Sugar Addiction...

I get that. My mind and will power seems to work better when I tell myself I can't have that at all. If I say I can have such and such in small doses, usually I will keep saying one more is ok. And then I'm over my calories. So my weaknesses, I decide at the beginning of the week that on Saturday or Sunday (not both cuz that didn't work) I will have one of my weaknesses. But still try to be at a deficit or at least maintenance. So all week I will be good. Atkins taught me that about myself. However, I found that on Atkins, I couldn't exercise and be low carb. I had dizzy spells and generally no energy and I want to exercise while losing.

Just having healthy carbs back in my life has causes me to make bad choices routinely with sweets (e.g. eating ice cream).

How does this happen? I get that maybe ice cream is something you can't moderate yet, but what's going on specifically (you don't need to tell us, I mean think this through) when you end up getting unplanned treats?

It's helpful IMO to have a structure when it comes to eating. For me that means planning to have a certain number of meals (and snacks if you eat them) and to have a plan for those meals. This doesn't mean pre logging unless you like that -- for example, I usually have one of two breakfasts, lunch and dinner that follow certain patterns (based around protein and vegetables, but also with healthy fats and other carbs like a starch or fruit or a mixed item like dairy). Then IF I have extra calories I might add in a treat in the evening, which could be cheese or could be something like ice cream (I'd avoid anything that is a trigger food for you). Since this is structured, I only eat it as it fits in the calories.

When I find I overeat is if I ignore structure and just graze. (For me it doesn't really matter what I graze on, but if you were cutting out all foods you tended to overeat and now have in your mind that you can add them back in, I can see how you'd think about them more again. My guess is that this might have happened at some point anyway, though, if you like these foods and come upon them on a regular basis.)

msemotan wrote: »

I eat frequently and eat a carb (fruit or veg, still off grains), a protein and a fat at every "mini" meal. I think this is a good healthy long term plan, BUT... Just having healthy carbs back in my life has causes me to make bad choices routinely with sweets (e.g. eating ice cream). I must be some kind of addict! Any advice or encouragement would be appreciated.

If low carb isn't a sustainable option for you what about intermittent fasting? For some it has the same effect on compulsive eating that low carb does. At the very least I would try eating two or three larger meals a day instead of the mini meals and see how you make out.

If it's making you feel out of control, and you don't like how it makes you feel, it's better to get rid of it. Read Allen Carr's Easy way to lose weight. He wrote the famous quit smoking book and this one helps you give up snacking and sugar. It has made a world of difference to me. I am actually enjoying the process of losing weight instead of it feeling like a ton of work and deprivation like it used to. There are some vegetarian things in it too but you don't have to become a vegetarian if you don't believe it.

Carlos_421 wrote: »

msemotan wrote: »

I understand that having treats, such as ice cream, in moderation is ok. What I am expressing is my choices are not in moderation and I feel out of control when I make them. I am still trying to loose weight and this is a hinderance for me. I have noticed since I made these changes that I gaining some fat stores.

But you're not out of control. You're just not exercising it.

When eating ice cream, weigh it and log it before eating. See if that helps with discipline.

I don't understand how they made binge into a disorder but not sugar obsession. When is something qualified as "out of control" and when not?

msemotan wrote: »

I understand that having treats, such as ice cream, in moderation is ok. What I am expressing is my choices are not in moderation and I feel out of control when I make them. I am still trying to loose weight and this is a hinderance for me. I have noticed since I made these changes that I gaining some fat stores.

I've learned that I can moderate the Ben & Jerry's mini cups, which do not come in my favorite flavors, but not the pints. So I don't buy the pints anymore. I have a big long list of treats I can moderate, and a smaller list of those I cannot. How I handle them is not having them in the house.

The following eliminated my sugar cravings:

1. Get sufficient sleep
2. Exercise regularly - when I get the happy hormones from exercise, I'm not prone to seeking them from food.
3. Get sufficient protein in relationship to carbs. I'm not low carb, but reducing carbs and upping protein worked for cravings for me. See also http://www.nutrition.org.uk/healthyliving/fuller/understanding-satiety-feeling-full-after-a-meal.html
4. Eat moderate amounts of fruit. This makes me less interested in higher calorie sweets.
5. Take a magnesium supplement. This can be especially helpful for women premenstrually.
6. Save foods like chocolate for after dinner, in small amounts

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I would suggest buying single serve items if you really want something, but if you can't control yourself, don't buy any. You can't eat what you don't have in the house. Try having berries in heavy cream instead. Healthy fats, healthy carbs, healthy sugars, and freaking delicious.