How do you break the sugar habit? Just eaten 1/3 jar of nutella 😟

[MrsGethinJones]

Honestly im addicted to sugar. Im 65kg and 5 foot 4 so not massively overweight.
I need to eat sugar every 2 hours or i become irritated and cranky.

Every day starts with a chocolate croissant or toast and Nutella and the sugar rush continues throughout the day, even when ive had a big meal and as soon as ive eaten i hate myself 🙈.

Work is really stressful, my dad is ill and im recovering from an operation which has just made it worse.

Cold turkey doesnt work as I just walk over to the local sainsburys and buy more chocolate 🤦‍♀️. I excersize 4 times a week but i cant break the habit

Please, does anyone mastered this?

I was gonna suggest cold turkey… but you need to replace it with something else, ideally lots of protein.

Add protein before trying to cut out the sugar. So have two eggs and then your croissant. Once you have a decent amount of protein with each meal established, then start replacing bakery stuff with eg berries and full fat yoghurt/cream.

Dietdoctor.com is helpful.

I threw the sugary things away but drank lots of black coffee with sweetener. Not ideal, but it worked.

Thats good advice @SparklingLime @HollysBush re protein, i need to give that a shot. I have a total sugar rush headache after the nutella and im honestly done with being a slave to tbe sugar.

I cook everything from scratch and even grow my own vegetables but ive let the sugar take over. I really need to take back control!

Haven’t managed all sugar, but Nutella is palm oil, look at pictures of palm oil, it’s like caster oil, makes me gag a little to think of eating it and now I cannot eat Nutella.

I hope you feel better soon, it's a difficult place to be.

Could u cut the croissant in half and same for other treats as a start.

I'm the same. I go cold turkey for 2 days then that's it im craving so bad. I then scoff a ridiculous amount. Fri eve i ate a whole large easter egg i got for sibling. (the 225g ones) then a pick and mix small cup. Then 2 bakewell slices and then dh made pancakes and ate 4 with golden syrup!.. All in maybe 90 mins.
The next day or 2 i hate myself and am strict then bam im off the wagon again!

This helped me!

It's very tough as it's a vicious cycle of crave, crash, crave - only way is cold turkey I think and as pp mentioned higher protein and higher fats to curb hunger pangs, cravings ie nuts, full fat Greek yoghurt, full fat cheese.
I'm sure you can do it. I've reduced quite a bit recently and I feel a hundred times better. Good luck

Cold turkey. Try LCHF for say a month, it doesn't have to be forever but will break the cycle. I did it to lose weight but can't really eat sugary stuff anymore.

Thank you everyone for your advice and kind words, its just horrible isnt it.

Today i think yes of course, Ill just eat half a croissant in the morning but i know that come the morning i will need to eat it all.

Even when im totally full and satiated, i go for the biscuit tin and its horrible feeling over full . I honestly dont know whats wrong with me

Could you try something that really helps me, I mix skyr or other protein yogurts with a scoop of chocolate protein power, mix in berries and a few chunks of dark chocolate.

It's sweet and tasty but higher in protein without being packed full of sugar.

Same theory grab some shakes you can build into your day to slip on that are dairy or oat milk based, scoops of different flavours add in flax seeds and bananas etc and veggies and just get creative with that side of your diet.

Once you are full and keep your blood sugar crashes under control you should be able to take back the control of food l.

You are just spiking and crashing, so they key is to drip feed throughout the day.

Also add in grapes, almond butters, carrots, hummus.. all good snacks to keep your levels balanced.

Maybe even dried fruits, berries etc

Forget to add reach for the honey, instead of the Nutella maybe!

Try Pics peanut butter from tesco - best protein rich (no palm oil) but spread on the market just nuts and a little daily. - gives decadent spread without the sugar..

Also Check out Gluck see goddess on Instagram- incredible science insight into managing the sugar spike on a pragmatic level.

It's crap, I do well for most of the time and then I don't. I found that understanding how the body uses sugar (and why it's so addictive) helped me, I read an article on the guardian a few years ago which I'll paste in below. I can't seem to just eat sugary things moderately, it's all or nothing.

www.theguardian.com/society/2016/apr/07/the-sugar-conspiracy-robert-lustig-john-yudkin

But yes, higher fat, complex carbs, protein, and not too much fruit seems to keep me on an even keel. I get fewer spots, no mouth ulcers and no tonsil stones anymore (sorry TMI). It's great!

I'm not going to admit how bad i can be when I give in to the sugar cravings. Am now substantially overweight too :(

Protein as others have mentioned is definitely the key. If I have significant protein for breakfast, I get through to lunchtime. If I don't I am both sleepy and snacking by mid-morning.

How you achieve that depends on what works for you, egg on toast, omelette, ham or cheese on toast, bacon and pre-cooked sausages, tinned fish mashed with vinegar or mayonaisse are all options I use sometimes.

Good luck finding routines that work better for you.

Cold turkey and find a distraction, but you do need to find the right mindset first. Sometimes it's absolutely impossible, other times I can say right that's it no more and just stop. This is my 5th week. I've done much longer in the past, it's usually my mum making a birthday cake that makes me fall off the wagon and then I'm back to square one.

The first 7-10 days are hard but then you do genuinely stop wanting it. My mood, energy levels and skin all improve.

Thank you all!
@whythefuckdoibother the shakes and yogurt are a great idea and @GiftWrappingLikeItsXmasEve im printing the nutellla picture and sticking it on the fridge.

There are some good ideas on this chat ao thank you everyone.
Ive just thrown the nutella in the bin 😬

Honestly i dont smoke, dont drink so cant beleive im so hooked on sugar 🙈! Thank you for your suggestiony

Cold turkey with an end point.
100 days is pretty handy. By the end of the 100 days you're sort of over it all a bit. I find I start building it up again when I'm fed up/it's winter or whatever, but another 100 days sorts it.

JimJams chocolate spread is way lower than Nutella in sugar. Also, excessive consumption of it can have laxative effects - you'll only experiment once to find out how much consumption is excessive 👍

Have a plain croissant with ham and melted cheese
Or toast with scrambled eggs

I find if I start the day well, it stays ok!

@MrsHGWells please could you let me know the name of the instagram page you have recommended? I think there may be a typo as I couldnt find it. Thank you 😊

@RuleWithAWoodenFoot 100 days!! Jeez! Why not, ill give anything a go!

@SpittinKitten 😂😂 re laxative, I guess ill find out soon 🙈

Yes I have definitely sugar binged in the past and last night.

Firstly I recommend having a filling healthy breakfast- a croissant is not filling or healthy- so must set the tone for the rest of the day - ie you'll be crashing really soon after that.

I have a massive bowl of raw porridge oats and milk with blueberries. Really fills me up until lunch.

I read an excellent book a few years ago (similar to that article posted above) cannot for the life of me remember the name and I gave it to a friend (I thought it was called crave but it's not showing up in searches)

Basically it was so good- I knew I was eating far too much sugar- but I also knew the moment I tried to cut it out I'd go absolutely crazy and have a massive binge. This book literally put me off sugar as I was reading it, so I didn't even feel like it any more.

It is the refined sugar that's so bad for us - not raw cane sugar. I buy really dark sugar like molasses for baking. And also honey is good- because after a little bit you've really had enough- so you could try that kind of thing so you're still having something sweet- but your body doesn't need to consume it like a drug (which is what refined sugar is).

Good luck with it- it's an ongoing issue for me, but now I'm motivated to start reducing it again.