Ugh! Sugar!!

ladybear1970
ladybear1970 Posts: 3 Member
in Introduce Yourself
I have been overweight pretty much since puberty. I am 45 yrs old and the older I get, the more my body hurts and yells at me to get this weight off. Sad thing is I have had previous back surgery at the ripe old age of 26. I have been told for the past 25 years that if I lose weight and exercise, I won't be in pain anymore. How can I exercise when there are days I can barely walk? So....... in 2008 (while I was in nursing school just to torture myself even more!!) I got the lapband. I weighed 309lbs at that time. They didn't tell me the average weight loss is only about 30lbs. What?!? I suffered for the past couple of years with Gerd and having a hard time eating since the band constricted so much food couldn't pass through. Finally, after my husband nagged me for a couple of years I saw a surgeon and found that my problems were because my stomach herniated through the band. So I had yet another surgery to have the band removed and do a gastric bypass. This was on my birthday in Dec 2014. At the time I weighed 265lbs. I got down to 206lbs. But I have started gaining the weight back and am now at 220lbs. Ugh! I am sooooooo addicted to sugar! I really hoped I would become lactose intolerant (I love ice cream) and get dumping syndrome from more than 10G of sugar. Of course neither of this happened for me to help me restrain from eating the things I love. Yes, my portions are very much smaller but I can still eat these things. I have zero self restraint! Ugh! It is very frustrating.

Replies

  • Tapir13
    Tapir13 Posts: 33 Member
    Sugar is the devil. I can relate.
  • Tapir13
    Tapir13 Posts: 33 Member
    edited May 2016
    Refined sugar can be very addictive. Not everyone gets addicted to it, but then not everyone is susceptible to addiction. There's almost always an underlying cause that has nothing to do with the substance.
  • zoeysasha37
    zoeysasha37 Posts: 7,088 Member
    Tapir13 wrote: »
    Refined sugar can be very addictive. Not everyone gets addicted to it, but then not everyone is susceptible to addiction. There's almost always an underlying cause that has nothing to do with the substance.

    If you admit that there's usually an underlying problem that has nothing to do with the actual substance ( sugar ) then how can you say sugar is the devil ?
  • zoeysasha37
    zoeysasha37 Posts: 7,088 Member
    StealthHealth wrote: »
    After everything that you've been through and you still can't find the self restraint required to eat at moderation, reach ideal body weight and then maintain?

    Some tough love here: Without that self-restraint you will never lose the weight.
    • Set a sensible, moderate deficit
    • Log your food
    • Eat within you target calories
    • Do not ban foods - eat the foods you enjoy but within your calorie limit

    Or don't. And, learn to live with the fact that you will gain more weight, your health will suffer and the pain from your weight will increase.

    Your choice.

    This 100%
    Your options are to change or stay the same. Its totally up to you op ! Nobody here can say anything to make you change. You have to want it and work for it.
    There's tons of people here that where just like you but found ways to dig themselves out of the situation. It can be done but will require hard work and dedication. I believe you can do it !
  • lemurcat12
    lemurcat12 Posts: 30,886 Member
    OP, welcome! What are you trying currently, and what have you found to be the difficulties or areas where you trip up?
  • jillygilly75
    jillygilly75 Posts: 2 Member
    I am a sugar addict. I gave up last April and have lost 80 lbs. you have to give it up. Totally , completely. However , you can't do it with willpower alone, as it is clearly an addiction .. You need God. God Alone grants his children gifts when they come to him in submission. I asked God to give me self control when I finally admitted I was a greedy glutton. Today , I live in freedom. A skinny body for the first time in my life. At 40!!! But you have to have strict boundaries. Good luck. And give up sugar!! No bread , pasta , flour , cakes... All of it. It ain't worth it. There are feasts in heaven which you are invited to if you want to accept.
  • upoffthemat
    upoffthemat Posts: 679 Member
    It's like deja vu all over again.
  • Unknown
    Unknown
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  • SLLRunner
    SLLRunner Posts: 12,942 Member
    Welcome, @labybear1970. Believe me, I can relate to most of what you are saying, minus the surgery experiences. I was obese most of my life, lost weight about 15 years ago and was overweight until about three years ago. You said this, which I believe is a significant realization in your journey:
    I have zero self restraint! Ugh! It is very frustrating.

    It's not the food type that is causing you to gain weight, it's eating too many calories. What would it look like for you to give yourself permission to have a small helping of ice cream and allow that to be enough? Better yet, can you envision yourself buying a food scale and weighing your solid foods, measuring your liquids, and logging all your intake? This might be the only way you will be able to ascertain your calorie intake so you can learn self restraint.

    I encourage you in your journey. I have 100% confidence that you can learn the life skills to get your weight off for good! If I can do it, anyone can, and so can you. :)
  • SLLRunner
    SLLRunner Posts: 12,942 Member
    jillygilly75 wrote: »
    I am a sugar addict. I gave up last April and have lost 80 lbs. you have to give it up. Totally , completely. However , you can't do it with willpower alone, as it is clearly an addiction .. You need God. God Alone grants his children gifts when they come to him in submission. I asked God to give me self control when I finally admitted I was a greedy glutton. Today , I live in freedom. A skinny body for the first time in my life. At 40!!! But you have to have strict boundaries. Good luck. And give up sugar!! No bread , pasta , flour , cakes... All of it. It ain't worth it. There are feasts in heaven which you are invited to if you want to accept.

    Creating boundaries around food is an absolute must for weight control, but food type has nothing to do with weight loss. I eat all the foods you say to give up and I lost weight and keep it off, and I am a thinner person. While what you describe worked beautifully for you (congrats on your weight loss. :smiley:), but there are many ways to travel the weight management journey.

  • 100df
    100df Posts: 668 Member
    @ladybear1970 Lots of people here have troubles with overeating sugary foods. Some say it is an addiction, some say it isn't. Both groups have lost or maintained weight. It doesn't matter what you call it.

    While I haven't conquered it, I have found strategies that help me.

    I have committed myself to accurately logging every morsel/liquid that I consume. Seeing the calories add up and my deficit disappearing is what keeps me honest with myself. Make your diary private if it bothers you that others will see it. An open diary helps some people. Figure out what you will help you.

    I have figured out some situations or interactions with people that make me want to eat/overeat. I did this by keeping a journal of what was going on in life when I overate. By doing this I found that I will overeat when food is available, not just in an emotional state.

    I do not bring/make foods into the house that will make me crazy not eating them. While I strive for moderation, I don't torture myself either.

    There are times that I just have to commit not to eat XX food. Right now there are chocolate caramel brownies my husband made last night. I have a portion weighed and logged. I will eat it later tonight. I have to white knuckle to stay away from the rest of the pan. My daughter is having friends over tonight so it's easy today. I would be embarrassed to have to make another pan because I ate them. Other times food like that is just here and it is torture.

    Keep in mind that many here will give advice even if they don't have the same problems as you do. In my opinion their advice is useless. Take it with a grain of salt.
  • alltheabove198
    alltheabove198 Posts: 2 Member
    edited May 2016
    Don't listen to any of the harsh comments. Anyways, I'm trying to cut sugar out. I would suggest talking to a counselor about emotional eating. There's no shame in getting help. At midnight the food gremlin comes out and I end ruining my diet by eating carbs. I read a book the roadmap on Amazon, and so far it's helped me let go of my cravings.
  • ladybear1970
    ladybear1970 Posts: 3 Member
    I do need the tough love! I came here for a dose of reality to get off my lazy butt, stop indulging and start moving. My husband tries to support but at the same time sabatoges. He retired after 28 yrs of military service and has pretty much gainrd the weight I lost post-op. I do notice hormonally, emotionally when I binge. I need to account for my binges so I can be honest with myself. I have started a study called Made to Crave. I have used this app on/off for a couple of years and always recommend it to my patients.
  • lemurcat12
    lemurcat12 Posts: 30,886 Member
    jillygilly75 wrote: »
    I am a sugar addict. I gave up last April and have lost 80 lbs. you have to give it up. Totally , completely. However , you can't do it with willpower alone, as it is clearly an addiction .. You need God. God Alone grants his children gifts when they come to him in submission. I asked God to give me self control when I finally admitted I was a greedy glutton. Today , I live in freedom. A skinny body for the first time in my life. At 40!!! But you have to have strict boundaries. Good luck. And give up sugar!! No bread , pasta , flour , cakes... All of it. It ain't worth it. There are feasts in heaven which you are invited to if you want to accept.

    Are you suggesting that one goes to heaven based on whether one eats carbs? Because that's sure what you seem to be saying.

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