carb low fat diet. But I had tried that and it wasn't working. I had got to the point that I had to try something different. I don't believe there is a one size fits all type of diet, but I also do believe that it is worth trying something different if what you are doing isn't working.

Yes you can be addicted to sugar - I have suffered with that addiction since I was a teenager - and you know its an addiction when without access to sugar you shiver, shake and lose complete focus of everything.

I didn't properly start losing weight until I tackled this problem - like a drug addiction I just tapered off. Slowly and surely things improved, my blood sugar levels became more stable and I am now able to lose weight and maintain with lots of ease all while incorporating some sugar into my diet.

Using sweetners or a mixture of sweetners and sugars helps a lot. Making your own desserts is a big plus as well - you control exactly what goes in it. I became excellent at baking because of this - my friends cannot wait to come over to try low carb, low sugar cakes & biscuits that I make. But its a delicate balance.

Eating oats, grains and complex carbs helps as well - it burns over a longer period and your blood sugar levels don't spike like they do with simple carbs.

I found focusing on proteins was also a great plus. Especially that I work out. And finally yes, sorry but I have to say it, working out does wonders for your blood sugar levels and metabolism. Your metabolism remains high up to 3 days after working out and you never get that insane urge to have chocolate anymore.

Fruits DO NOT help in my opinion. That old adage of replacing chocolate with fruits is BS - fructose has a lower glycemic index to glucose but it actually has a higher glycemic load - which means it is actually MORE damaging to cells than glucose. But that is another discussion.

Why do I go and get chocolate when I'm not even hungry?

It's a compulsive habit you have ingrained over time repeatedly by your actions and rewarded in the brain. As such it has now become automatic behavior governed by your older, mid brain which over rides your newer front brain (the pre frontal cortex.)

The cool thing is you can over ride this automatic behaviour and re write the old, unhelpful associations but it does require the use of specific techniques if it doesn't happen naturally when dieting.

Look into techniques to control over eating from people like David Kessler, Gillian Riley, Kathryn Hansen or Josie Spinardi.

Just have piece itll help the craving just know when to stop