Beat the rush - sweet support for sugar slaves!

[washnomore]

A few of us have realised we've got big problems with sugar addiction so we decided to make a support thread.

A few links to get us started:

What Wikipedia has to say

NHS information on the binge-eating cycle

American Heart Association's webpage on carbohydrate cravings

My name's washnomore and I'm a carb addict. Pleased to meet you :)

Neeps

When I was low carbing (and bear in mind that doesn't take into account fat content) but veggie snacks were mini babybel, cheese strings, individual portions of boursin, brazil nuts, a handful of seeds.

One thing I worked out for myself one day when I was desperate not to eat any more hard cheese or eggs was a slice of quorn (the ready sliced stuff) spread with some soft cheese and one finely chopped cherry tomato then rolled up. The same thing spread with boursin is nice as well.

Tofu smoothies are good, but they're not great for low sugar due to the high fruit content - you can make them with vanilla extract instead though and that gets around the problem.

Chickpeas - in the form of hummous are good for veggie protein, as are lentils.

Wallnuts are good, very high in nutrients and considered by some as brain food.

I'm not a big fan of quorn (or frankenfood as its known in this house) but found I had no choice when trying to lower my carb intake. I was so sick of eggs after two weeks that I've barely eaten one since.

One thing I have recently started doing is supplementing the whole family with a combined vegetarian omega and dha supplement. Its early days, as we've only been doing it for two weeks, but I've already noticed a difference, particularly in the dcs. My eldest has ASD and he has definitely been much more emotionally stable and sleeping better, despite being the victim of a nasty bullying attack at school this week. We used to give the boys an omega oil blend when they were toddlers and if we forgot or missed a couple its was guaranteed that they would take hours to get to sleep and then wake up reguarly as well.

I have been reading about the importance of essential fatty acids for everyone and how vegetarians are nearly always dangerously depleted, as even though there are vegetarian foods that contain omegas, its not easy for the body to absorb and convert to a useful format for the body.

This website is really interesting.

Spent the whole day labelling and packing the stuff for my eldest to go on his school trip tomorrow (first ever overnight school trip and its for a whole weekend doing outward bound fgs) I am on absolute pins and completely forgot to eat until about half an hour ago when I had 3 slices of wholemeal toast with nutella and strawberries. Good job I have decided I'm not starting this week!

4pm onwards is my worst time, I find until then I'm not too bad.
Unfortunately we have some shops just round the corner........
I would love to lose half a stone and eat more healthily.

Hi,

Just marking my place. I'm a chocoholic.....

So, I saw a personal trainer for the first time last night (birthday present ) and she wants me to do a food diary! Yikes!

She'll think I'm a fruit loop when I start eating a spud every night

That's quite useful, though - spud embarrassment aside. Afair part of the PNP recovery programme involves a food diary, but you also add in how you felt before and after each thing you eat.
So when you come back to look at it the evidence of how the sugar affects you is in front of your eyes in black and white. I remember being amazed when words like 'calm' and 'serene' started to appear!
Good luck with it.

Been rubbish the last few days, especially today! I am not sure I can do without carbs totally, especially when bf. Going to just try and avoid White ones and keep trying to get more protein in.

Good idea. I actually can't go carb free as it triggers gall bladder attacks, which makes me think it can't be healthy even for people without gallstones.

Morning all. Strawbs I think you are me! I was weighed a couple of days ago and I've gained almost a stone since Christmas, and tend to binge on anything and everything. Also, although it's a sugar thread, any refined carbs have exactly the same effect as sugar so toast is up there with Mars bars!

I've been struggling over the weekend but it's a new day today. Going to try so hard to do some exercise and get more sleep - at least I can't eat while otherwise occupied.

Well Potatoes Not Prozac arrived today and I've read 80 pages so far (DD slept while DS was at pre-school - it's like a rare planetary alignment - and it's making a lot of sense so far. I think the tough bit for me will be not jumping ahead but I've bought a book for the diary. Figured the personal trainer will think me even more bonkers if I start writing down my feelings alongside what I had for breakfast, so I'll keep her diary separate!

Good luck with it wash - you're right about not jumping ahead but it's really hard not to once you feel you understand the basic premise. It's important to go easy and be gentle on yourself; i jumped ahead and did cold turkey at first; won't go into detail but the screeching wasn't pretty !

Strawbs, think about upping your protein rather than dropping your carbs; they fill you up more and help stay off the sugar cravings. When you have to have a snack, make it a small amount of protein alongside a brown carb if you can - it's all about keeping your blood sugar levels steady across the day, which won't happen if you snack on just an oatcake or rice.

So far today I have had porridge with seasame seeds for breakfast, an apple, banana, and four oatcakes with peanut butter for snacks, lunch I had home made soup with vegetables, barley and red lentils (a big bowl and another half a bowl), natural yogurt with grapes and nuts in it. I then had two more oatcakes. But I was STILL hungry. Just had a slice of toast (brown bread).

I have not stopped eating all day but never felt full. What am I getting wrong? Or am I just greedy?

what age is your baby neeps? And do you feed her exclusively breastmilk or mixed? That will make a huge difference to how many extra calories you need to take in. I'm sure you need more carbs when you're bf and I remember I could eat masses and still feel hungry. I used to eat an extra meal at 3/4ish of a sandwich despite having already had a sandwich/soup lunch at 1pm.

I was warned that grapes are not a 'safe' fruit to eat for a recovering sugar addict as they are fructose so immediately you get a sugar rush into your system. My dietitian also suggested I have all my fruit in the morning and go onto raw veggies for afternoon snacks, then lots of cooked veggies for tea.

Can you try raw salad and veg and houmous?

I don't think you're doing anything 'wrong' neeps, just maybe not the right thing for you. I know some people swear by porridge to start the day, but personally I feel weak with hunger half an hour later, even if I bulk it out with loads of nuts. But raw oats, in muesli, again with loads of nuts added, do the trick for me.
Likewise lentils I consider 'light' food as I have to bulk them out with cheese or more chunky pulses.
Treat this as a trial and error period to see what works for you in terms of quelling your hunger (note I didn't say cravings).
This might seem mad advice bearing in mind you want to lose weight - and you might gain a bit initially - but the aim is to learn how much your body actually needs to feel stable and relaxed about where its next meal is coming from. Once you're confident in this knowledge you'll be able to gradually drop your carb level - but you might not need to if you're bf and sugar free.
And put some peanut butter on that toast!

Oh, and sorry to be mean, but an apple and a banana are giving you too much sugar at once.
Again, you're not greedy but these foods are leading to a rise in blood sugar levels, followed by a corresponding dip which is where the cravings and hunger (and possibly headaches and mood swings) kick in.

Dd is almost 10 weeks and ebf.

Do you guys eat fruit at all? I was trying to get my five a day. Is there no difference between natural sugar and the sugar in chocolate?

I am loving the peanut butter btw, never eaten it before and it is yum!

I hardly eat fruit at all, neeps. I found as a result of going sugar free I'd gone without it for so long I now find it cold and slimy - and when I fall off the wagon fruit just doesn't cut it!

Strawbs - I'm not purporting to be some kind of expert; I linked to a website earlier in the thread which helps with recovery from sugar addiction, which is what lots of posters on this thread are struggling with.

Anything I say is based on the principles I came across in following that programme, but I think it's worth a try as it definitely helps with stabilising mood, if nothing else. I don't know anything about pig to twig - I gather it's low carb. Not sure about oatcakes either, but i'd suspect they're made with predominantly white flour, so I'd think brown bread would be better in terms of the blood sugar ishoo.

Ingredients for Nairns oatcakes ( I think they are the best ones)
Ingredients:
Wholegrain Oats (88%), Palm Fruit Oil, Sea Salt, Raising Agent (Sodium Bicarbonate).

Non GM, No Artificial Colourings, Flavourings or Preservatives, High Fibre, Suitable for Vegetarians and Vegans.

No flour in sight and low GI, so fine to eat.

The fruit issue seems a bit tricky I agree.

My dietitian is based at the gym I go to for workouts and running. She knows I run/gym 3x a week so suggested I only have fruit juice/grapes, oranges and bananas in the half hour after exercise. Other than that she said the morning was OK (think that was just because my cravings kick in from 3-4pm onwards) but she advised only 1 piece of fruit at a time.

When I asked her how to get my 5 a day she said to try only 2 of fruit and 3 salad/veggies.

I was told sweet pots/brown rice/buckwheat were great substitute for white rice/pots/pasta. And was told veggies/salad were fine in whatever quantities - to use then to fill up.

And oatcakes are fab - nairns are great with peanut butter (but must peanut butter one with no added sugar - check ingred list, organic is best for this)

Also nairns oatcakes with herbs and pumpkin seeds are great with philly cheese.
i was also told to try and learn to love the feeling on not being full. Stop a meal before being full and enjoy the energy from eating small portions. That might not be good for ex-anorexics but for someone like me who loves to eat and eat some more, I think it's worth listening to. I do actually forget about food half hour after I've eaten and sort of feel glad I ate a small amount.

Over 70% cocoa dark organic choc is great as you only can eat a small amount and it's healthy. And make sure you have no aspartamine on anything - check cereal, chewing gum, drinks - it makes you crave sugar.

Don't forget pulses and nuts count towards five a day, and if you substitute sweet pots or butternut squash for potatoes that's one portion you wouldn't otherwise have had as potatoes don't count towards the five a day.

Just bumping this thread because I've found it so useful. The Potatoes Not Prozac book makes heaps of sense so thanks for that What. I haven't quite got into the swing of the food diary yet but I'm confident it can help me if I can just get over the initial hump of starting and sticking with it. Hope everyone else is getting on ok :)

Just wondering how everyone's doing?

I'm feeling chuffed as I've lost 4lbs since dropping the sugar, just before joining this thread.

I was trying Slimmers World on and off for about the past year, and never lost more than 1/2lb a week (that's half a pound) - and felt deprived and wedded to my daily 'syns' which of course were sugar based. Two biscuits with my coffee in the morning and a Weight Watchers ice cream after dinner. I practically lived for those moments.

Now I'm eating healthy, hearty meals with no 'afters' and no panic about hunger. I know if I can't last to the next meal I'll have a few almonds to tide me over. The test will be whether I can resist hoovering up DS2's Easter eggs - although three have already ben scoffed and I haven't felt the need to indulge! I'm not brilliant at remembering to put the evening spud in the oven, but it's such a treat with mayonnaise at bedtime I really must make more effort.

Hope everyone's getting on okay.