Addicted to sugar - sustainable?

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It sounds silly, but I feel I’m addicted to sweets, chocolate, cake etc. Every single time I’ve tried to cut them out, I end up giving up and stuffing my face within a week or 2. Then I give up on my weight loss journey for a little while because I feel so discouraged.

I’ve decided to try something different and I’m really just after wanting to know if anyone has done similar and succeeded?
I’m almost a week in of no snacking. But that chocolate etc I was craving I’m allowing myself with my breakfast, lunch or dinner. Believe it or not, this is actually hard for me but manageable. I am actually finding that I’m eating less junk with this method but obviously still more than ideal. My goal is after a few weeks cut it down to having it with 2 meals, then 1, then maybe every other day with 1 meal. It’s obviously a longer game than just cutting it out.

Does this sound sustainable? Has anyone tried similar? I feel like I’m less inclined to give up than I usually do after going cold turkey on cutting out treats. But having given up so many times, I’m looking for some encouraging stories from those who curbed their urges to eat lots of crap!

Yes totally normal, i also cant give up on chocolate! Stopped it for a week but couldn’t resist so started eating it again

I think giving up anything is hard. I am a complete chocolate/sugar addict. What I do is buy Montezumas orange, sugar free 100% dark chocolate, and melt it into some sugar free muesli. The other thing you can do is get some raw cocao nibs and have them sprinkled on porridge or mixed with yoghurt.

Sugar is completely addictive but if you cut out all processed forms for a few weeks you will find the cravings really do subside. If you decide to treat yourself at any point though it's a slippery slope back to where you started!

I’ve gone clean eating, very little caffeine, little alcohol and my sugar cravings have reduced massively. I also love cake, ice cream, chocolate etc but can now go weeks without.

This is actually a great idea OP. Eating sugary snacks with your meals rather than between reduces the blood sugar spikes/crashes which would normally then make you crave your next fix.

I don’t have a lot of weight to lose but snacking on refined sugars/carbs between meals was a massive issue for me. I’ve been taking a similar approach to you and it’s helped massively. Just remember to eat plenty of protein with each meal. And if you do want a snack between meals, incorporate some protein in there. Eg if I still want some chocolate I’ll eat a hard boiled egg first. Also if I have fruit I have some Greek yogurt with it. A few weeks in, I actually crave the protein more than the crisps or chocolate! Good luck!

It's not silly to struggle with sugar at all. Because so many people find it so hard there is lots of advice on how to get it under control.

It's important to look at what else you're eating and increase your protein intake. Especially make sure you have a decent amount of protein at breakfast, eg 5% Greek yoghurt with nuts and berries. That helps keep your blood sugar level more stable throughout the day and helps you not get overwhelmed with cravings.

What you're doing will be having a similar effect in that when you eat other foods with the sweet stuff you will get less of a dramatic rise and fall in blood sugar. See screenshot (don't waste any money with Zoe though). But I'd get the protein with every meal habit established at the same time: at least 25-30g in each meal, to help yourself in the longer term. Fibre is also important in keeping your blood sugar stable.

Have a look at The Glucose Goddess:

www.glucosegoddess.com/en-gb

Thank you everyone for your advice. I’m relieved that it seems like a sensible way of cutting back on sugar, very encouraging! Hopefully in a few weeks I can cut it back to 2 meals. I wish I could just cut it out and go cold turkey, which always seems to be the advice but it never works for me.

I will remember about the boiled egg with chocolate or biscuits etc but I’m really hoping to keep fighting the urge and keep going until the next meal. Sounds bloody ridiculous I know but it is hard to resist the urge to grab something out the cupboard in-between meals, but I feel it’s already getting a little easier to wait until the next meal time knowing I can have it then.

I don’t drink alcohol at all and rarely have tea or juice. Fizzy drinks never, so I can’t blame them for creating sugar cravings. When it comes to my drink choices there’s not really any improvements to make really! Food is a very different matter but I’m reassured I seem to be making a step in the right direction that will hopefully be more manageable for me.

I’ll definitely make sure to think about protein more in meal plans going forward too. I have a shop being delivered today, but on my next one I’ll definitely try to include protein in every meal.