Sugar Addiction Help

I cant do things in moderation, if I start I keep going! I cut it out completely for a couple weeks and after a bit your taste buds adjust to where it doesnt effect you the same. Artificial sweeters are the worst, dont turn to them!

For me white bread was like a gateway drug I literally would butter a piece of wonder bread and coat it in white sugar. Ok, I know that sounds repulsive, and it probably was, but I loved it.

Nope, sounds good to me. Toast that sugar with a little blow torch and you've got a Wonder Bread Brulee

WOOOOOOOWWWWW!!!

If you want to stop eating ice cream and cookies, then the answer is simple. Stop buying them. Stop making them. Don't let friends or family be an excuse to buy them. If, in the event that you plan a treat for say a birthday party, have a serving.

I advise NOT to use artificial sweeteners. They will not help you move away from wanting super sweet things, they will likely make it worse. Science has shown us that when we "crave" sugar we're needing energy, as another response states. A craving for chocolate can be cured by eating a sweet apple. The apple provides much more sustainability.

We are hard wired to look for calorie-dense foods from a survivalist perspective, but we don't need to do that anymore. The way you beat something like this is sheer willpower. Don't buy, don't put it in your face. If you can't do it by yourself, entrust a family member to help you. Buy single serve packets if you do decide to have it so you don't have more than that. Drop the excuses that you use to permit yourself the noms.

This is a smart cookie. Ooops, I said cookie!

No but seriously, sugar is not an addictive substance. Your body craves quick energy, sugar provides that. If you're concerned about getting proper nutrients, maybe try eating fruit instead of sugary candy or whatever.

Sugar is like cocain and a poison to your brain, http://www.drperlmutter.com/

Cocaine, and ay dios mio, please stop.

Here's my thesis. If you stop eating it, you will no longer crave it. Just stop for a week or two and you will ask yourself why you even liked to eat sweets. It worked for me and it's worth a shot.

Pass on that. I don't see the point in not eating it if I really want it

I creeped your profile. First, look at you, you probably burn 2500 - 3000 calories a day just sitting around due to all the muscle mass you have. Second, isn't EMT rather physically demanding sometimes? And you work out. Of course you have calories to spare for treats.

I also notice you say you don't drink soda or eat fast food, right? So what if you want to? How is giving up those things different from giving up other things someone else wants in order to have a healthy weight?

You left out the part where I lost 75 lbs in order to get to where I am.
An EMT can be physically demanding. Sometimes not so much.
3000 calories is actually the amount of calories I bulk on. And so you know my daily intake is about 1900.
I don't drink soda for the simple fact that I would rather eat a cookie instead of drinking a soda. But if I want a soda I would drink it, and I have. Just not like I used to.

I don't eat fast food because it isn't easy getting in 700 or 1000 calories in of McDonalds, hitting accurate macros and not remaining hungry. I do eat KFC often, have had french fries plenty of time and eat pizza 3x per week. So i guess maybe I do eat fast food.

Fair enough, you didn't specify why you don't drink soda or eat fast food. However, I'm sure you can see how a more sedentary person with less muscle mass might avoid, for example, fast food in order to make it easier to stay under calorie goals and also avoid cookies for the same reason.

This is really good info. Read it!

http://www.fitnessbaddies.com/your-problem-with-sugar-is-the-problem-with-sugar/

Easy. Don't buy it.

I have no "treats" in my house. If it's not there I'm way more likely to grab an apple, or just go without.

No but seriously, sugar is not an addictive substance. Your body craves quick energy, sugar provides that. If you're concerned about getting proper nutrients, maybe try eating fruit instead of sugary candy or whatever.

There are studies that would suggest sugar actually does stimulate the same parts of the brain as other drugs.

http://lmgtfy.com/?q=sugar+addictive

Everything we eat stimulates the pleasure center of the brain. We are rewarded for eating food, because it is a survival thing. Not because it is addictive.

Moderation is key.

I heard moderation is key.

Lately?!? Oh, you've been here how long? srsly r u kiddin' me?

Do you really think they slink away?

It does have addictive qualities. When you eat sugar (a straight, simple carb that's not "meant" to be eaten straight, s it is served in most forms, as well as candy, cakes, cookies etc) your body goes into a frenzy and releases too much insulin immediately, so then you crave more sugar to "use up" the insulin, and it's a vicious circle until you hopefully crash and stop, or un-hopefully cause major damage like diabetes.

Cookies, candy, sweets, sugary sodas, and simple sugars—all have this effect of destabilizing our body's chemistry.

When you eat more complex carbs (e.g. vegetables, whole grains etc), your body also releases insulin, but in nice, calmly dosed measurements. The insulin released tackles the sugar and your brain receives the message that the carbs have been metabolized and you don't crave more, because there's no surplus insulin left waiting around to do it's job. Your body released an appropriate amount.

Skewing your system with sugars in this way, too much and too often, is one good way to get diabetes.

Once this is understood, it's easier to stay away from sugars, because if you test the theory, you realize it's true, and can manage your cravings much better.

A good thing to do is satisfy your sweet tooth with high cocoa % dark chocolate. Personally, i don't find it as delicious and creamy as milk chocolate, but the fact that it satisfies my craving with a few pieces, and doesn't send me into a whirlwind of a sugar binge, is a great trade off. I now find milk chocolate and most candy too sweet and chemically destabilizing to binge on it too often. (As a side note, i know also notice how little flavor most candy and sugary foods have).

A good thing to do is also to combine healthy fats with sweet carbs, as the fats help to reach satiety much faster (feel fuller quickly), and the fat also slows down the insulin response... so: carrots (sweet carb) with hummus (fat) OR apple slices (sweet carb) with almond butter (fat) are good options.

I'm sure my terminology is wrong here and there, but the above is a general guide to what's going on in the body.

Once i understood this food science, it really made a difference in how i viewed my eating, and understanding that it's not just a crap shoot, so to speak, helped me make better choices more easily.

I hope this helps you in the same way.