I did 2+ weeks off the sugar and have fallen off the wagon :(

ErrolTheDragon · 19/12/2023 20:29

If you fall off a wagon, there's no reason not to climb back on.You're not 'back to square one', you've proved to yourself you can do it and that:

It made me feel much less fatigued, more stable mood, spots on chin mostly cleared up…

Original poster

SeymourBusiness · 19/12/2023 20:44

I guess the issue is that I believe I should have a bit of chocolate etc if I fancy it. As that is what comes naturally, makes sense to me and has worked my whole life.

However for various reasons in the last couple of years I have both put on a couple of stone and feel my eating is out of control. So I need to get my head around this approach not working anymore. Because it’s never just a bit :(

Cutting it out - as in no chocolate/cakes/biscuits/sweets etc - definitely made me feel good. But it was a constant psychological battle and I clearly don’t really believe what the book says (that it’s not even nice and you get no benefit from it) or I wouldn’t have gone back!

OP posts:

Original poster

SeymourBusiness · 19/12/2023 20:45

Sorry @ErrolTheDragon just moaning and I would have made the comment you have to a friend!! Just feeling a bit lost with it I think

OP posts:

bellac11 · 19/12/2023 20:49

SeymourBusiness · 19/12/2023 20:18

I couldn’t believe that I did it, I’m so addicted- I did just over 2 full weeks with no ‘obvious’ sugar. Then the Christmas parties/dinners etc started and I am back to square one. I’ve eaten 2 mince pies, half a box of chocs and a bag of chocolate raisins today and currently trying to resist a tin of fancy biscuits. 😭

I was listening to the Allan Carr bad sugar audiobook, which was generally going well but then as it got more in depth I found that I disagreed with some of the dietary advice (I.e. around human needs and plant based diets) so I stopped.

Where do I go from here? It made me feel much less fatigued, more stable mood, spots on chin mostly cleared up…now I feel like a big fat failure. I can’t use the Allan Carr method if I ultimately don’t believe in the message - what I think to be a lot of cherry picking the science.

Has anyone failed like this and managed to kick ‘bad’ sugar for good?

Just start again. No biggie

Or if you think its too difficult over christmas, aim for the new year, no point being unrealistic about it

You should be positive and confident that you've already done it once so can do it again

bellac11 · 19/12/2023 20:53

SeymourBusiness · 19/12/2023 20:44

I guess the issue is that I believe I should have a bit of chocolate etc if I fancy it. As that is what comes naturally, makes sense to me and has worked my whole life.

However for various reasons in the last couple of years I have both put on a couple of stone and feel my eating is out of control. So I need to get my head around this approach not working anymore. Because it’s never just a bit :(

Cutting it out - as in no chocolate/cakes/biscuits/sweets etc - definitely made me feel good. But it was a constant psychological battle and I clearly don’t really believe what the book says (that it’s not even nice and you get no benefit from it) or I wouldn’t have gone back!

A lot of these books are completely unrealistic

I dont really have a problem with chocolate and sweets type sugar, mine was proper stodgy carby foods like pasta, rice, potatoes etc

I stopped eating bread some years ago because I noticed that it caused swelling i my joints, particularly fingers and swollen ankles

The other types of carbs just used to get my cravings going, which gave me every excuse under the sun to just eat and eat.

So once cut out, I was sitting pretty, didnt crave anything, and felt a lot better.

But its rubbish to say you then dont want it, one little bit and I wanted it again, including bread which then made me feel ill

Just cut it out the majority of the time, 80% of the time. After Christmas it wont be around as much anyway so dont worry too much

waistchallenge · 20/12/2023 06:50

Maybe try a couple of squares of 85% or 90% dark chocolate instead? I had to get used to the more intense flavour but once I did I can have it without the urge to binge.

As for low-sugar methods, doesn't Michael Mosely talk about that? I haven't used his methods but that's what I thought.

Anyway, as someone else said, you just have to start again. These things happen, it was one incident and it doesn't have to derail you permanently.

Footgoose · 20/12/2023 07:03

I’ve been very low / no sugar since March until this week . This time of year does strange things to our routines . Hopefully we will both get back on it after the madness ends . Good luck. X

RunningAndSinging · 20/12/2023 07:15

Allan Carr does have some strange ideas about diet. Try David Gillespie instead- the sweet poison quit plan. . Also Why we eat (too much) by Andrew Jenkinson but that is not so much just about sugar.

Xmasmisery23 · 20/12/2023 07:22

Ultra processed people is free on Spotify. It's brilliant. If you are an addict like me, then the only way forward is abstinence in theory. Just like if you were an alcoholic. One mince pie has led to a binge. Have a listen.

waistchallenge · 20/12/2023 07:27

I think stopping over Christmas and New year is a terrible strategy. For a start, it's such a long, drawn out period of time. For some people the snacking and treats will have started weeks ago, especially if they have children involved in events etc.

Vegetus · 20/12/2023 07:28

Exclusion diets are stupid, why exclude things you want to eat? You have to find a way to enjoy things in moderation or you will forever be in the up and down of restriction and binge.

Just make better choices with the shite things you do enjoy, you want chocolate, get a Freddo not a huge bar of dairy milk. Granted it's much harder this time of year because the shops are packed with tasty things but don't sweat it. If you fuck up so what? Just saddle up and go again the next day.

PersephonePomegranate23 · 20/12/2023 07:35

You're human, just try again today. It's really difficult at the moment with so much temptation, but it's completely unrealistic to think you can live your life never having treats. Sometimes there will be slip ups, sometimes you have to adjust your expectations of yourself and cut yourself a little slack.

Focus on the benefits of a cleaner diet.

ThursdayLastWeek · 20/12/2023 07:47

Vegetus · 20/12/2023 07:28

Exclusion diets are stupid, why exclude things you want to eat? You have to find a way to enjoy things in moderation or you will forever be in the up and down of restriction and binge.

Just make better choices with the shite things you do enjoy, you want chocolate, get a Freddo not a huge bar of dairy milk. Granted it's much harder this time of year because the shops are packed with tasty things but don't sweat it. If you fuck up so what? Just saddle up and go again the next day.

This.

Far better to learn how to have sugar in moderation than spend the rest of your life beating yourself up once a fortnight.

waistchallenge · 20/12/2023 07:49

Vegetus · 20/12/2023 07:28

Exclusion diets are stupid, why exclude things you want to eat? You have to find a way to enjoy things in moderation or you will forever be in the up and down of restriction and binge.

Just make better choices with the shite things you do enjoy, you want chocolate, get a Freddo not a huge bar of dairy milk. Granted it's much harder this time of year because the shops are packed with tasty things but don't sweat it. If you fuck up so what? Just saddle up and go again the next day.

I disagree, the OP has said she's addicted. You wouldn't tell an alcoholic to have a shandy, why would you tell them to have a Freddo?

TheWonderSpot · 20/12/2023 07:58

OP well done on two weeks! Of course you must go with what works best for you and your lifestyle. For me, cutting out sugar completely is unattainable. And even undesirable - I want to be able to enjoy chocolate or have a slice of cake. So try a different approach. Decide you'll only have sugar on the weekends or only one at a time or something similar.

Do you know the Beyond Chocolate book by Audrey and Sophie Bosse? It's really helped me.

cathyandclaire · 20/12/2023 08:03

I quit sugar and initially if I lapsed I got horribly bingey.

I just tend to just substitute the sugary things. I have high cocoa chocolate, cheese instead of puddings ( or high cocoa chocolate mousse) and nuts as snacks. Sugar's like crack cocaine for me!

Onesecondofsummer · 20/12/2023 08:10

Well done on managing it for 2 weeks! Sugar is highly addictive, hence it’s so hard to cut out completely.
I know I have no chance of doing this so follow the Glucose Goddess Method. She focuses on eating your foods in a certain order so that the glucose spike is reduced, leading to fewer cravings. It isn’t about cutting out any food you love, just about when you eat them. She also advocates other ‘hacks’ that help glucose absorption.
It’s been a game changer for me.

Vegetus · 20/12/2023 11:21

waistchallenge · 20/12/2023 07:49

I disagree, the OP has said she's addicted. You wouldn't tell an alcoholic to have a shandy, why would you tell them to have a Freddo?

Show quote history

Sugar addiction isn't a real concept.

Menomeno · 20/12/2023 11:29

It took me six weeks cold turkey to stop the habit, after developing pre-diabetes. Now I can have a small amount and it feels like a treat, and I don’t feel any compulsion to eat a whole slab of Dairy Milk anymore.

If you fall off the wagon, just get back on! You’re not back to square one. Maybe start again in the new year. It’s not the best time of year to do it now. Good luck!

Xmasmisery23 · 20/12/2023 11:51

I do think the factory produced food is addictive. Its quite different eating homemade biscuits and cakes that contain real ingredients without the crazy additives. I can eat a whole loaf easily of shop bought white bread, but when I eat my own I can just about manage a slice. This is something I'm trying to adopt.

Original poster

SeymourBusiness · 22/12/2023 19:50

RunningAndSinging · 20/12/2023 07:15

Allan Carr does have some strange ideas about diet. Try David Gillespie instead- the sweet poison quit plan. . Also Why we eat (too much) by Andrew Jenkinson but that is not so much just about sugar.

Indeed, it’s a shame as it was close to being the right approach I felt, but then got a bit daft!!

OP posts:

Original poster

SeymourBusiness · 22/12/2023 19:54

TheWonderSpot · 20/12/2023 07:58

OP well done on two weeks! Of course you must go with what works best for you and your lifestyle. For me, cutting out sugar completely is unattainable. And even undesirable - I want to be able to enjoy chocolate or have a slice of cake. So try a different approach. Decide you'll only have sugar on the weekends or only one at a time or something similar.

Do you know the Beyond Chocolate book by Audrey and Sophie Bosse? It's really helped me.

Thanks for the recommendation, I’ll take a look for that

OP posts:

Payakan · 22/12/2023 20:20

Take it as a lesson. You don't make lifestyle and health decisions based on someone's views, but based on what is best for you.
Focus on quality and maybe allow yourself a nice slice of tart on a Sunday afternoon and then don't have dinner that night.
Sugar based foods that you buy on supermarket shelves, made in sterile factories and wrapped in plastic are rubbish, and engineered to make you eat and eat. A genuine cake or an authentic shortbread biscuit have not the same effect. They give you pleasure and satisfaction with a few bites.

I don't want to eat that, a man in a business suit in a fancy building wants me to eat that in order to get his fat bonus and buy a beach house.

Don't be a victim. You can have sweet things occasionally, but because you decide to, not because it is there.