I Think I'm Addicted to Sugar

2

Replies

  • amyepdx
    amyepdx Posts: 750 Member
    Thank you everyone for your kindness, insight and encouragement. I have learned a lot reading your replies and I will consult with my doctor. I'm also not going to do an all-or-nothing approach. I need to learn moderation and how to eat healthy. If I don't, then I'm dooming myself to repeat this cycle again and again.

    To be honest, I never thought I had a problem. I didn't think anything of it - but now that you've all forced me (in such a kind way) to examine myself and my habits I see that there's nothing normal about hiding food. There's nothing normal about eating until I feel sick and then eating more. I see that now. I don't want to admit it, but I do see it.

    I'm going to call the doctor in the morning and make an appointment. Thank you.

    Please let us know how it goes!
  • Lillymoo01
    Lillymoo01 Posts: 2,865 Member
    You have already been given some great advice and won't offer more but am so pleased that you are in the process of seeking help. That alone is a huge step for your way to recovery. I really wish you all the best and remember that you have this community of people behind you for support, some who have experienced a similar journey. You are not alone and you can do this.
  • kshama2001
    kshama2001 Posts: 27,843 Member
    This book on Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for overeating was available in my library system, so perhaps yours as well.

    The Beck Diet Solution: Train Your Brain to Think Like a Thin Person

    Can thinking and eating like a thin person be learned, similar to learning to drive or use a computer? Beck (Cognitive Therapy for Challenging Problems) contends so, based on decades of work with patients who have lost pounds and maintained weight through Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT). Beck's six-week program adapts CBT, a therapeutic system developed by Beck's father, Aaron, in the 1960s, to specific challenges faced by yo-yo dieters, including negative thinking, bargaining, emotional eating, bingeing, and eating out. Beck counsels readers day-by-day, introducing new elements (creating advantage response cards, choosing a diet, enlisting a diet coach, making a weight-loss graph) progressively and offering tools to help readers stay focused (writing exercises, to-do lists, ways to counter negative thoughts). There are no eating plans, calorie counts, recipes or exercises; according to Beck, any healthy diet will work if readers learn to think differently about eating and food. Beck's book is like an extended therapy session with a diet coach. (Apr.)
  • nvmomketo
    nvmomketo Posts: 12,019 Member
    kshama2001 wrote: »
    ps - re moderation vs abstainers, for some people one or the other works best. I have some trigger foods that I simply cannot moderate, and the best strategy for me is to not have them in the house.

    https://gretchenrubin.com/2012/10/back-by-popular-demand-are-you-an-abstainer-or-a-moderator/

    ...For a long time, I kept trying this strategy of moderation–and failing. Then I read a line from Samuel Johnson, who said, when someone offered him wine: “Abstinence is as easy to me as temperance would be difficult.”

    Ah ha! Like Dr. Johnson, I’m an “abstainer.”

    I find it far easier to give something up altogether than to indulge moderately. When I admitted to myself that I was eating my favorite frozen yogurt treat very often—two and even three times a day—I gave it up cold turkey. That was far easier for me to do than to eat it twice a week. If I try to be moderate, I exhaust myself debating, “Today, tomorrow?” “Does this time ‘count’?” "Don't I deserve this?" etc. If I never do something, it requires no self-control for me; if I do something sometimes, it requires enormous self-control.

    There’s no right way or wrong way—it’s just a matter of knowing which strategy works better for you. If moderators try to abstain, they feel trapped and rebellious. If abstainers try to be moderate, they spend a lot of precious energy justifying why they should go ahead and indulge.

    So true. I'm an abstainer. Probably a good thing since I'm a celiac. :D Moderating my trigger foods is a losing battle for me. Skipping it entirely is MUCH easier, although I know many others don't get that. I have been told so many times that abstaining will lead to binging, whereas moderation turns into a binge for me.YMMV
  • psychod787
    psychod787 Posts: 4,088 Member
    Does not seem like a sugar issue.. more of an issue of Hyperpalitabilty issue. I hope you get the binge issue under control.
  • jgnatca
    jgnatca Posts: 14,464 Member
    I’m rather late to the party. I think you are on your way. Here’s the best online resources I have found. Along with the medical referral you might find some insight from your readings.
    http://www.cci.health.wa.gov.au/resources/looking-after-yourself/disordered-eating
  • AlabasterVerve
    AlabasterVerve Posts: 3,171 Member
    I'm another abstainer. I can't eat the foods that cause cravings & compulsive/impulsive eating on a regular basis and maintain my weight. No matter how in control I feel in the beginning it always results in the same thing - it's like I build up a tolerance and the moderate/portioned amount soon is no longer enough. I need and want more and the effort it takes to resist is unsustainable and I'd relapse.

    I much prefer saving these foods for the occasions when I'd truly miss them and then I can make a decision to indulge - or not - with a clear head and be prepared for the cravings that may crop up over the following weeks if I decide it's worth it. It's a compromise I can live - effortless abstinence the majority of the time and hyper vigilance for the few weeks needed not to allow myself to relapse when I do indulge.
  • snickerscharlie
    snickerscharlie Posts: 8,581 Member
    Thank you everyone for your kindness, insight and encouragement. I have learned a lot reading your replies and I will consult with my doctor. I'm also not going to do an all-or-nothing approach. I need to learn moderation and how to eat healthy. If I don't, then I'm dooming myself to repeat this cycle again and again.

    To be honest, I never thought I had a problem. I didn't think anything of it - but now that you've all forced me (in such a kind way) to examine myself and my habits I see that there's nothing normal about hiding food. There's nothing normal about eating until I feel sick and then eating more. I see that now. I don't want to admit it, but I do see it.

    I'm going to call the doctor in the morning and make an appointment. Thank you.

    The hardest step is the first one. I'm thrilled for you for having the courage and insight to do so.

    Know that everyone here will be cheering you on, and will be happy to support you in any way we can along the way. <3
  • psychod787
    psychod787 Posts: 4,088 Member
    edited October 2018
    Well.. I would make 2 final thoughts on my part, first, white knuckling anything is almost impossible long term. I have had to come to terms that Hyperpalitable food will always delve around me, as long as I live in a western/modern world. So I choose metered moderation. Second, maybe switch up some of your "sugar", I am still not convinced it's a sugar issue, more of a Hyperpalitable one, with more natural less calorie dense sweetness. Strawberries are about 130 cals for 400 grams. That's almost a pound of sweetness for less than 2 oreo cookies. They sell products that are sweet with farrrr fewer calories. Just my thoughts. Best of luck.
  • cheryldumais
    cheryldumais Posts: 1,907 Member
    I've been where you are. All the behaviors you mentioned I've done. I used to eat a couple bags of candy in a sitting most days and I don't mean treat size, lol. I'm sure I will get people arguing with me but I use sugarless substitutes for some things and abstain on the rest. I use a sugarless chocolate bar which has sugar alcohols in it for candy but I restrict it to 1/8 of a bar daily. I find the sugar alcohols don't set off my craving. YMMV (your mileage may vary). I also use koolaid drops in water for a sweet taste with no calories.

    For the most part I stay away from refined white sugar. I still use ketchup (sparingly) and other condiments but I'm careful. Once a year I allow myself cake on my birthday. Sometimes it's not a good thing. This year I made a keto cake that had no sugar in it but the calories aren't any lower so keep that in mind. I finally lost the weight and have maintained that loss for a year. I know I can never go back to eating the way I used to.

    The last thing I want to share with you is probably going to surprise you... After three years of sugar cutback I finally understand the concept of something being "too sweet"! I never used to understand that. Reducing the sugar in my diet has reduced my desire for it and when something is really sweet I notice. Good luck.
  • hjsportsed1
    hjsportsed1 Posts: 52 Member
    edited October 2018
    Ever since stopping Keto a couple of months ago, I have had ice cream cravings on a daily basis. Those cravings usually lead to me consuming ice cream. Luckily, for the most part, I have made sure those cheats fit into my calorie numbers.
  • kshama2001
    kshama2001 Posts: 27,843 Member
    pinuplove wrote: »
    psychod787 wrote: »
    Well.. I would make 2 final thoughts on my part, first, white knuckling anything is almost impossible long term. I have had to come to terms that Hyperpalitable food will always delve around me, as long as I live in a western/modern world. So I choose metered moderation. Second, maybe switch up some of your "sugar", I am still not convinced it's a sugar issue, more of a Hyperpalitable one, with more natural less calorie dense sweetness. Strawberries are about 130 cals for 400 grams. That's almost a pound of sweetness for less than 2 oreo cookies. They sell products that are sweet with farrrr fewer calories. Just my thoughts. Best of luck.

    You must have better strawberries than I have access to. Ours are little balls of strawberry-scented disappointment that need to be covered in sugar to be palatable :disappointed:

    I grow my own. Very easy to grow :) And they spread like weeds. Anyone south of Boston who wants some plants, DM me. You can have some spearmint roots too. And morning glory seeds.

    I buy frozen strawberries for smoothies. IMO supermarket fresh strawberries are only good when they are popping locally.