"Addicted" to sugar
linsey0689
Posts: 753 Member
I love anything sweet and I can't stop. I can do this and lost weight before but gain some back with personal issues. But anyway sweet stuff throws me off with the constant craving of sweet thing. I'm sure others deal with this. Tips on what to eat and he to deal with this
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If you truly have trouble moderating your intake of sugar to the point you cannot control your intake, it might be helpful for you to completely eliminate it for a while.
This will give you a chance to reset your taste buds.
It's probably best, while you're doing this, to avoid fruit as well.
After a few weeks, see if you can add back small amounts of sweet things in moderation.0 -
If you can't stop eating sweets, don't start eating sweets.0
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I'm about to get addicted to my Ducati, again.0
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Sugar is the root of all evil. I am addicted too, I've cut it out completely in the past and lost weight but I end up binging and falling back into my old ways. So now I include sugar in my diet, within my calorie allowance. I've been choosing Special K bars, protein bars, 'nakd' foods, alpro chocolate desserts. My favourite combinations are a banana still in its skin but slit down the middle, peanut butter inside then a protein bar stuffed into it... Pop in oven or under the grill so the bar melts... Mmmm. Also, total 0% fat Greek yogurt topped with fruit, a broken up Special K bar, dark chocolate chips and a squeeze of 'choc shot' (low calorie chocolate syrup by Freedom). Lastly, half fat creme fraiche swirled with an alpro chocolate dessert with strawberries and a crumbled up meringue....
I'm hungry now.0 -
linsey0689 wrote: »I love anything sweet and I can't stop. I can do this and lost weight before but gain some back with personal issues. But anyway sweet stuff throws me off with the constant craving of sweet thing. I'm sure others deal with this. Tips on what to eat and he to deal with this
What type of sweets are you referring to?
For years, I could not have cookies, cake, candy, in the house, but I always did fine with fruit (except bananas). I would not buy any type of sweet food, and would avoid it like the plague at parties. I thought I was addicted to sugar until I figured out that I was compulsively eating and sweet treats happened to be what I overate on. I also figured out that most foods contain some sugar.
Now, I eat everything in moderation, including sweets, and I have them in the house. I learned how to moderate sweets when I changed my relationship with food and came to the conclusion that sweets, or any other food, does not have power over me. I am 100% for the food choices I make.
However, you must find what works best for you.
By the way, people start a lot of "I'm addicted to sugar" threads and they usually don't go over very well.0 -
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Sweet, or should I say suga sweet.DeguelloTex wrote: »neanderthin wrote: »I'm about to get addicted to my Ducati, again.
R1, IMO.
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bI am addicted too, I've cut it out completely in the past and lost weight but I end up binging and falling back into my old ways. So now I include sugar in my diet, within my calorie allowance. I've been choosing Special K bars, protein bars, 'nakd' foods, alpro chocolate desserts. My favourite combinations are a banana still in its skin but slit down the middle, peanut butter inside then a protein bar stuffed into it... Pop in oven or under the grill so the bar melts... Mmmm. Also, total 0% fat Greek yogurt topped with fruit, a broken up Special K bar, dark chocolate chips and a squeeze of 'choc shot' (low calorie chocolate syrup by Freedom). Lastly, half fat creme fraiche swirled with an alpro chocolate dessert with strawberries and a crumbled up meringue....
I'm hungry now.
This is not true, though it might be the root of all evil for you.
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Don't buy it.
If it's not in the house, you can't eat it. 0 -
I think one think that really helps with feelings that you are out of control with respect to specific foods is being analytical or mindful about it and figuring out what's really going on. For example, I've found that I have lots of trouble controlling my intake of sugary stuff (or really anything especially palatable, but sugary stuff is just what's usually around) at my office beginning around 5 (I tend to work late) or on the weekends. This is much worse if I'm super stressed or skip meals or have had little sleep. So what I did was basically eliminate unplanned snacks and bring any food I plan to eat for planned snacks or meals (so I won't be in a situation where I skip a meal and have had nothing to eat). I also try to be conscious that I'm going to have a harder time if tired (and also use coffee, personally). When I first started I would force myself to write about how I was feeling and why I wanted to eat before eating any snacky things, which would usually make me think better of it, and I brought a bunch of low calorie raw veggies to snack on if I felt like I was dying to eat (that part got much easier faster, so I stopped this after the first week).
Related to this, I did cut out sweets for a couple of weeks to teach myself I didn't need them as an emotional crutch (I'd been using them as such from time to time at home also, although I found controlling my eating at home much easier).
Once I got over this, I found that I can mostly eat sweets in moderation now, and often have a small dessert after dinner that fits in my calories. Work remains my more dangerous place, though, so I try to avoid starting with sweets there.
Your issues may be completely different, but it's probably going to be helpful to think through when you crave things, what, what's going on, how recently you've eaten, etc.
As for what to eat if I'm craving something, I find that there are two completely different things that can work. One is become a sweets snob and eat a little of something really high quality or tasty and just appreciate it fully. I'll buy a single serving square of fancy chocolate or have a half cup of ice cream (as noted above). The other is to eat something you like that is totally different, for me this often gets rid of any sweets craving. Pickles work for me often, or if I have calories, a piece of cheese. This is something I have experimented with when cutting out sweets for a time--other foods that I appreciate as a treat that aren't sweets. (Fruit (including avocado) and cheese are usually my go tos, although of course fruit is generally sweet.)0 -
I decided to eliminate most foods with added sugar for that reason. I highly suggest taking two weeks off from sugar, you might find it easier to moderate after that. Personally, for me, not starting is the only way to moderate my intake. I'm hoping I can eventually introduce it back into my diet in small, manageable portions.0
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Before I quit smoking and my metabolism went out the window, I ate a full Snickers every afternoon. That was about the only sweet I had except for the occasional birthday celebration. I don't understand "addicted to sweets" though, just as I don't understand being addicted to drugs or alcohol. I don't even believe I was addicted to smoking, and still don't. I hated smoking even while enjoying it. Even though I smoked for nearly 35 years, when I quit, I did quit, then cried for two weeks because it was so easy once I DECIDED TO DO IT. That's all it takes. You just have to decide to do it. Once you've decided, it's easy.0
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linsey0689 wrote: »I love anything sweet and I can't stop. I can do this and lost weight before but gain some back with personal issues. But anyway sweet stuff throws me off with the constant craving of sweet thing. I'm sure others deal with this. Tips on what to eat and he to deal with this
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Hello that's my problem too. Too much sweets love them. have you tried Kool Aid with splendor and crush ice, is one thing that may work. besides fruit. hang in there.0
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Treat refined sugar as an addiction and eliminate it. Stick to the MFP limits for carbs and sugars when eating fruit, starches, and plain dairy. It gets easier after a few months of elimination. You'll have more energy and less intense hunger.0
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Cut all the sugar out of your life for two weeks. This allows your palette to change. Be mindful that there is sugar in a lot of things that don't seem sugary such as salad dressings and such. Go clean and reset your palette.0
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I can sympathize...I have a real problem with sugary pastries. I just don't let myself near the doughnut section at the grocery story
But seriously, I just work some kind of goodie into my calories or else I binge and end up eating way more. Half a cup of Tillamook ice cream is just over 100 calories, and so I save those for after dinner. I suppose I could cut all the sweets out of my diet but then I'd be sad 
why do that when I can still lose weight and have my ice cream?! 0 -
If you can't learn to moderate it, you will yo-yo all your life. If you cut it completely, it will only cause you to binge later. You will lose some weight, and then find yourself having to "reset your pallette" again down the road. Is that how you want to live your life?
There is a group of ladies at my office to "do aktins" every two or three months or so. After about three weeks of strict adherence, they end up doing ridiculous things like putting ice cream in their coffee every morning. If they just spent half the effort trying to create a healthy relationship with food that they spent vilifying one food group, they'd probably be at a weight they were happy with, and i wouldn't have to hear about their latest efforts every few months.
It is natural for humans to crave sugar because it is an efficient calorie source. It is not evil, and there is nothing good to be gained long term by avoiding it completely. You can try to avoid certain specific trigger foods like chocolate cake (or whatever it happens to be for you,) but don't cut out an entire category/ ingredient or you'll go nuts.0 -
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mamapeach910 wrote: »If you truly have trouble moderating your intake of sugar to the point you cannot control your intake, it might be helpful for you to completely eliminate it for a while.
This will give you a chance to reset your taste buds.
It's probably best, while you're doing this, to avoid fruit as well.
After a few weeks, see if you can add back small amounts of sweet things in moderation.
This is very good advice. I cut out treats in January for a few weeks and when I added them back in I was able to consume them in moderation. I also have noticed that I eat treats when I wait too long between meals or don't eat enough protein/0 -
mamapeach910 wrote: »If you truly have trouble moderating your intake of sugar to the point you cannot control your intake, it might be helpful for you to completely eliminate it for a while.
This will give you a chance to reset your taste buds.
It's probably best, while you're doing this, to avoid fruit as well.
After a few weeks, see if you can add back small amounts of sweet things in moderation.
Great advice! This is exactly what I did, and I no longer consider myself addicted to sugar (and this week I had like 6 different types of it in the house, things I normally would have eaten until it was all gone, and I wasn't tempted!)0 -
Now things like apples, yogurt, smoothies, and tea with honey are my go-to's when I'm wanting something sweet0
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~~extra_medium wrote: »If you can't learn to moderate it, you will yo-yo all your life. If you cut it completely, it will only cause you to binge later. You will lose some weight, and then find yourself having to "reset your pallette" again down the road. Is that how you want to live your life?
There is a group of ladies at my office to "do aktins" every two or three months or so. After about three weeks of strict adherence, they end up doing ridiculous things like putting ice cream in their coffee every morning. If they just spent half the effort trying to create a healthy relationship with food that they spent vilifying one food group, they'd probably be at a weight they were happy with, and i wouldn't have to hear about their latest efforts every few months.
It is natural for humans to crave sugar because it is an efficient calorie source. It is not evil, and there is nothing good to be gained long term by avoiding it completely. You can try to avoid certain specific trigger foods like chocolate cake (or whatever it happens to be for you,) but don't cut out an entire category/ ingredient or you'll go nuts.
Very great advice -I 100% agree!!!
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Is it really sweets or is it the combination of sugar, fat and salt that you really crave? Most people who claim that it's sugar don't realize that's it's not the sugar so much at the combination of the three. Cakes, chocolate, pastries, breads, all seem to be "addictive" while pure sugar and fruit seem to get a lot less love. In the 80's and 90's they would have said it was the fat and salt that was the problem.0
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Wheelhouse15 wrote: »Is it really sweets or is it the combination of sugar, fat and salt that you really crave? Most people who claim that it's sugar don't realize that's it's not the sugar so much at the combination of the three. Cakes, chocolate, pastries, breads, all seem to be "addictive" while pure sugar and fruit seem to get a lot less love. In the 80's and 90's they would have said it was the fproblem at and salt that was the problem.
Read what the OP wrote. It is anything sweet.
And what this basically boils down to is not an addiction. It is a behavior problem with sweet treats and OP has lost weight before controlling this behavior so undoubtedly can do it again..
Twinkies, Cakes, chocolate, donuts are not considered things you go to want because you crave protein and healthy fat ...
And BTW we are no longer in 80's and 90's...not sure what this had to do with anything....just saying
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Wheelhouse15 wrote: »Is it really sweets or is it the combination of sugar, fat and salt that you really crave? Most people who claim that it's sugar don't realize that's it's not the sugar so much at the combination of the three. Cakes, chocolate, pastries, breads, all seem to be "addictive" while pure sugar and fruit seem to get a lot less love. In the 80's and 90's they would have said it was the fproblem at and salt that was the problem.
Read what the OP wrote. It is anything sweet.
And what this basically boils down to is not an addiction. It is a behavior problem with sweet treats and OP has lost weight before controlling this behavior so undoubtedly can do it again..
Twinkies, Cakes, chocolate, donuts are not considered things you go to want because you crave protein and healthy fat ...
And BTW we are no longer in 80's and 90's...not sure what this had to do with anything....just saying
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Wheelhouse15 wrote: »Is it really sweets or is it the combination of sugar, fat and salt that you really crave? Most people who claim that it's sugar don't realize that's it's not the sugar so much at the combination of the three. Cakes, chocolate, pastries, breads, all seem to be "addictive" while pure sugar and fruit seem to get a lot less love. In the 80's and 90's they would have said it was the fproblem at and salt that was the problem.
Read what the OP wrote. It is anything sweet.
And what this basically boils down to is not an addiction. It is a behavior problem with sweet treats and OP has lost weight before controlling this behavior so undoubtedly can do it again..
Twinkies, Cakes, chocolate, donuts are not considered things you go to want because you crave protein and healthy fat ...
And BTW we are no longer in 80's and 90's...not sure what this had to do with anything....just saying
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