SUGAR ADDICT about to go COLD TURKEY -Advice?

I was pretty heavy into drinking soda, like 12 pack minimum, heavy. You might even say addicted to it. I didn't care much for cakes, candies, etc., just soda. Same vice, deifferent delivery system. I cut it all out for the first couple weeks. No soda, no breads, no fruit. The first few days I felt like hammered *kitten* because I was coming off the sugar rush, but after that I felt great and had no problems keeping myself in check. I did work in some fruit after a couple weeks, but only like one or two a day and still no breads. I have a Coke Zero once a day or so, but I can take it or leave it.

ok, so you can:
brush your teeth. every time a craving hits if you have to.
dont do your normal evening activities, find something other than sitting in front of the tv watching endless commercials for chocolate and other tasty goodies.
call a friend to keep your mouth busy
take up a hobby that keeps your hands busy, such as a craft or the like.
exercise
look up diabetes damage pics
enlist your hubby for attention in another room (wink wink)
clear out your pantry of the things you are trying to cut.
clear out your recipe book too if you are a baker. (doesnt help to clear out the pantry when you know how to make the stuff LOL)

i so understand what you are trying to do. btdt. some of the above helped, some didnt, but all are worth trying. good luck!

This. ^^

By changing your habits and rituals you may find it easier to not get the cravings, or not get them as strongly. I know I always get my chocolate cravings if I have dinner then sit down to watch some TV. During the day when I'm busy It's a lot easier to not think about chocolate and if it's not in the house It doesn't even cross my mind at all.
I have also found that since I've started omitting more processed foods and simple carbs from my diet and adding nutrient rich foods I don't get sweet cravings as much as I used to.
It will be a huge struggle at first but it will get easier with practise, and please please don't feel guilty or a failure if you slip up.

My recommendations would be to not have any of your trigger foods in the house;
Change your after-dinner routine and habits;
Go for a walk or do some activity when you feel a craving coming on;
Have some low sugar foods on hand such as fresh berries to snack on, or natural yoghurt sweetened with a bit of honey. This will help satisfy a sugar craving while providing vitamins, minerals and micronutrients;
Have some 90% dark chocolate on hand if you love chocolate - much less sugar but still chocolate;
Drink a cup of herbal tea when you feel a sugar craving coming on. This helped me heaps and you can get some really nice tasting fruit teas - licorice tea is quite sweet tasting.
Eat foods high in good fats and nutrients during the day to minimise cravings.

you know if you're eating fruit you're still eating a ton of sugar right? and still taking in sugar if you have any dairy? or most carbs? in all probability you're not going cold turkey on sugar at all, just excess sweets

EXCESS SWEETS honey, you hit the nail on the head. I don't want to cut out all sugar. I want healthy sugar, in moderation... so I can try to shake this excessive compulsion I have.

Am I thank different, that unique of a snowflake.... that no one else out there in the land of MFP can understand how I feel or just where I am coming from with this issue? I am sure it just mental but... it's been life-long.

ummmm sugar is sugar…your body treats it all the same…
http://ajcn.nutrition.org/content/62/1/212S.short < please review this study that specially says no difference in how your body reacts to added sugar or fruit sugar..

sugar is sugar…

you really do not need to do this ..it is unnecessary ...

do you work for the corn lobby?

sugar in candy like sour patch kids metabolizes much differently than sugar from an apple. because fiber.

you know if you're eating fruit you're still eating a ton of sugar right? and still taking in sugar if you have any dairy? or most carbs? in all probability you're not going cold turkey on sugar at all, just excess sweets

EXCESS SWEETS honey, you hit the nail on the head. I don't want to cut out all sugar. I want healthy sugar, in moderation... so I can try to shake this excessive compulsion I have.

Am I thank different, that unique of a snowflake.... that no one else out there in the land of MFP can understand how I feel or just where I am coming from with this issue? I am sure it just mental but... it's been life-long.

ummmm sugar is sugar…your body treats it all the same…
http://ajcn.nutrition.org/content/62/1/212S.short < please review this study that specially says no difference in how your body reacts to added sugar or fruit sugar..

sugar is sugar…

you really do not need to do this ..it is unnecessary ...

do you work for the corn lobby?

sugar in candy like sour patch kids metabolizes much differently than sugar from an apple. because fiber.

Stupid science! How does it work?!?!

No really, man. How dare you bring facts and things into this when people are clearly trying to be unhelpful and obnoxious?

you brought facts with you …where are they?

which gives a higher, faster spike of insulin: sour patch kids, or an apple, in identical caloric amounts?

or do they metabolize identically, according to you?

you know if you're eating fruit you're still eating a ton of sugar right? and still taking in sugar if you have any dairy? or most carbs? in all probability you're not going cold turkey on sugar at all, just excess sweets

EXCESS SWEETS honey, you hit the nail on the head. I don't want to cut out all sugar. I want healthy sugar, in moderation... so I can try to shake this excessive compulsion I have.

Am I thank different, that unique of a snowflake.... that no one else out there in the land of MFP can understand how I feel or just where I am coming from with this issue? I am sure it just mental but... it's been life-long.

ummmm sugar is sugar…your body treats it all the same…
http://ajcn.nutrition.org/content/62/1/212S.short < please review this study that specially says no difference in how your body reacts to added sugar or fruit sugar..

sugar is sugar…

you really do not need to do this ..it is unnecessary ...

do you work for the corn lobby?

sugar in candy like sour patch kids metabolizes much differently than sugar from an apple. because fiber.

Stupid science! How does it work?!?!

No really, man. How dare you bring facts and things into this when people are clearly trying to be unhelpful and obnoxious?

you brought facts with you …where are they?

Did you read that? A study from 1995 saying diabetics shouldn't reduce their sugar intake because they might eat more fat? Excellent science. Thanks so much for linking that -- it was obvious from your posts you don't know what you're talking about but it's always nice to have proof.

The rise of blood glucose in normal and diabetic subjects after meals varies markedly and depends on many factors, including the source of the carbohydrate, its method of preparation, and the composition of the total meal. Classification of carbohydrates as simple or complex does not predict their effects on blood glucose or insulin. Rapidly absorbed carbohydrates, which produce large blood glucose and insulin responses, may be in the form of both sugars and starches. Sugars added to foods have no different effect on blood glucose from those of sugars alone. The natural sugars in fruit and fruit juices raise blood glucose approximately as much as does sucrose and less than do most refined starchy carbohydrate foods. The optimum amount of sugars in the diet is not known. However, undue avoidance of sugars is not necessary for blood glucose control and is not advised because it may result in increased intakes of fat and high-glycemic-index starch.

For the first three days allow yourself to eat your cravings away -- just not with carbs of any sort, even fruit. If it's the end of the day and you're going crazy eat eggs, meat and cheese whatever works just don't give in to the sugar cravings. After those first few days you're golden. The cravings will be greatly reduced and manageable. Give it a few weeks and they're completely gone -- at least on a low carb diet they are.

I've been there and it's such a freaking relief not to be obsessed with food and uncontrollable cravings anymore it's worth the effort. Just get past the first few days however you need to. Best wishes.

Now this is helpful!!!!

Increase protein intake and don't give in to the day 3 headache. it only lasts a few days at most and you can help yourself by eating protein and drinking tea or coffee (with no sugar or milk added) or taking motrin. Snack frequently, Drink a lot of water and don't shy away from fruit and vegetable carbs.

I think you mean you want to cut out junk food. If you *really* want to go completely sugar free, you have to read labels and learn all the names that sugar goes by. You'd cut out a lot more that way. But you'd notice a huge difference in your taste buds after only 2 weeks and how you want to eat things. I can't even eat the bakery brownies i used to devour two and 3 at time anymore. they are way to sweet. Even some bread is too sweet for me now. Dont' even get me started on pasta sauce. lol

I personally had to but it all out.. all added sugars. Any food that had anything other that naturally occurring sugar had to go and once I got over the cravings it was much easier to control it when i did have a piece. Every so often I have to kick it to the curb again as the addiction sneaks back up on you. But this is even harder. Means no honey, no artificial sweeteners, nothing added that ends in ose or a bunch of other names that mean sugar.

Biggest culprit is pre flavored yogurts. Most of them are loaded with sugar. I always buy plain and add fruit or other things to it. I ended up switching to greek yogurt because regular plain yogurt is still too sweet for me. weird, but true for me.

Good Luck!

ETA: the foods that will help you through it the most are: lean meats, eggs, yogurts, low sugar fruit like apples, oranges, berries (but limit in the beginning to 2 a day) and vegetables. Just stick to it. the headache and craving will pass fairly quickly and they won't come back for a long long time.

some more facts for you…
….The second aim was to examine the hypothesis that glycaemic and insulin responses to foods which contain added sugar(s) are higher than responses to foods containing naturally-occurring sugars. Eight healthy subjects drawn from a pool of eighteen consumed 50 g carbohydrate portions (except 25 g carbohydrate portions for fruits) of the test foods. The GI and insulin index were determined according to standardized methodology and expressed on a scale on which glucose = 100. The median GI and insulin index values of all foods tested were 56 (range 14 to 80) and 56 (range 24 to 124) respectively. The median GI of the foods containing added sugars was similar to that of foods containing naturally-occurring sugars (58 v. 53 respectively, P = 0·08). Likewise, the median insulin index of the foods containing added sugars was not significantly different from that of foods containing naturally-occurring sugars (61 v. 56 respectively, P = 0·16). There was no evidence of‘rebound hypoglycaemia’or excessive insulin secretion relative to the glucose response. We conclude that most foods containing sugars do not have a high GI. In addition, there is often no difference in responses between foods containing added sugars and those containing naturally-occurring sugars.

http://journals.cambridge.org/action/displayAbstract?fromPage=online&aid=895280

Sample size fail renders study useless.

Listening to how badly you have it in for sweets, I understand because i used to be that. I went cold turkey on sweets and anything sugary actually and it was so easy.
I started with coffee. No sugar there
Chocolates? Hate them so done!
Jelly sweets, that was a nightmare. I still miss them but when i see the calories in them. Its enough for me to walk away

I forgot to add that there are certain foods you can eat when you have cravings that will help you combat them.

I can't/don't know how to upload a pic here so I posted in a blog:
http://www.myfitnesspal.com/blog/PRguez/view/cravings-648785

It shows a chart depending the craving you are having what 'normal' foods help.

I've seen a lot of good advice here but for me since I also have a sweet tooth it's pretty simple. There are certain things I just don't keep in the house anymore, like ice cream I know I'll devour it. By keeping certain high trigger foods away I know I am decreasing their stronghold on me over time.

Alternatively to satisfy my sugar cravings I try to make sure I buy prepackaged things so that I can better exercise portion control and build up will power over time. I also declared that dark chocolate is my ally and as a sweet is much better than other options. I now keep Fiber One brownies around for that sole purpose.

I used to love sugared drinks and weaned myself of that by substituting artificially sweetened single packs like Hawaiian Punch or Crush. I understand the artificial sweeteners are their own problem but it helped me kick soda and juice to the curb and also provided the sensation of having something icky sweet without the real calories and feeding the sugar addiction. Now I don't use them much at all either.

So my advice would be not to go cold turkey but certainly remove the high trigger sweets and replace them with better alternatives until you develop some more willpower then reintroduce them later. Use sugar alternatives in other areas to help you break your sugar addiction. I like low glycemic index sugars like coconut sugar and agave syrup. Taking regular sugars out of the lineup in a major way has helped calm my sweet tooth.

I think if you make some of these changes along the way you'll have aha moments where you realize you are no longer enslaved to sugar and it will empower you with self control to go further. When you do reintroduce certain things you'll notice if you've developed the willpower yet right away and it will be easier for you to temporarily banish them again until you think you're ready for another try.

Ultimately I just don't think denying yourself is a good long term option. I myself am not on a diet. I am changing my diet. Being an emotional eater my goal is not to limit or deny myself anything but to change my relationship with food for the long haul. I still eat certain things and as long as I don't go over in calories I'm still losing weight as I develop more discipline along the way.

Whichever way you choose to go we'll be here to support you!

I don't think I've seen anyone mention Quest bars yet. Or are those not applicable to you? They have Stevia and very little sugar, but lots of protein. They're my go to snack, since I have a huge sweet tooth and sweets are my absolute favorite. They not only satisfy the craving but also keep me full!

OP, I know people suggested fruit, but I would also suggest checking out the greek yogurt section. They have some awesome "dessert" type yogurts now that have mixers with flavored yogurt. I remember having a key lime pie flavor that had dark chocolate chips and graham cracker pieces that was pretty damn good. You could satisfy your sweet tooth on that on days where the fruit isn't cutting it and get some decent protein in your diet. Also Kashi bars, they have a couple of flavors with dark chocolate that would give you protein and fiber in addition to the chocolate fix. The Dark Chocolate Almond with Sea Salt and chia seeds is yummy, as is the Cherry Dark Chocolate.