Sugar Cravings - How do I get rid of them?
SummerGenevieve
Posts: 13
I used to binge on packets of biscuits or large chocolate bars which I'm now paying for. If I try cut down on sugary unhealthy foods, I get lightheaded and really start to crave sugar. I then started to have a piece of fruit if I had a craving but it doesn't seem to have an effect.
Anybody have any advice? It would be much appreciated.
Anybody have any advice? It would be much appreciated.
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Replies
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I used to binge on packets of biscuits or large chocolate bars which I'm now paying for. If I try cut down on sugary unhealthy foods, I get lightheaded and really start to crave sugar. I then started to have a piece of fruit if I had a craving but it doesn't seem to have an effect.
Anybody have any advice? It would be much appreciated.
You can get rid of your sugar cravings (I did) but it is a process and you must strictly adhere to the protocol or you will be right back where you started.
1) Cut out all added sugar
2) Cut back on carbohydrates in general and get all of your carbs from mostly vegetables and one or two servings of fruit per day (no wheat starch). Try to eat less than 120 grams of carbs while you are training your body to function on lower blood sugar levels (look up "advanced glycation endproducts" for why this is important). If you do vigorous exercise, you can eat more carbs (up to 150 grams) because you will be burning them.
3) The final phase is going for two weeks without fructose in order to "reset" your level of fructokinase enzyme. This means that you must forego fruit for a couple of weeks, in addition to avoiding excessive onions or any other source of fructans (which the body readily turns into fructose). Excessively high fructokinase enzyme (which we get from eating a lot of sugar--which is 50% fructose) is responsible for sugar cravings. At the end of the two weeks, you will no longer crave sugar and, in fact, will find foods with added sugar to be excessively sweet. But you must permanently avoid sugary foods or you will be back to craving them again. Sugar is addictive for many people. The craving for sugar in one addicted to sugar is very similar to the craving for alcohol in alcoholics.0 -
Stop eating them !!! Stick to low carb (20-30 carbs a day). You'll be cured by the 3rd day!!0
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I used to binge on packets of biscuits or large chocolate bars which I'm now paying for. If I try cut down on sugary unhealthy foods, I get lightheaded and really start to crave sugar. I then started to have a piece of fruit if I had a craving but it doesn't seem to have an effect.
Anybody have any advice? It would be much appreciated.
You can get rid of your sugar cravings (I did) but it is a process and you must strictly adhere to the protocol or you will be right back where you started.
1) Cut out all added sugar
2) Cut back on carbohydrates in general and get all of your carbs from mostly vegetables and one or two servings of fruit per day (no wheat starch). Try to eat less than 120 grams of carbs while you are training your body to function on lower blood sugar levels (look up "advanced glycation endproducts" for why this is important). If you do vigorous exercise, you can eat more carbs (up to 150 grams) because you will be burning them.
3) The final phase is going for two weeks without fructose in order to "reset" your level of fructokinase enzyme. This means that you must forego fruit for a couple of weeks, in addition to avoiding excessive onions or any other source of fructans (which the body readily turns into fructose). Excessively high fructokinase enzyme (which we get from eating a lot of sugar--which is 50% fructose) is responsible for sugar cravings. At the end of the two weeks, you will no longer crave sugar and, in fact, will find foods with added sugar to be excessively sweet. But you must permanently avoid sugary foods or you will be back to craving them again. Sugar is addictive for many people. The craving for sugar in one addicted to sugar is very similar to the craving for alcohol in alcoholics.
Thank you for the advice! I shall give it a go.0 -
Stop eating them !!! Stick to low carb (20-30 carbs a day). You'll be cured by the 3rd day!!
Thank you!
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Do you drink Diet Sodas? Call me crazy but I cut Diet Soda out of my diet in January and I don't crave sweets like I used to. It might all be in my head, but hey if it is working...why not?
I read an article about Diet Sodas causing you to want sweeter foods due to the fact that they are so sweet it makes you want more...Anyway just a thought! Good Luck!0 -
Stop eating them !!! Stick to low carb (20-30 carbs a day). You'll be cured by the 3rd day!!
Yes simple! Just do not feed a sugar addiction. It really is true that you wont crave them after a very short time, and appetite is less. I can do about 60-80 and so far losing 2 pounds a week.0 -
Do you drink Diet Sodas? Call me crazy but I cut Diet Soda out of my diet in January and I don't crave sweets like I used to. It might all be in my head, but hey if it is working...why not?
I read an article about Diet Sodas causing you to want sweeter foods due to the fact that they are so sweet it makes you want more...Anyway just a thought! Good Luck!
Hi,
Erm, I've cut sodas out all together as I found that drinking them made me want sugar more. But thank you 0 -
Stop eating them !!! Stick to low carb (20-30 carbs a day). You'll be cured by the 3rd day!!
Yes simple! Just do not feed a sugar addiction. It really is true that you wont crave them after a very short time, and appetite is less. I can do about 60-80 and so far losing 2 pounds a week.
Wow, that's really good results! 0 -
Just stop eating sugar and also highly processed carbs for a couple weeks. I used to get carb cravings all the time, especially late at night. But after minimizing refined carbs and sugar (not including fruit), the cravings went away. I started eating foods with sugar and refined carbs again in moderation, but I don't have the bad cravings anymore.
If you are getting the cravings and need a way to take your mind off them, try getting used to sipping coffee or tea.0 -
I hate how everyone says "stop eating them" and this is why 100% of the time diets fail. This shouldn't be just "a diet". But a lifestyle change. Really ask yourself, are you NEVER going to eat sugary sweets again? If the answer is "no" then DO NOT TAKE THEM OUT.
It's all about portion control. You want a chocolate bar? My God, eat it! Try only eating 1/2 of the candy bar. So you only going over by so many calories, it's OKAY! Or add it in to it. I can easily give myself a Fudge Popsicle without going over my calories.
I happen to love my apples with peanut butter. Maybe that could help? But don't deny yourself- you WILL binge eat later.
If you plan to keep on a strict diet for the rest of your life- go for it. I want to enjoy my life, and not have to deny myself everyday.0 -
I hate how everyone says "stop eating them" and this is why 100% of the time diets fail. This shouldn't be just "a diet". But a lifestyle change. Really ask yourself, are you NEVER going to eat sugary sweets again? If the answer is "no" then DO NOT TAKE THEM OUT.
People are not recommending that the OP takes them out of the her diet forever. They're recommending that the OP temporarily takes them out of her diet until she gets over her cravings for them. Then she can add them back in to her diet in moderation.0 -
I hate how everyone says "stop eating them" and this is why 100% of the time diets fail. This shouldn't be just "a diet". But a lifestyle change. Really ask yourself, are you NEVER going to eat sugary sweets again? If the answer is "no" then DO NOT TAKE THEM OUT.
People are not recommending that the OP takes them out of the her diet forever. They're recommending that the OP temporarily takes them out of her diet until she gets over her cravings for them. Then she can add them back in to her diet in moderation.
She shouldn't take them out, period. There is no point to take them out, lose a bunch of weight. Then try to re-add them and possibly gain weight back.0 -
I personally chew gum to curb the cravings.0
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I hate how everyone says "stop eating them" and this is why 100% of the time diets fail. This shouldn't be just "a diet". But a lifestyle change. Really ask yourself, are you NEVER going to eat sugary sweets again? If the answer is "no" then DO NOT TAKE THEM OUT.
It's all about portion control. You want a chocolate bar? My God, eat it! Try only eating 1/2 of the candy bar. So you only going over by so many calories, it's OKAY! Or add it in to it. I can easily give myself a Fudge Popsicle without going over my calories.
I happen to love my apples with peanut butter. Maybe that could help? But don't deny yourself- you WILL binge eat later.
If you plan to keep on a strict diet for the rest of your life- go for it. I want to enjoy my life, and not have to deny myself everyday.
Many of us don't have the luxury of keeping them in our diets. I just really cannot afford the empty calories. I have arthritis abd high blood sugar problems. I cannot exercise as much as a younger person so I really need to eliminate sugar and starch. I have gone three years without sweets. I have trained myself out of them. I find them unpleasantly sweet on the rare occasion that I have been persuaded to try a piece of birthday cake or whatever. You really can train yourself out of them.0 -
I replaced soda with green tea (lemon or mint flavor so i am not bored). Secondly i started chewing sugar free gum to lower the urge for sugar since i always crave for fruits/brownies etc etc. I plan to lower down the consumption of gum and eventually eliminate it. I believe its 5 calories a gum...0
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I used to binge on packets of biscuits or large chocolate bars which I'm now paying for. If I try cut down on sugary unhealthy foods, I get lightheaded and really start to crave sugar. I then started to have a piece of fruit if I had a craving but it doesn't seem to have an effect.
Anybody have any advice? It would be much appreciated.
Like any other cravings for drugs, alcohol, nicotine, etc.............in order to quit, you have to abstain and stay far, far away from the trigger foods.
There is no two ways around this. Cutting back only feeds that addiction further.0 -
I hate how everyone says "stop eating them" and this is why 100% of the time diets fail. This shouldn't be just "a diet". But a lifestyle change. Really ask yourself, are you NEVER going to eat sugary sweets again? If the answer is "no" then DO NOT TAKE THEM OUT.
People are not recommending that the OP takes them out of the her diet forever. They're recommending that the OP temporarily takes them out of her diet until she gets over her cravings for them. Then she can add them back in to her diet in moderation.
She shouldn't take them out, period. There is no point to take them out, lose a bunch of weight. Then try to re-add them and possibly gain weight back.
LOL, did you even read the posts? I'm not recommending that she takes them out of her diet for a long period of time in order to lose a bunch of weight. I'm recommending that she takes them out of her diet briefly in order to get over her carb cravings.0 -
Exactly! She wanted to know how to stop cravings, stop eating them is how! Take advice from people who have lost a lot of weight by not eating them!!!! It is that easy....by the 3rd day you will fine. And if you do stick to 20-30 carbs a day, the fat will melt off! Your body doesnt need sugar. If you eat sugar, your body burns it first then stores the rest as fat. If you dont have sugar to burn, it will burn your fat. That is the whole premise of low carb dieting. I do allow myself to eat some on occasion but its not a daily neccesity.I hate how everyone says "stop eating them" and this is why 100% of the time diets fail. This shouldn't be just "a diet". But a lifestyle change. Really ask yourself, are you NEVER going to eat sugary sweets again? If the answer is "no" then DO NOT TAKE THEM OUT.
It's all about portion control. You want a chocolate bar? My God, eat it! Try only eating 1/2 of the candy bar. So you only going over by so many calories, it's OKAY! Or add it in to it. I can easily give myself a Fudge Popsicle without going over my calories.
I happen to love my apples with peanut butter. Maybe that could help? But don't deny yourself- you WILL binge eat later.
If you plan to keep on a strict diet for the rest of your life- go for it. I want to enjoy my life, and not have to deny myself everyday.
Many of us don't have the luxury of keeping them in our diets. I just really cannot afford the empty calories. I have arthritis abd high blood sugar problems. I cannot exercise as much as a younger person so I really need to eliminate sugar and starch. I have gone three years without sweets. I have trained myself out of them. I find them unpleasantly sweet on the rare occasion that I have been persuaded to try a piece of birthday cake or whatever. You really can train yourself out of them.0 -
I'm a sweet addict too. I will second (or, third?) the advise above to try to quit cold turkey for a while. The less you have something, the less you really do want it. What your mind thinks tastes good really does change over time, and it is based on what you are eating at the time.
On the other hand, what I have found with myself is that there is really only 1 time of the day I feel like I "need" chocolate, and it is right after lunch. My solution rather than depriving myself was to buy a bag of Dove dark chocolate. When I am done with my lunch, I eat ONE piece (and that is it, never two). The serving size is 5 pieces, for 210 calories, so I either do an extra work out during the week, or one day during the week I log the entire serving size.
This works for me, because I have found I can stop myself at having just one, because I feel like I got what I needed. If you can't stop yourself, then I would try cutting it out completely for a while.
Also - I like milk chocolate better. I buy dark chocolate not because of the hype about how it is better for you, but because the chocolate flavor is so much more intense, if I am only going to have a tiny bit, I feel more satisfied with the small piece of dark chocolate than I do milk chocolate.0 -
I replaced soda with green tea (lemon or mint flavor so i am not bored). Secondly i started chewing sugar free gum to lower the urge for sugar since i always crave for fruits/brownies etc etc. I plan to lower down the consumption of gum and eventually eliminate it. I believe its 5 calories a gum...
That's a good idea, I think I'll try it. Thanks 0 -
I couldn't agree more! My favorite snack when I am craving sweets is an apple cut up with PB2 powdered peanut butter sprinkled on the slices.0
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I'm a terrible carb/sugar addict which is why I'm going low carb. There was a documentary on recently that showed why we crave carbs the way we do, when we were cave people sugar and high amounts of carbs were very hard to come by so when we found them we binged and this allowed us to put down pay stores for insulation. Our brains are still hard wired to crave carbs like this but now we are surrounded by them... They say sugar is as addictive as crack and I can totally believe it. The thing with me is I slip back to eating way too much carbs when I reintroduce occasionally, like I suppose how an ex smoker can't just have an occasional cigarette. Carbs are addictive, modern societies idea of food is insane.
They're right that after a few days of feeling like *kitten* you will come out the other side without the same craving but they may never completely disappear. I read that having a spoon of coconut oil helps massively but I've not tried it yet.0
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