Sugar Addiction

drsusansta
drsusansta Posts: 1 Member
edited November 14 in Motivation and Support
Hi. I'm new to Fitness Pal and to serious attempts to lose weight. I have an extreme sugar addiction. It's so bad that when I have tried to go without it, I get a migraine, dizzy, have fainted and can barely get out of bed. It can be an actual addiction. I tried 4 months of NutriSystem, lost nothing but a lot of money and I ate a lot of their sweet foods.

I'm going to try HARD. Yes, I want to look better but I'm now working on my health. I have bad asthma and fibromyalgia. I'm 58 and 200lbs. Any tips about the sugar, fruit does not satisfy sweet tooth, and inspiration would be great. Oh and I broke my toe tonight.

Happy 2017 everyone.

Replies

  • kgeyser
    kgeyser Posts: 22,505 Member
    When you say you've tried to go without it, what changes have you made to your diet? What did you cut out? What kind of foods did you eat? Getting a sense of how you went about it in the past (since that didn't work for you) will help people come up with suggestions about where you can make changes that would allow you to cut back on sugary foods without necessarily having the same negative experience that you have had in the past.
  • Unknown
    Unknown
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  • stash1122
    stash1122 Posts: 2 Member
    I feel for you. I'm also having a struggle with sugar. I developed a sugar 'addiction ' when I kicked other addiction in my life. Replaced other substances with sugar. I've found moderation doesn't work. It's the same as kicking a drug or alcohol addiction. There is no moderation. It comes down to not doing it at all. The only thing I've found that has helped me at all is the art of distraction and eating properly and regularly. Finding something to do to be busy. I've taken up painting, drawing and crocheting. Things that should've replaced the other addictions to begin with not sugar. As for the eating, 5 or 6 small healthy meals /snacks so the blood sugar doesn't plummet and trigger a sugar craving. And when a craving hits it's like anything else... have multiple plans for distraction. I hope you find that helpful. I wish you the best and will pray for you.
  • maggiepz
    maggiepz Posts: 141 Member
    I found that the more I deprived myself of the sugar or starchy carbs the more I wanted them or craved them. I was a severe sugar addict, to the point where I would feel so hungry I would feel shaky and feel like vomiting if I did not have something every 3-4hrs. I wanted to go on a low carb diet starting tomorrow so rather than go cold turkey I have gradually stopped eating all processed food and most sweet or starchy carbs over the last couple weeks. When I craved carbs I would just have a small amount but whenever I felt I needed it. The lower my intake of "bad" carbs has gotten, the less I craved them. Yesterday as a reward we ate at Cracker Barrel and I ate biscuits, breaded chicken and dumplings and hash brown casserole to get my carb fix before I started my diet. Major shocker, it made me feel really sick and felt like I had a rock in my stomach all day, I was that uncomfortable. My grandkids love Kraft mac and cheese and I tasted it and since I have cut off processed food it seemed like all I could taste was chemicals. Yuck! I used to like it as much as they did!. My goal was to eat healthier, not cut calories. Even if I made poor choices I calculated and logged them but I found over time my daily caloric intake has decreased as I make better choices even though I have eaten more food and I have unintentionally LOST some weight. Today the only non fruit or veggie carbs I ate was a whole wheat and flax seed tortilla with 5 net carbs and a sliver of dark chocolate layer cake. What I huge difference in just a couple weeks. Based on this experience I would suggest slowly tapering the sugary and starchy carbs. Definitely cut processed food. I also found that have less cravings if I eat something small every few hours. My "on the go" snack is almonds. I always carry them and usually it takes just a quarter of a serving, 7 nuts in my brand, to cut my craving. At home its berries or some herbal tea.

    I agree you should have your blood sugar and A1C tested. You can get the cravings if you are prediabetic or diabetic.
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