addicted to sugar

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  • dianaH1986
    dianaH1986 Posts: 19 Member
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    If self discipline doesn't work....Walmart sells a sugar Blocker pill for diabetics. It's called "Sugar Blocker" lol. It's around $8 a bottle and It makes sugary foods taste awful. I had a sugar addiction as well and this helped me. It may not work for everyone, but it's worth a shot.
  • GirlonBliss
    GirlonBliss Posts: 38 Member
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    I usually find that mosts people crave sugar because they had something salty before hand. Two opposite extremes. For example, it's really easy to crave ice cream after a salty burger. It's harder to crave ice cream after a sour pickle.

    Do you eat relatively salty/savory/heavy meals? Sometimes you just feel the need to taste the opposite and have something uplifting. Making simple changes to your regular meals like adding something sweet such as sweet potato or pumpkin or something can help ease sugar cravings. Just something to consider before you try cutting out the sugar - start with what might be causing the craving :)
  • sugaraddict4321
    sugaraddict4321 Posts: 15,762 MFP Moderator
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    lemurcat12 wrote: »
    What I found was a bigger issue for me was the habit of snacking lots at work (for stress reasons or the like)...

    ^This! Every office I've worked in people are snacking constantly and bringing in foods that are tempting. If you don't want any they give you a hard time and say things like "But it's my grandma's recipe. You have to try it!" So you need to be firm with them and with yourself.

    As others have said, try to get a good, solid breakfast. It sounds stupid and unhealthy, but at one point I found it easiest to eat a McDonald's mcmuffin with egg and a small orange juice each morning on the way to work. It gave me lots of calories, fat and protein, and then I stayed full until lunch. For reference, the sausage egg mcmuffin has 470 cals and 21 g protein and the bacon egg and cheese biscuit has 440 cals and 19 g protein. Some will say these are horrible choices, but they helped me to cut out snacking at work and then I could gradually focus on making better breakfast choices.

    As for Coke, I used to drink a lot of it and would panic if I had less than a 12-pack at home. I gradually switched to Coke Zero. Because I don't like it as much as regular, I don't drink as much. Now I have maybe 1-2 cans of regular coke in the house just for using with mixed drinks, and 1-2 cans of zero for "emergency" caffeine.

    You can do it but as someone else said, you can't be a victim. Take charge of what you eat. ;)
  • thehealthyf00die
    thehealthyf00die Posts: 25 Member
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    I also had to deal with sugar addiction and once I got rid of the idea that I could have sugar in moderation, then I was finally able to kick the habit. Sugar is not just a psychological addiction, it's a very real physiological addiction as well. I find it best to refrain from all sugars (including fruit) for about a week or so and take glutamine when the sugar cravings hit. I currently do eat fruits but my rule is that if I'm going to have something sugary, it better have fiber in it to slow down the sugar spike (even better if you can add some protein as well).

    I have read research studies that show that diet sodas tend to make us crave the taste of sugar because the brain feels like it's being tricked. It might be best to refrain from them as well for about a week or so.

    Glutamine + fiber + protein + healthy fats = what I used to kick my sugar addiction!
    Good luck! YOU CAN DO THIS!!! ;)
  • sdgbt
    sdgbt Posts: 19 Member
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    Lots of good tips here. I just wanted to post to say you're not on your own! I'm in the same boat, and my concerns about the amount of refined sugar I'm eating actually made me make download this app today. I am truly addicted to it. Last night, I watched some videos on youtube about what sugar does to your body and the consequences of developing something like diabetes and it gave me a fright. I'm trying to use these resources to change the way I think about it, so that I don't want to put it into my body any more. I think it will take time, and I am still going to eat a limited amount of fruit when the cravings hit.

  • psuLemon
    psuLemon Posts: 38,401 MFP Moderator
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    sdgbt wrote: »
    Lots of good tips here. I just wanted to post to say you're not on your own! I'm in the same boat, and my concerns about the amount of refined sugar I'm eating actually made me make download this app today. I am truly addicted to it. Last night, I watched some videos on youtube about what sugar does to your body and the consequences of developing something like diabetes and it gave me a fright. I'm trying to use these resources to change the way I think about it, so that I don't want to put it into my body any more. I think it will take time, and I am still going to eat a limited amount of fruit when the cravings hit.

    Fyi, sugar doesnt cause diabetes. Obesity and inactivity are linked to diabetes but sugar isnt.
  • DebSozo
    DebSozo Posts: 2,578 Member
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    jackielou867 wrote: »
    google the sugar cycle, its to do with insulin, eat sugar, insulin deals with sugar in blood, body craves more sugar etc, once you start to resist it becomes easier. I know I am a REFORMED sugar addict. It can be done.
    In the old days, I would stop for petrol, couldnt decide which chocolate bar to buy, so I would buy 3 and eat them all on the way home!

    Me too! It can be done! I cut sugar out and dealt with cravings until I got breakthrough. But the first week was difficult while I white-knuckled the sugar cravings. Now I'm not tempted as much at all. It is great!
  • nvmomketo
    nvmomketo Posts: 12,019 Member
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    My issues with sugar felt addiction like too. I couldn't seem to stop at just one, and then with reactive hypoglycemia I was shaking a couple of hours later (felt like withdrawal) and ate more to stop it - usually something sugary so it would stop fast.

    Because it felt addiction like I treated foods with sugars, that become blood sugars, meaning all carbohydrates, as a problem and I reduced them as uch as possible without becoming a carnivore. When my carb level is below 20g per day, my sweets cravings are gone and I suddenly have control over my food intake. massive will power is no longer needed. But once my carbs start creeping up over 30g, especially with high carb foods like a small potato, my sugar cravings and appetite comes roaring back. It takes afew days of low carb to get the cravings and appetite under control again.

    If you really are having an extreme reaction (addiction) to sugar then treating it like an addictive substance and (almost) eliminating it may be the best answer. If it was an exageration, you may only need to make sure thatyou have better food options available when you are choosing sugar.
    psulemon wrote: »
    sdgbt wrote: »
    Lots of good tips here. I just wanted to post to say you're not on your own! I'm in the same boat, and my concerns about the amount of refined sugar I'm eating actually made me make download this app today. I am truly addicted to it. Last night, I watched some videos on youtube about what sugar does to your body and the consequences of developing something like diabetes and it gave me a fright. I'm trying to use these resources to change the way I think about it, so that I don't want to put it into my body any more. I think it will take time, and I am still going to eat a limited amount of fruit when the cravings hit.

    Fyi, sugar doesnt cause diabetes. Obesity and inactivity are linked to diabetes but sugar isnt.

    So far, only rats develop IR from too much sugar, and prettt consistently. In people, if we drink one sweetened beverage per day (soda, juice) it is shown that risk of T2D goes up by over 50%, even in lean people.

    Obesity and inactivity are linked to T2D. They are not proven to be a cause. What comes first is not firmly established. Did people gain weight due to IR or was it the other way around? I know in my case, I gained weight after I became prediabetic. I was about 10lbs over normal BMI when my blood glucose switched to prediabetic. It was then that I started gaining more weight more quickly.

    Obesity, inactivity and T2D are just linked at this point. I do know that higher levels of sugar / carbs cause my BG to become elevated to unhealthy levels now that insulin resistance is already established. Darn it.

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