Do I have an addiction problem with sugar?

[Oldcrockpot]

I feel like every day I tell myself I’m going to eat healthily, and by sometimes just after breakfast I’ve had chocolate/a cake/biscuits. Then spend the rest of the day up and down and all over the place. I now almost always have to eat the entire duration of my entire commute home or I start to feel worryingly sleepy. If I do the route to the office without eating I get a headache. I get one a lot actually. I seem to just not be able to stop and it seems to be affecting me more and more.

Is this ‘sugar addiction’, if you believe there is such a thing? Is his something anyone has overcome? I’ve tried to cut it out twice before and it’s led to binge eating behaviour so I really don’t know what to do. I feel disgusting and want to stop. I’m a healthy weight (just about) so won’t qualify for meds that will stop my appetite.

I'm also worried about my sugar addiction - I feel genuinely anxious at the thought of having no sugary treats in the house. I am ex smoker and sugar has very much replaced cigarettes for me and I need to lose weight

Sugar is addictive and most eating is out of habit. I find if you try to cut something out you will want more and it won't work. Could you try replacing with different snacks/ have different options ready such as fruit ( I know I know sorry, I teach Health and Food) or perhaps some low sugar or sugar free biscuits instead. Gullon I think is a brand ( some available in Home Bargains) they have sweeteners not sugar and aren't too bad! Headache isn't a great sign, are you weeing a lot and tired often? Could be early type 2 diabetes signs so be kind to yourself and maybe try to cut down a bit if nothing else.

I had a test about a year ago and was close to pre diabetes range but not in it

Insulin spikes as a response to sugary/high carb foods will drive your body to constantly want more.
I found intermittent fasting helped massively, look up Dr Mindy Pelz podcasts, she explains everything about how your body responds to sugars.

I discovered I was just under the pre- diabetes range recently and a close relative has diabetes. This was a wake up call which I’m still adjusting to.

For about 20 years I excluded sugar completely from my diet because of another medical condition, and it was not difficult to avoid it as long as I stayed off it completely. Then I gradually reintroduced it, and it became MUCH harder to resist it. So yes, I believe you can be addicted to sugar.

Not sure exactly what you mean by up and down and all over the place all day, but if you mean your energy dips frequently through the day, this might indicate big fluctuations in your blood sugar which would be consistent with eating a lot of sugary things.

You could try eating a bigger breakfast, that is higher in protein and a bit lower in carbs. If you’re really full up with food that sustains you, there will be less physiological drive to keep perking up your blood sugar.

This wouldn’t address the psychological part though, and because you mention triggering binge eating when you stopped eating sugar before, and feeling disgusting, I think it might b3 a good idea to see your GP and see if you can be referred to a dietitian for support - especially as you were close to pre diabetes range a year ago.

I haven’t read it but The Glucose Goddess talks about sugar and carbs and how they are metabolised in your body.

So don't have it in the house, then that way you won't binge it.

But yes, sugar is awful stuff and can be very addictive.

Sugar highs are great but the lull afterwards is awful.

I get very addicted to sugary stuff so just don't have junk in the house, or at least not the stuff I'd want to eat if I knew it was there.

Yes, another suggestion that you read Glucose Goddess. There are some tools for eating in the book (eg eat fibre/ fat before carbs) which means your blood sugar doesn't yo yo to the same extent - and so you will feel better and much more in control.

You are not addicted to sugar, you crave highly palatable foods that contain (quite likely) a high proportion of sugar and fat = tasty treats that you want to eat more of.

Can you plan to allow one thing in your day that hits the spot? There is no easy fix here and it's probably not even hunger that is driving you.

Sadly it's a case of parenting yourself (which I appreciate can be very hard when you are staring into a box of tasty treats) and knowing when to stop. It takes practice and you'll slip up but just keep trying.

As someone who doesn't have a sugar addiction I'd say that yes you do

But so do my DD and DM but they don't have sugary things all day every day anymore.

I go sugar crazy when I have hormonal times once a month th and then all I need is a few sweets or a small chocolate bar and that's enough

I don't have much in the way of snacks around the house any more. DS used to just eat them mindlessly.

I buy DD the odd sweet treat here and there and obviously can buy what she wants so I've no idea what she eats outside the house

I'm happy with coffee and sweetener so I guess that's my daily sweet thing and Pepsi max once a month when I get cravings

I tend to drink a lot of water which rehydrates me giving me the energy you probably think you're getting from your sugary stuff

The only way I’ve found that works is to just cut out all the sweet stuff entirely. I find if I have a ‘treat’ before you know it I’ve eaten two cakes and three bars of chocolate! But if you just go cold turkey, within quite a quick time, 5 days or so the desire for sugar just disappears, for me anyway.
It’s like the sweet foods/sweetners just fuels the desire for sweet things but if you don't eat it you don't want it.

I used to eat cakes, chocolate, gums etc every day, multiple times a day. I then got a private diagnosis of poor gut bacteria. I got natural remedies (afraid I cant remember the various treatments), but I remember they said when your bacteria is out of balance it can cause thrush in the intestines which causes sugar cravings.

since treatment, I rarely think of sugary foods. It might be worth looking into thrush and how you can resolve that.

I suffer the same way as you, OP. One sweet thing and I'm away and I can't stop. I try not to have anything much in the house (I can put away an entire Victoria sponge by myself on a binge). I was advised to try a couple of squares of dark chocolate, however I'm hugely allergic to it and it makes me vomit copiously, so that didn't work.

What I do now is ban all sugary things (or most of them, I'm not perfect) during the week but allow myself something on a Sunday - to give me something to look forward to, and I will eat something like cheese cubes or banana when I get the urge to nibble. I also took up running (because it gets me out of the house so I can't eat, and I can't eat for a while after a run either).

I still go bonkers sometimes and just eat everything I can see, but the resultant headache and feeling of guilt is usually enough to stop me doing it again for a while.

I can so relate OP. I had berries and yoghurt ready for breakfast but instead had sugary granola slices . I lurch from sweet junk
to sweet junk all day long .

I was very similar to you op and the things that I find that work is to completely remove processed carbohydrates for breakfast and start breakfast as late as you can.

example I have a coffee/ tea when I wake up around 7 but do not eat anything until around 11am where I have things like eggs, avocado, salmon even leftover chicken.

then for lunch and dinner try to make it mainly protein, with veg and salad etc and I stick to foods as close to it’s natural state as possible.

Also make sure you are eating healthy fats as this is what satiates our bodies and not just filling your stomach.

I blame food manufacturers- this is all deliberate to make us want more!

I tried the Glucose goddess method of having vinegar before eating but I just can’t tolerate it!!!

More sleep and more protein

Also look into adding MCT oil, I’ve recently started and have noticed a reduction in cravings overall.

Menopause did it for me. Up until then, I wasn’t the biggest sweet eater. I never want to eat a spoonful of sugar but cakes, biscuits, whole packets of sweets are not safe around me in the last few years. I crave them, sometimes.

DMIL has long been big on cakes etc so I wonder if it’s the same for her but I can’t ask her now.

Eating sweets foods leads to cravings for more sweets foods. And if it's in the house I'll tend to eat it especially late at night. So the solution for me is to snack on whole food options instead. E.g. yoghurt with nuts and a drizzle of honey, or dried mango pieces. Food that is nutritious. And I told my husband to drop buying me chocolate. This has helped a lot. Can you think about snacks high in protein that would be a good alternative to the sugary ones when you feel hungry? I enjoy pistachios and dried apple rings too.

If you have the time watch Jen Unwin on YouTube, she is a British GP who talks sensibly on the topic.
https://www.youtube.com/live/vmXlh52i5l4?si=_CxvKyr5oni_AzUy

What about sweet fruit like grapes or mini satsumas

I found the answer to this is to eat more healthy food.

Have a larger breakfast - I have porridge with chopped apple or wholemeal toast & butter, with home made jam (lower sugar).

For lunch I have a pasta salad or smoked mackerel & potato salad with tomatoes. Enough fat and fibre that I don't feel hungry again until supper and don't need a sugar hit in the afternoon.

Take a pack of mixed nuts and some grapes with you, and snack on those if essential

If you add up the calories of your current diet plus all the sugar hits you need and compare it with a larger healthy diet they are the same but one is healthy and the other is not.

My DH was addicted to sugar. Used it to.keep up.... Then crash... More sugar.... He was also conditioned by his DM to worship sugar (she was extremely obese).

His only recourse was to quit added sugar & eat better. No treats, stayed away from sweet fruits, drinks, chocolate, lollies, desserts etc. Everything he loved really!

I find a high protein breakfast helps me regulate blood sugar all day. Mid afternoon most staff are raiding the social club chocolate drawer for a boost.

I’m trying to cut down on my carbs sugar because I can get sleepy after eating.

Ive had blood tests and was told I had glucose intolerance many years ago.

Ive decided to buy myself a blood glucose monitor and test myself after eating.

Im more interested in the subtleties of my blood sugar and finding out my personal response as not everybody reacts to foods the same way. I think it also depends on what you are eating at the same time ie some people react less to the sugar in ice cream because of the fat that comes with it.

You can get those continuous blood sugar monitors that go on your upper arm, but they are too expensive for me.

I’m 69 ( not overweight and fairly ok health wise for my age) and have been addicted to sugar for as long as I can remember. Particularly chocolate and less so to cake.
Ive tried everything you’ve all mentioned and the only solution ( temporary though as i’ve never kept it up for longer than 6 months at a time) is completely abstaining. I can’t just have one or two squares of dark chocolate, I have to eat the whole large bar or a couple of large slices of cake.
The “ once you’ve given it up the urge will go and you’ll hate the taste of it” has never happened for me. Likewise the “ eat more protein” idea has never worked for me either. I can have a healthy tea of fish and mediterranean veg followed by fruit or crackers and cheese and still want the bar of chocolate if it’s in the house. And eat the lot.
I also get a weird sensation in the roof of my mouth, hard to explain but it’s almost like a gentle throb or pulsating when I’m about to or actually eating the chocolate.
I can only liken it to my ex husband who tried so hard and so many times to give up cigars. He sometimes stopped for 6 months but when he gave in , the look of ecstasy on his face when he took the first drag was how I feel when I have chocolate after a period of abstinence!
I don’t drink, take drugs or smoke and never have ( alcohol gave me a fierce migraine the few times I tried and the other two have never held any attraction) but chocolate, I think I’m definitely addicted.
My husband can open some sweets or chocolates and have one a night, whilst I’m wrenching the tin out of his hand!
Maybe at my age I’m not going to find a solution