Sugar addicted?

cstehansen
cstehansen Posts: 1,984 Member
edited November 16 in Social Groups
http://sweetfreedomsummit.com/?idev_id=22&idev_username=hto

I keep seeing posts about people struggling to avoid sugar so I thought I would post a link to this summit that is aimed at breaking sugar addiction. Having seen what I have seen over the years, I do believe sugar addiction is a real thing and for those it affects, it can be quite damaging.
«1

Replies

  • Sunny_Bunny_
    Sunny_Bunny_ Posts: 7,140 Member
    Looks interesting. A bunch of people I'm not familiar with. Might be some new info or ideas and strategies here.
    :)
  • KnitOrMiss
    KnitOrMiss Posts: 10,103 Member
    Looks fabulous - and interesting. Shared it out on my wall!
  • SuperCarLori
    SuperCarLori Posts: 1,248 Member
    cstehansen wrote: »
    http://sweetfreedomsummit.com/?idev_id=22&idev_username=hto

    I keep seeing posts about people struggling to avoid sugar so I thought I would post a link to this summit that is aimed at breaking sugar addiction. Having seen what I have seen over the years, I do believe sugar addiction is a real thing and for those it affects, it can be quite damaging.

    Man, thank you. It's a real thing, swear.
  • dulcitonia
    dulcitonia Posts: 278 Member
    I don't recognize any of the presenters either
  • tinachris14
    tinachris14 Posts: 93 Member
    This is interesting...part of my job is to educate patients on their prescribed diet. Limited concentrated sweets has to be the hardest thing to gain compliance with.
  • RalfLott
    RalfLott Posts: 5,036 Member
    This is interesting...part of my job is to educate patients on their prescribed diet. Limited concentrated sweets has to be the hardest thing to gain compliance with.

    Do you have any go-to methods for trying to get various types of patients on board?
  • inspirationstation
    inspirationstation Posts: 209 Member
    It's real. At least for me, it is real. I have intense sugar cravings, unless I am eating very low carb. For me, I also believe hormones play a huge role in my sugar addiction.
  • carlsoda
    carlsoda Posts: 3,438 Member
    It is definitely real! It's the only thing I am addicted too! I did a modified whole30 with the main emphasis being to have no sugar or artificial sugar for 30 days. I just finished but still feel nervous about sugar so I'll have to be careful I don't fall into it's grip!
  • nvmomketo
    nvmomketo Posts: 12,019 Member
    Sugar... not good with it. Thanks for posting this.
  • llbreuer2006
    llbreuer2006 Posts: 29 Member
    Sugar addiction is real for me and it's definitely my drug of choice! I've never done drugs and rarely drink alcohol, but sugar sends me into a downward spiral that I can only assume is comparable to what drug or alcohol addicts go through. I had not had any significant sugar last year from January 10 until the middle of October. I gave in and allowed myself a sugary treat and proceeded to go on a 2 1/2 month binge and gained 30 lbs! The worst part was when I tried several times to get back on track I had significant physical withdrawal symptoms. I was shocked! My symptoms were similar to what I've seen described by heroin addicts! I had a headache, body aches, sweating, nausea and trembling. It was awful! It was so awful that I swore I would NEVER go through it again. I clearly can't control my sugar addiction any more than a drug addict can control their addiction. What I can do is make sure I never make the choice to start again. I'm back on track and have been sugar free since the beginning of January. I haven't gotten all of the 30 lbs back off, but am well on my way. The most important thing isn't the weight loss, it's being in control of my eating habits. Thanks for sharing the link. It looks interesting!
  • kpk54
    kpk54 Posts: 4,474 Member
    The most important thing isn't the weight loss, it's being in control of my eating habits.

    <3
  • llbreuer2006
    llbreuer2006 Posts: 29 Member
    Trust me, sugar withdrawal is nothing, and I repeat NOTHING like heroin withdrawal. It's not even close. Just stop.

    It's more like crack withdrawal, which is more psychological and sneaky.

    Good to know. I wasn't aware that headaches, body aches, sweating and trembling were just sneaky psychological symptoms. Thanks for validating my personal experience.
  • cstehansen
    cstehansen Posts: 1,984 Member
    Trust me, sugar withdrawal is nothing, and I repeat NOTHING like heroin withdrawal. It's not even close. Just stop.

    It's more like crack withdrawal, which is more psychological and sneaky.

    Good to know. I wasn't aware that headaches, body aches, sweating and trembling were just sneaky psychological symptoms. Thanks for validating my personal experience.

    You're welcome. It's nothing like heroin withdrawal. Thanks for minimizing my experience, and thousands of others.

    I don't think anyone intended to minimize your experience. There are many types of addiction. Most have similar characteristics, but for some crazy reason we are not all prone to all of them. I am fortunate that I do not seem to possess the gene(s) or whatever it is to make me prone to much in the way of addiction. Given the things I tried, much of it in great excess, during my youth and what I saw happen to many of my friends, I truly do know how blessed I am in this regard. Well over half of my friends from those years did not survive to see 30 yo.

    My comments were intended to show there are addictive properties to sugar, at least for some. As such, telling someone with this addiction to just cut back will never work. It goes much deeper than just a matter of simple will power.
  • SuperCarLori
    SuperCarLori Posts: 1,248 Member
    cstehansen wrote: »
    Trust me, sugar withdrawal is nothing, and I repeat NOTHING like heroin withdrawal. It's not even close. Just stop.

    It's more like crack withdrawal, which is more psychological and sneaky.

    Good to know. I wasn't aware that headaches, body aches, sweating and trembling were just sneaky psychological symptoms. Thanks for validating my personal experience.

    You're welcome. It's nothing like heroin withdrawal. Thanks for minimizing my experience, and thousands of others.

    I don't think anyone intended to minimize your experience. There are many types of addiction. Most have similar characteristics, but for some crazy reason we are not all prone to all of them. I am fortunate that I do not seem to possess the gene(s) or whatever it is to make me prone to much in the way of addiction. Given the things I tried, much of it in great excess, during my youth and what I saw happen to many of my friends, I truly do know how blessed I am in this regard. Well over half of my friends from those years did not survive to see 30 yo.

    My comments were intended to show there are addictive properties to sugar, at least for some. As such, telling someone with this addiction to just cut back will never work. It goes much deeper than just a matter of simple will power.

    I agree. Cutting back doesn't work. At least for me.

    It's not a biggie, it just bothers me a bit when people who haven't been through heroin withdrawal compare it to food withdrawal. It's taking away from survivors and it's *kitten*. It's not even relative, c.

    Thank you for caring enough to soothe my ruffled feathers. :)
  • allie2girlz
    allie2girlz Posts: 42 Member
    I struggled to give up sugar, but have conquered the beast, thank goodness for my health's sake. My uncle quit drinking alcohol but greatly increased his intake of dr. peppers and candy after that. He has already had a major heart attack and is only 50 y.o. His Dr. has talked to him about sugar and I talked to him about how addictive it is and that it is not good for his health. He is now trying to give up sugar but has said that it has been harder for him than giving up alcohol.
  • SuperCarLori
    SuperCarLori Posts: 1,248 Member
    I struggled to give up sugar, but have conquered the beast, thank goodness for my health's sake. My uncle quit drinking alcohol but greatly increased his intake of dr. peppers and candy after that. He has already had a major heart attack and is only 50 y.o. His Dr. has talked to him about sugar and I talked to him about how addictive it is and that it is not good for his health. He is now trying to give up sugar but has said that it has been harder for him than giving up alcohol.

    It's very hard to give up sugar.. It was and still is my drug of choice.

    My bf got acute pancreatitis as a result of alcohol consumption, and they told him he had to stop eating fat, he said it was harder to give up pizza than alcohol. He quickly went back to his high fat high carb eating habits, but has maintained his sobriety.

    It's not easy to quit any addiction, that's for sure. But high five to us rocking it!! And high five to those of us who fall down and get back up!! It'll stick at some point!
  • nvmomketo
    nvmomketo Posts: 12,019 Member
    Trust me, sugar withdrawal is nothing, and I repeat NOTHING like heroin withdrawal. It's not even close. Just stop.

    It's more like crack withdrawal, which is more psychological and sneaky.

    Good to know. I wasn't aware that headaches, body aches, sweating and trembling were just sneaky psychological symptoms. Thanks for validating my personal experience.

    Those can also be symptoms of electrolyte imbalance or falling blood glucose levels.

    When carbs are lowered, insulin goes down, and insulin is what causes water and electrolyte retention. When most start low carb they lose a few pounds of water and lots of sodium causing feelings of fatigue, brain fog, headaches, muscle aches, muscle spasms, nausea, and BM issues. If you proactively take 3000-5000+ mg of sodium per day as you reduce carbs, those symptoms can be avoided, or at least stopped within hours. One teaspoon of tablesalt is 2300 mg sodium.

    Rapidly falling blood glucose can cause hypoglycemic symptoms of cold sweats, tremors, brain fog and mild confusion, and falling blood pressure. Once your body adapts to low carb, that does not often happen anymore. If you are a T2D on medication, it is usually a sign that insulin and metformin may need to be lowered.

    Those symptoms all feel really bad, but it isn't really all due to a sugar withdrawal, although I do believe some foods can cause withdarawl like symptoms when you stop them.
  • llbreuer2006
    llbreuer2006 Posts: 29 Member
    nvmomketo wrote: »
    Trust me, sugar withdrawal is nothing, and I repeat NOTHING like heroin withdrawal. It's not even close. Just stop.

    It's more like crack withdrawal, which is more psychological and sneaky.

    Good to know. I wasn't aware that headaches, body aches, sweating and trembling were just sneaky psychological symptoms. Thanks for validating my personal experience.

    Those can also be symptoms of electrolyte imbalance or falling blood glucose levels.

    When carbs are lowered, insulin goes down, and insulin is what causes water and electrolyte retention. When most start low carb they lose a few pounds of water and lots of sodium causing feelings of fatigue, brain fog, headaches, muscle aches, muscle spasms, nausea, and BM issues. If you proactively take 3000-5000+ mg of sodium per day as you reduce carbs, those symptoms can be avoided, or at least stopped within hours. One teaspoon of tablesalt is 2300 mg sodium.

    Rapidly falling blood glucose can cause hypoglycemic symptoms of cold sweats, tremors, brain fog and mild confusion, and falling blood pressure. Once your body adapts to low carb, that does not often happen anymore. If you are a T2D on medication, it is usually a sign that insulin and metformin may need to be lowered.

    Those symptoms all feel really bad, but it isn't really all due to a sugar withdrawal, although I do believe some foods can cause withdarawl like symptoms when you stop them.

    I have lived a low carb lifestyle for most of the last decade. I know the symptoms don't last once you get your blood sugar regulated. The fact that the PHYSICAL symptoms are due to blood sugar dropping because sugar intake has stopped is the very definition of physical dependence (aka addiction).
  • llbreuer2006
    llbreuer2006 Posts: 29 Member
    edited March 2017
    Trust me, sugar withdrawal is nothing, and I repeat NOTHING like heroin withdrawal. It's not even close. Just stop.

    It's more like crack withdrawal, which is more psychological and sneaky.

    Good to know. I wasn't aware that headaches, body aches, sweating and trembling were just sneaky psychological symptoms. Thanks for validating my personal experience.

    You're welcome. It's nothing like heroin withdrawal. Thanks for minimizing my experience, and thousands of others.

    I was not in any way trying to minimize your experience, but that's exactly what you did to me by attacking my comment. I have no idea what heroin withdrawal feels like. I only know that my physical symptoms were similar in definition, not necessarily intensity to those I've seen others describe with heroin withdrawal. There are scientific studies that back that up. I'm in no way saying that they are exactly the same. I'm sure that heroin withdrawal is much more intense. My point was that there were actually physical withdrawal symptoms just like there are for heroin. I didn't say it was the same, just that there are similarities. I would never want to minimize anyone's personal experience. It would be nice if you could do the same. Just because your experience isn't the same as mine doesn't mean mine should be minimized. You are doing exactly what you say you don't want others to do to you. I was not trying to insult you or anyone else who has battled addiction. I am amazed by those who have battled drug addiction and am very thankful that I have never had to. I hope this is coming across the way it's intended. I know that sometimes the message gets lost in translation when typed.
  • llbreuer2006
    llbreuer2006 Posts: 29 Member



    https://authoritynutrition.com/10-similarities-between-junk-foods-and-drugs/
    Trust me, sugar withdrawal is nothing, and I repeat NOTHING like heroin withdrawal. It's not even close. Just stop.

    It's more like crack withdrawal, which is more psychological and sneaky.

    Good to know. I wasn't aware that headaches, body aches, sweating and trembling were just sneaky psychological symptoms. Thanks for validating my personal experience.

    You're welcome. It's nothing like heroin withdrawal. Thanks for minimizing my experience, and thousands of others.

  • RalfLott
    RalfLott Posts: 5,036 Member
    edited March 2017
    nvmomketo wrote: »
    Rapidly falling blood glucose can cause hypoglycemic symptoms of cold sweats, tremors, brain fog and mild confusion, and falling blood pressure. Once your body adapts to low carb, that does not often happen anymore. If you are a T2D on medication, it is usually a sign that insulin and metformin may need to be lowered.

    Well, Metformin is an insulin sensitizer; it doesn't cause hypoglycemia, as do insulin and other oral meds (like Glipizide , among others) if the dose is not reduced. Generally, the recommendation is to work up to and maintain a full dose. But it's true that even the XR version will lower your blood sugar, though not terribly rapidly as far as I know.

    (Of course, if you have GI "issues" from Metformin :s, that's a great reason to reduce if you can!)



This discussion has been closed.