Addicted to sugar

[lottieleo]

I'm ridiculously addicted to sugar if inknow there's something in the house cake/choc/biscuit i can not take my mind of it.
I eat sugary foods daily without sounding dramatic it's like an addiction I talk myself into eating it, justifying my reasons then followed by guilt.
The cravings are even worse when I'm tired which is most days (baby who still wakes a night)
Any advice or breaking this habit
I very rarely have anything to hand in the house so often go out my way to get something.
Is cold turkey the way to go.
God knows how I'd even do that.

[TeapotofTerror]

Me too. I tell myself I need the energy today as I had a bad night and I'll make more effort tomorrow/next week but there's always some excuse like my period or a bad day or a reward for something.
I feel so pathetic, I need to get a grip!

So OP, no advice, just some sugar and calorie-free

[TeapotofTerror]

That should have read, Sorry OP, btw, not So.

[TeapotofTerror]

But how do you survive the first few days with a small child and limited caffeine (breast feeding)?

I think if I could find another vice it would help, I keep thinking about taking up drinking or smoking which is ridiculous as I've never smoked, couldn't afford it and obviously it's really bad for you, as is alcohol abuse. I just feel like I need something to get me through a shitty life and the only bright point, aforementioned small child, who is hard work and knackering.

(I'm not going to btw before anyone tries to talk me out of alternative vices)

[Siameasy]

Cold turkey in the long term I’m afraid but your baby sounds quite young.
To really reduce the cravings you would have to ditch fruit, honey and artificial sweeteners. High fat low carb (keto) seriously reduced the cravings for me but my DD is 4.5 so I’m not as knackered. Short term you may feel groggy but soon after you can enjoy more energy and need less sleep. It sounds counterintuitive because we rely on sugar for energy but it’s actually a vicious cycle. LCHF teaches the body to use its own fat as a fuel.
How old is your child though? And are you BFing? I did a version of Low Carb when DD was 3m and it was 100g a day and fruit was allowed because I was BF.

[Cary2012]

Yeah, normally I'd say cold turkey, but with a baby you really want to minimise the withdrawal, because it isn't easy. I stopped eating sweets and processed stuff, crap basically 10 weeks ago and have lost over a stone and a half. I stopped all white carbs, and only eat small amounts of complex ones. I'd suggest you have a plan to stop buying sweets and biscuits, cakes etc for a week (yeah I know!), and buy some nice berries instead. Keep that up, and the second week cut down on the white carbs, and replace them with half the amount of brown starchy carbs. See how you feel then. Eat small amounts of nuts or half an avocado as snacks. Drink loads of water. If you can, google the South Beach Diet (there are free downloadable plans on line) and ignore the induction phase but try to broadly follow the second phase. It's a gentle low carb diet, which should help you quit the sugar, keep energy levels up and lose weight at a steady place. Sugar is evil stuff, the more you have the more you need. I quit cold turkey and felt lousy for two weeks. Now I feel so much better and have lost the taste for it. Honestly, after 10 weeks the smell of sweet food, like doughnuts, makes me gag. Good luck.

[Anyonebut]

I agree the only way is cold turkey, but not at all easy when you're being woken up at night. It will be way easier once you get your sleep back.

[lottieleo]

Thanks everyone
Yes I'm thinking maybe do it in stages as suggested, cutting items week by week.
😩 wish me luck, I'm not particularly overweight (uncomfortable size 12) just need a healthier approach to food.

[Cary2012]

Good luck @Lottieleo! You can do this! Great if you don't need to lose weight, you can enjoy more healthy fats that will fill you up and combat the cravings. And don't switch to diet drinks, you don't need artificial sweeteners, you need to lose the taste for sugar and its substitutes. x

[camrose]

I tried hypnotherapy last week and have not eaten any sweets, biscuits etc since. It's early days but it seems to be working ( and I still have sweets/biscuits in the house).

[lottieleo]

@camrose using audio yourself or did you pay a person ?

[camrose]

I paid a person -and I found it helpful to mention my trigger points (particularly when I am driving as I have a long commute).

So far so good!