Sugar

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mtbke5
mtbke5 Posts: 96 Member
in Food and Nutrition
Hello-
I'm trying to reduce the number of "treats" I have per week. While I usually have less than 100 calories in sugary treats per day I know it affects me. There are days when people from work bring me treats in and I can't say "no". Like today I told myself no treats, well I did already and it isn't even 8am!!
While I need any calorie I can get right now, I don't want this to become a habit when they get my medical issues straightened out.....any advice?

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  • auticus
    auticus Posts: 1,051 Member
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    Don't put yourself around it. Sugar is like a drug. It is as powerful as cocaine or heroin. For me I know that I can't resist when someone brings donuts in, even though I know each donut is 400-500 calories and that my diet for the day will be shot to hell...

    So I keep myself away from sugar. I don't keep it in the house. If I want something with sugar in it I have to make the trip. If someone at work brings something in, don't go into the break room or wherever they are keeping it.
  • PhilipByrne
    PhilipByrne Posts: 276 Member
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    That's very absolute. I have a sweet tooth too. I keep a jar of sweets on my desk, eat a few a day and am losing weight steadily. All things in moderation.
  • manifestinghappiness
    manifestinghappiness Posts: 13 Member
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    I agree with auticus, sugar is very addictive. I finally realized that it's like alcohol for me: I can't have just a little. I read ingredients and stay away from all types of sugar and artificial sweetners. The cravings really do go away after a couple weeks. The only sugar I have is in my fruit and occasional treat made with honey, maple sryup, or agave. Good luck!
  • Amo_Angelus
    Amo_Angelus Posts: 604 Member
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    Sugar is nowhere near as powerful as heroin or cocain >_< Honestly, why do people need to make themelves feel better by making things seem worse than they are. Sugar is there with nicotine, alcohol and caffine. It doesn't even register with substances like cocain or heroin. Just because you can't give it up doesn't make it so.

    Yes you can say no. Practice. NO. Just say it. No. Or No, thank you. It' honestly not hard, they won't be crushed, their world won't end. They'll just stop offering you things after a few times because "why bother, I'll only get told no" The more you say yes, the more people will offer you. The more you say no, the less people will offer you.
  • Lisa_222
    Lisa_222 Posts: 301 Member
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    I've had to ban all sweets from my reportroire for awhile. Not that I'll never have them, but you have to un-addict yourself. Once you get used to not having them, they don't appeal to you much at all and you can then have the occasional treat. For me, anyway, it's an addiction and the only way to control it is to stop cold turkey.
  • auticus
    auticus Posts: 1,051 Member
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    Some people cannot do moderation.

    Put a case of alcohol next to an alcoholic and tell him he can drink in moderation. Guess what will happen?

    I can handle my booze just fine. I can have one or two beers and call it a night. I have friends that can't stop at 12.

    However when it comes to sugar, I am the alcoholic. Put a box of donuts next to me and see what happens...

    If you can do moderation that's awesome for you. But if you cannot, then don't keep the crap near you.
  • inotnew
    inotnew Posts: 218 Member
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    remember sweets are a "treat" not a snack or meal. I can only have a "treat" if I have accomplished a long term goal. Not just getting to the end of the day with out messing up.
  • auticus
    auticus Posts: 1,051 Member
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    Sugar is nowhere near as powerful as heroin or cocain >_< Honestly, why do people need to make themelves feel better by making things seem worse than they are. Sugar is there with nicotine, alcohol and caffine. It doesn't even register with substances like cocain or heroin. Just because you can't give it up doesn't make it so.

    Yes you can say no. Practice. NO. Just say it. No. Or No, thank you. It' honestly not hard, they won't be crushed, their world won't end. They'll just stop offering you things after a few times because "why bother, I'll only get told no" The more you say yes, the more people will offer you. The more you say no, the less people will offer you.

    I guess the nutrionist who said as much is a moron then. Perhaps he's wrong. I'm not a scientist so I cannot prove anything, I just go with what I'm told by my doctor and nutritionists. Sugar is like a drug. Perhaps saying "like cocaine" trips some OCD levels off in someone who wants to argue, so we'll just stick it to alcohol, which alcoholics cannot resist either =)

    Just tell an alcoholic that he just has to say no. It's really that easy, just say no to the booze. That works really well ;)
  • auticus
    auticus Posts: 1,051 Member
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    Here's a good article on sugar being likened to drugs:

    http://www.lurj.org/article.php/vol1n1/sugar.xml

    They do make the comparison to sugar and cocaine here. This is a university study.
  • auticus
    auticus Posts: 1,051 Member
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    Here's another one which highlights a study that was also on CNN:

    http://nutrition.about.com/b/2008/12/11/is-sugar-like-a-drug.htm

    Its findings suggest rats react to sugar much like they do MORPHINE, COCAINE, or NICOTINE.

    There's that cocaine word again.

    There are a good half dozen scientific journals you can google on the same topic. I'll trust the scientific journals and research over someone who says "it's not really that bad you're just making it worse than it really is because you can't stop eating it".
  • BrewerGeorge
    BrewerGeorge Posts: 397 Member
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    One thing that works for me is replacing with better choices instead of resisting altogether.

    Keep something like this in your desk:
    sweet-moments-image.jpg

    They're 60 Cal each and come in several different flavors. If somebody brings donuts and you don't think you can resist, have one of the little brownies instead. It will satisfy the sweet tooth and not destroy your diet for the entire day. They're very rich, chocolatey and satisfying - not really "diet" food at all, just a small portion.

    This advice working still depends on your willpower not to randomly eat them all day long, though. There's 1080 Cal in the whole pack and you could eat them at one sitting easily.
  • auticus
    auticus Posts: 1,051 Member
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    Yeah. I'd eat the whole box ;) I do keep a container of roasted almonds at my desk for when I get a little hungry. Almonds are an awesome source of nutrition. And as they are not sweet, I don't go into overdrive on them.
  • GalaxyDuck
    GalaxyDuck Posts: 406 Member
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    I recommend watching this documentary. It's from the 80s, so it's a little old. But it's pretty crazy to think that we knew all of this about sugar BACK THEN and still it's widely ignored.

    http://www.fathead-movie.com/index.php/2011/08/21/before-sugar-the-bitter-truth/
  • auticus
    auticus Posts: 1,051 Member
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    good link.

    There are many theories on this. The one most people I know like to confirm as what they think is that keeping the population on sugar means money for doctors and pill makers, as well as keeping people complacent.

    Conspiracy stuff for sure.
  • PhilipByrne
    PhilipByrne Posts: 276 Member
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    good link.

    There are many theories on this. The one most people I know like to confirm as what they think is that keeping the population on sugar means money for doctors and pill makers, as well as keeping people complacent.

    Conspiracy stuff for sure.

    So it's the doctors and Pill makers that make me eat sweets, those *kitten*. Here was I taking personal responsibility for my actions and it wasn't my fault at all. Thank God for that.

    Those *kitten* at Guinness are up to something too, I swear they're tricking me into drinking their filthy addictive product,.

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