Breaking the Sugar Addiction

You can eat better without eliminating things from your diet. Don't over complicate things.... eat the food you want, log your calories, eat at a deficit and remain consistent. Find something that works for you long term so you don't gain it back.

fitness_krista wrote: »

I’m not doing it to lose weight. I’m actually pretty fit @ 125lb. I’m looking at food for what it is. If it’s considered junk, then it’s junk. And I’m addicted to it! 😩😂.

Are you looking at food for what it is (food) or for what it is considered by some (junk)?

And if you can just quit, you're not addicted.

I'm not on MFP to eat better. I originally was here to get fit, then gain weight and logging helped me reach that goal and make sure I was getting enough protein. Now I'm just here to keep accountable.

Some people do great by moderating, others do best by avoiding certain foods.
You have to figure out which one you. I am 100% not addicted to sugar or any food so I am able to moderate no problem.

I love dessert, just because something isn't as nutritional as other food doesn't mean it's bad. The rest of my diet is very nutritious and balanced . For me it's enjoyable and makes me happy. If I avoided all added sugar and bread (which I've done before) I would probably go crazy and crave it all day which would make me miserable and I would end up underweight. On top of that my workout performance would suffer and I would not look the way I do. Not good for my goals.

pierportbeach wrote: »

Hi! I am addicted to sugar. I have previously lost a lot of weight and felt great avoiding sugar and flour and processed foods. But then I slipped back into old ways until I was no longer accountable. I am back in the saddle again. Day two. One simple book I like is Food Rules, by Michael Pollan. I have the beautifully illustrated edition. I like that he defines what is food and what is not food. Also one of his rules is if you are going to eat dessert make it yourself. Or, if wanting to indulge with ice cream or similar, make it a rare treat. Thank you for your post Krista

Addicts don't feel great avoiding substances they're dependent on. Not at all.

While any study of the average American diet will demonstrate that (again, on average) people consume too little veg, too little fiber, and too many lower nutrient higher cal items, leading to an overall calorie surplus, especially as the average American also is not all that active, especially compared to past years, I am not convinced that an average of 196 cals from dessert items (adult column, dairy dessert plus grain dessert) = addicted to sugar or even something that hard to fit into a calorie-appropriate diet, especially for someone not on a deficit.

You'd have a better argument for soda (although the stats shown don't demonstrate it), since my understanding is that the percentage of people who consume a lot of sugary soda is relatively small, and those who consume a lot tend to consume a very high amount, which distorts the stats for everyone else.

In any case, if you think that chart backs up the idea that the issue is sugar addiction, I think you need to reconsider what good sources of evidence are. It also doesn't particularly illustrate how good the average diet is (although that's not relevant and is the subject of other evidence). Most of the dishes mentioned could be more or less consistent with standard credible dietary advice depending on specifics (for example, a beef stew with lots of veg, whole grain bread, pasta with shrimp and lots of veg, a homemade veg and black bean burrito, etc.).

Therefore, I have to assume you think it's useful to make your favorite point about how the average American eats poorly, as perhaps it feels good to judge other people not present or make assumptions about others in the conversation with no basis, but since we are actually talking about our own specific eating habits, it strikes me as not especially helpful. What would be of more interest is if you actually had thought you had a sugar issue and if dealing with that were the most difficult thing for you to lose weight or not gain it. Personally, sugar has never been my issue (and that's so when, like now, I have zero interest in dessert items or, when losing, when I found it helpful for a while to include in my nutrient-dense diet around 200 cal of ice cream not infrequently).

fitness_krista wrote: »

As a challenge, would you be able to not have any bad foods? I think I would see significant changes — like all that hard work at the gym would show more. I’m doing this as a challenge even though I eat very well — minus the chips, cookies, bagels, ice cream and chocolate that I have at least one of daily.

If you're already eating an appropriate amount of calories and protein, eliminating certain foods from your diet won't get you any bonus points or cause your workouts to be more effective.

fitness_krista wrote: »

As a challenge, would you be able to not have any bad foods? I think I would see significant changes — like all that hard work at the gym would show more. I’m doing this as a challenge even though I eat very well — minus the chips, cookies, bagels, ice cream and chocolate that I have at least one of daily.

I think the point is that there aren't individually bad foods. The point is that there are better and worse overall ways of eating.

Personally, I think nutrition is really important (beyond just the protein and calories mentioned in many posts). Specifically, I think it's important to get enough protein, enough fats (with a reasonable ratio of O-3s to O-6s, MUFAs and PUFAs, etc.), and at least 5+ (better 10+) daily servings of varied, colorful veggies and fruits for micros and fiber . . . most days.

The occasional day of mostly treats, or the daily treat that doesn't routinely torpedo nutrition/calories, is pretty irrelevant.

I'm with Rel (and others): I find it more effective to worry about what's included in my way of eating, tweaking that to balance calories, nutrition, satiation, tastiness, social connection, celebration and more. Kicking out individual items just doesn't seem that important, in that context.

YMMV. And yeah, challenges can be fun, so if that's the point, go for it.

I think some of us are reacting out of a perception that there are people around here (unlike you) who are overweight, who believe the blogosphere nonsense about "bad food" being "the problem" because it's "addictive", and those beliefs can be a distraction from pursuing reasonable calories and overall good nutrition as the most important issues for weight managment, body composition, exercise performance, and health.

Best wishes - truly!