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AIBU?

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Original poster

To think that sugar (chocolate) addiction is real?

187 replies

JustCallMeSliths · 03/05/2019 06:37

Not necessarily up there with alcohol and drugs etc (as in harmfullness) but do you think people can be addicted to sugar, specifically chocolate?

I've gone cold turkey on chocolate. I was eating at least 2 family sized bars a day. I tried cutting down but couldn't do it. It's been 3 days and I'm struggling so much. I don't think it is just the sugar withdrawal.

Yes, I'm whinging and need to just do it.

OP posts:
alittleprivacy · 03/05/2019 12:08

One thing that might seem odd is to consider if there is a time of year that you crave sugar more. I quit at exactly this time last year and I think part of the reason I succeeded was because I crave sugar more in winter than I do in summer. In summer there is a lot of seasonal fruit and if I was hot then I'd eat a small bowl of frozen blackcurrants when I might normally have ice-cream. In winter I'm much more likely to want to eat sugar as it's cold and dark and going to bed with a baileys hot chocolate, a slice of cake and netflix has always been tempting. So I don't think I could have quit in winter. Once I was 6 months in though, it was a different story. I was aware of the temptation but not dominated by it and when I did decide to treat myself I couldn't actually stomach the sugar.

Elephantbiscuit · 03/05/2019 14:24

I'm also a sugar junkie. I'm not overweight but recently found out I'm in the prediabetes range which has scared me. I'm trying to cut down but I feel so ill when I try and stop and as I live alone its often I eat junk food rather than cooking a meal. I'm gluten free which has a lot of sugar in it and due to food intolerance my diet isn't that varied. I'll definitely be taking on some of the advice given here.

greenchilly123 · 03/05/2019 15:34

Can’t help much with the sugar free but maybe it’s the milk you’re craving? I’ve been on and off vegan for about a year (but have stuck to it for the last few months) due to lactose intolerance and honestly day and night I used to crave milk-based products like chocolate. For me, to help the craving I eat dairy free versions of chocolate like dark choc kallo rice cakes and eat natural ceral bars. Dark chocolate is good for you, so if you like that (I don’t really) that also might be an option. I also have cadbury’s drinking chocolate with oat milk as it’s dairy free but gives that chocolate-kick. Also mango does wonders for cravings. Tbh after a while I just forgot what chocolate tastes like and don’t miss it or get tempted anymore!

formerbabe · 03/05/2019 15:40

Yes definitely. I went on a low carb diet ages ago. After a few days, I woke up with the shakes ..felt horrendous.

OnlineAlienator · 03/05/2019 15:47

It sure is. I'm unbothered by cigarettes, alcohol, drugs...but jellybeans? I get a proper endorphin rush from eating sugar. If im stressed, it xalms me downn or cheers me up just like a ciggie would for a smoker. I cant be left in a house with chocolate just like a can of beer would be too much gemptation for an alcoholic. I get withdrawals if i dont have it, its my achilles heel!

That said, low carb eating helps me win.

AmIRightOrAMeringue · 03/05/2019 15:57

I think so. I've just stopped for a while and it took about a week before I felt like I could go without it fairly easily. I found herbal teas helped a bit

IndianaJonesAndTheTempleOfDoom · 03/05/2019 15:59

I think lots of things are addictive and that humans are easily addicted. Sugar definitely

JamesonCask · 03/05/2019 15:59

I gave up chocolate about 4 years ago and it is still a struggle not to give in to chocolate cravings

notacooldad · 03/05/2019 16:03

I agree and I have gone through several phrases of eating several bars a day and really having a physical need to get chocolate.

However the interesting thing is when I have been away from anywhere that has chocolate or I can't access it easy ,( eg wild camping trips over 5 days) it hasn't been an issue and not been on my mind. When I've got back home that need hasnt been there. So I haven't gone 'cold turkey' as such.
Weird!!!

SolitudeAtAltitude · 03/05/2019 16:04

formerbabe, it's normal to shake when you massively cut out calories (call it low-carb or whatever), as you are suddenly under-eating. Eating fewer calories than you need can make you feel unwell. That is not a sign of addiction.

Lots of people claim to be addicted to sugar, and there is lots of pseudo science about it. But do you eat sugar straight from the packet when there are no chocs/biscuits in the house?

It's hard to resist tasty treats, yes. But that is not the same as addiction.

It's (bad) habits. It's cheap treats. It's all around us and easily accessible. It's encouraged by friends an colleagues. It's hard to resist and even harder to resist when you are hungry (due to low-carbing or other dieting measures). Not addictive though.

thenewaveragebear1983 · 03/05/2019 16:31

It's actually the foods that have a ratio of 2g carbs to 1g fat that are thought the be the most addictive. Human breastmilk has this ratio, but otherwise it's very rarely found in nature. It's no surprise that food manufacturers deliberately engineer food to this ratio. It's not exact, but it's close enough to be noticed.

Eg this study

Cited in this book

To think that sugar (chocolate) addiction is real?
TiredSloth · 03/05/2019 17:59

It's hard to resist tasty treats, yes. But that is not the same as addiction.

It's (bad) habits. It's cheap treats. It's all around us and easily accessible. It's encouraged by friends an colleagues. It's hard to resist and even harder to resist when you are hungry (due to low-carbing or other dieting measures). Not addictive though.

People didn’t think cigarettes were addictive but we now know they are. For some people it isn’t simply ‘finding it hard to resist sweet treats’. If it consumes your every waking thought and you continue to do it despite it ruining your health and life then yes I would say it’s addictive.

Romax · 03/05/2019 18:01

No, I don’t

Many people find chocolate delicious, really delicious, hence the overeat.

Addictive? No.

RomanyQueen1 · 03/05/2019 18:02

Maybe some people, I'm not sure tbh.
I'm an addictive person and would walk to a shop miles away for cigs, but wouldn't just for chocolate, yet I could eat tons of the stuff if I don't stop myself.

Romax · 03/05/2019 18:02

People didn’t think cigarettes were addictive but we now know they are.

Yes because science developed. And we were able to establish the addictive properties of nicotine

mooncuplanding · 03/05/2019 18:07

I quit sugar and all high GI food a few years ago (basically anything that raises insulin)

I went through A WEEK of withdrawal symptoms, but by god life on the other side is brilliant. Cravings go completely once through the other side and for the first time in my life, food (aka sugar and all its hidden places) doesn’t dominate my daily routines

I’ve been a smoker in the past and i think on an everyday level in terms of the cravings, sugar and nicotine are similar

mooncuplanding · 03/05/2019 18:11

It’s weird people are arguing sugar isn’t addictive. If you take even a rudimentary look at the research, you will see the biology is very established on why we crave (can’t resist) high sugar / carbohydrate food

TiredSloth · 03/05/2019 18:14

Yes because science developed. And we were able to establish the addictive properties of nicotine

And research is still ongoing about the addictive properties of sugar. We now know it activates the same pleasure receptors in the brain as some Class A drugs. Is there a reason you don’t think people can be addicted to it?

mumoftinyterrors · 03/05/2019 18:14

I'm a chocolate/sugar junkie too, and whenever I go back on to my WW plan, the first week literally kills me because I have a constant headache from lack of sugar. It does settle and I feel a thousand times better once it's out of my system. Try eating a bit more sweet fruit for a few days x

mumoftinyterrors · 03/05/2019 18:21

@alittleprivacy 👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻

ParadiseInDisguise · 03/05/2019 18:24

Yes sugar has been proven to be addictive. Google Dr Robert Lustig, he explains in detail the mechanism of sugar addiction and the metabolism. Eye opener for me.

Well done. I couldn’t do it cold turkey, had to wean myself off it over 9 months. But it is transformative, liberating, I have got my life back! I can get on with my day and not constantly think about food. My energy levels are stable and I don’t crash any more. I sleep better, I don’t suffer mental fog any more. Stick with it, it will be so worth it!

ParadiseInDisguise · 03/05/2019 18:46

I second pp who swapped refined sugar with natural sugars to break the addiction. While raw or dried fruit have natural sugar, they also contain a lot of fibre which binds if and mitigates some of the effects. This is why there is a distinction between slow release carbs and the easily digestible kind.

It was a successful strategy to get me started, and to begin with I often reached for the dried fruit. But I wanted it less and less as time went on (and still was clean from refined sugar!). Now I can go several days without eating anything sweet and don’t miss it. I have noticed the fruit I buy started to go off. I buy fruit much less frequently now.

So it is very much a process and a journey. The ‘all or nothing’ approach has a high failure rate. If somebody can do it, fair play to them. For a lot of people it will take a bit of time, but they will get there. And that’s all that matters.

Papergirl1968 · 03/05/2019 18:47

It took about six weeks of no chocolate before I stopped craving it, and thought I could take it or leave it. I thought I'd be ok to have it every two or three days, and before long I was an addict again [Sad]

Tawdrylocalbrouhaha · 03/05/2019 18:52

My name I'd Tawdrylocalbrouhaha, and I am addicted to chocolate.

It absolutely is an addiction - I ate 200g of milky bar eggs the other day. That is no way normal, and I couldn't stop until they were gone.

IWannaSeeHowItEnds · 03/05/2019 19:17

I vaguely remember a programme with one of the van tulleken doctors who said that the specific ratio of fat to sugar found in cakes etc is what is addictive to humans, so more than just sugar in itself. Which might explain why we don't eat sugar straight out of the packet but do eat tons of chocolate.