How to stop the sugar cycle -- cold turkey?

if you want to cut down sugar for the long term it is best to gradually cut it out...make small changes of choosing other items to eat other than ones with a ton of sugar...

Personally going cold turkey on anything is just going to leave you feeling deprived and will probably cause binging...

Your best bet is to try and switch as much stuff to healthful sugar choices like fruits...then step it down from there.

When I am really watching my sugars I can keep them down to about 25-30 grams a day with the sources being fresh veggies and one serving of fruit a day (usually berries since they are lower in sugar) - I just spent a month watching my sugars...now I am in an upcycle for a few weeks where my sugars are about 40 or so a day...but once again pretty much from fruits (2 servings now) and veggies (and a little bit of dark chocolate)

I started off with my drinks. I substituted nunaturals stevia.

I wish I had some great advice. When I first started on MFP I did amazingly at staying away from sugary treats. Lately now that I am close to my goal weight I have found myself giving in more often! Ugh!

Protein. When you get that craving, try to get a hold of a protein snack. It will stick with you. I have a massive sugar craving, and for me the only way to shake it is to just eat carbohydrates (complex) during dinner along with protein and vegetables. When I've eaten any carbohydrate, be it candy, chocolate, pastries, chips, crackers, etc. it just makes me want more of it.

I think sugar addiction is like any other addiction, the only way to not fall into it is to avoid it as much as possible.

I've actually talked to my Body Mind Nutrition professor about this a while back when I was having really bad cravings for sugar. I would crave cookies, chocolate, candy- anything! Especially after dinner, I just wanted that sweetness. It's really hard to get past it, but the less you have- it seems the less the cravings get. I had a wonderful professor a couple of years ago that I've kept in touch with and she's been GF/Dairy free/ SF for 10+ years. Amazing, right?

Words from my Professor:

Sugar is very addictive first off. Sugar is defined as ANY sugar that is added to ANY food product--cookies, cakes, candies, etc. Whole fruits are OK as well as juicing the fruit for a smoothie.

It's important to figure out why you're craving sweets. Why do you want it? It it hunger, mood, anxiety, etc? Some people eat because they're stressed out. If you notices that is the case, try some deep breathing and allow your self ONE piece of chocolate- NOT the whole bar to allow yourself to slowly get over the cravings.

Once you know the trend, then choose the amount to reduce in a day. If it's movement related or deep breathing doesn't seem to help- go for a walk and get your mind off things. If this doesn't help, it could be deficiency related.

If you start to notice you feel better by reducing sugar/sweets you'll have more support to continue to reduce the sugar. Never look at the process as a failure- failure is not a apart of this process- and you're learning something new about yourself which is important for you to enjoy life. Remember- it's always a learning process!

Good luck!

I gave up sugar for Lent, and yesterday was the last day of lent...so that was 40 days of no refined sugar and I feel pretty good about it...this morning I put two level teaspoons of sugar in my coffee and I love it : ) but it's all the crap I'm going to leave behind.

i hear ya'! my weakness is sweets. I ordered "the everything sugar-free cookbook" from amazon. Its not so much cutting out all sugar but learning to replace some of the bad ingredients. Look it up and see if its something you'd be ineterested in.