Day 5 Depression
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jasmineboyle wrote: »Hello, my name is Jasmine and I'm addicted to sugar.
I re-started a healthy diet on Sunday which was kicked off by a massive cupboard cleanse. Now it's Thursday and the detox depression is kicking my *kitten*.
Does anyone else go through this?
How do you get past it?
Well, I limit myself to 6 semi-sweet chocolate morsels when I'm dying for sugar. I eat them only if I am under my calorie limit for the day. And I savor each one. What I have found out - to my astonishment - is that "sugar addiction" is really more just a bad "sugar habit" that is caused by (in many cases!) not eating balanced meals throughout the day, then starving, then having a binge. It's helping me - I hope this helps you, too.
P.S. - It took me 3 days to realize I never really had been "sugar addicted" - I was just used to comforting myself with sugar. Good luck to you!0 -
I have had type 2 diabetes for years, so sugar has long been a no no. I have not always been very good about that. I had a horrible ice cream addiction which was lousy for both my blood sugar and my weight. Cold turkey was the only thing that worked with that though that WAS NOT always pleasant.
I had a gastric sleeve performed a month ago, so dietary changes have been a MUST. A lot of my diet is liquid or soft foods. A lot of dairy. But I have lost 30 pounds in the past month.
Hope to be upgrading my diet soon. On paper what I have been eating looks monotonous but there is only so much that I can still tolerate easily. I have to keep reminding myself that I AM healing from significant surgery and that takes time.
The surgery has not been without its downsides (both pre and post op) but on the whole has been worth it. Good luck with your trials and whatever road you follow.0 -
jasmineboyle wrote: »No I can't keep hot chocolate in the house because I end up putting double or triple the normal amount of powder in a mug to make it an extra sweet sludge. When I say sugar addict, I mean that quite literally. You wouldn't tell an alcoholic to just buy less liquor and portion it out better. And it's not that I have intentionally cut sugar, just making healthier choices which naturally leads to consuming less empty calories like sugar.
My goal is the 40% carb, 30% fat and 30% protein so I have greatly increased my protein intake and no I haven't cut caffeine.
I'm starting to feel like a freak though because no one seems to understand the physiological addiction. It's more than knowledge, willpower and planning...
Hang in there! Your aren't a freak. I understand.
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OP, are you talking sugar as in desserts and sweets, or sugar in general? I ask because you're not detoxing off sugar when you're still having it every day. To me, if someone is addicted to something and they want to stop, they don't keep taking it in any form, though I'm not going to deride you for the fruits, veggies, and milk (all which have sugar).
If you want to cut out "added sugar", start with your Americano and leave out the sugar.0 -
No one here has to understand. What you're feeling is real. There's research to support what you say. As another poster said, hang in there.0
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jasmineboyle wrote: »futuremanda wrote: »Are you willing to eat more natural sugars? (Fruit, dairy, etc) <-- Might help with the adjustment.
Maybe find an option you'd be unlikely to overdo? Like, say, hot chocolate. If you had that in the house, would you realistically go drink five mugs, or would you just make one?
Did you cut anything else by the way? You say you did a cupboard cleanse... are you getting enough fat and protein? Are you trying to go low carb? Did you cut caffeine (on purpose, or by accident -- i.e. cutting out cola would cut your caffeine if you're not then drinking more coffee or tea to compensate)? Keep your fat & protein & carb intake up: don't go low carb on the whole (right now at least) and don't try to cut caffeine simultaneously.
Otherwise, you may just have to push through if this is something you want, and if you are not willing to try eating it in moderation (at least right now). It can't really last forever, right? Get out, get sunlight, get moving, get enough food, keep busy, remind yourself that it's temporary.
ETA: Did you also mega-slash your calories? I cannot stress enough the one massive, stressful change at a time (if you must make one at all) thing. Depression can be triggered by many such things, so if you're also suddenly on a huge deficit, that could be part of the issue. Pop up to maintenance or a bit below (250 cals maybe, 0.5 lb a week) until you adjust.
No I can't keep hot chocolate in the house because I end up putting double or triple the normal amount of powder in a mug to make it an extra sweet sludge. When I say sugar addict, I mean that quite literally. You wouldn't tell an alcoholic to just buy less liquor and portion it out better. And it's not that I have intentionally cut sugar, just making healthier choices which naturally leads to consuming less empty calories like sugar.
My goal is the 40% carb, 30% fat and 30% protein so I have greatly increased my protein intake and no I haven't cut caffeine.
I'm starting to feel like a freak though because no one seems to understand the physiological addiction. It's more than knowledge, willpower and planning...
No, I would not tell an alcoholic to just buy less liquor and portion it out better. But I resent the comparison of what I said, to that. Alcoholism =/= sugar addiction, however "quite literally" you may have meant that you are an addict.
Besides which, if you believe you are literally addicted to the substance, what does this mean? "And it's not that I have intentionally cut sugar, just making healthier choices which naturally leads to consuming less empty calories like sugar." <-- If that is true then you aren't really even trying to eliminate sugar and address your addiction, so why the need to compare my suggestion to irresponsibly telling an alcoholic to drink? You're either super seriously addicted and should get help / stop consuming sugar, or, you know, you're just reducing it and trying to make healthier choices, and can reasonably listen to tips when you've asked for them.
And by the way, that tip, to incorporate foods that don't trigger you so much, worked for me, and works for many people. It may not work for you, but you asked how other people get past it, and I answered.0 -
hsmith0930 wrote: »jasmineboyle wrote: »futuremanda wrote: »Are you willing to eat more natural sugars? (Fruit, dairy, etc) <-- Might help with the adjustment.
Maybe find an option you'd be unlikely to overdo? Like, say, hot chocolate. If you had that in the house, would you realistically go drink five mugs, or would you just make one?
Did you cut anything else by the way? You say you did a cupboard cleanse... are you getting enough fat and protein? Are you trying to go low carb? Did you cut caffeine (on purpose, or by accident -- i.e. cutting out cola would cut your caffeine if you're not then drinking more coffee or tea to compensate)? Keep your fat & protein & carb intake up: don't go low carb on the whole (right now at least) and don't try to cut caffeine simultaneously.
Otherwise, you may just have to push through if this is something you want, and if you are not willing to try eating it in moderation (at least right now). It can't really last forever, right? Get out, get sunlight, get moving, get enough food, keep busy, remind yourself that it's temporary.
ETA: Did you also mega-slash your calories? I cannot stress enough the one massive, stressful change at a time (if you must make one at all) thing. Depression can be triggered by many such things, so if you're also suddenly on a huge deficit, that could be part of the issue. Pop up to maintenance or a bit below (250 cals maybe, 0.5 lb a week) until you adjust.
No I can't keep hot chocolate in the house because I end up putting double or triple the normal amount of powder in a mug to make it an extra sweet sludge. When I say sugar addict, I mean that quite literally. You wouldn't tell an alcoholic to just buy less liquor and portion it out better. And it's not that I have intentionally cut sugar, just making healthier choices which naturally leads to consuming less empty calories like sugar.
My goal is the 40% carb, 30% fat and 30% protein so I have greatly increased my protein intake and no I haven't cut caffeine.
I'm starting to feel like a freak though because no one seems to understand the physiological addiction. It's more than knowledge, willpower and planning...
That part there that I bolded. You are not "addicted" to sugar. Sugar is not an addictive substance in the same way drugs and such are. You MIGHT be used to the feelings the sugar give you, between the way your body produces insulin and thus feeling lower lows, and you might be used to the endorphins and serotonin that your brain makes when you eat carbohydrates. But those things are not addictions, they are a "comfort zone". You MIGHT have headaches or physical reactions to reducing your overall carbohydrate intake or switching from quicker metabolised simple carbohydrates to slower metabolised complex-carbs, but that is not the same thing as true withdrawals.
It is ridiculously offensive to me that you would try to liken your CHOICE to not deal with a little bit of discomfort the the very real and LIFE THREATENING reality that make up true chemical dependency. Peope DIE from withdrawals. Their heart stops because they stop taking drugs. You know what will happen to you if you stop eating plain sugar? You might get a headache. You might feel a bit hungrier than normal. Maybe some digestive upset. Now stop playing the victim and make the decision. You do want to make the change or you don't.
This.
As a relative to someone who is an addict, I can tell you OP what you have is a compulsion, not an addiction. It may not seem like a big difference but it is. You have sugar in your house so you want it and you want lots of it so you give yourself lots of it because that's the habit you've worked yourself into. But you can, truly, physically and mentally function without it if you do not have it or have as much. I promise. "Zero willpower" does not mean addiction. It means zero willpower.
Therefore, knowledge, willpower and planning over time will help you overcome your compulsions by conditioning you to follow new habits instead of old ones. Addicts need far, far more help overcoming dependency over substances.
I am normally not one to be a stickler and parse over words, but it does matter in this.0 -
I came here for support, encouragement, and community. So many of these responses seem to be exactly not that. I don't even know how to process the backlash of people in a fit over my reaching out for help. Thanks guys. Really helps the depression.0
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OK small AP lesson. For all those out there whobelieve that sugar is not an addiction I challenge you to look up the definition of an addiction and what it does to your brain. You will find that the addictions to cocaine and alcohol have the same effect on your brain that sugar does and when you grow up with having a constant influx of sugar you tend to have the same reaction as an adequate this is been scientifically proven and can have an addiction.I also find it interesting that a place where you are supposed to get support can have so much negativity.0
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jasmineboyle wrote: »I came here for support, encouragement, and community. So many of these responses seem to be exactly not that. I don't even know how to process the backlash of people in a fit over my reaching out for help. Thanks guys. Really helps the depression.
If you're ready to to take responsibility for yourself and become educated on how to achieve your goals, the resources exist on this website and these forums for you to do so. If you're looking for people to validate your excuses and reaffirm your bunk science under the guise of support you are in the wrong place.
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Depression during weight loss is common, due to a drop in serotonin (high cal foods create a release of serotonin). It can take about 2 weeks or so for everything to level out. If you find depression is lasting longer than 2 weeks, or is interfering with life functioning, please speak to your doctor.
While people can't be "addicted" to food, they can use it to unintentionally treat underlying depression.0 -
Could you gradually swap for dark chocolate? Not as sweet, but has been shown to have health benefits. It's quite rich, so a couple of squares is often enough. X0
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I don't know anything about whether or not you can be addicted to sugar. It really doesn't matter to my following point:
You have to control yourself. If you're addicted or dependent or just like sugar a whole lot and eat too much of it doesn't matter.
FOCUS ON WHAT YOU ARE TRYING TO DO.
Direct your energy into meeting your goals. Be proud when you make it through the day and you didn't overeat, you didn't justify your habit, you didn't compromise. The mind controls the body. Stick with it.
Zig Ziglar said, "For most of my life, I chose to be overweight. It was a choice, because no one ever forced me to eat anything."
You can do it. I believe in you.
Brandon0 -
Don't come to me with an "AP lesson." In nursing school we literally just spent two weeks lecturing over alcohol and drug abuse, addiction and withdrawal, and I have several nurse practitioners who agree sugar, which we consume on a daily basis regardless of its source, cannot be addictive in the same was as alcohol.0
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Personally, I would stick out the detox. Its uncomfortable and crappy but it will end in a short amount of time. Like anything you quit, you mentally and physically miss it.
In the meant time, while you are waiting for this hard time to pass, walk, clean, reorganize, go for a ride, go visit a friend. ANYTHING to get your mind off the sweets. In a short amount of time you may find you feel better and dont need the sweet fix as much.
Good luck, giving up things we love isnt easy,,,,,I hear potatoe chips call my name as I pass them in the grocery store, lol.
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So are gambling and sex addiction not real because the withdrawal won't kill them? I'm confused.
Anyway back to why you originally posted. I'd just say keep busy, make sure you are eating enough fat, protein and carbs, try and find other ways to treat yourself (nice bath, new makeup, time to sit and read or watch TV). Reward yourself and be kind to yourself while you ride it out.
And be wary of comparing yourself to alcoholics. It's a trigger subject that affects a lot of people. It often leads to hurt feelings.0 -
leoninhughes607 wrote: »So are gambling and sex addiction not real because the withdrawal won't kill them? I'm confused.
Anyway back to why you originally posted. I'd just say keep busy, make sure you are eating enough fat, protein and carbs, try and find other ways to treat yourself (nice bath, new makeup, time to sit and read or watch TV). Reward yourself and be kind to yourself while you ride it out.
And be wary of comparing yourself to alcoholics. It's a trigger subject that affects a lot of people. It often leads to hurt feelings.
I literally said "sugar cannot be addictive in the same way as alcohol."
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I think we just have to be careful with words like addiction, because sometimes we'll let them become a way to pass off responsibility. It's OK if I overeat; I'm addicted to food and can't help myself.
The reasons we do things, like overeat, don't matter. It might make our endeavor more difficult, but we still have the problem. If our goal is to overcome the problem, then that's what we have to do.0 -
jasmineboyle wrote: »OK small AP lesson. For all those out there whobelieve that sugar is not an addiction I challenge you to look up the definition of an addiction and what it does to your brain. You will find that the addictions to cocaine and alcohol have the same effect on your brain that sugar does and when you grow up with having a constant influx of sugar you tend to have the same reaction as an adequate this is been scientifically proven and can have an addiction.I also find it interesting that a place where you are supposed to get support can have so much negativity.
No, it does not. Seen the science and it's clear we do not have people on the boards pimping out their bodies or selling their house or losing their job to that der last donut. Delirium tremens for a crispy creme? Hardly.
It's a logical fallacy to claim "science has proven it"; this fallacy is called Appeal to Authority.
Is it difficult to cut sugar? For some, yes absolutely. Is it an addiction like cocaine or alcohol? One would have to ignorant or deluded to think that. Really, very very different processes. However, if you want to use the word "addicted" in a more open sense and intend it in a "I really can't quit the suagrz" fine by me. I see all the "gasp, ah, can't call it that, I'm so upset" people on these boards and I'd expect by now we'd reach a semantics accord. Words are fluid things and have spectrum meanings. One can understand what she intends to mean without going "can't say that word".
As to the negativity that you perceive - it's not there. People here aren't somehow required to agree with your opinion. There is no need to go pull out exaggerated sensibilities. Opinions will differ on concepts and words. Just go with it.
If you are having trouble with cutting sugar - and you really feel you need to cut it - buy yourself lots of vegetables, etc and munch on that. Go out and get some sun, be active. Stay off the Internet.
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leoninhughes607 wrote: »So are gambling and sex addiction not real because the withdrawal won't kill them? I'm confused.
Anyway back to why you originally posted. I'd just say keep busy, make sure you are eating enough fat, protein and carbs, try and find other ways to treat yourself (nice bath, new makeup, time to sit and read or watch TV). Reward yourself and be kind to yourself while you ride it out.
And be wary of comparing yourself to alcoholics. It's a trigger subject that affects a lot of people. It often leads to hurt feelings.
No, they are compulsions. Compulsions based on the same things that the compulsion to eat sugar is based on. The "pleasure" factor is created in a person's brain. There is no chemical dependency involved.
Just because there are support groups available to help a person change their behaviors does not legitimize the fact that these behaviors are addictions. Overeating, gambling, sex, etc are all compulsive behaviors that can negatively affect people's lives and in overuse need to be treated. But they are psychological at best.0
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