Addicted to sugar

For most of my life I have eaten way too much sugar. Mountain Dew and a Three Musketeers candy bar for breakfast. Chocolate bar every time I get near a convenience store. You name it, I wanted it.

For the past six months, maybe a year, I have been working to get back into shape.i started at 242 pounds a year ago, and now I'm at 217. Headed for 180! I go to the gym multiple times a day (I only work part time). I record everything I eat or drink in MFP.

My desire for sugar has dropped way, way off. I think I have had one soda pop in the past week. Maybe TWO weeks. It just isn't important any more.

My real problem now is trying to get enough protein, but that's a different story.

Moondoggie9155 wrote: »

Sisepuede422 wrote: »

It feels like an addiction. I feel physically and psychologically sick if I don't eat something loaded with sugar. I'm like a junkie.

I am a sugar addict. and as someone that hasn't had a drink in 24 years I know for me it is a real addiction. i binge eat the minute i put processed sugars and carbs (which are sugars). I have not binged in 4 weeks as a result of cutting refined sugars, flours, dairy and potato chips. These personally are my triggers. I find that healthy fats, proteins reduce my cravings. I do treat myself to very small amount local honey in my tea and maple syrup in my oatmeal and some fruit...those do not set me off. it's hard and the first week you can feel like you have the flu, mood swings and headaches....but they do pass and the cravings eventually have gone away.
everyone has their own opinions about sugar. you have to decide for yourself if it is causing harm to your body and unmanageability in your life.

I did something similar at one point when I was struggling, convinced that I was doing something spectacular by eliminating "processed" and refined sugars from my life.

I did some more reading by people who were even more hard core and had to admit they were right, honey and maple syrup are also processed sugars. They are just processed through different ways.

I was using them to make treat foods with healthier whole food ingredients, but it was just silliness on my part.

In the end, I had to admit that the problem wasn't any specific food, it was my behaviors with those foods, and I just kept substituting one food for another.

To some extent, I still do. I make protein ice cream now instead of buying regular ice cream, for example. I have rulels in place around my behavior with food to keep things in check. But I'm no longer fooling myself that it's the food making me do this that or the other thing.

I know it's all me. I just make my choices knowing what my weaknesses are.

lemurcat12 wrote: »

nvsmomketo, this is not directed at you, since I know your issues are with carbs in general!

However, for those who assert that they have a sugar addiction and that makes things harder, I wonder what you think of my comments above about mostly having fruit when craving sugar. If the problem with the "addiction" is that you tend to overeat or eat less healthful foods, wouldn't doing that, and otherwise eating enough protein and fat (which should not be too hard) make the "addiction" harmless?

I am always curious about this when people insist they are struggling with sugar or carb cravings or have difficulty because of a sugar addiction.

I happen to think it's good to learn to consume even other kinds of sweet treats in moderation if you can, but if the desire is simply for sugar this seems like a good way to satisfy it.

I'll bite. I don't consider myself addicted, but I'm going through a spell where I'm having difficulty moderating treats.

My solution has been to stock the house with fruit, and to allow myself a single serving candy bar once every two or three weeks.

This goes back to me taking responsibility for me being the problem and building structure in my life so that I can live with my issues.

I probably won't stay this way forever, but for now, this is what's working.

Now that I have your attention... Hello, awesome MFPers. I hope you're having a lovely Sunday.

This discussion has been cleaned up to remove posts that debate the use of the word 'addiction' in relation to the word 'sugar'. THIS discussion should address the request for help in the original post. If you would like to participate in the debate that was split off, please head on over to the Debate: Health and Fitness forum OR click this link: http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10597981/addicted-to-sugar-debate

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Cheers,
Em

AlabasterVerve wrote: »

lemurcat12 wrote: »

nvsmomketo, this is not directed at you, since I know your issues are with carbs in general!

However, for those who assert that they have a sugar addiction and that makes things harder, I wonder what you think of my comments above about mostly having fruit when craving sugar. If the problem with the "addiction" is that you tend to overeat or eat less healthful foods, wouldn't doing that, and otherwise eating enough protein and fat (which should not be too hard) make the "addiction" harmless?

I am always curious about this when people insist they are struggling with sugar or carb cravings or have difficulty because of a sugar addiction.

I happen to think it's good to learn to consume even other kinds of sweet treats in moderation if you can, but if the desire is simply for sugar this seems like a good way to satisfy it.

I've never labeled myself a sugar addict but I definitely struggled. Eating fruit was the first thing I tried. Fruit was a tremendous help in kicking my junk food habit in the beginning and it worked to control my calories (most of the time) but it was a bandage, not a solution. The cravings were more manageable but almost every day was a struggle even six months after I started - I was hanging on by sheer willpower alone.

I know others have had success using fruit as substitute but it wasn't sustainable for me.

P.S. I actually went back to 2012 in my diary when I started just to make sure I was remembering this correctly and I am.

Out of curiosity, what were you craving? Carbs, food, specific foods? I find that what I eat tends to affect whether I am tempted by tasty treats that are available (by this I mean things like overall macros, how much protein I am eating, and how healthfully I am eating -- and I have a particular idea about this based in part on what helps me, that includes a certain amount of healthy fats and a lot of and large variety of veg). Also, WHEN I eat makes a big difference. That's one reason I think to be helpful we need more specific information about what OP is struggling with and has tried.

If one tends to crave carbs as well as sugar, my idea would be subbing higher nutrient carbs in general, not going way over the carb goal with all the excess fruit. I don't have the hugest sweet tooth anyway, but for example when I first started I tended to sub some fruit for grains -- the diet you listed would have been tough for me, but if instead of just adding the fruit you'd subbed them for the pretzels and so on, I wonder if that would have worked better.

Perhaps not, and I'm assuming that for you the answer to the cravings was cutting carbs down and getting through the transitional period?

Mine when I started was just cutting out added sugar for a while and getting lots of veg and enough protein. But if I had missed sweetness to the point that I felt bad or kept blowing it (as OP seemed to be talking about), I think I would have tried, then, having more fruit.

I suppose if "always craving more and more fruit" started happening, and it was making me have trouble hitting calories, that would have been an issue, but I get the sense that's reasonably rare. Lots of people find fruit easy to moderate.

Sugar addiction is real, it uses similar chemical pathways to class A drugs. I learned this in university. I had the same problem, and I combat it by eating fruit, especially if it's in smoothies. Sometimes I'm just desperate for a chocolate biscuit or something so I'll have one, but also have some fruit or something fibrous and healthy with it even if I really don't wanna eat the healthy thing. It stops your insulin levels going as crazy and helps your body build a positive association with the healthy food while giving you some sugar. Don't go cold turkey, just progressively limit your sugar intake and increase the percentage of natural unprocessed sugars in that intake. Another trick is to learn to make raw vegan treat - they're made with mostly dried fruits, seeds, nuts and natural sugars and spices. This will give you a sugar hit (they are not low cal) but it is quite hard to overeat them because they're so rich.