…to ask if anyone’s successfully beaten a sugar addiction

[NellesVilla]

Hi all,

I’ve been on here many a time lamenting my weight issues. Now I’m virtually pre-diabetic and really need to take action.

It goes without saying that I’m verging on obese which is a shame as I was previously slim and active.

I don’t like to admit this irl but I am absolutely addicted to sugar. I can’t get enough. I particularly like vegan marshmallows, chocolate and any type
of cake or biscuit. I can’t get enough of this stuff- particularly the marshmallows which are like my medicine. Awful. Can’t believe I just typed that.

When I try to go without, I manage 1-2 days, before retreating to a private space to ravish and ravage a cake. I can demolish a family-sized lemon meringues or pavlova with no problem. For ref, think girl in Insatiable on Netflix when on a truly horrendous binge.

It’s actually disgusting and I disgust myself. But I am being truthful and need to do something; but what? Restricting? Cold turkey? Slowly reducing? Tried them all.

Does anyone have any methods that work? I don’t smoke, drink or have any other vices. And before anyone suggests the low carb diets, I am a vegetarian.

I have an extremely critical family who don’t help but regularly berate me for my weight and generally society is very judgemental, but I honestly just want to be healthier.

Thanks in advance, for any ideas.

I know people who swear by Allen Carr for quitting smoking. I noticed he has a few books on quitting sugar and emotional eating. Maybe worth a try?

Low carb is still possible for a vegetarian, although admittedly, a bit harder. When I low carb my sugar cravings go completely (unfortunately not cravings for other stuff!)
Why not have a read of the low carb threads and see what the vegetarians are eating?

For chocolate addiction I'd really recommend Montezuma's 100% dark. The peanut butter one is my favourite but the mint and the orange ones are really good too. If they're too dark on their own then get some sugar free cereal or muslei and make chocolate crispy cakes. I find after a couple of weeks I stop craving sugar if I avoid it - but once I start again it's a downward spiral! Watch for sugar in every thing from chips to sausages to crisps - and sauces generally have a ton of it. They literally put sugar in almost everything processed so try to make meals as much as possible from scratch.

I haven't beaten sugar addiction and frequently fall off the wagon BUT what made a big difference to it was dealing with certain food groups at a time. I started on sugar containing drinks, then once I'd found stuff that I could substitute for sugary drinks and still enjoy I moved on to sweeties.

I am not having weight problems or diabetes but my teeth are falling out of my head. And I never really ate anything else other than sugar, or at least it made up a significant portion of my daily calorie intake and also drinks intake. I hate water

I don't want to stop eating it all together but as long as I can cut down enough I'll be happy

Instead of going low carb I'd suggest having wholemeal carbs which are really good for fibre and feeling full. White carbs are just turned to sugar once you eat them.

Sugar in everything!

Thanks for all of your helpful words and will try the dark chocolate, @Staynow !

Hi @NellesVilla I'm also a sugar addict. Love it...
Recently I've been listening to YouTube hypnoses to help. They do, a bit. And not buying stuff. If it's in my house I eat it

Read ‘Why we eat too much’ by Dr Andrew Jenkins. Real game changer.

Yes, had a gastric bypass 6 months ago. A small bar of Tony's chocolate has been in my fridge for a week. I'm not interested. If I eat too much sugar I get "dumping syndrome" which is awful. It's like aversion therapy.

I used to have a massive sweet tooth that disappeared overnight with the surgery. Saying that if my partner gets a dessert at a restaurant or whatever, I still enjoy one mouthful.

I appreciate it's not an option for everyone and is pretty drastic, but I needed it.

Increase your meat protein
Eat it every day.
No low calorie diets either.
My sugar cravings disappeared over night.
Just can't get excited about biscuits , cakes etc anymore .....

This would be a bit out there as a solution but recently I was prescribed Venlafaxine (an anti-depressant.) I have always had an extremely sweet tooth, pudding instead of starter etc. So much so, I thought it was just part of my personality. Within a day or so of starting this the sweet tooth was completely gone. I could literally take it or leave it with all the things I had previously not been able to resist. It was a revelation to me that my brain chemistry might be controlling my diet so much. Not sure how helpful this is to you! but it helped me to think actually it wasn't (just) my willpower to blame.

I so need the answer too.
I cant get enough sugar.
I've got to the point where the sugar rush is making me feel ill/dizzy and then I crash.

I tried carrots instead of sweets today, which last couple of hours then lots more sugar.

I have a very sweet tooth. I have been on a shake diet for lunch and breakfast with an evening meal. I am not feeling hungry or craving sugar. I have lost 12lbs in 3 1/2 weeks. I have had 1 peice of birthday cake and 1 biscuit in that time. Unheard of for me. It is expensive as it a system and sold with other stuff but is working for me. I think it is similar to the Chambridge diet.

I can't recall the Brain Over Binge book enough. It's also a podcast which is free.

I have chocolate, sweets and biscuits in the cupboard now. Ice cream in the freezer. If I fancy some, I have a bit. But previously I would have just eaten and eaten until I felt physically unwell.

I've maintained a "normal" relationship with food for more than 5 years now, so it's definitely been easily sustainable.

This isn’t a very helpful answer but I just…stopped eating it. I would have biscuits or a Kitkat thing at break time, something sweet after lunch, loads of sweets or chocolate on the drive home (this was my real weak point) and pudding or something after dinner every night. I could easily eat a full share bag of sweets or bar of chocolate.

I dealt with the drive bit first. I only drive past one shop so once past that shop I can’t eat anything that isn’t in the car! First I switched to crisps/crackers, then to nuts, and now I don’t really eat anything at all. Once I’d done that actually the rest was easy. I have a cereal bar or something at break (still some sugar but I’ve been making them myself and they don’t trigger any cravings for more), fruit after lunch and I’ve basically stopped eating much in the way of desserts although I’ll certainly have one if I’m out or at a party or something. I just literally never ever crave anything sweet at all, so it’s not hardship. I will eat homemade cake but I tend to make lower sugar ones with fruit in and again they don’t make me want more.

I would suggest giving up ultra processed foods but not necessarily focusing on sugar specifically. I have had success with this. I eat what I want - but I make it myself from traditional ingredients. I do not eat anywhere near as much sugar now because I don't have any crappy UPFs that override hunger.

There is a podcast on BBC Sounds about this: www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m0017tcz

Before lockdown I cut out any food with the word sugar listed in the ingredients. (Even houmous has sugar added). I still ate fruit (fructose) and milk/dairy (lactose). I still had honey if it was organic and natural without 'added' sugar. I lost over a stone and my blood sugar dropped from 43 (pre diabetic) to 41 (highest end of normal). My breathing improved and I could walk around in the heat. My ankles didn't swell and my skin improved.

Sadly I'm now back on sugar. Not totally, just choc ice and occasional chocolate bars. Chocolate is my downfall but I hate dark chocolate. I make chocolate peanut balls with cocoa powder which is sugar free, but they're not ice cream 😭😭

But I don't eat cakes, biscuits, sugary drinks or anything like that. Still make my own sugar free granola.

I think my point is, it's a slow process, took me a year to see any difference. Don't buy anything with added sugar, make your own sugar free alternatives and stay strong. The end results are worth it.

PS anyone who ever read judge dredd in 2000AD comics will know they treat sugar like heroin in the future world. As it was created in 1977 it is rather prescient

I wish I knew. When I read peoples siccess stories such as those above I always think ‘They can’t have been as bad as me’. I eat so so much junk. I’ll eat until I feel ill. I occasionally diet and after a few days the cravings reduce and I’ll do alright for a couple of days. Then I’ll have an event or a day out, or a bad day or something to celebrate and inevitably eat something delicious and then I’m back to square one as I can never get back on track after a bad day. I’m also obese now. I was a size 8 8 years ago

I eat the Fulfil bars - salted caramel is lovely!
I was also borderline pre-diabetic and like any addiction you need to cut it out. Fulfil bars are zero sugar. Expensive though.

Read/learn about UPFs. It is not your fault - the products are chemically designed to override your natural off switch.

Brilliant low carb support group on here @BIWI !

take a chromium picolinate supplement ( solgar or nutri advanced are good ).
Hits sugar and carb cravings on the head. If you crave any particular foods check it out , google: crave xyz ( e.g sugar ) as it often indicates what your body lacks in minerals or vitamins.

I’m the same OP and it’s a fucking nightmare.

I posted a couple of weeks ago and got good ideas but after doing a LOT of reading I decided keto plus fasting was the best option for me.

Appreciate keto isn’t an option but the fasting would sort your blood sugar and help with cravings.

I’m 8lb down in just under 2 weeks and have been eating keto and haven’t been hungry once and haven’t started fasting yet either.

I’ve also just started a Green Chef subscription - there’s veggie and vegan options - to take decision making away.

I’m very early days and not evangelical but it’s genuinely the first diet where I’m not at all hungry which helps me make better choices.

Just start educating yourself. Google the ingredients and see how and what they are made of.

Do you really want to eat those crap ingredients. Start researching Ultra Processed foods they are so bad for us and linked to so many chronic health conditions. Essentially you are eating food with no proper nutrients. They go in they come out, they don’t nourish your body. They spike your insulin, which causes insulin resistance and inflammation in the body. Chronic inflammation (as you are already finding out) is associated with diabetes but also heart disease, cancer, arthritis, dementia and bowel diseases.

You only get one body, look after it!!

Buy a paleo baking recipe book. It switches refined sugar (the bad stuff) for alternatives like coconut sugar, honey, maple syrup etc. So you still get your sweet hit without actually eating unhealthily.