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Original poster

How can I give up sugar?

54 replies

cheeseisthebest · 04/12/2023 19:38

I'm borderline diabetic and also a tendency to binge eat.
I want to try keto/low carb and give up sugar. But my god its so hard.
There's always lots of chocolate and biscuits in my house and I can't stop that cos it's not just me who lives here!

Has anyone been a chocoholic and managed to quit sugar?

OP posts:
Pipps80 · 04/12/2023 19:39

cheeseisthebest · 04/12/2023 19:38

I'm borderline diabetic and also a tendency to binge eat.
I want to try keto/low carb and give up sugar. But my god its so hard.
There's always lots of chocolate and biscuits in my house and I can't stop that cos it's not just me who lives here!

Has anyone been a chocoholic and managed to quit sugar?

Zoe is the answer!

Original poster
cheeseisthebest · 04/12/2023 19:41

What's that?

OP posts:
Peachyscream · 04/12/2023 19:44

Following because I AM diabetic and I eat more crap now than before I was diagnosed. (As an adult type 1)

Interested in this thread?

Then you might like threads about this subject:

Weight management
Original poster
cheeseisthebest · 04/12/2023 19:48

I just wish I had some willpower.

OP posts:
Watchkeys · 04/12/2023 19:54

It's an addiction. You don't need willpower. You need a good reason that you respect, and you need support.

What do your family feel about having sugary stuff in the house? Can they support you? Do they want to?

Original poster
cheeseisthebest · 04/12/2023 19:57

They would say I just need to have some self control and not eat it.
I boredom eat, comfort eat, it definitely is an addiction. I do it with savoury food too.

OP posts:
Watchkeys · 04/12/2023 20:03

They're unwilling to offer any kind of support at all? How disrespectful.

I suspect you're eating to fill a hole that isn't starvation. Can you identify the hole? Having a disrespectful, unsupportive family might play a part.

Ofa · 04/12/2023 20:26

If it helps - I’ve done it and it is so hard witb the sugar craving BUT it is only hard for 2-3 days and then your physical addiction is gone and you start to feel awesome and much more calm and energetic.

It is a decision you make. No one apart from you really cares that much about your health. Only you have to live through your version of old age. Quitting sugar is the easy way to do it, just like quitting smoking is hard, but much easier than having cancer.

Mirrormeback · 04/12/2023 20:32

Your family eat junk food because you buy it

Stop buying it

Original poster
cheeseisthebest · 04/12/2023 20:36

They buy it!

OP posts:
Original poster
cheeseisthebest · 04/12/2023 20:37

Ofa · 04/12/2023 20:26

If it helps - I’ve done it and it is so hard witb the sugar craving BUT it is only hard for 2-3 days and then your physical addiction is gone and you start to feel awesome and much more calm and energetic.

It is a decision you make. No one apart from you really cares that much about your health. Only you have to live through your version of old age. Quitting sugar is the easy way to do it, just like quitting smoking is hard, but much easier than having cancer.

Thank you, that's really helpful, good post. Thanks.

OP posts:
Helenahandkart · 04/12/2023 20:47

I don’t agree with the notion that it only takes two or three days to break a sugar addiction. I have entirely given up sugar and refined carbs for several months at a time and have still craved sugar throughout that time.
Could you have ADHD? The dopamine seeking sometimes causes sugar cravings.

Justrolledmyeyesoutloud · 04/12/2023 20:51

Following with intetest as l am the same op. Sugar seems to be in everything.
Allen Carr has written a book about it which l have read a bit but think l will start it again.

Watchkeys · 04/12/2023 20:52

Sugar seems to be in everything

It's not in whole foods.

Mirrormeback · 04/12/2023 21:51

cheeseisthebest · 04/12/2023 20:36

They buy it!

That's hard on you

Original poster
cheeseisthebest · 04/12/2023 21:56

Well I have house full of teenagers and a husband and I can't tell them not to buy chocolate etc, that wouldn't be very fair. My husband is supportive but I can't ban sugar from my house for everyone else.

OP posts:
collywobble · 04/12/2023 22:38

Have a look at willpowders website. Davinia Taylor explains how to try and cut out sugars. She has lots of down to earth advice. I have followed her on Instagram and bought her book it's not a diet and managed to cut back drastically on sugar and lost a stone with not too much effort at all. I was a real sugar / alcohol fiend and this was the only thing that has ever worked for me so far .

Original poster
cheeseisthebest · 04/12/2023 22:40

Thank you, whats her book called?

OP posts:
FrenchBoule · 04/12/2023 22:45

Willpower is the answer. It’s addiction, could only compare it to cigarettes. „I’ll have just the last one” and there’s always another one after last one…

The more you have it the more you crave it.

It’s not easy but it’s good for you. You lose excessive weight(if you have any), you feel better, more energetic,your mood,skin and everything else improves. You no longer live to eat, you eat to live. Food is more enjoyable, low carb diet makes you explore your food options. Food is no longer beige, it’s tasty and fills you up until next meal so no need for endless snacking on crap.

Go for it. It’s hard but soooo worth it. Do it for yourself 🙂

NightNightJohnBoy · 04/12/2023 23:01

Watching with interest and will look at some suggestions.
I'm over consuming sugar at the moment as a coping mechanism for a stressful job. I think there's a touch of the adhd type need for a dopamine hit too.
I'm worried about what I'm doing to my teeth !!

WallaceinAnderland · 04/12/2023 23:11

Ask your children to keep their sugary snacks in their rooms. If it's theirs alone, you aren't very likely to eat it.

I suspect the real problem is that you buy it for yourself too. You must stop this if you want to avoid very ill health. It all boils down to choice. Which do you prefer - sweet treats and diabetes or healthy diet and a healthy life? Once you make the decision, it will be easier to come to terms with, whichever you choose!

sixteenfurryfeet · 04/12/2023 23:14

Watchkeys · 04/12/2023 20:52

Sugar seems to be in everything

It's not in whole foods.

Yes it is. Not as added refined sugar but as lactose, fructose, glucose or as complex carbohydrate, it is in a huge number of foods.

Mirrormeback · 04/12/2023 23:16

I use sweetener and sugar free maple syrup in coffee and things like porridge

Watchkeys · 04/12/2023 23:22

sixteenfurryfeet · 04/12/2023 23:14

Yes it is. Not as added refined sugar but as lactose, fructose, glucose or as complex carbohydrate, it is in a huge number of foods.

Show quote history

OK. yes, but what's to worry about in those sorts of sugar, unless you have an allergy? It's a bit like worrying about drowning in an orange because a large percentage of it is water.

You can break a sugar addiction by living on wholefoods. Wholefoods don't contain harmful amounts of sugar is a better way to phrase it. I didn't realise we were being so pedantic!

PickAChew · 04/12/2023 23:27

It's a mindset thing. You have to get in the mindset of "I don't (not can't because that suggests it's not a conscious choice) eat that because it makes me ill."

It takes about a week to 10 days to break the habit. Obviously start with obvious sugar rather than every trace of it. If you habitually have a couple of biscuits with a coffee at 11am for example, then you might need to change what you do at 11am to break the craving and you might need change how you take your coffee or drink something different, like green tea, if the association between coffee and sugar is too much.