Sugar Addict I think.

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paulahm
paulahm Posts: 2
in Motivation and Support
I started an eating plan about 2 months ago when i ate very well and cut out all chocolate/biscults/cakes etc so was only eating grain bread, vegies, fruits, meats and heaps of water. Well for the first 2 weeks it was like i was a heroin addict! (Never taken heroin before but i imagine thats what its like!) I had the shakes, hot and cold shivers, very hard time concentrating and basically felt like crap! I fell off the wagon about 2 weeks ago but want to get back on but really dont want to feel like that again. Anyone got any tips? I did lose about 7kg in the 2 months and would like to continue.

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  • MissMaryMac33
    MissMaryMac33 Posts: 1,433 Member
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    How many calories were you eating? Those symptoms also sound like starvation or hypoglycemia.
  • auntiebabs
    auntiebabs Posts: 1,754 Member
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    Here's how I started:

    1) tracking for a couple of weeks before I worried about losing.
    (although seeing what I was eating I couldn't help but rein back a bit)

    2) seeing where I could make small changes on things that weren't that important to me.
    (Don't even think of taking chocolate out of my diet!!!)
    --Reducing quantities where I won't notice it so much
    --Swapping out things instead of eliminating them.

    3) Look at my diary and started adding foods that had positive healthy effects specifically for the health issue in my family.
    I found most of the things I "should" add were really yummy too! salmon, avocado, oatmeal, mango, red grapes....
    (Sort of think of food as medicine to deal with family history of various health issue oatmeal is good for heart health, mango and red grapes lower cholesterol, tumeric and cinnamon good for arthritis)

    4) every couple of weeks I see where I can make another couple of small changes.
    If you completely revamp your diet, it's way easy to revert to old ways in times of stress. (and who doesn't have stress?)
    If you make a series of small changes, food still offers you some sense of comfort.
    sort of a comfort continuum, and after a while the first small changes will seem comforting in themselves.
    You don't have to be perfect you just have to do better.

    5) also rather than being uberstrict with the target MFP set for me I did the math to find out the calories needed to maintain my goal weight and my current weight and I gave myself a range with 1200 as my rock bottom, lose 1 lb/wk as my target*** and maintain my goal weight as the top of my range. As long as I keep within in this range I'll lose. I tend to naturally zig zag my calories 3-4 at very close to my target and then a higher calorie day closer to the top of my range.

    As long as I stayed under maintain my current weight calories I won't gain. So no need to throw in the towel, just pick-up where I left off.

    Once I found ways to lessen the stress, I found it way easier to focus on the process and let the results follow. (It's what worked for me some people need the stress to get them motivated. Me I get scared and overwhelmed and don't see the big goal as acheivable. I only worry about it 1 lb at a time.)

    I did have to take a break for a month due to a health scare, but otherwise I kept with the slow and steady approach. Took me 9 months (including the month off) At first I lost at the rate of about 3 lbs per month, but the closer you get to the goal the slower it goes. So be patient and hang in there.

    ***also once my lose 1 lb/week target was down to 1200 calories I switch to lose 1/2 lb/ week (1200 cal rock bottom, 1/2 lb/week as my target, maintain goal weight as the high end of my range.)

    Food is not the enemy.
    Oddly enough on my journey here I've reduced guilt over food.
    I have the occassional treat and I fully enjoy it with no guilt involved.
    The thing is since I'm not eating crap all the time the occassional treat is just that a TREAT it's special and I enjoy it so much more than when I was unconsciously shovel junk food into my face.

    I figure if I've got a good plan that I can actually maintain I can keep this off for a long time to come, without feeling deprived.

    Good Luck
  • ptrain987
    ptrain987 Posts: 30
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    u don't have to deprive yourself of sweets...just don't eat as much of it as you were....when i used to "diet" i thought i had to give up everything....but lord knows i love my sweets and i love chinese food and i said i can't give up CHINESE FOOD!!!!! but i made healthier choices...yeah i'll have my draw backs and have a brownie and 1 scoop of ice cream...or i'd have sesame chicken and pork fried rice...but it didn't hurt me none. i still lost weight. Pick a day of the week that you like and make it your "sweet" days. once a week...or once every 2 weeks annnnndddd EXERCISE!!!! Good Luck!!! and don't give up!! :)
  • MrsJazi
    MrsJazi Posts: 17
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    The same thing has happened to me, but it didn't last for 2 weeks. I started a low carb diet awhile ago where I cut out everything. Sugars, Breads, sweets, junk food, pasta, everything. For the first 3 days, I was feeling the way you were feeling. Very angry. Tired. Shaky. Irritable. But I did research before hand and I was ready for the side effects. Your body was going through withdrawl. It is like heroine, or a drug. If your use to something and stop it, your body goes into a bit of a shock. But it goes away after awhile. Look on www.atkins.com. They discuss the side effects of "sugar addicts". LOL. Stay strong. This too shall pass.
  • KickinBooty
    KickinBooty Posts: 49
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    Hmmm. I've been doing the no processed food sugary stuff and it seems to be working. I've only been doing this for about three days and there's been a couple times i've ginen in, but tonight I turned down a piece of lemon pound cake. I LOVE lemon pound cake with cream cheese frosting. I could probably eat half a loaf if given the chance, but I knew after two crumbs that I'd have to write it all down and that I didn't want to let anyone else down and I didn't want to let myself down.

    Only you can figure out what you need. Maybe try including a couple things or some whole-wheat pasta if you feel like what you were doing is unsustainable then you might want to adjust. Successful and real weight loss has to be a life change, and not just short spurts of uber healthy eating. Otherwise it's impossible to maintain.

    Cheers!
  • Punkedpoetess
    Punkedpoetess Posts: 633 Member
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    Definately working on this one myself. Consider joining up the no junk food challenge that is starting in a few days. It is only for 21 days and will help you with cutting out sugary snacks. Also will give you some support along the way. I have joined up this challenge since I know I am a bit of a sugar addict myself, despite eating less of it over the last few months. Here is a link to the challenge thread for you and others who are interested:

    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/358510--open-21-days-no-junk-food-challenge

    Good luck with giving up your sugary foods. Not an easy thing to do, but a good thing to do. :smile:

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