Sugar withdrawal and nausea

Hello everyone,

I would like to get some advice on ways to deal with sugar withdrawal which have been causing me some severe nausea and dizziness.
I overall eat balances meals, I get enought proteines, fat and carbs and I eat in reasonable quantities. I also exercise regularily, sleep enough and mostly drink water.
But I have been really strugling to cut off sweets and pastries which I crave between meals. I try to say no and not have any, or replace them with nuts, bananas etc... but I still get dizzy and nauseous. This usually happens when I am at work and I get so nauseous I can't look at my computer screen so I end up getting a lot of cookies and sugary snacks to get rid of it.
I don't know if some of you have experiences someting similar or if you have found ways to overcome this issue... but I would love to get some advice from you
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Replies

  • sollyn23l2
    sollyn23l2 Posts: 1,755 Member
    Yep, I agree with what cmriverside said
  • Chef_Barbell
    Chef_Barbell Posts: 6,644 Member
    I would suspect you need to eat more.
  • kshama2001
    kshama2001 Posts: 28,052 Member
    edited July 2022
    I'm also wondering if you cut your calories too much. About how many calories were you eating before and what are you eating now?

    9kjwnia17qv9.jpg
  • mrsmeteor
    mrsmeteor Posts: 39 Member
    I did this not long ago and now sugary food doesn't taste near as good as it once did. I didn't have any issues with feeling dizzy. I did things like replace sweetened yogurt with plain, quit buying candy, keeping an eye on the sugar content of everything that comes in our house and choosing the least sweetened, just being overall careful with it, I suppose.

    In other words, still eating the same amount but cutting way back on the sugar.

    If you are eating enough, and this only started since you began your sugar detox, I wonder if it's just a really bad addiction you had. Maybe you should talk to your doctor just to make sure.
  • cosobsession
    cosobsession Posts: 22 Member
    First, I'll assume you're eating enough, haven't set your "Goals" to 1200 calories or something way too low. Then, have you seen a doctor to check your glucose levels? Sounds like low blood sugar or dehydration. How is your general blood pressure?

    Thank you for your response, I eat btw 15000 and 17000 calories per day. I've never had any issues with blood pressure nor with glucose levels. I think the issue comes from cutting out sugary snacks ... I've read something about insulin resistance maybe I should dig into that
  • cosobsession
    cosobsession Posts: 22 Member
    mrsmeteor wrote: »
    I did this not long ago and now sugary food doesn't taste near as good as it once did. I didn't have any issues with feeling dizzy. I did things like replace sweetened yogurt with plain, quit buying candy, keeping an eye on the sugar content of everything that comes in our house and choosing the least sweetened, just being overall careful with it, I suppose.

    In other words, still eating the same amount but cutting way back on the sugar.

    If you are eating enough, and this only started since you began your sugar detox, I wonder if it's just a really bad addiction you had. Maybe you should talk to your doctor just to make sure.

    I also think it's an addiction which is why I called it "Sugar withdrawal" I am thinking that maybe I should do it gradually so it doesn't trigger theses reactions. Also I took some days off from work and trying to break the pattern
  • cosobsession
    cosobsession Posts: 22 Member
    kshama2001 wrote: »
    I'm also wondering if you cut your calories too much. About how many calories were you eating before and what are you eating now?

    9kjwnia17qv9.jpg

    Honestly I am not counting my calories at the moment. I did in the past for a long time which is why I know I am eating enough calories. I am not trying to be in a caloric deficit but rather trying to eat in a way that doesn't trigger binging episodes.
    Also I think I should plan my snacks and bring enough fruits, nuts just to break from eating cookies and stuff. Then I will work one reducing the quantities if I need to.
  • cosobsession
    cosobsession Posts: 22 Member
    Thank you to everyone who responded. You asked some good questions which helped me address the issue from a different angle
  • glassyo
    glassyo Posts: 7,739 Member
    A REALLY quick google search brings those symptoms up of (non diabetic) hypoglycemia.

    A REALLY REALLY quick google search. :)
  • cmriverside
    cmriverside Posts: 34,416 Member
    glassyo wrote: »
    A REALLY quick google search brings those symptoms up of (non diabetic) hypoglycemia.

    A REALLY REALLY quick google search. :)

    Yeah. She's saying that even eating a banana doesn't fix it, though.
  • glassyo
    glassyo Posts: 7,739 Member
    glassyo wrote: »
    A REALLY quick google search brings those symptoms up of (non diabetic) hypoglycemia.

    A REALLY REALLY quick google search. :)

    Yeah. She's saying that even eating a banana doesn't fix it, though.

    Oooo she did. I kinda skimmed instead of fully rereading the post first.

    But....we all know the sugar in fruit is different than the sugar in cookies, right?????

    :)

    Disclaimer for newbies: It. Is. Not.
  • Chef_Barbell
    Chef_Barbell Posts: 6,644 Member
    What happens if you use a banana to sweeten the cookies? 🤯🤣🤣
  • corinasue1143
    corinasue1143 Posts: 7,464 Member
    They used to say
    First day of no sugar - feel fine, want sweets
    Second day of no sugar - discomfort, headache, upset stomach, etc.
    Third day of no sugar - flu like symptoms, aches and pains, plan on doing nothing this day
    Fourth and a few more days - tired, drained, feel like you’re getting over the flu.
  • Azurite27
    Azurite27 Posts: 554 Member
    Another thing to consider if what you consider enough protein and fat. I always struggled with low blood sugar until i seriously upped my protein and fat. Also i have hypothyroidism and would have low blood sugar between meals even though I was taking meds and my numbers looked good. This mostly went away when I finally switched to a natural thyroid med instead of the synthetic
  • allaboutthecake
    allaboutthecake Posts: 1,535 Member
    I get hypoglycemic when doing outdoor cardio in extreme heat. Same symptoms you describe. Sometimes I'd chug a gas-station sized bottle of O.J. mid-cardio. Enough to get me going at least to my final destination. It killed my daily macros but I had to do something! But then I discovered frozen lemonade concentrate. So I make the concentrate like it says, then freeze in ice cube trays. then put 1, just 1 of the ice cubes in one of my beverage bottles (I carry 2.) That was just the right amount to counteract the sugar drop yet fast acting enough to get me to my final destination. The macro of 1oz cube is 14kcal/4carb/3sugar. Much better on my daily calorie budget. Didn't get the glycemic drop, got me to my final destination, and much happier all around.
  • Ineedtolose50lbs
    Ineedtolose50lbs Posts: 17 Member
    See your doctor and check you blood sugars frequently throughout the day. Blood sugars can vary widely during the day especially if you’ve developed diabetes and don’t know it. (Silent killer)
  • Ineedtolose50lbs
    Ineedtolose50lbs Posts: 17 Member
    A Hgb A1C will help you to know the average blood sugar over the last 6 weeks. I urge you to tell your doctor your symptoms and get that test. You can buy over the counter blood sugar tests and keep a food diary logging your symptoms as well as what you eat. That d be helpful to your doctor to correctly diagnose you but can tomorrow to see your doctor and tell them your symptoms
  • cosobsession
    cosobsession Posts: 22 Member
    Thank you everyone for your response, I've decided to see a nutritionnist to help me monitor my weightloss and he asked me to do some blood work to help assess the situation.
    Thank you for making me aware of an eventual health problem, I'll keep you updated
  • cosobsession
    cosobsession Posts: 22 Member
    What happens if you use a banana to sweeten the cookies? 🤯🤣🤣

    What do you mean?
  • cosobsession
    cosobsession Posts: 22 Member
    glassyo wrote: »
    glassyo wrote: »
    A REALLY quick google search brings those symptoms up of (non diabetic) hypoglycemia.

    A REALLY REALLY quick google search. :)

    Yeah. She's saying that even eating a banana doesn't fix it, though.

    Oooo she did. I kinda skimmed instead of fully rereading the post first.

    But....we all know the sugar in fruit is different than the sugar in cookies, right?????

    :)

    Disclaimer for newbies: It. Is. Not.

    Can you elaborate?
  • Chef_Barbell
    Chef_Barbell Posts: 6,644 Member
    What happens if you use a banana to sweeten the cookies? 🤯🤣🤣

    What do you mean?

    It means sugar is sugar no matter where it comes from 🤷‍♀️
  • cosobsession
    cosobsession Posts: 22 Member
    What happens if you use a banana to sweeten the cookies? 🤯🤣🤣

    What do you mean?

    It means sugar is sugar no matter where it comes from 🤷‍♀️

    Oh wow I totally didn't know that .. so the fiber in fruits doesn't make breaking down the glucose and absorbing it any different ? Is the glycemic index all a lie? Omg thank you so much for enlightening me with your knowledge 🤯
  • Chef_Barbell
    Chef_Barbell Posts: 6,644 Member
    What happens if you use a banana to sweeten the cookies? 🤯🤣🤣

    What do you mean?

    It means sugar is sugar no matter where it comes from 🤷‍♀️

    Oh wow I totally didn't know that .. so the fiber in fruits doesn't make breaking down the glucose and absorbing it any different ? Is the glycemic index all a lie? Omg thank you so much for enlightening me with your knowledge 🤯

    You're welcome :flowerforyou:
  • paperpudding
    paperpudding Posts: 9,281 Member
    The GI is not a lie.

    Sugar in things like wholemeal bread will break down slower than sugar in candy.

    Which can make a difference in avoiding sugar spikes, satiety etc


    But it is all sugar in the end.
  • Alatariel75
    Alatariel75 Posts: 18,224 Member
    Update: Hi everyone, I am back with my blood work and from seeing a doctor, According to my results, I have insulin resistance which contributes to the weight gain and causes low blood sugar even if my body is producing more insulin than it should.
    Thanks again for your suggestions and good luck everyone

    Glad you got some answers! Even though it's probably not what you wanted to hear, now that you know what you're fighting you can target it. Good luck!
  • Chef_Barbell
    Chef_Barbell Posts: 6,644 Member
    Update: Hi everyone, I am back with my blood work and from seeing a doctor, According to my results, I have insulin resistance which contributes to the weight gain and causes low blood sugar even if my body is producing more insulin than it should.
    Thanks again for your suggestions and good luck everyone

    Good for you 👍