Sugar Withdrawals

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  • nicole_j
    nicole_j Posts: 13 Member
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    Drink lots of water and enjoy your coffee with stevia, a natural sweetener. Stop eating processed food, these actually cause the cravings. Get your carbs from whole foods such as sweet potatoes, brown rice, fruit and veggies. You will actually start to feel much better and will find that when you eat junk you feel like junk. Stay strong and don't quit. We only get one body so make the most of it.
  • stevencloser
    stevencloser Posts: 8,911 Member
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    nicole_j wrote: »
    Drink lots of water and enjoy your coffee with stevia, a natural sweetener. Stop eating processed food, these actually cause the cravings. Get your carbs from whole foods such as sweet potatoes, brown rice, fruit and veggies. You will actually start to feel much better and will find that when you eat junk you feel like junk. Stay strong and don't quit. We only get one body so make the most of it.

    Stevia is a processed food.
  • 6pkdreamer
    6pkdreamer Posts: 180 Member
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    stevencloser wrote: »

    People who tell you that you can still eat all the things you enjoy and still lose weight never tell you to ignore nutrition. NEVER.

    Your dead right- nutrition is quite often not mentioned at all!
  • stevencloser
    stevencloser Posts: 8,911 Member
    edited April 2016
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    6pkdreamer wrote: »
    stevencloser wrote: »

    People who tell you that you can still eat all the things you enjoy and still lose weight never tell you to ignore nutrition. NEVER.
    Your dead right- nutrition is quite often not mentioned at all!

    If you want us to treat you like a 5 year old and tell you to eat your veggies, we can do that. But then we'll be called mean.
  • coreyreichle
    coreyreichle Posts: 1,039 Member
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    6pkdreamer wrote: »
    Recent news from Queensland University of Technology may help
    https://www.qut.edu.au/news/news?news-id=103307
    Part of the above report-
    “The latest World Health Organisation figures tell us 1.9 billion people worldwide are overweight, with 600 million considered obese,” said Professor Bartlett who is based at the Translational Research Institute.
    “Excess sugar consumption has been proven to contribute directly to weight gain. It has also been shown to repeatedly elevate dopamine levels which control the brain's reward and pleasure centres in a way that is similar to many drugs of abuse including tobacco, cocaine and morphine.
    “After long-term consumption, this leads to the opposite, a reduction in dopamine levels. This leads to higher consumption of sugar to get the same level of reward.
    “We have also found that as well as an increased risk of weight gain, animals that maintain high sugar consumption and binge eating into adulthood may also face neurological and psychiatric consequences affecting mood and motivation.
    “Our study found that Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved drugs like varenicline, a prescription medication trading as Champix which treats nicotine addiction, can work the same way when it comes to sugar cravings.”
    PhD researcher Masroor Shariff said the study also put artificial sweeteners under the spotlight.
    “Interestingly, our study also found that artificial sweeteners such as saccharin could produce effects similar to those we obtained with table sugar, highlighting the importance of reevaluating our relationship with sweetened food per se,” said Mr Shariff.
    Professor Bartlett said varenicline acted as a neuronal nicotinic receptor modulator (nAChR) and similar results were observed with other such drugs including mecamylamine and cytisine.
    “Like other drugs of abuse, withdrawal from chronic sucrose exposure can result in an imbalance in dopamine levels and be as difficult as going ‘cold turkey’ from them,” she said.

    I guess the report missed that it's too many calories consumed and not enough calories burned that actually causes obesity. Not sugar.

    Hell, you can become overweight eating nothing but meat, or vegetables.
  • coreyreichle
    coreyreichle Posts: 1,039 Member
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    nicole_j wrote: »
    Drink lots of water and enjoy your coffee with stevia, a natural sweetener. Stop eating processed food, these actually cause the cravings. Get your carbs from whole foods such as sweet potatoes, brown rice, fruit and veggies. You will actually start to feel much better and will find that when you eat junk you feel like junk. Stay strong and don't quit. We only get one body so make the most of it.

    Coffee is a processed food. So is brown rice and sweet potatoes (Most of the time).

    To be frank, anything cooked is processed.
  • 6pkdreamer
    6pkdreamer Posts: 180 Member
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    coreyreichle wrote: »

    I guess the report missed that it's too many calories consumed and not enough calories burned that actually causes obesity. Not sugar.

    Hell, you can become overweight eating nothing but meat, or vegetables.

    Those silly people at Queensland University of Technology have really overlooked the obvious.
    Email QUT so they can stop wasting precious resources.
  • punkrockgoth
    punkrockgoth Posts: 534 Member
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    OP, you said you started yesterday? It's also possible that this is entirely unrelated to diet or completely in your head (as in, you expect withdrawal symptoms, therefore you have them). I'd give it a few more days (at least!) of logging accurately and then reassess.
  • stevencloser
    stevencloser Posts: 8,911 Member
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    6pkdreamer wrote: »
    coreyreichle wrote: »

    I guess the report missed that it's too many calories consumed and not enough calories burned that actually causes obesity. Not sugar.

    Hell, you can become overweight eating nothing but meat, or vegetables.

    Those silly people at Queensland University of Technology have really overlooked the obvious.
    Email QUT so they can stop wasting precious resources.

    They ARE wrong with that.
    Well, technically they're disingenuous because they should know very well that the only thing in sugar that leads to weight gain is the calories.
    I could say "Excess broccoli consumption has been proven to contribute directly to weight gain." and it would be correct in the same way.
    And it just goes on in the same way. Dopamine -> released by everything you're looking forward to.
    Dopamine reduction happens with addictive drugs because the chemicals actually fit into the same receptors as dopamine, they basically replace it. That is not true for sugar. Sugar is not an addictive drug.
  • snowflake930
    snowflake930 Posts: 2,188 Member
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    OP, I wonder if you have the flu or something. Only one day?
    I think you need to give it more time. There is nothing wrong with eating all things in moderation for most people. It takes self control, but the effort is well worth it in the long term.

    Give it more time.
  • coreyreichle
    coreyreichle Posts: 1,039 Member
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    6pkdreamer wrote: »
    coreyreichle wrote: »

    I guess the report missed that it's too many calories consumed and not enough calories burned that actually causes obesity. Not sugar.

    Hell, you can become overweight eating nothing but meat, or vegetables.

    Those silly people at Queensland University of Technology have really overlooked the obvious.
    Email QUT so they can stop wasting precious resources.

    Yes, they have. Of course, they're not wrong. Excess anything food-wise will lead to obesity, except maybe prunes. Excess prunes will make you lose weight faster than Sugar Free Haribo Gummi Bears.
  • 6pkdreamer
    6pkdreamer Posts: 180 Member
    edited April 2016
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    flowerchic2323 wrote: »
    So I started using MFP yesterday. This morning I woke up with a nasty headache. I've decided to still drink my morning coffee, but without the sugar. I'm eating natural sugars still, just not the granulated stuff. Why am I so tired, cranky, pounding head, ready to snap someone in 2 today. It's only the second day and I'm ready to give up.
    I've been on diets before. Many, I've tried them all. I'm at my heaviest I've ever been, 280 lbs, and can't function anymore. My whole body aches. I've never felt so *kitten* after the first day on a diet. I just wanna curl up I'm a corner and die. Any ideas on how to get over sugar withdrawal?

    Evolution not revolution- just gradually change the balance rather than eliminate is a good idea for some as others have suggested although cold turkey my be a lot quicker. Took years for me to not have sugar in tea, coffee etc -my choice not based anything except a preference. I don't think I was addicted but was really hard changing as I liked the flavour. Now I can't stand the sweetness in tea/coffee and other stuff.

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