Sugar addiction

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2

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  • pinkglitz
    pinkglitz Posts: 28
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    I have thought about trying a juice/water fast to try and detox my body. It's hard though when you have eaten a certain way your whole life. There have been plenty of times when I have literally just lived on cereal or bread and eaten not much else other than chocolate of course. Being healthy can suck ;)
  • Sabine_Stroehm
    Sabine_Stroehm Posts: 19,263 Member
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    I quit cold turkey and didn't eat much fruit at first. I've only now added back in some sugar. I definitely recommend just quitting. It will suck, but if you truly want to be healthier, you will do it.
    I quit sugar and "the whites" cold turkey 12 years ago. Best decision I ever made.
  • dzilobommo
    dzilobommo Posts: 73 Member
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    Bump!
  • Rsanseri
    Rsanseri Posts: 4 Member
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    Speaking of books, I'm currently reading Spent by Frank Lipman, MD. The first and foremost dietary change he asks you to make is eliminating sugar! Yikes. He sympathizes with us sugar junkies and allows for a little weaning (which is what I'm trying to do.... baby steps). This morning I made one of his smoothies with frozen fruit. I had to add stevia to sweeten it up a bit, but I have to say, it filled me up and kept me from grabbing my usual sweet treat with my coffee. Also... I try to remember that urges last only seconds. If I distract myself before indulging... the craving will go away.
  • sjflowers
    sjflowers Posts: 148
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    I have thought about trying a juice/water fast to try and detox my body. It's hard though when you have eaten a certain way your whole life. There have been plenty of times when I have literally just lived on cereal or bread and eaten not much else.

    It was really hard. We were going to do 7-10 days, but missed CHEWING! I lost some weight , but gained it back.. but I feel that I am in a better place after doing it... Just know its pretty hard, and you'll feel sick for a bit..
    I did the Join the Reboot.
  • Madysen1010
    Madysen1010 Posts: 7
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    What I do is have a couple M&Ms. Then, I have to walk away from them and keep myself busy! This seems to be working, and I don't eat sweets like I used to. I think the fix is just enough. Maybe try buying the small "fun size" M&Ms, and have just one pack when you need?
    I don't know if someone said this already, and sorry if you're re-reading it!
    Hope this helps (:
  • findusfaithful18
    findusfaithful18 Posts: 16 Member
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    Two suggestions that have worked for me:

    1) Put somebody else in charge of your chocolate. My husband totally lets me have chocolate when I want it (the "everything in moderation" policy), but he gets to choose the size of the piece and doesn't let me have any more after that. It might seem a bit restrictive, but I've found it to be a great way for me to have the chocolate I crave without overdoing it.

    2) Brush your teeth! If your mouth is minty fresh, it'll be alot harder for you to choose to spoil it with chocolate - it won't even sound appealing! Plus you'll get a fabulous white smile in no time ;)
  • pinkglitz
    pinkglitz Posts: 28
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    I do try to brush my teeth to stop me eating after meals in general lol
  • Rsanseri
    Rsanseri Posts: 4 Member
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    Dr. Lipman also recommends 1,000 mg of glutamine (an amino acid) every 4-6 hous on an empty stomach to help with sugar cravings. Check out his book, Spent. Or any that talks about sugar. If you get a little education on what sugar does to your body, it will make it a lot less appealing. :wink:
  • Madysen1010
    Madysen1010 Posts: 7
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    I do try to brush my teeth to stop me eating after meals in general lol

    Yep! I was going to suggest this, too. Works for me (:
  • Lesley2901
    Lesley2901 Posts: 372 Member
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    Some good ideas here that I will have to try. I sometimes eat a few squares of dark chocolate and that can help curb my cravings, however it's not always successful - last nights sugar 'hit' was a bit of a shocker!
  • brianyeager
    brianyeager Posts: 44
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    I had this same problem and I too could not just have a little bit of sweets. In fact, I can't eat a little bit of anything. So, what I finally did was this... I slowly weaned myself off of sweets. I started off by having sweets every other day. Then I went to every three days and so on. I still have a once a week or every two weeks sweet treat. Also, my wife became skilled in baking with applesauce and Splenda. Chocolate chip cookies with Splenda actually taste good. However, most of us can't just go from sugar to Splenda overnight. Just slowly and gradually work your way from sugar to alternatives. Then, you'll find your sweet tooth is gone. In fact, I cannot eat a lot of sweets at all now without my stomach aching and feeling horrible afterwards. I hope this helps.
  • F__7
    F__7 Posts: 371 Member
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    Change to sugarfree and get your satisfaction that way.. getting too much sugar won't let you make much progress....


    Just get started and stay on it..
  • analisa77
    analisa77 Posts: 10
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    What type of juices did you drink? I just purchased a juicer, and I want to do a detox for the same issues.
  • crystaltate4
    crystaltate4 Posts: 48
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    i have a big sweet tooth to and i find that if u want it buy it small, im a big cake person so what i do is i buy the single serving cakes at walmart so that i get my gratifcation but its not in the house, gl girl feel free to invite me if u want.
  • crystaltate4
    crystaltate4 Posts: 48
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    ive tried the brushing the teeth thing and if the craving is bad ill it eat anyways sometimes its not taste its habit
  • stargazer008
    stargazer008 Posts: 531
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    Just have a small treat daily! I feel sad if I don't get a treat daily!
  • alexveksler
    alexveksler Posts: 409 Member
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    Before I get *****ed at for mentioning Atkins diet, that promotes high cholesterol and heart disease, I want to mention that after reading the book, he brings a good point about the "induction stage". This is exactly where you need to be for 2 weeks and absolutely not touch a gram of refined sugar/bread/pasta, etc... He is saying 2 weeks is enough for your body to "forget the cravings". Worked for me.

    After 2 weeks you begin to introduce carbs back into your diet, while measuring your ketosis levels every day. I don't crave chocolate anymore, but at the same time I enjoyed one when I got one as a gift on Father's day :)
  • Howbouto
    Howbouto Posts: 2,121 Member
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    I am too a sugar addict. I fight it every day much like an alcoholic fights drinking, but it can be done. I have found I have several sugar triggers. The biggest sugar trigger for me is artificial sugar. If I drink a diet coke and "save" 200 calories over regular pop, I will eat at least double if not triple that in some kind of sugar binge. The second is processed carbs, cookies, bread, crackers, cereals ect, They all cause a sugar craving in me. When I stick to whole natural foods, my sugar cravings go down. I have also found I'm better at abstaining than giving into a little. I don't have the mechanism to stop. I try never to eat sugar early in the day, because a cookie if the morning will lead to a day of craving sugar. I do reward myself on Sunday evenings with one desert I've been craving all week. Everyone is different,so track your food and find your triggers and avoid them. BTW if you go cold turkey on sugar, you will feel like poo for about 3 days then better than you have in a long time.
  • MFPBrandy
    MFPBrandy Posts: 564 Member
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    I hear you. My therapist says sugar binges are basically self-medicating anti-depressants (with a nasty rebound!). I LOVE chocolate. Like the other posters, I switched to dark chocolate. I don't know why, but I can eat a LOT more milk chocolate without feeling sated, but dark chocolate satisfies me sooner. I buy the good stuff, and eat it 1/3 to 1/2 bar at a time. Some nights just a square or two hits the spot. If you're new to dark chocolate, start out in the 60-70% range, then work your way up as your taste buds adjust. Lindt makes a WONDERFUL 70% bar that has the creamiest texture--it's amazing.
    The longer you give your body a chance to detox from sugar overload, the better you'll feel on a regular basis, and the more you'll notice what sugar does to you when you DO over-indulge. I still eat dark chocolate, dark-chocolate-covered almonds, and I'm totally addicted to cookies, so my control is not keeping them in the house and only getting them when I can control the portion size. If I bake cookies, they go straight to my neighbors or office, so that I don't have a ton around me -- because I WILL happily eat them all.
    So far that's working out for me, although I have no solutions for when the Girl Scouts come knocking with their Thin Mints. I am helpless before a tube of Thin Mints.

    *edit* when eating dark chocolate, bite off a tiny, tiny piece. The flavor is so much more concentrated than in milk chocolate -- I easily get 4-6 bites out of a single square -- that if you just let a tiny bit melt in your mouth, it's a flavor explosion. Probably why it's so much more satisfying.
    Buy the good stuff. You may get sticker shock, but it goes a lot further than milk chocolate, so really isn't any more expensive.
    Also, if you are a Thin Mint fan like myself, once you get used to dark chocolate, try Green & Black's chocolate mint bar. Their stuff is a tad more dry than Lindt, so might not be the best place to start, but I sure love it now!

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