OP you sound like me, last year. I had to go cold turkey in the end. I just hates relying on sugar as much as I did, and it was affecting me physically which scared me. So I just stopped; no sugar, no fruit. I have a couple of sweeteners in my coffee in the morning and that's it. I stopped in August last year. I was so busy with my kids, that I barely gave it a second thought, so for me the timing was right.
Since then, my cranky moods have gone, my skin is great, I have more energy, I sleep better. I actually love not having to think about wanting to eat something sugary all day, and love not having the guilt that comes with eating it all day. The option is not there, and actually it just makes things easier for me.
I did initially replace the sugar with crisps, but that's because I rarely binge on crisps. So I allowed myself that, and it worked for me personally.
I have had a couple of occasions where I've had some sugar; Christmas; and my son's first birthday. I felt terrible immediately. The guilt kicked in straight away, and my moods were awful the next day. The more I see and feel this, the more I want to try and keep away from it.
I know it's hard to go cold turkey, I've tried many times before and fallen flat on some more sugar. I have binging history with sugar; emotional eating after having a hard time in my teenage years. Always yo-yo'd with my weight, but I'm approaching 40 this year and I'm done with feeling like this towards food.
I just want to say, I get it. It's so hard to let it go, despite knowing how it affects us negatively. It's an addiction. Don't stop trying to be better with the sugar consumption. It may not always work, but like me, you may find the right time in your life where it just clicks and you make more progress than you ever thought you would.
Good luck.