sugar addiction...

[pinkdog22]

Trying to beat this sugar addiction - can't seem to go a day without sweets.. they call to me and I can't say no!! Each day I wake up with new motivation but after each meal the cravings start... would love advice/motivation from you all...

[pinkdog22]

Trying to beat this sugar addiction - can't seem to go a day without sweet.. they call to me and I can't say no!! Each day I wake up with new motivation but after each meal the cravings start. WOuld love advice/motivation from you all...

[Dominique]

First of all, the good news: sugar isn’t inherently and absolutely bad (more about it in this other topic), and it is possible to enjoy some of the sugary stuff you love. It just shouldn’t be an central component of your diet, and if you want to keep it, it has to fit within your total caloric requirement. If you’re not too active and are looking to lose weight, you may not have a lot of calories to play with. If, OTOH, you are very active and are happy maintaining your current weight, there would be more room for things like ice-cream, cheesecake and the like.

The problem with some addictive substances is that even a small dose can trigger cravings for more: who can have one Oreo and be happy with it, right? So you may have to ask yourself which approach would work best for you: cut it altogether or allow yourself a very limited amount.

My approach is not to buy and store any of that stuff at home. It works for me as I live on my own, work from home and don’t spend much time outside or socializing. I know it can be hard if cakes, cookies, sweets and the like are constantly available at your workplace (as I understood is often the case in North America). I also try to have fruits (apples, bananas etc.) always available: they allow me to have some sugar, but I also get fiber, minerals, vitamins etc., plus they are more satiating than candies, cookies etc.  

PS: please see the Community Guidelines on multipost / cross-posts. I merged your other post on the Eat Well forum into this topic. It’s better to keep any given discussion in just one place. Most community members read both forums anyway.

[MagsOnTheBeach]

The best way for me is to cut bread, pasta, grains, starchy vegetables and fruit for a couple weeks.  I find it helps reset my cravings.  I still crave them but I have an easier time saying no.

[Daves_Not_Here]

Hi @pinkdog22 and welcome.  My experience has been that sugar is easier to quit cold turkey.  For me, small indulgences lead to a spike in cravings, which I do not have the willpower to resist.

Bread, chips, and cheese puffs, while not "sweet", also trigger my sweet tooth.  Finally, artificially sweetened sodas also trigger my craving for sugar and carbs.

If cravings come after meals, maybe try reducing high glycemic-index carbs in your meals.

[pinkdog22]

Thanks!! I am a"cold turkey" person as, I am not able to control the cravings and just have a little bit here and there. The hardest part for me is thinking down the road that I could never have them again and that makes me want to throw in the towel altogether and just keep doing what I'm doing which isn't good either. To give up pizza for the rest of my life, or cookies, is not something I'm capable or willing to do.
Yet I feel that each time I indulge a little bit my body once more, just like a heroin addict can't just shoot up every now and then.
For your advice!

Sent from my iPhone

[Baltoscott · Accepted solution]

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@pinkdog22 wrote:

Trying to beat this sugar addiction - can't seem to go a day without sweets.. they call to me and I can't say no!! Each day I wake up with new motivation but after each meal the cravings start... would love advice/motivation from you all...

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Small steps ... Instead of thinking about no pizza, sweets, etc. for the rest of your life, challenge yourself to go until 5 pm without  sweets.  Or a how about this challenge:  write down all the "sweets" you had today, and challenge yourself to have none of those sweets tomorrow.  Just wait until the day after tomorrow.  It is easier to do when you know it is not forever.  The next step might be to skip sweets every other day, or every Friday, or every ... you get the idea.  Each day you take off from the habit, is an improvement.  And, over time, it will make it easier to take more days off when you want without giving up something you like completely.

[KDCross]

I used to have that issue as well. 

My advice is drinks lots of water. It curbs the craving most times. Sometimes though I find that it does not do the job, and therefore my next suggestion is to pour a glass of water and add mio (or any of those water enhancers) into the water and most times those are enough for me!

[pinkdog22]

I am not sure if you got my "thank you" post back, but am just reaching out again incase you didn't - that was awesome advice... I love not looking at it as a "forever" thing - that makes it too big to deal with. I am 48 hours out from my last sugary food, and am hoping to make it tomorrow too.. I screen shot your post and will look at it every day to remind myself to take one day at a time...
thanks for your great advice, and for responding!!
Kathy

[pinkdog22]

this is an amazing bit of advice! I tried to respond on my phone but it said it wasn't able to go through. I just wanted to thank you for this - looking at it as "one day at a time" instead of for a lifetime is much more livable for me. I am 2 1/2 days out from sweets at this point - and I am just looking to stay off of them today. Tomorrow my goal will be to stay off them for tomorrow, etc. There may be one day that I can eat without addiction - but for now, I am too prone to fall back off the wagon. It is amazing how like drugs/alcohol sugar is. Scary stuff. Anyhow, I screen shot your response and will read it every day for my motivation. THANK YOU!!

[Baltoscott]

I like that you are keeping "score" @pinkdog22 and focusing on one day at a time. 

Two and a half days of no sweets, going on three, means you just proved you can take one day off.  So say you have sweets at the end of day three, or on day four, you already know that you can take day five off.  Once you realize it is a "win" to take one day off, having some sweets tomorrow isn't that big of a deal because you already know you have the will power to skip the following day. The next thing you know, you are taking off every other day and eating half what you ate before.  The bonus is that when you DO have them you will probably enjoy them more because they aren't an everyday thing anymore.

[Daves_Not_Here]

One thought I have is that the anxiety of future deprivation diminishes as your cravings diminish.  For example, my whole adult life, I have always loved Diet Dr. Pepper and drank several per day, at meals, and as snacks during my drive time.  I would not have been able to accept the idea of giving them up for life.  

About 11 weeks ago, I stopped drinking them to make room for the 64 ounces of water I committed to drink to lose weight.   Surprisingly, I no longer crave them, and the idea I might never drink Diet Dr. Pepper ever again is of zero concern.  But I got here following the "one day at a time" that @Baltoscott suggests.

[SunsetRunner]

Hi PinkDog22,

My wife and I both struggled with sugar issues for some time.  For me it became quite bad when I quit alcohol (I'm an alcholic - 16 months sober now).  When I first stopped drinking the sugar cravings were extremely strong.

At the time, my wife had been on an LCHF/Keto eating strategy.  It took me until I was sober for 8 months to realize it was time for me to jump on the band wagon.  The good news is that I experienced significant weight loss and a significant reduction in cravings.  

I still have a dessert kind of treat once in a while, but I quickly resume my LCHF strategy.  

It's not for everyone, but it can be something that works for you 🙂