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?

Don't have stuff like Nutella in the house. Also do meal planning.

If you crave something, don't tell yourself that you mustn't. Say 'i could have that, it would feel like this to eat it and afterwards I'd feel like this'. Also, once you have a bit, you want more. You're going to have to stop yourself eventually so stop before you eat it!

You can also say to yourself, ok I hear you body asking for sweet stuff, I am feeling stressed because xyz, I will give my body what it needs - and think hard what you really want. I find some fruit is often more appealing than processed sugary stuff if I think hard about it. Compare different foods in your head and work out what you really want.

Basically slow everything down and don't label things as bad because you'll want them more.

I quit sugar cold turkey a year ago (it was the anniversary set Saturday) it was a feeling like you’ve had with the Nutella I’d had 4 or 5 biscuits, finished them off gone back for more, finished the packet then went searching for other things. But the reality was I felt crap and I really didn’t enjoy it. So I flounced off. The first 2 weeks were uncomfortable but honestly the withdrawal symptoms were not as bad as how Ill I was feeling from eating it. Then week 3 I had my second covid jab so the headache could have been that.
I had tried to quit in the past. I have no idea why it worked this time. My rules were simple. You can eat what you want as long as it doesn’t have sugar in and you’ve made it yourself. I did cut down on bread and I do have water biscuits. So tea is often cheese and biscuits and an apple. The other thing I find really helps is a cooked lunch rather than dinner. But if you work away from home that’s not massively easy, days when we have a light lunch and cooked evening meal I find much much harder.

For the afternoon sugar crash I have an orange.

Books I’ve read. ‘Why we eat too much’
And ‘sweet poison’ this is a link to the thread for others who have read the first book.

www.mumsnet.com/Talk/weight_loss_chat/4452191-Why-We-Eat-Too-Much-Thread-5?msgid=114180373

The only other thing I’d add is be kind to yourself it sounds like you’ve not had a good time of it emotionally recently and that is going to make any change like this quite difficult.

Good luck.

I am exactly the same - I've always had a sweet tooth but it got so much worse a few years back when I went through a very stressful time - now as soon as I start feeling stressed I feel this overwhelming need to eat sugar.

I'm in my thirties now and am so aware of the health implications of eating too much sugar. Really want to get it sorted, I'd be up for doing this alongside you for accountability? I always do better when I'm doing it alongside someone because the guilt of letting them down keeps me going more than letting myself down

I bought some great books lately on eating healthily - they're about gut health and they're really interesting- Happy Guts by Leon and The Gut Health Doctor's newest book. She has some sweet treats ideas that also have things to nourish our bodies so I want to try some of those.

Good Luck OP!

The others thing you can do is keep busy, I always found I was at my worst when I’m sitting down scrolling through devices. Even reading a book or knitting helps but gardening or more active busy things are better.

Cold turkey is the way forward. If you can be strong for a few days, you’ll be totally over the cravings.

I tend to get into a bit of a sugar habit over winter. The more I have, the more I crave. I’ve just gone cold turkey for two weeks. I no longer fancy sugar and I really look forward to my meals. I have much more energy, have lost several pounds and naturally sweet foods start to taste incredible.

As a PP said, tell yourself, ‘I could eat this, but I’ll feel so much better if I don’t’. The sugar hit is temporary and if you do eat it, you’ll just be craving something else again shortly and you’ll crash and feel tired/low. Best just to resist in the first place!

You have to go cold turkey. Because if you keep eating a little then your blood sugar will spike and make you feel like you need more.
For me it was very similar to when i quit smoking, but the craving didnt last as long. Just always tell yourself 2 weeks of suffering and you wont crave the sugar anymore. You really wont. After 2 weeks you will be fine!

A bar of very dark chocolate helps me. Like 90% cacao. One square when I crave sugar sort of takes the edge off but I can't eat more than one square because it's so bitter. Agree with others don't have Nutella in the house I'm the same I can't not eat it. Allow yourself one sugary thing a day but have lots of nice non-sugar options around to choose

The only way I manage it, is to not have it in the house. I've stopped buying pain au chocolate, Nutella, biscuits, sweets and anything with processed sugar in it. I've replaced it with tinned fruit (it lasts longer) in juice. Or when that sugar rush hits after a meal I distract myself, just not with the telly as I eat and watch - it's a major trigger for me

If there is any fruit at all you like get on it. Also water. There is unfortunately a certain amount of willpower and cold Turkey required, January and February we have loads of birthdays and theres all the leftovers from Christmas and the last week I've started lent with the goal of at least cutting down on fizzy drinks, biscuits, crisps and sweets and the first few days were basically a 'one foot in front of the other' thing in work and then in the evenings where I substituted my kettle crisps for a cup of tea, or a yoghurt, or fruit. In a week or so I'll find this easier (I've been here before!!) Best of luck OP

Read the book Fat Chance, which is about sugar addiction. There is some good info in there about quitting.

I'm with you.... I need to cut mine, I'd lost loads of weight and am putting it back on because I'm binging on sugar and chocolate. I really don't want to but 'need' it (I know I don't need it but feel like I do)
Work is completely sh*t and I'm trying to start OLD but confidence is awful and turning to sugar !

I shocked myself into stopping sugar-bingeing when my blood tests showed up an elevated long-term blood sugar marker that can lead to pre-diabetes. The GP mentioned and said I should think about my diet. I wasn't as bad as you but was bingeing on sweets (think whole bag of percy pigs) after lunch every day.

I was a similar weight to you and 5'5" so I thought I was getting away with it. Since stopping I'm about 5kg lighter. Protein at meals is definitely the answer. I also like the Stop Binge Eating podcast.

I started taking a supplement that has chromium in it which balances blood sugar.
I don’t crave sugar too much but when I do have too much I have horrible spikes and crashes to the point of feeling faint. Chromium has really helped with this.

I've completely cut out added sugar over the last few weeks as a last ditch attempt at getting shut of my menopausal barrel shaped belly!
Good tips have already been mentioned but I have apple cider vinegar when I wake up.
I have added more protein to my diet and taken out processed carbs.
It has really reduced the sugar cravings. At work we always have loads of chocolate cake and biscuits in. Often someone will make a brew for you and give you a toffee crisp or crunchy or whatever. I have noticed that I am not touching them. This is really unbelievable for me as I have such a sweet tooth.
I have also been going to bed earlier. I'm sure sleep is linked in with sugar cravings.
I have stopped baking for now. I was making blondies, tea loaf etc. every other day.
The craving took a week to stop. I've cut out alcohol as well due to the sugar. This was fairly hard as I drink beer at gigs and enjoy it but I've put myself on a 2 month challenge.
( it was easy in longdown i went 7 months with no alcohol but I did eat a lot of cake!)
I would say the first week was the hardest and it has got much easier.

For snacking I e been having nut butters such as cashew or hummus on apple slices or in the groove of celery. Not the same as a Gregg's iced ring but I'm enjoying it more.
I've cut a lot of things such a bread and breakfast cereal out due to hidden sugar.
I've also cut a lot of fruit out ( not all) due to the sweetness I have berries, occasionally apples, pomegranate seeds. I've been having avocados, chai seeds and more nuts.
Good luck op,its not easy but not impossible!

I totally sympathise OP. The thing that's stopped me is the shock of being diagnosed with type 2 diabetes just after Christmas, so that may not be helpful to you, but maybe imagine getting that phone call.
I've had to completely change my diet, so its not just cutting out refined sugar but cutting down carbs generally, and switching to wholemeal, so it's lower go and releases more gradually . I've found it hard, but not as bad as I thought I would. I guess I just needed a reason to focus on - the goal of my blood results being better in April.

I'm using my fitness pal to track what I eat, and keeping under 90g carbs a day, most of which is wholemeal or from fruit and veg. I'm also tracking calories as I need to lose weight, so that may not be as useful for you.

I haven't thrown out all the sweet stuff in house due to the kids but I've bought substitutions to have if I want something nice - dark choc, peanut butter, salted nuts are my go to things. I still allow myself wine on the weekend but only 1 glass to savour.
It's early days for me but 2 months in the cravings are less and I'm getting less headaches and heartburn than I used to.

@MrsGethinJones @tibradden is correct, the Glucosegoddess you will feel the healthier way adjust eating your treats and wean yourself off sugar. In a few weeks you won’t even want sugar.

I used to be worse than I am now but still love sugar.

I find now I am older I can't eat sugary things in the daytime as they give me a headache........so I eat chocolate after dinner in the evening (everyday ) and try to eat really good quality chocolate, mostly dark.

I look forward to it and it's definitely a habit. I rarely drink now and don't smoke anymore and I eat pretty healthily otherwise so don't get too hung up on it.

I have stopped once or twice for a week or so and once did a month but I don't really want to stop eating it as I enjoy it so much.

I did get told by the doc a few years ago that I was pre- diabetic and so I then tried to stop eating sugar in the daytime so cut down from then.

I think you need to do cold turkey and take it one day at a time, quite often it's just that first day a done you've done that, you can do another day and so on. Replace with something else nice.

I want to add to my post a small proud moment that I didnt notice at the time.
On Sunday when Dh and I were out walking we stopped at a shop to buy more water. Dh bought a bar if chocolate and asked which one I wanted. Without missing a beat I said that I was alright and didnt fancy anything. Never in the history of me has that happened!!

It sounds like you're insulin resistant. Your blood glucose is going up and down and as soon as it starts dropping you feel like you need to get sugar to get it back up again. It isn't a question of greed or lack of self-control, there are powerful hunger hormones driving this. The two main ways to restore insulin sensitivity are intermittent fasting (i.e. skipping breakfast) and switching to a low carb diet such as the Mumsnet Bootcamp. There are support threads for both of these in the Big/slim/whatever weight-loss club section of Mumsnet. I haven't had time to read the full thread but don't be fooled into thinking that you can just "eat less move more" or try to avoid sugar through sheer willpower if insulin resistance is the root of the problem. I was exactly the same, having to eat every two hours and feeling like I needed sugar. I went seeking help after I realised I had eaten an entire chocolate fudge cake by myself in three days. Now I've resolved the insulin resistance I eat two or three times a day and I don't crave sugar at all - which makes it much easier to eat healthily and maintain a healthy weight.

Sugar addiction is real. I went cold turkey but found it incredibly hard. Start off by doing no sugar Saturday or something. Stick to that for a few weeks, so how you do then increase the amount of no sugar days. It will teach your body to go a bit without sugar.

I spoke with my dentist yesterday and she indicated a sweet tooth can also be linked to vitamin d deficiency as you have the sweet food to give you energy, might be worth having your levels checked. Also she suggested limiting sweet food to after a meal.

If you go cold turkey in my experience it only takes a couple of weeks for the craving to go. It is really hard for those two weeks then suddenly you’re not thinking about it at all!

Other tips are as others have suggested,
lots of full fat protein,
one square of very high cocoa chocolate if you must have anything sugary.
What your carbs- croissants are not a great start to the day, eggs on wholemeal toast is much better.

Good luck!

I'm the same, really despondent about the amount of sugar I eat. I'm fit and slim, but it doesn't matter –I feel like I'm really damaging my body but can't seem to stop. I have a permanent hacking cough that makes me gag and retch first thing in the morning, my skin, especially on my arms, is crepe papery and makes me think of my gran's arms when she was in her 80s!, and I feel like I have no concentration a lot of the time. I suspect all these things are linked to my sugar consumption, but can't give up long enough to find out!

I have had small successes in the past, but they never last –eg I managed most of a month only eating sugar every other day, then tried every third day the next month, but that went to hell... I bought several family packs of Taz bars and limited myself to one per day, which was alright, but went to shit once they were finished...

I keep thinking of the "you are what you eat" saying and I would love to be made up of mangoes, avocados and sunflower seeds, but I feel like my body is made up of cheap Twixes and those big supermarket cookies you get in a 4-pack... 😩

I've watched That Sugar Film, read stuff... but nothing seems to scare me off sugar when I have it in front of me.

It is hard OP. You know that you need to do this and you know why but you have to really want it for it to be successful. You are going to need to do a lot of planning for this - do some meal plans for breakfast, lunch, dinner and snacks. You will need distraction techniques. Frankly you’ll need painkillers too because the headaches will come. But they’ll be temporary. Weigh yourself and take your measurements, especially around your belly and upper abdomen, then do the same again after a week of detox. You’ll see them coming down and it’ll motivate you to keep at it.

But most importantly, you have to want to do this. If your head isn’t in the right place then you won’t last the day. You can do it and you’ve a ton of support here! Good luck 🙂

PS I forgot to add - I’ve recently given up smoking after 30 years - giving up the sugar is way harder for me than giving up the cigs!