cant curb sugar addiction! I need help ruining my life!! lol

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Replies

  • I'm on day 6 of no sugar whatsoever, and no refined carbs: no bread, pasta, nothing. The first few days were killer. I mean REALLLLLLLY hard. But today I made a pan of brownies for my kids' school lunches, and I didn't even want one. A tangerine sounded better. So I think the advice of quitting it cold turkey is dead on. Of course, with the brownies, I did take the precaution of cutting the entire pan up, wrapping each one individually in saran wrap, then popping them all in the freezer! =)
  • rebeccap13
    rebeccap13 Posts: 754 Member
    I'm on day 6 of no sugar whatsoever, and no refined carbs: no bread, pasta, nothing. The first few days were killer. I mean REALLLLLLLY hard. But today I made a pan of brownies for my kids' school lunches, and I didn't even want one. A tangerine sounded better. So I think the advice of quitting it cold turkey is dead on. Of course, with the brownies, I did take the precaution of cutting the entire pan up, wrapping each one individually in saran wrap, then popping them all in the freezer! =)

    You paleo-ing?
  • JennieAL
    JennieAL Posts: 1,726 Member
    As boring as this sounds... FRUIT. It has really helped me. I quit drinking wine about 2.5 months ago and was eating sugary desserts a lot... finally, about 2 weeks I started incorporating fruit (scary for me, because I was trying to do low carb, and everyone tells you NO FRUIT). I added in berries, cherries, pears, apples and now grapes. I eat them usually with a small handful of almonds or 1/4 or 1/2 cottage cheese or greek yogurt... totally, totally has helped me wean off white sugar.
  • I'm on day 6 of no sugar whatsoever, and no refined carbs: no bread, pasta, nothing. The first few days were killer. I mean REALLLLLLLY hard. But today I made a pan of brownies for my kids' school lunches, and I didn't even want one. A tangerine sounded better. So I think the advice of quitting it cold turkey is dead on. Of course, with the brownies, I did take the precaution of cutting the entire pan up, wrapping each one individually in saran wrap, then popping them all in the freezer! =)

    You paleo-ing?

    Almost, but not quite... It's The Perfect 10. I like the science behind it - normalizing your hormones through diet to make them work for you instead of against you.
  • Avoid it at all costs, once you withdraw (yes it's a physical addiction like a drug) you won't crave it, your addiction will purely be psychological after that, so don't buy it's too tempting to resist! Also, beware of pre-made food and sauces with hidden sugars, and lay of the white refined carbs such as white flour, white bread, white rice and pasta, as these break down in to sugars and fuel your addiction. Just remember, it takes 2 weeks to withdraw, but only one piece of sugar to be hooked again, is it worth it? If you're anything like me you'll get headaches, mood swings, shakes and cravings while you withdraw. Sweetener will not affect your efforts though so try that as a substitute in coffee and on cereal if necessary. Me, I prefer to not tempt myself with sweet things, including sweetener, as it triggers the psychological (but not physical) cravings again. I hope that made sense, i've rambled on a bit. Good luck! (=
  • I started and completed the AdvoCare 24 day challenge and I have conquered my sugar addiction. It cleans your system of the "things" that you crave and once you ar edone...you truly have no craving for those items. It works. and I lost 7.5 lbs in 24 days as well as 2 dress sizes!!!!

    I hope this helps!
    I would love to hear more about the AdvoCare 24 day challenge!!
  • Would just like to add, when I want a treat I have an unsweetened, caffiene free capuccino, I don't have a caffiene addiction so can control my intake of this so it works for me, unlike sweets, once I get that sweet taste I want more...lesson? Choose a cheat food that isn't sweet or addictive to you!
  • jodycoady
    jodycoady Posts: 598 Member
    Gum might help. WATER WATER WATER
  • Elizabeth_C34
    Elizabeth_C34 Posts: 6,376 Member
    I have the same trouble with salty snacks. I just had to eliminate them from my house.
  • when you refuse your body something you will crave it more. So some sugar is good. It should help cut the craving. You just have to be disiplined. But if you cut it out all together you will just want it more. :happy:

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  • when you are feeling down stare at a clown... <--- Joe Dirt reference...
    There is no magic to it I say if you can not give it up work even harder in the gym and earn your sugar, and occasionaly swap for sweet fruit. And eat sweet potatos la la la daldla anyway adiction is what it is like I said work it out on the treadmill and decide from there if you want to work harder to earn some sugar do if from there.. Good luck!!
  • Abalicious11
    Abalicious11 Posts: 42 Member
    I love sugar as well! now i substitute it with truvia it tastes the same to me and it helps me so i dont feel as guilty
  • PLUMSGRL
    PLUMSGRL Posts: 1,134 Member
    OK sugar addicts, this might help:

    GYMNEMA SYLVESTRE (SUGAR DESTROYER)
    CONTROL YOUR BLOOD SUGAR. CONTROL DIABETES

    Gymnema Sylvestre is a woody climbing plant that grows in the tropical forest of central and southern India. The leaves are used to prepare herbal medicine in India where it has been used for over 2000 years to treat diabetes. The leaves when chewed interfere with the ability to taste sweetness, which explains the Hindi language Gumar "DESTROYER OF SUGAR". The leaves were also used for stomach ailments, constipation, liver disease and water retention.
    Click on thumbnail to see enlarged picture.

    Warning: Individuals taking insulin or oral hypoglycemic medication should consult a healthcare professional to seek advice before taking this product. Pregnant women and those nursing a baby should consult a healthcare professional to seek advice before taking this product.

    These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This product is not inteneded to diagnose, cure or prevent disease.
  • RumOne
    RumOne Posts: 266 Member
    My doctor suggested that I not eat any carbs (quick burn energy) without a protein (slow burn energy) or fat so that my body would absorb the carbs slower and I wouldn't crave them quite so much. It seemed to help a bit.
  • The only way to beat the addiction is to abstain. I love stevia and other sweetner options but if your cravings are that powerful, best to abstain for a few months and deal with the withdrawls... GABA Sublingual tablets are great for reducing the "anxiety" that comes with cravings without huge side effects. They can make me a touch snoozy, but better a little yawny than jittery with my mind wondering what I will decide to do.

    Avoid processed foods and cut back on carbs... no alcohol helps too.


    Good Luck!!
  • treatingmybodyright
    treatingmybodyright Posts: 184 Member
    Like others, I am very fond of sweet stuff, but when I started MFP in September, I just cut myself off cold turkey--no cookies, no candy, no cake. After a week or so, I didn't want it, and I was getting good results from my workouts and feeling better overall. You can overcome it if you cut it out completely.

    I've also found that greek yogurt, an apple and peanut butter, or some diet hot cocoa help. You may also want to look into flavored protein drinks, which can be pretty yummy. Last, try some of Jamie Eason's protein bar recipes. She has a chocolate protein bar that tastes like chocolate cake, and it's so much better for you than cookies and candy.

    You can do it!
  • Excuse me for quoting you, but I just wanted to offer you some words of encouragement. Remembering that sugar has NO nutritional value, so your body will never crave it again after withdrawal (though your mind may) changing your mind-set is the key I believe, it isn't easy but to keep reminding yourself why you are doing this and not to have sweet things in the house, it is possible to quit sweet things all together. Obviously not true if you need sugar for diabetic seizures but otherwise ^^^ this.
  • dhakiyya
    dhakiyya Posts: 481 Member
    This is what worked for me.

    1. have a few zero carb days. Personally I don't believe in zero carb long term, but doing this helped me get over the sugar cravings, i.e. going cold turkey like the others suggested

    2. reintroducing ONLY good quality wholegrain carbs, and only eating those when also eating protein. For breakfast cereal it must be 70%+ wholegrain, beware of fake wholegrain, some cereals say wholegrain but they mess up my blood sugar and cause cravings. Weetabix, oatmeal and shredded wheat are okay. Also don't get *brown* bread, it's not really wholegrain, make sure it says wholegrain, and with any of these things, look out for hidden refined carbs, like high fructose corn syrup (avoid like the plague!), cane juice and 1001 other names that just mean refined sugar.

    3. laying off the carbs in the evening. I eat carbs for breakfast (the wholegrain kind) - this helps to keep the blood sugar levels stable through the day, and I eat carbs before and after exercising - your muscles need carbs to work properly and to recover after exercise. The rest of the time you don't need them.

    4. eating plenty of lean protein and enough health fat, which is the basis of what I eat and also helps to stabilise blood sugar, reduce cravings, control appetite (so you feel hungry when you need food, but full when you don't) - also making sure I get enough vitamins, minerals and water as well as the protein and healthy fat.

    5. If I get sugar cravings (which will be because I failed to do one of the above, e.g. not eating a decent breakfast or eating sugary junk) I drink water any time I crave sugar, and it goes away after a while.

    One thing I noticed, is that when my blood sugar levels are controlled by doing 1-4 above, I don't crave sugar, and I find that some foods just taste too sweet so I don't even want to eat them. I crave salads these days :)

    Anyway you can beat this, and it is an addiction, there's so much refined sugar in even the most surprising things, and also remember that white flour acts in your blood just like white sugar does so avoid it and all things made from it, and also avoid white rice, some varieties are really processed and mess up your blood sugar. I'm okay with white basmati rice if I eat it with protein.

    (sorry if this has posted more than once I'm having trouble posting it! )
  • Kaddyshack21
    Kaddyshack21 Posts: 225 Member
    It is true that sugar is sugar is sugar.

    I have found that most artificial sweeteners like Splenda, Sweet and Low, etc all made me feel bad afterwards. Aspartame by far was the worst for me. I stopped eating anything containing aspartame more then a decade ago before I even considered dropping sugar I just had that bad of a reaction to it.

    The one thing that I have done replace white sugar with Agave Nectar. I find that I use much less Agave Nectar then anything else. Eventually for those most part I stopped putting it in most things as I gradually decreased the amount I used. ie oatmeal.

    Everyone has something that works best for them. But that has worked marvelously for me. It's worth a go if it's around. It taste delicious. It is also 2.5 x sweeter then sugar so you don't have to use as much.
  • emi1y15
    emi1y15 Posts: 12 Member
    You are looking at probably the biggest chocoholic/ sugar addict in the world right here. I haven't been on MyFitnessPal for very long, but I can already tell I'm going to have a tough time staying under my sugar limit for the day. I know that the REAL key is to avoid sugar altogether and eventually the cravings will go down, but I honestly can't see myself completely cutting sugar out of my life right now. Since I'm not ready to take that step, that just means I have to learn to deal with them. I am having a pretty intense chocolate craving as we speak, and I made myself a cup of green tea and sweetened it with Splenda. It definitely isn't a Hershey's bar, but its doing a pretty good job taking the edge off! Hope this helps :)
  • add 2 tbspn hemp hearts to your morning meal- whether its on your toast or in a smoothie or in yoghurt - they help with the body and help curb your bodys craving for sugar. - i add them to a smoothie and blend tlll smooth .

    later in the day i can have a large vegetable salad- you do need to eat raw vegetables while using hemp hearts as they are high in fibre

    try to limit / avoid flour rice n potatoes when eatiing hemp hearts i dont get the sugar crash i usually get and it has eased my sugar cravings.. if you want sweet for your drinks try adding liquid stevia .

    my breakfast consists of a smoothie blended with protein powder, 1 tbspn dark cocoa unsweetened - instant coffee unsweetened, 2 tb hemp hearts 3/4 cup water 1/2 cup ice - blend well as i love chocolate also..
  • Legally_Natural
    Legally_Natural Posts: 101 Member
    I have a huge sugar addiction. I am slowly working n it. I went 3 days without a sweet since starting on January 1. That was HUGE for me. I continue to work to eliminate other forms of processed sugar from my diet. You can add me as a friend and we can work through it together.
  • celticmuse
    celticmuse Posts: 492 Member
    I have always heard cold turkey is the best way, but I have never been able to do that with sweets or carbs. What works for me is to not keep certain foods (ie ice cream) in the house. Then I found an indulgence that I could keep in the house, but eat in a measured amount. So my treat of choice is Quatratini dark chocolate wafers. I put 8 of them in a bowl when I get a sugar craving, usually in the evenings. That's 140 calories. I try to eat it before 9:00 pm. I managed to lose 32 doing this, and I never felt deprived, so I never binged....you need to figure out what works for your body, and stick with it....
  • Pollywog39
    Pollywog39 Posts: 1,730 Member
    All of this obsession with sugar just makes me want a cookie ;)

    My point of view - if you do not have diabetes or a glucose problem, you should be able to have sugar as part of a balanced diet. NO FOOD should be prohibited, if this is a life-long journey.

    Balace and moderation in all things..........it's the key to a joyful life, in my opinion. For those of you who think of sugar as a 'drug'.....well, I disagree. There is no "bad" food...........
  • Chadwick891
    Chadwick891 Posts: 72 Member
    As a few may have suggested. Try stevia or splenda (even in soft drinks). It's the same sugar kick as regular sugar, but zero calories!
  • monikaw
    monikaw Posts: 14 Member
    Hi my name is Monika and I am an ice-cream addict!!!! I could eat it and eat it. I tried to have frozen yogurt but it just doesn't cut it. I actually haven't had ice-cream in a few weeks now until today. It tasted so amazing but for some reason I was actually satisfied with a tiny portion of it. So basically not having it for a long time, having that little bit made me savour every bite of it and it left me satisfied. I am the kind of person that can have a whole bucket of ice cream and still ask if there is morel. But a little goes a long way sometimes.
  • ganesha303
    ganesha303 Posts: 257 Member
    I also have strong sugar cravings. I find that high quality dark chocolate satisfies my cravings nicely. If you like raw cacoa, then all the better as it is a superfood that is very healthy.
  • dls06
    dls06 Posts: 6,774 Member
    It's like any other addiction. You need to detox yourself. After a while you won't think about it. Much.
    Watch refined carbs they will make you crave even more.
  • I have also struggled with sugar addiction...for as long as I can remember. There is not an easy answer. Once you understand that, you can really start to understand what you need to do. Sugar cravings are an indicator that your liver is overloaded. They say we crave what we're allergic to...well refined sugar is NOT good for the body. I can tell you that when you begin to change your diet and stay away from sugar, your cravings will almost make you insane! And that is a GOOD thing! This means that your body is starving of this sugar and is actually detoxing from it. Like other posters on here have said, "you will eventually stop craving it". Instead of caving into your sugar craze, grab an apple. I understand that at first it's not going to sound appealing, but after you eat it...you won't want that sugary poison :-). After about 7 days you will start to care much less. But know that you will feel worse before you feel better. There is no magic cure. Our bodies are amazing indicators of what is wrong. We just need to educate ourselves on how our bodies work. If you follow my blog and read my profile you will see what brought me to this point and where I am at now. I'm always learning and am now my own biggest advocate for not only my weight loss but also my overall health! Best of luck to you!!
  • mollysmomma81709
    mollysmomma81709 Posts: 30 Member
    I am a sugar addict myself. I really have found that trying to stay away from sugar and sweets altogether makes me completely give up on my weight loss efforts. I feel like if i prohibit myself from the foods i LOVE completely i can't seem to stick with the diet plan. so i allow myself a little here and there. there are a lot of low calorie sweets. if you think about it, one dove chocolate has only 40 calories and 2 hershey kisses has like 30 or 40. my suggestion is to keep it in there somewhere just limit it to small amounts
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