Sugar addicts anonymous
mybigfat
Posts: 162 Member
Hello my name is Dee and I am a sugar addict. I don't mean I eat a snickers now and then no I will buy 3 candy bars eat 2 in the car and bring one home so my husband doesn't know. I can't even keep sugar in the house like table sugar because I will start getting creative and next thing you know I have eaten an entire batch of cookies. If you are in the same boat let's try and help each other. If you have been there what worked for you.
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Replies
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I struggle with sweets. I try to limit myself to small amounts of it. Or just don't have it in the house because I have a hard time controlling myself. Sometimes fruit is a good substitute for candy.1
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I love chocolate but when I started cutting carbs and increasing fat intake, I found myself dreaming of avocados and butter i/o sweets. Get your body to start craving fats for energy.7
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I will try both of these and ya chocolate is definitely my favorite1
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Snickers and cookies have plenty of fat, so why is it the sugars fault that you can't control your eating?
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Hello my name is Dee and I am a sugar addict. I don't mean I eat a snickers now and then no I will buy 3 candy bars eat 2 in the car and bring one home so my husband doesn't know. I can't even keep sugar in the house like table sugar because I will start getting creative and next thing you know I have eaten an entire batch of cookies. If you are in the same boat let's try and help each other. If you have been there what worked for you.
I hear you I just don't bring it in the house. If it's here, I will go right down the rabbit hole eating the whole thing. After a few days of no sweets, I find the craving mostly goes away. Occasionally I will still have a sweet if offered one at someone else's house. Or if I am dying for ice cream, I will buy a single serving at Dairy Queen and eat it there. Can't tell you how often I have baked a batch of cookies and then had to throw most of it in the trash to keep myself from eating them all.3 -
I find if I have it, I eat it all at once so I avoid buying sugary things at all. That or buy things all ready in small size. I don't do any left overs! Or a box of cookies is a no no0
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livingleanlivingclean wrote: »Snickers and cookies have plenty of fat, so why is it the sugars fault that you can't control your eating?
Because fat is the cool guy in town!13 -
Hi there,
You have my sympathies. Since I refuse to deprive myself of anything, I control my (rather severe) sugar habit by eating very small amounts of it at a time. The moment I sense that I am not in control - i.e. that I keep going back for more, I cut it out completely for a week or so (or a couple of days if that's enough), till I don't miss it anymore. Then I know I can relax a bit and eat a tiny bit when I feel like it.
It's a delicate balance, but one that works if you are disciplined about it.
So my suggestion to you to 'set yourself up' would be to cut it out completely for two weeks or however long it takes for you to be able to look at that chocolate bar and not want it. Oh, and I would also recommend to steer clear of any artificial sweeteners.
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My name is Naja and I am a sugar addict. Some time late last year it dawned on me that I was going to be 50 this year and I was damned if I was going to keep knocking my head against the wall with this weight/food issue. I realized that I had to do something I never did before - give up sugar. I lost weight in the past - even got down to goal with Weight Watchers but a lot of the food I ate was lower in fat and of course, supplemented with sugar for taste. I used the artificial sweeteners and all the processed diet crap that WW was promoting at that time.
On January 2nd I started cold turkey. I started by cutting out the honey and raw sugar that I added to my tea and coffee. And any processed food with added sugar I nixed. After three weeks I did have a small piece of birthday cake for my mom’s birthday, but by then I no longer had cravings for sugar and was no longer fiending for a second piece like I used to.
I could go on and on but if you want to ask me any questions I love helping others. Ask away!
Lost 30.6 since 1/02/18. About 40 more to go.13 -
livingleanlivingclean wrote: »Snickers and cookies have plenty of fat, so why is it the sugars fault that you can't control your eating?
This^
You use the bag of granulated sugar to create a "recipe" that is something delicious. I crave delicious things too. Who doesn't love warm gooey chocolate chip cookies?
There are a couple options - total elimination. This helps me diet. But the problem with that is losing weight is just the first step. Elimination doesn't help me maintain. PRACTICING moderate does. We practice moderation..... we're not perfect (nor do we have to be). We just need to do better....most of the time.
Find strategies to cope. I eat super dark chocolate now. I can manage moderation with dark Ghiradelli individually wrapped squares in a way I can't with Hershey Kisses. Find ways to allow yourself some small treat.....go out for ice cream, or switch to Halo Top ice cream. Keep experimenting.8 -
Hello my name is Dee and I am a sugar addict. I don't mean I eat a snickers now and then no I will buy 3 candy bars eat 2 in the car and bring one home so my husband doesn't know. I can't even keep sugar in the house like table sugar because I will start getting creative and next thing you know I have eaten an entire batch of cookies. If you are in the same boat let's try and help each other. If you have been there what worked for you.
When we sat down to go over our budget at the end of 2017, I had to face up to the fact that the vast majority of what I was putting on my personal credit card was fast food. I realized that I was using that card (rather than a joint card with better restaurant rewards) as a way of hiding the extent of my habit from my husband. I have since switched to using the joint card. He has never questioned a single purchase, but being more honest with him makes me more honest with myself.3 -
Hello my name is Dee and I am a sugar addict. I don't mean I eat a snickers now and then no I will buy 3 candy bars eat 2 in the car and bring one home so my husband doesn't know. I can't even keep sugar in the house like table sugar because I will start getting creative and next thing you know I have eaten an entire batch of cookies. If you are in the same boat let's try and help each other. If you have been there what worked for you.
I think people missed this aspect, and I say this in a positive way to help you. While you may be addicted to sugar (or just have food addiction), these are more signs of an eating disorder (hiding food, binging on cookies, having food routines). Seek professional help if you can’t help yourself
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pinggolfer96 wrote: »Hello my name is Dee and I am a sugar addict. I don't mean I eat a snickers now and then no I will buy 3 candy bars eat 2 in the car and bring one home so my husband doesn't know. I can't even keep sugar in the house like table sugar because I will start getting creative and next thing you know I have eaten an entire batch of cookies. If you are in the same boat let's try and help each other. If you have been there what worked for you.
I think people missed this aspect, and I say this in a positive way to help you. While you may be addicted to sugar (or just have food addiction), these are more signs of an eating disorder (hiding food, binging on cookies, having food routines). Seek professional help if you can’t help yourself
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I do actually think I have a bit of an eating disorder I find myself binging a lot and have in the past purged though I have not done that in some time
OF course we have a eating disorder and yes it is sugar but for me it is carbs in general , bread , rolls , crust , pies, cakes chocolate , cookies , you name it , I am very over weight and I am working so hard to stop this cycle , of binge eating . Been doing low carbs for about 90 days now , and I have lost around 30 pounds , need to lose 200 ,
It is a mind thing and it is an addiction , (don't care what any ones says it is) people who don't Binge don't get it . It is so hard , it's like stopping smoking or drinking . I know if I don't lose weight and stop over eating I am going to die I am 52 and diabetic . so please add me as a friend , we will walk this long hard road together !!!
I use to do OA which was over-eaters anonymous , the best thing I learned there was to chart what you eat and on MFP we do that and to understand why you might eat sugar , like a fight with someone or stress or crises. or just being bored .
I also learned that this is your journey, no one else can walk it or do it !! How ever you do it is up to you , if in the end you lose weight and feel better about yourself and make healthy choices , Then you Win !! Big Hugs !11 -
I am sorry that people are already taking issue with your thread. We eat the sugary things because they taste sweet. Not because they taste like olive oil, or butter, or any other fat. Sweet. I was the kid who ate sugar with a spoon, out of the bag, while hiding in the pantry. So I totally get you! Unfortunately for me, I have to avoid it completely to avoid a binge. There is no moderation. I ate a pear with my coffe and cream for a snack this aft and ended up eating 2 more plus an apple and now I am sitting on my deck enjoying the sunshine but trying desperately to distract myself from going all out and eating everything else with a predominately sweet flavour in my house. Tomorrow I will avoid sweet completely and focus on protein and fats to avoid this torture of insatiable cravings. Back to Keto for me, it works best in my head, every time I try moderation I end up in a binge.
We are an odd bunch, I am sure there is some way to “treat” and or deal with these feelings more effectively and if you have access to a eating disorder support person I would search one out. Unfortunately for me, and where I live, I would get laughed out of the office if I wasted a professionals time wanting treatment for binge eating. They are far too understaffed to deal with anything but the suicidal here.
Good luck!20 -
I highly encourage you who suffer to read “the power of habit” by Charles duhigg. It does a really good job of explaining habits, routines, and psychological addiction. This is the reason I don’t find it as much of a sugar addiction, but a mental/ food addiction. Yes, sugar can be addictive, but you ultimately have control and make your own decisions, not the sugar. And don’t doubt me cause I have suffered with multiple eating disorders, I’ve read the bs self help books to love yourself. This book doesn’t try and fix you, but it broadens your knowledge of addiction and habits which in return allows you to work on fixing those habits.5
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I have a problem with sugar and that's why I have to cut it out almost completely. After you give it up, you'll find that you don't crave it that much after a couple weeks.7
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try chromium picolate supplement.3
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I understand your cravings. I get them often too and I often consume a ton of sugar in one sitting. I've found that eating a salad with a sweet low fat dressing has helped a little. Fruits help but even too much fruit can be a bad thing. But they are definitely better than a bag of chips or eating a desert. Mostly though, you just have to keep yourself from buying it that way it isn't around to tempt you!1
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Jan 2016, I cut sugar & sugar substitutes out for one month & only ate at home.
I then told myself I could have one small sweet thing out at an ice cream shop or restaurant once a week at 2 on Wednesday’s. I did this 4-6 weeks & except for the first week, I realized two things:
1) it didn’t taste as good as I remembered
2) my cravings would return for 1-3 days & I’d have to fight them off, like REALLY fight them off, which I hated because it scared me that I’d gain the weight I’d lost because I no longer felt in control.
I hated that feeling so much, I *chose* not to eat sweets for over a year.
In Nov 2017, my iron levels were low. Turns out a good source of iron is dark chocolate. I decided to try eating 1 oz of 82% dark chocolate
a day. Surprisingly this did not create cravings for me, and even more surprising was that after a lifetime of hating dark chocolate, I found I really enjoyed it
I decided to shift the dark chocolate to two 1/2 oz servings a day- one at breakfast & one at lunch or afternoon snack, with a nonfat latte both times.
I still enjoy my dark chocolate & raw or dry-roasted nuts (my other treat) very much, and choose them voluntarily over sweets.
I think each of us is different with different histories. I know when my sweet tooth developed & why. This has worked very well for me for a little under 2 years now.
Do I wish I didn’t have an issue? Of course!
Am I happy I found a long term solution? You bet!
Let’s be kind to each other & realize different solutions will work for different people.7 -
Hey folks, this is not the debate section. OP is not asking for your opinion regarding the terms 'sugar' and 'addiction' or even the term 'sugar addiction'. This thread was not created to debate sugar addiction. This thread was created by someone looking for support and ideas for dealing with an issue she's having. Lets not lose our minds over terminology.
Attempts to debate the idea of sugar addiction in this thread will be met with warnings for trolling if they are reported and come to my attention.
If you'd like to debate about sugar addiction, please feel free to start a thread in the debate section.
Happy Friday,
Em10 -
Some people here and elsewhere mentioned having sugar addiction and were diagnosed with reactive hypoglycemia. This is an issue that will often look normal in terms of blood sugar on regular fasting blood tests.
I even had issues and found out years later that reactive hypoglycemia is a thing on my father's side of the family.
And what worked for me was mostly sticking to "body builder" junk food which is higher in protein and lower in added sugar. Think Quest bars and Pure Protein bars. If they are too expensive, seek bars with 5g or less added sugar and 15g+ added protein. At the worst, I recommend Luna bars as a dessert bar if you can't find anything else.
Drink protein shakes instead of milk shakes. Optimum Nutrition is the best tasting brand for protein powder that I've found. I've had issues with protein shakes with milk making me a bit hungry, but that stopped when I swapped milk for unsweetened nut milks. Nut milks are conveniently lower in calories compared to regular milk (30 cals for almond vs 120 cals for 2% milk), so that is a plus.
For ice cream, look for Halo Top, Enlightened, etc. If you do yogurt, eat the light ones and avoid ones with added candy bits.
For coffee, stick to iced coffee with milk and light sweetener. If you want a frappucino, go to Starbucks and ask for a light frap so that they use the light base. Caffeine is an appetite suppressant so you have a bit more leeway with sugar in coffee.
And don't be afraid of fresh fruit. You can eat a pound of strawberries for very few calories.2 -
I am not able to moderate sugar well. Jujubes or jelly beans undo me. Eating any carbs actually leads my to crave more... and I am one of those who has reactive hypoglycemia. As stated earlier, they are often linked.
My solution is to cut carbs. If I can't control my intake I severely limit it or avoid it. I now eat a ketogenic diet that is quite close to being carnivore. I can honestly say I have never binged on steak, eggs or seafood. It works for me.5 -
There is some wonderful advice in this thread I am ignoring the debaters for now because I am looking for support and advice not to talk about what may or not be. Ty so much everyone atm I am trying moderation. My husband is in control of the sweets and is doing a great job8
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