It’s harder to give up sugar than alcohol, or is it just me?

[SparklyNewMe]

Glided through Dry January and still had no alcohol, except sharing a bucket of tiramisu with DD last night. Snickers bar today to survive 4 hour drive back for work.
Ferrerros over the weekend. I have no will power when it comes to certain sweets like cereal / nut bars, chocolate, some ice-creams and deserts (jellies, biscuits - no, thank you).

So, how is it possible to drop apparently addictive substance but to feel like quitting sugar is impossible? Where is the sense of comfort and happiness going to come from, because my most loving relationships do not mellow me out like a Ferrero.

Is there a sugar free February thread I could join?

It's true. It's like smoking being easier to beat than diet sodas.

Aldi do sugar free boiled sweets at the tills that really help get you over the initial kill for sugar feelings.

Yep, it's far harder! I gave up alcohol three years ago no problem, but I think I increased my sugar intake. Sugar is very addictive!

I'm not sure if there's a thread but I would like to ditch sugar. My consumption has crept up over Christmas.
I'm trying to have some flavoured roobois tea when I crave something sweet. M and s does a good one.

@SparklyNewMe have a look at the low carb boot camp threads run by @biwi. One just happened and I am not sure how often they run but we are still chatting in the Jan one. I did it in January and we were low carb plus no alcohol. It was honestly the easiest Dry Jan I have done and I am sure that is because my usual sugar cravings disappeared. Usually I would approach Dry Jan by replacing alcohol with sugar, and that now seems like a completely wrong approach. I soon craved neither on this way of eating.

Absolutely agree OP. I gave up all alcohol two years ago with ease. Sugar, on the other hand, is a whole bigger beast, made harder by the fact that there is so much hidden sugar to perpetuate the sugar spike/plunge cycle, leaving you craving more. Whenever people announce they haven't drunk for a month I congratulate them but inside I'm thinking "easy".

I agree but the issue isn't just the sugar. You would never sit down and eat a bag of sugar. The food industry puts a massive amount of money and research into designing ultra processed foods that we just can't stop eating. They'll have the exact right combination of ingredients and textures to get you hooked. If you want to cut down on sugar it might be easier if you switch to home made or non upf bakery treats first.

Obviously.
Your body needs sugar. It does not need alcohol.

It's extremely hard. I have tried to give in the past several times and eventually I gradually go back to a daily 'treat' so unfortunately I have to be as close to zero as possible. If I have a small amount of say chocolate cake one day, the next day I get really strong sugar cravings. It's so incredibly addictive. Most of what I eat now is home made which helps a lot. Dark chocolate and fruit are my go to sweet treats and it's amazing how sweet fruit tastes once you stop eating biscuits, cakes, sweets and chocolates.

Oh, you are my people.

I've always had a very sweet tooth and used to eat a lot of sugar. As I got older (now mid 60s) weight 'crept' on and still I ate lots of sugar. I'd try and cut down but could never stick to it.

Good few years ago, I started following BIWI 's low carb boot camp. I won't pretend it was easy but after a few weeks of my grain screaming get.me.sugar I honestly woke up one day and that screaming had just ... stopped.

The strongest reason for not eating sugar (or starchy carbs) now is to avoid going back to that. It seems the younger you are the easier it is to good with sugar.

I've literally gone 'cold turkey' and feel so much better for it. Can't recommend too highly, life is much better without sugar. After a lifetime of picking up every cold and cough going, I now rarely get any and shrug them off with just the glands in my neck being raised for a day. I sleep better too.

Enjoy.