Any tips on beating a sugar addiction?

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Dancetherapist
Dancetherapist Posts: 33 Member
in Food and Nutrition
ive been able to do it in the past but am having a bit of trouble this time around. It's not like I'm eating a whole cake a day but I find that I NEED (obviously I don't) like a cookie or peanut butter cup or something every day. Any tips ?
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  • techgal128
    techgal128 Posts: 719 Member
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    Why not have sugar? Have a frozen banana for dessert or a 100 calorie pack of cookies. Just fit it into your macros and you will be fine.
  • TeaBea
    TeaBea Posts: 14,517 Member
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    You've got 2 options.....

    Cold turkey (at least) until you get in the groove of maintaining your restricted calories for awhile. Once you are on a roll - it won't be sugar, sugar, sugar, all the time.

    But most of us are not going to be sugar free forever....so the other option is portion control. If I am going to maintain a weight loss....I need to learn, I can't have seconds on cake....a serving of cookies isn't 5 (!) and so on. There is nothing wrong with saving a few calories daily for something sweet. If you meet your protein and your other macros are ok....nothing wrong with a cookie here or a peanut butter cup there.
  • hanksmom79
    hanksmom79 Posts: 85 Member
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    Nothing wrong with that. Find a reasonable treat to look forward to each day and plan it into your calories. For me it's a Hershey's Nugget with Toffee & Almonds. 50 calories and worth every one. I don't feel like my day is complete until I've had a bite of something sweet.
  • Angel_Grove_
    Angel_Grove_ Posts: 205 Member
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    ^ What they said. I kicked mine by pre-logging everything before I put it in my mouth. When I saw what my 2pm snack of powdered donuts was going to do to my calorie allowance for the rest of the day, it was easier to say, "I'll pass for now" or "I'll just have one instead of the entire 350 calorie package".
  • nstock
    nstock Posts: 135 Member
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    Switch the cookie or peanut butter cup for fruit. If you're considering fruit part of the sugar addiction, then I'm not sure what to do! lol All i know is I feel alot better when I'm munching on strawberries than I do when I'm munching on chocolate. Don't cut it out 100% either.. I find I always end up binging when I do that. Allow yourself times when you can eat it. For example, I allow myself to indulge on weekends, but will walk right past that stuff during the week.

    PS- i love all chocolate, cookies, candy, etc, so I know how hard it is! I love pineapple as a snack, and it's sweet, try that!
  • ninerbuff
    ninerbuff Posts: 48,529 Member
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    Dancetherapist wrote: »
    ive been able to do it in the past but am having a bit of trouble this time around. It's not like I'm eating a whole cake a day but I find that I NEED (obviously I don't) like a cookie or peanut butter cup or something every day. Any tips ?
    First realize it's NOT an addiction. Second, realize you can have a cookie.............not the whole box.

    A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
    IDEA Fitness member
    Kickboxing Certified Instructor
    Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition
    9285851.png

  • Dancetherapist
    Dancetherapist Posts: 33 Member
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    The cravings I get for sugar feel the same as the cravings I get for a cigarette, so I feel as though it is an addiction for me (don't judge the bad habit, I'm well aware of how bad it is for me). One of the reasons I want to stop with the sugar for a bit (obviously making exceptions for celebrations, when a friend wants to go out for ice cream, etc) is because I've found that cutting out sugar gets me to my fitness goals sooner (after a week of no sugar my stomach is significantly flatter!) I guess I want to be able to not NEED it every day and only have it for certain social occasions. I love fruit and don't consider it bad sugar :)
  • techgal128
    techgal128 Posts: 719 Member
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    Dancetherapist wrote: »
    The cravings I get for sugar feel the same as the cravings I get for a cigarette, so I feel as though it is an addiction for me (don't judge the bad habit, I'm well aware of how bad it is for me). One of the reasons I want to stop with the sugar for a bit (obviously making exceptions for celebrations, when a friend wants to go out for ice cream, etc) is because I've found that cutting out sugar gets me to my fitness goals sooner (after a week of no sugar my stomach is significantly flatter!) I guess I want to be able to not NEED it every day and only have it for certain social occasions. I love fruit and don't consider it bad sugar :)

    What I've been doing is I've bought two different chewable "candy" vitamins for adults. One with vitamin D and calcium and the other is a general multivitamin. It's like eating a few pieces of candy and since they are vitamins, they are important for you. Try that! It's helped me a lot.
  • Dancetherapist
    Dancetherapist Posts: 33 Member
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    Ooo I like that idea, thanks!
  • nstock
    nstock Posts: 135 Member
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    techgal128 wrote: »
    Dancetherapist wrote: »
    The cravings I get for sugar feel the same as the cravings I get for a cigarette, so I feel as though it is an addiction for me (don't judge the bad habit, I'm well aware of how bad it is for me). One of the reasons I want to stop with the sugar for a bit (obviously making exceptions for celebrations, when a friend wants to go out for ice cream, etc) is because I've found that cutting out sugar gets me to my fitness goals sooner (after a week of no sugar my stomach is significantly flatter!) I guess I want to be able to not NEED it every day and only have it for certain social occasions. I love fruit and don't consider it bad sugar :)

    What I've been doing is I've bought two different chewable "candy" vitamins for adults. One with vitamin D and calcium and the other is a general multivitamin. It's like eating a few pieces of candy and since they are vitamins, they are important for you. Try that! It's helped me a lot.

    i used to do this too! it definitely makes you feel like you're eating candy so it helps! :)
  • MissMissle
    MissMissle Posts: 293 Member
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    My problem is i eat the whole box, the whole cake, the whole jug of ice cream, the whole family size bag of mnms..... yeah, i dont know how to stop and it sucks, 16 pounds gained over the last 5 months!
  • 3bambi3
    3bambi3 Posts: 1,650 Member
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    Dancetherapist wrote: »
    The cravings I get for sugar feel the same as the cravings I get for a cigarette, so I feel as though it is an addiction for me (don't judge the bad habit, I'm well aware of how bad it is for me). One of the reasons I want to stop with the sugar for a bit (obviously making exceptions for celebrations, when a friend wants to go out for ice cream, etc) is because I've found that cutting out sugar gets me to my fitness goals sooner (after a week of no sugar my stomach is significantly flatter!) I guess I want to be able to not NEED it every day and only have it for certain social occasions. I love fruit and don't consider it bad sugar :)

    Sigh. If you think you are eating too much sugar, fine. Try and cut back.

    But, you don't NEED it everyday. You WANT it everyday, so you eat it. What do you think would happen to you if you didn't eat a cookie everyday?
  • Dancetherapist
    Dancetherapist Posts: 33 Member
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    I wrote the "need" in capital letters as a way of emphasizing how my body feels regarding eating sugar. I am definitely aware of the fact that I want it, not need it. :)
  • icanplay3
    icanplay3 Posts: 173 Member
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    I simply do not trust myself around sugar because it is my weakness so I do not keep it in the house. At all. No cookies, cake, brownies, sugary breakfast cereals, nada. When I am on my period and seriously craving chocolate or something sweet, I will go out and buy a very high quality piece of dark chocolate and eat it all. Then that's it. I'm good. On a day to day basis I eat gummy multi-vitamins and Caltrate chewy calcium supplement and its candy-like. I am not craving sugar anymore since I don't allow myself to have it every day. This is spoken from a serious former sugar-aholic. lol hope this helps :)
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,874 Member
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    I have desert pretty much every night...I don't consider it to be an addiction and I don't see anything wrong with it...I'm not diabetic or pre-diabetic and given my very healthy overall diet and propensity to exercise regularly, I really don't need to worry about it.

    Most people would be in a similar boat and stressing themselves out about absolutely nothing...
  • icanplay3
    icanplay3 Posts: 173 Member
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    I hope I can get to that point eventually. For right now, it is too much of a slippery slope for me. If I have a cake in the house you can bet I will eat about 3 pieces a day or more until the whole thing is gone. I just don't have the power to resist. LOL So for me personally, it is better to not have it in the house at all. At least until I get this under control.
  • MelRC117
    MelRC117 Posts: 911 Member
    edited May 2015
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    There is nothing wrong with one cookie or a peanut butter cup.

    I generally eat low carb because I feel fuller longer so I avoid cakes, cookies, etc. HOWEVER I also avoid most fruit. If you're truly "addicted" to sugar, do you still eat fruit? A banana? Orange?
  • LMS120yesIcan
    LMS120yesIcan Posts: 35 Member
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    I also am "addicted" to sugar. Before I started counting calories I was on the low carb diet and it works for my cravings. Lost 6 pounds on low carb and now 6 pounds on counting calories. The cravings have not come back. You may have to go cold turkey for a few weeks to get a handle on the cravings. I like to buy premade cookie dough and bake two cookies at a time so I don't "accidentally" overindulge. In fact there are mini Hersey bars sitting on my kitchen counter for over two weeks and I haven't been tempted yet. If I can do it, you can do it.
  • miriamtob
    miriamtob Posts: 436 Member
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    One trick to stop a fierce sugar craving is to eat something bitter. I take a 1/2 teaspoon of herbal bitters, or coffee is a more socially recognized bitter.
  • Selah722
    Selah722 Posts: 86 Member
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    miriamtob wrote: »
    One trick to stop a fierce sugar craving is to eat something bitter. I take a 1/2 teaspoon of herbal bitters, or coffee is a more socially recognized bitter.

    that sounds weird.. but come to think of it, I don't crave sugar at all after a good cup of coffee.. I'm definitely giving this a try!!

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