Anyone out there battle with sugar addiction? I'm 46 and sick of it. I want to start January with a fresh new plan. I'm reading Sugar Shock right now.
Elana's Pantry Forums » general
sugar addiction
(9 posts)-
Alice
MemberPosted 11 months ago # -
Hi Alice, I rarely comment in the forums (the blog and responding to comments over there keeps me pretty busy), however this is a topic that is near and dear to my heart. I read the book Sugar Blues 15 years ago and loved it. I was a total sugar-holic and probably still am, yet, I have learned to moderate my cravings. Feeling really bad when I eat too much of anything sweet (including fruit/agave) has been very motivating.
Less headaches, better sleep and overall better feeling of vitality are well worth the sacrifice of sweets. I snack on nuts, eat a lot of clean organic animal protein (chicken/fish) and tons of vegetables (salads, cut up celery and cucumber sticks dipped in homemade tahini dip). I make sure to keep easy, healthy, low/no sugar snacks on hand as much as I can.
It can be awful getting off the sugar --withdrawal headaches, cravings, yeast die-off, etc., are all supremely uncomfortable and a big challenge. If you can make it through that --which can take a few weeks or up to a couple of months in really bad cases-- and get to the other side, you are set!
Best of luck!
Posted 11 months ago # -
alysia
MemberHi there,
I have attempted many ways of eating to keep my sugar(carb) addiction in check. I've had candida testing, allergy testing, thyroid testing all from medical doctors. None showed anything unusual as far as hormones go. However, I found that I was very sensitive to soy and wheat! At the time I was a vegan. Started eating meat and more protein in general and that helps a little, but nothing has stopped my constant urning for breads and sugars. I compulsively eat and have been to a couple years of behavioral therapy which was motivating for a while, but soon enough, I just wanted to raid the grocery store(bakery section) and go eat on my couch... One year, for my new years resolution, I went sugar and grain-free including fruits for a year. But the minute I took one bite of ice cream, the entire 1/2 gallon was gone with in the hour. No amount of time off, cures me of the craving. Frustrated and at my last wit, I went back to a naturopath to talk about getting herbs or something(I'd already tried Leptin, chromium, hoodia, silver, multi-mineral and vitamin....). She just looked at me and said,"For you, Sugar is a drug. You might never be able to eat it in moderation, just like an alcoholic can not drink in moderation. You need to avoid all refined carbs, period, for the rest of your life potentially. You might feel deprived, like an alcoholic, you might fall off the wagon, you will miss it and your life will change, but if it's the only way to not binge and over eat, then you need to avoid it." I was so depressed to hear that. Personally, I couldn't imagine life without sweets and breads. Since then, I basically avoid it all. I eat lots of veges and nuts and seeds and free range/no hormone meat and eggs and cheeses.
There have been different things which I've tried that resulted in weight loss(if that's what you need).
1. A couple years ago, I got a really bad sinus infection and was prescribed Augmentin antibiotics. Within 2 weeks I lost 30 lbs, and my sinus infection was not even affected. My ENT was shocked at my weight loss and that's when my thyroid was tested, along with other things. He prescribed me another antibiotic. I immediately stopped loosing weight, and my infection cleared up within a couple days. Now, no one I've mentioned this to has any idea what happened, including my ENT. All he said was that Augmentin causes varied reactions in people. What's amazing is that after that, for an entire year, if I over ate, I just had more "out-put". My weight stayed the same no matter what. After the year was up, the affects seemed to go back to normal. During the year, I still craved the sugar like before, but I didn't gain the weight like before. Very strange.
2.Master cleanser diet. I always loose weight, but it all comes back and it does nothing at ALL to eliminate the sugar craving.
3.hypnosis. stopped craving for a couple weeks but I really think it's because I was just very motivated to have it work.I've read Sugar Busters, Against the Grain, Sugar Blues...A couple years or so ago, Steven Taubs book Good Calorie Bad Calorie came out. I bought and read the entire thing immediately and was blown away by his findings. I absolutely recommend you read this if you are really feeling addicted to sugars and carbs. He investigates why are some people constantly craving and some don't. I seriously feel I understand as much as possible about my cravings now and am so relieved to find that it's not some underlying psychological flaw or trama(hopefully! ;) ). I feel it's a flawed pathway in my body and because I really am convinced of the physicality of it, it makes it easier to handle living without sugars. So, out of everything I've ever read, reading Good Calories Bad Calories is the only book that I think thoroughly investigates all the scientific studies regarding anything metabolic. And it's the only book that I felt really spoke to me personally because it actually talks about chronic addiction to carbs as something not currently curable(outside of abstaining). Most books claim that one can cure oneself of carb addiction, which I absolutely don't think is possible at this point. But one day, maybe....
Posted 11 months ago # -
rachel
MemberSuper dark chocolate was the secret for me. Even though, like Elana, I feel bad after eating anything too sweet, I knew that I wasn't going to be able to completely ditch sugar because I thought I'd need a daily "treat" to look forward to. It turns out that the chocolate did the trick (my drug of choice - Valrhona Le Noir Extra Amer 85% cocoa). Just knowing it was in the pantry was enough for me to start to skip the brownies and cookies to which I'd been so addicted. At first, I would have three or four squares of chocolate a day. Now I'm down to a quarter of a square once or twice a week. It's still sugar but it's SO much less than what I'd been doing before that I feel okay about it. Now, if I slip and have even a tiny bite of any of my old favorites, I have a sour taste in my mouth that makes me crave my toothbrush. It certainly wasn't (and isn't) easy but I feel much, much better overall (and I lost 22 pounds as a side effect!)
Posted 10 months ago # -
NYCPARI
MemberThis is for Alysa..
There's a book called Intuitive Eating that I would highly recommend! The tools they give you have really made a difference in my life.Posted 10 months ago # -
Alice
MemberI'm a little slow with technology - just found these posts from 5 months ago! Thank you everyone for your responses. My arthritis, or whatever I have, is really acting up so I am looking at my diet before major medication. I haven't had much white sugar for 5 weeks now, but I "ate around" my cravings by eating lots of corn chips, dairy (which I don't usually have) and soy milk for lattes (which I don't usually have). I was so determined not to have white sugar that I ate everything else I could think of, which has made me feel almost as bad as the sugar did. I'm learning all the time. Anyone with arthritis/inflammation find a diet that works? :)
Posted 5 months ago # -
Alice, the substitutions you turned to (especially the dairy products) contain lactose, which is a form of sugar. Read the nutrition label and you will see the grams of sugar in each serving. I think you'll be shocked to discover all the "hidden sugar" found in processed foods.
I know it is difficult to kick the sugar habit (been there, done that). Try your best to eat foods in their natural form, not from a processed food or package. That way you can control the amount and type of sugar you consume.
I once heard it said, in the book "The Diet Cure," that the best food plan is to eat an 18th Century diet. That means goodbye to processed food, for the most part! Frozen vegetables and fruit are convenient, readily available, store well and make it easy to have "fresh" food on hand. Use these to make smoothies, instead of drinking lattes.
Good luck and don't give up!
Posted 3 months ago # -
alysia
MemberTo NYCARI,
thanks for the recomendation. I will certainly check it out.
Also to follow up, after a fasting blood sugar test and vitamin deficiency test, at a Naturopathic Dr.'s office, found that I'm very low blood sugar, and short on Chromium. So I've been on chromium 1500mcg/day(1/2 upon awaking, 1/2 at 3pm). She also sent me home with a little blood testing device that I used various times during the day. I'd get down to the mid 50's by the afternoon. Very interesting to see actual measurable problems in the body. Also, very relieving. I was in the habit of eating 3 good meals during the day. Then the snacking would seem to overtake me. And she told me to eat every 4 hours, and each time to eat the amount of food in the quantity of the size of my clenched fist, from morning to night. I used to eat much more in quantity, less frequently. I have been following Dr.'s orders since September. I can say, this routine has made a significant difference. I've tested my blood sugar on random days to see how things were going and have never once got below 75. Pretty good evidence of this routine working, so far. I will go back in for another vitamin test to see how the levels of Chromium have changed, first of January. I wish someone would have given me one of these little blood monitors a long time ago. It was totally free, and all I pay for are the little test strips which I get from the pharmacy.Posted 1 month ago # -
chelesirois
MemberI can relate! You might want to check out www.radiantrecovery.com. You'll be in good company there. It's a 7-step clear and simple plan where you work at your own pace and get lots of support. It's worked for a lot of people. It worked for me. Then I got prego and terrible morning sickness for 14 weeks and had a bit of sugar to ease the sickness and gradually caved in to eating it regularly again. I have not wanted to really drop sugar since, but I do incorporate many or the principles from the radiantrecovery plan.
hth,
MichelePosted 3 weeks ago #
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