sugar addiction

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  • Patttience
    Patttience Posts: 975 Member
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    jennat007 wrote: »
    Hi, 43 yr old mom of 2 babies (18mth and 3mth) and I am really struggling with a sugar addiction. I've had this problem all of my life and have been 50 lbs over weight most of my adulthood. I really want to get healthy to keep up with my kids but the cravings are a killer. Any suggestions?

    Ok here's what i have done all this past year. I "quit" sugar. That is a mental commitment to take permission to eat refined sugar out of my regular diet. I had to work on that commitment a fair bit in the early days but i didn't actually have any cravings.

    If you are having cravings when you stop eating sugar, its probably due to any one or more of these things:
    fatigue
    depression - even a very mild form/low seratonin levels.
    insufficient sleep.
    diet lacking nutrition
    stress
    hunger


    What i have found when all the above are in good order, i don't get cravings.

    That said, when i quit sugar i still eat plenty of fruit. And fruit is my first go to food when i'm experiencing some stress or mood issues.
    I also find a glass of wine helpful to deal with any bingy feelings becuase sugar and wine don't go together well.

    Anyway, so when i quit sugar, i did have a major out clause which has made life on my new regime very nice but trouble free.

    I can eat refined sugar foods when its offered to me at a friends place or outside the home. And i can eat dessert if i go to a restaurant. When i do this, i allow myself only one serve.

    With this rule, it works becuase i have no control over when the situation arises so i don't have to do my head in by anticipation and torturing myself with the whole willpower thing.

    I leave myself totally at the mercy of other people's generosity and so far it has been very nice indeed.

    I love my new diet style and believe i can do it forever.

    I used to be like you. Maybe even worse. My sugar eating became a very bad habit so what may have started as emotional eating just became habitual sugar eating. And when i ate sugar i didn't eat much else.

    I would say i would have found htis hard to start if i was in a low mood, stressed or otherwise in a weak emotional state. Having good mental health is key.

    One of the rules of my plan is to get help with any stress or emotional upset asap. So i go to see a councillor and i was always able to resolve my difficulties pretty quickly this way. Even if the problem was there, my emotions were relieved by having been able to share it with someone and start finding solutions. So this is vital.

    As a mother, you probalby have become somewhat run down and may not get enough sleep. YOu have to address all those problems and as you start making changes, you may find that your mood lifts pretty fast. Then you start with the quit sugar thing.

    Once you start, you must try to never cheat. Or at least, i have found that total compliance with my rules is what works for me to keep me committed. So commitment is vital. I have explored the boundaries of my rules over the year and the rules as written above are my safest method.

    I did try experimenting with sugar free desserts - which were rich in butter and nuts and dried fruit. While my mood was fine, i could stick to small quantities but when my mood was in a poor state, i would get that bingy feeling and then i would eat all of my dessert in one day. So then i found out that even a dried fruit dessert was too risky.

    If i'm going to over eat, then it should be on fresh fruit even if its with natural yoghurt.

    A nice dessert is fresh strawberries and ricotta.
    Stewed fruit is great with yoghurt too. it should be sugar free yoghurt but not low fat.
    Avoid low fat foods.


    Make sure all your food is good tasting and preferably home cooked. MOst processed foods are high in flavour low in nutrition.



  • sacharconnolly
    sacharconnolly Posts: 2
    edited January 2015
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    I have quite a sweet tooth myself. Today my friend recommended that I watch Fed Up on Netflix http://dvd.netflix.com/Movie/Fed-Up/70299287. I don't really eat all that much processed sugar and foods (kind of have been slipping into old, bad diet soda habits in place of alcohol) but it will be a good motivation and keep me aware of exactly what I'm putting into my body and the effect in has on maintaining a healthy weight.

    Happy New Year to all and stay encouraged!
  • FatFreeFrolicking
    FatFreeFrolicking Posts: 4,252 Member
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    Troutsy wrote: »
    seamonster1203 wrote: »
    Troutsy wrote: »
    seamonster1203 wrote: »
    If one bite of sugar/carbs sends you on a binge, then you are part of the 50% of humans who are carb sensitive. Your insulin response is different. I suggest you research the term insulin response.

    I've never heard that 50% of humans are carb sensitive. Do you have a source for that? I'm genuinely curious.

    Hh yea lots of emerging research. The sugar debate is in full rage right now among researchers. Just look around you cant miss it.

    Did a search and couldn't find one peer reviewed article. Not even in the two nursing journals I'm subscribed to. I must be missing something. If you have a source I'd like to read it.

    I second that. I couldn't find a single peer-reviewed article in any scientific database or in the AJN.
  • AdieEve
    AdieEve Posts: 87 Member
    edited January 2015
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    There is emerging evidence that sugar is as addicting as cocaine. In my two second Google search, here's one scholarly article supporting the hypothesis of sugar addiction:

    http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2235907/
  • FatFreeFrolicking
    FatFreeFrolicking Posts: 4,252 Member
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    AdieEve wrote: »
    There is emerging evidence that sugar is as addicting as cocaine. In my two second Tootle search, here's one scholarly article supporting the hypothesis of sugar addiction:

    http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2235907/

    Yes, in rats… Not humans.
  • seamonster1203
    seamonster1203 Posts: 118 Member
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    You're admitting to being hooked sugar then?
  • Azexas
    Azexas Posts: 4,334 Member
    edited January 2015
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    AdieEve wrote: »
    There is emerging evidence that sugar is as addicting as cocaine. In my two second Google search, here's one scholarly article supporting the hypothesis of sugar addiction:

    http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2235907/

    The study is also from 2009. Anything over 5 years old I was taught can't really be used as a source (at least when I was writing research papers in nursing school).
  • MoiAussi93
    MoiAussi93 Posts: 1,948 Member
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    The easiest way is to not have any. When I cut out sugar I had major cravings for about two weeks and then they went away completely. I never have sugar or sweetened foods in the house. Yes, I do eat fruit and very small amounts of high quality dark chocolate...but that's it. On rare occasions (no more than once a month) when I go out I will have sweets...pie at Thanksgiving, birthday cake, or the much better than usual dessert at a nice restaurant.

    You can have willpower for 23 hours a day, but if you have one weak moment at home you can undo all the good you did that day...or that week if you go on a binge. Not having it there is the easiest way to not eat it.

    BTW, research shows that artificial sweeteners are bad because the sweet taste makes your body expect sugar. When it doesn't get it, it causes you to crave even more sweet things. You should keep that in mind when thinking about artificial sweeteners.
  • slimbettie
    slimbettie Posts: 686 Member
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    addiction is a very strong word.
  • FatFreeFrolicking
    FatFreeFrolicking Posts: 4,252 Member
    edited January 2015
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    64138MomToLose wrote: »
    AdieEve wrote: »
    There is emerging evidence that sugar is as addicting as cocaine. In my two second Google search, here's one scholarly article supporting the hypothesis of sugar addiction:

    http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2235907/

    um...I wouldn't trust anything the government posted...lol

    Here we go with the government conspiracy theorists.

    ETA: I'm curious… Who would you like to publish the studies?
  • sanddollar
    sanddollar Posts: 192 Member
    edited January 2015
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    Wouldn't someone who drank 5-6 sodas a day go through some withdraw symptoms after dropping down to half a soda a day?

    Because that's exactly what I did, and I felt nothing (and I'm a former smoker, I know).

    If sugar were addictive - we all eat it, so why isn't everyone addicted?

    Think of it like alcohol... many people can drink moderately without becoming addictive to it. Only after years of use do they become addicted/allergic to it and no longer can stop even when they want to. It is similar for sugar, or more generally speaking - compulsive eating or overeating.
  • TheVirgoddess
    TheVirgoddess Posts: 4,535 Member
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    slimbettie wrote: »
    addiction is a very strong word.

    I think that's my main issue with the argument.
  • FatFreeFrolicking
    FatFreeFrolicking Posts: 4,252 Member
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    slimbettie wrote: »
    addiction is a very strong word.

    Which is exactly why everyone is telling you that you are not addicted to sugar. You just lack self-control.
  • seamonster1203
    seamonster1203 Posts: 118 Member
    edited January 2015
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    Whats the name of that condition where the addict denies the addictiveness of his or her substance?
  • JoKnowsJo
    JoKnowsJo Posts: 257 Member
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    TheVirgoddess wrote: »
    slimbettie wrote: »
    addiction is a very strong word.

    I think that's my main issue with the argument.
    That is the trigger word here...

  • slimbettie
    slimbettie Posts: 686 Member
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    Never been an addict of anything myself. But I have heard that being an addict is like having a love affair...it is the first thing you think of when you wake up and the last thing when you go to sleep....
  • FatFreeFrolicking
    FatFreeFrolicking Posts: 4,252 Member
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    slimbettie wrote: »
    Never been an addict of anything myself. But I have heard that being an addict is like having a love affair...it is the first thing you think of when you wake up and the last thing when you go to sleep....

    Yeah… when a person is addicted to drugs or alcohol.
  • aimforhealthy
    aimforhealthy Posts: 449 Member
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    seamonster1203 wrote: »
    Whats the name of that condition where the addict denies the addictiveness of his or her substance?

    Are you suggesting there's no possible way to refute the fact-claim that sugar is addictive? So basically everything confirms your bias. Convenient.

    There's no such thing as a sugar addiction. You can't "cut out sugar" from your diet. You can minimize your refined sugar intake if you want to for whatever reason, but it's neither necessary for weight loss nor proven to have any health benefits.

    Do what you want and eat how you want, but science works even if you don't believe in it.
  • zyxst
    zyxst Posts: 9,134 Member
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    seamonster1203 wrote: »
    I'm thinking the "there's no addiction" crowd are the real sugar addicts. They're in denial and supporting their drug lol
    As someone who has a drug addiction, I find that pretty effing offensive.
  • TheVirgoddess
    TheVirgoddess Posts: 4,535 Member
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    seamonster1203 wrote: »
    Whats the name of that condition where the addict denies the addictiveness of his or her substance?

    So people that have been through actual addiction and claim sugar isn't the same, are actually addicted to sugar, but are obviously too dumb or blind to admit it?

    You're a real gem.
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