AIBU to tell you I’ve found the miracle cure for excessive sugar consumption

[Thewildthingsarewithme]

I am being unreasonable to post it here but I feel like it’s a public service announcement and should therefore be shared as widely as possible!
I have a really healthy diet with little to no processed food in my meals but I have a really terrible sugar addiction. Daily I would probably eat three or four chocolate bars, biscuits and a pudding and probably ice cream or a pastry as well. Because I’m naturally slim and eat well outside of this I’ve been kidding myself it’s ok but it’s really not.
I saw an instagram recipe for peanut butter stuffed dates. I bought some organic ones, filled them with 100% PB and rolled them in melted 80% dark chocolate. I know there is sugar in dates but it’s natural and the fibre in the dates means that your blood sugars don’t shoot up, the dark chocolate is also very low sugar. This has honestly been a miracle cure for me! I’m eating three a day. This has completely cured me of the urge for anything else with sugar in, they are so stodgy that I can’t actually eat more than three and they feel completely decadent. For the first time probably in my adult life I’m not craving sugar all day, I’ve had nothing but these dates for three weeks now and it’s actually feeing like a permanent change!
Just wanted to share because I thought I would never be able to kick the habit but I feel so much healthier!

@ScienceDragon @PineappleTime but the suggestion is not that they don’t cause your blood sugar to spike at all it’s that in contrast to free sugars they are a far better alternative to manage blood sugar levels and overall health for those with a sugar addiction
Obviously if you eat no sugar then they will cause a spike
Only on MN would three organic dates a day only be marginally better than four chocolate bars, a pastry, a magnum and some biscuits 😂
I get the sentiment, I understand they are not sugar free but that is the point, they are, for me at least, a viable alternative to the above which may help others who have a sugar addiction not those who already have low sugar diets

They sound tasty but I think most dates come from Israel and I don't really want to give any money to Israel at the moment.

@Boating123 https://shop.pennyappeal.org/products/800g-medjoul-date-refill-pack-7-99?src=google-search&utm_term=palestinian%20dates&utm_campaign=&utm_source=adwords&utm_medium=ppc&hsa_acc=8615986070&hsa_cam=16109914253&hsa_grp=136592072841&hsa_ad=580605452393&hsa_src=g&hsa_tgt=kwd-28667297779&hsa_kw=palestinian%20dates&hsa_mt=e&hsa_net=adwords&hsa_ver=3&gad_source=1&gclid=Cj0KCQjwiYOxBhC5ARIsAIvdH50ofcZu6VbgFQjv2q9y_JwaC7vi_85E-XoJ-WzQyw1gesIAfrbcnYIaAoZmEALw_wcB

i don’t actually have shares in dates 😂

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=zgqlMoFpOlg

That's it.. it's an old vague reference, but I'm glad someone picked up my choclate salty balls.

Huff another its easy jusy 'replace chocolate bars with fruit/nuts combo' :( ... I'm sulking because I'm a sugar addict but I don't like fruit or nuts (i wish i did)

I eat dates with peanut butter, not everyday but when I fancy one. I also make chocolate balls for my dc which are whizzed up oats, medjol dates, coco powder, almond butter and cinnamon.

Still sugar/choc but better than processed milky stuff with lots of additives.

Hey, I think your strategy is great if it works for you! I'm just commenting on this in your OP the fibre in the dates means that your blood sugars don’t shoot up and commenting that this isn't the case in our experience. Your screenshot above relates to people with diabetes who obviously don't have the same blood glucose response to people without! What our (very small sample size!) experiments indicated is that dates, apricots and prunes all cause blood sugar spikes though not as much as chocolate or Coca Cola which was frankly alarming!

Or peanut butter! 😞😀

@Sourisblanche they sound amazing, will definitely try!

My cure for eating sugar is similar only without the dates and mostly without the chocolate but it still fills the sweet tooth gap somehow.

Melt peanut butter and coconut oil in pan. Pour into chocolate moulds and freeze. You can fill just short of top then when slightly frozen add melted dark chocolate or raw chocolate for a more decadent fix but the plain peanut butter ones work for me. The taste and fat satisfies my sugar craving.

On a keto diet these work a treat. On a normal diet it might be too much fat. But way better than the sugar.

You do need 100% no sugar added peanut butter (I use organic) and a high quality coconut oil. Delish!

I've more or less kicked sugar/junk cravings (did Zoe/libre glucose monitoring which was quite enlightening, even moreso for DH who is from a family of T2 diabetics). I managed to do the weaning of chocolate with a progress down to the 'one or two squares of 85% dark chocolate' or even 100% montezuma with 10 g of nuts. So much more satisfyingly chocolatey than crappy cadburys etc.

They sound lovely OP. I have the same problem with chocolate, particularly after dinner, so this is well worth a go.

I now just need a way to drink tea and coffee without a shit tonne of sugar, if you have a cure for that, I'm all ears!

This has inspired me to pop to the shops, and I'm now at my desk having eaten 3 dates and 2 squares of dark chocolate, and perfectly satisfied my sugar craving.

I totally get where you're coming from OP.

I too have a terrible sugar addiction.

I love fresh dates.🌴

Tip: Buying Dates around Ramadan 🌙 brings out some real beauties for sale. Almost like a delicious fudge.

Re chocolate...I used to like British chocolate, but it has changed in taste

Most 'cheap' chocolate is really 'waxy' these days, kind of greasy textured and not nice at all.

Palm oil is probably the culprit.

However....bought one of these yesterday to share with three of us, and oh my goodness.... all 3 said it was the nicest chocolate that they had had in years.

It was just a perfect texture and taste.

I wonder how ferrerer roche like they would be if rolled in chopped nuts.

Or desicated coconut 😄

The problem with dates though is that they make you crave and retain water and feel all bloated.

I don't have sugar in tea or coffee but I have a weakness for a mocha. I bought some sugar free syrup that I have in coffee at home that does a similar job.

Crave and retain water? Craving water isn't a bad thing, it's just being thirty! And I'm not sure how they make you retain water, they aren't salty or diuretic. Maybe you just have a stomach sensitivity to them?

Sorry but... Is it 2014, again?. Do people who use mumsnet not use other social media?! Replacing white sugar with honey and dates was a full on trend. Mejool dates were on offer in every shop back then. Almonds too, to make your own nut butter.
Some shops don't stock them anymore though or sell them much more expensively. Same as quinoa and chia seeds.

It's probably just the fiber content that's causing bloating

A pecan nut instead if oeanut butter with a tiny drizzle of maple syrup delicious ❤️👍

I think I'd prefer to eat the dates and chocolate separately in order to enjoy the flavour of each to the full. Not keen on peanut butter (but love salted peanuts).

My own highly recommended miracle cure is wine 😋.

@Planesmistakenforstars

that's an easy one. Weigh out your normal measure of sugar. (i just tested - 2 tsp was 8 grams).

next time you have a drink, weigh out your normal measure and then put a tiny amount back in the jar. You aren't going to notice a significant difference by cutting back by less than half a gram. Use this reduced amount for a few days until it becomes normal. Then cut back a tiny bit more for a few days, then a bit more for another few days etc. Over 2 or 3 months you will go from 8g to nothing and won't even notice it.

when I was a teenager my coffee was more sugar than coffee. I used this technique and haven't had sugar in my drinks for 40 years. If I accidentally have a sip of someone else's sugared coffee it revolts me.

I used a similar technique for cutting out caffeine. I spooned out my normal amount of caffeinated grounds, then took out a tiny bit and replaced it with Decaff. The next week I took out more and added more Decaff, etc. I managed to wean myself off caffeine completely and without withdrawal headaches.

if only there was a way to do this with Negronis.