Help! How do I stop craving sugar???

Hi,

I have been doing really well with eating the right foods, and restricting my diet. I have lost 26lbs and counting. I don't drink a lot, I try to eat as much whole and organic foods as I can, and I always eat lots of fruit and veggies. 

But I have another demon to battle: Sugar. I have always had a sweet tooth, but the last couple of months its been really, really bad. Like, I bought a bag of jelly beans and I just can't help scorfing them down in large amounts. And then I feel really gross and guilty about it. And because I know I shouldn't be doing it, I always feel like I am "sneaking" it to myself, and when I feel like I am sneaking food I end up by eating a lot (I guess this is sort of binging).

My energy levels have been ok, and I have been sleeping enough, so I don't think my body is looking to compensate for a lack of energy. Does anyone else struggle with this? Do you have any suggestions as to how to stop craving sugar so bad? I am pretty much ready to do anything!

Thanks! 

The only way I could beat mine was cutting cold turkey and after a month allowing little bits of sweets in.  I'm able to eat just a little now and be fine, rather then craving more once I started.  Only in regards to candy and pastries and the like.. fruits I didn't cut out.  With drinks, I went to either plain water, water with lemon, or a couple glasses of crystal light.  No soda period and if I had coffee or tea it was black or with splenda.

It wasn't easy but I couldn't get control of it any other way I tried.  I portioned and froze any "extra" chocolate that wasn't daily ration and even with that I had a lot of trouble.

cold turkey???? Eeeek, I dunno. My will is weak when it comes to sugar! But maybe baby steps will work best. Maybe this week will be no sugar day (oh, but I just opened a peanut butter bark! Maybe on Wednesday....).

i think you should allow yourself a small amount each day if possible... i find that when i restrict myself too much of something i tend to go crazy and binge later on... so even if its like a small piece of dark chocolate or something as long as it fits into your calorie day, its definitely possible!

hey just posted this under someone else's thread but it applies here too so... here's what i said:

"wow this is exaaactly like me! i absolutely looooove bad carbs (cake, cookies, ice cream...) and find that i can't have just a little bit. even if i manage just to have a small treat for a few days, eventually i end up going overboard and eating way too much of them.  i wanted to cut them out totally but it was way too hard because i live with my family (im 17) and other people (bros and siss) wanted them around the house.  now though, my last sibling just moved out and i can make the house as healthy as i want! (my parents don't mind either way)  so i got rid of all the cakes and cookies and white flour things that tempt me.  todays day 2 1/2 of being free from sugar and white flour (the first day i was still getting rid of stuff and had a spoonful of sorbet, hence the "1/2") and its really an incredible feeling!  its waaay easier when the stuffs not around cuz even tho i still crave sweet things, as its only been 2 1/2 days, i am satisfied with fruit and/or decaf coffee made with truvia.  yesterday i went out and bought two all natural, sugar free cookies (made with fruit juice) to save for a treat at the end of the week if i make it til then with no sugar.  i was a little scared that i would end up eating them before then, but i was able to overcome my cravings for them pretty easily yesterday, and today i don't even crave them anymore.  so basically, cold turkey is DEFINITELY  a better option for some of us.  i feel much better about everything i eat and even when im very full, it feels good because i know its all fruits and veggies and healthy whole grains and lean protein (whereas with sugar, if i got full on it i'd just feel sluggish and fat- even though im at the low end of a healthy weight)

good luck! its definitely worth a try"

Thank you all for the advice, it really hepls. You know, like almost right after posting this I was like "mmmm, sugar" and ate like 20 jelly beans. And I had a little fig cake when I got home from work. And just now I had a little piece of honey cake.

I don't know what has gotten into me, but I think I will just have to try this "Cold Turkey". I asked my partner to hide all thinkgs chocolatey in the house just now. I will freeze the gourmet chocolate bark for at least two weeks. That will be the first step. Two weeks, zero sugar. I will stock up on oranges and apples and other natural sweets. Sigh... I think this will be difficult but I am so close to my goal it would be stupid to sabotage myself.

Thank you :)

omg it is beyooond worth it! i just noticed im no longer obsessed with food!!! after being obsessed with it for soo long im not anymore!! i started dieting healthfully in 6th grade cuz i was actually chubby, then ate too little, then too much, then restricted, then binged, then restricted more, then binged more... finally, almost 7 years later, i just experienced my first meal tonight where i just ate and then was done! just like that! usually i crave sweets after a meal and eat those or just eat more regular food can't stop til im stuffed or when i can stop (when im being "good" with dieting/restricting) i just have to FORCE myself away- tonight i just knew when i was done!!! i am sooo happy and this is sooo worth not having the sugar-  a life free of food obsession is better than a piece of cake (or two, or three... ) any day

and believe me- if i can do it, ANYONE can

Well, congrats on that! I know, it is a HUGE thing to get over. I think we just become stronger and stronger as we do this. Like no sugar on my strawberries today. And the rest of the Jelly Beans? Garbage! At least 2 weeks I am giving myself. I WILL kick the habit, dammit!

Keep it up, all you in the same sugar-junkie boat as me!

Yes this is me. I am on weight gain but my blood sugar has been off and so I am trying to work on this as well. A few thoughts and for me I am still struggling with the sugar but anyhow. Eat every few hours with a balance of protein/fat/carbs. Don't allow yourself to get too hungry.Make sure you are eating enough calories. Often people drop weight too quick or eat too low calories and the body is just looking for quick energy. Drinking enough water. I can't go cold turkey and I think part of food is enjoying so plan in treats.

As a fellow sugarholic, the only way I kicked the sugar habit is to view sugar in a totally different light. And to make food substitutions. (I'm talking I used to go through one Mason jar of raw sugar a week in my coffee in addition to the rest of the sugar I was stuffing in my face).

I make sure I eat every 2-3 hours, eating plenty of proteins and produce. There is a lot of natural sugars in fruit. Your body will get what it needs and by eating this way, your insulin levels won't spike and make you feel like crap. Remeber, all the bread you also eat is going to turn to sugar in your body. And don't believe labels when they say "sugar free". Go as natural as possible.

I also use Stevia or another sugar substitute in my coffee or tea. I still get the sweetness without all the sugar. And Stevia is natural.

I also have a treat I give to myself so I do not feel deprived. It is 1/2 Cup fat free/sugar free cheesecake pudding (25 Cal) and 1/2 C fresh berries. OMG it is so good, and you do not feel deprived. STOP at one serving a day!

You have to start looking at sugar as poison to your system. You can't have it, even a little bit. Because if you are anything like me, one bite of it and I'm craving more. What does that tell me about sugar? It's addictive, and it's not good for my body.

I have to weigh the pros and cons of eating it. And I find nothing positive about it. If you are doing any kind of exercising, will it benefit you? You know the answer to that. No, sugar is not beneficial to you, your present health or your progress towards optimum health.

It takes determination and focus. It also takes baby steps to break the sugar cycle and stop abusing your body. You deserve better than what sugar does to you. If you drink sodas, start cutting those out. Remove ALL of the sugar from your house. Don't even have it in your pantry for cooking. Start reading labels. Stop eating products with High Fructose Corn Syrup (you think processed sugar is bad, HFCS packs a double whammy).

If you want to break the addiction, you will.

All my best,

Jewel

As far as fruit are concerned, peaches, pears, grapes and strawberries are all really sweet fruits with low glycemic indexes.  The strawberries and grapes you can eat a lot of with relatively low caloric consequence.  Apples and oranges have decent amounts of fiber so they should fill you up, but I don't necessarily view them as "sweet".

Honestly, there is no one good answer for this one. If you're craving sugar, either that means you're not getting enough and your body is crying out for some form of easily usable energy, or you're eating too much of it and your body's gotten too use to all the sugar. My suggestion is to not think about eating sugar at all. Just go about your day, not adding any extra sugar to any of your foods (i.e. coffee, tea, cereals) and definitely do not use any of those nasty tasting sugar substitutes.

Thanks Gals. Very helpful and I appreciate the support! I am proud to say that I have not indulged in any sweet yet evil snacks for 2 days. I got rid of the rest of the Jelly Beans, I got mypartners to hide the chocolate dipped granola bars. And, on of the biggest temptations defeated: last night my father and I went out to a fancy restaurant and at the end of the meal the waiter brings by a tray with the different sort of desserts and you can make your pick with them right in your nose. So, amid the creme caramel, merangue, sorbet, cheesecake what did I choose? The fruit salad! Yay me! And you know what? It was stilll pretty deliscious and satisfying, and I did not leave fealing heavy and gross but light and satisfied. So I think I am on track.

Again, that y'all. And good luck with your cravings!

As a fellow sugarholic, one thing that REALLY helped me is frozen peaches (unsweetened).  They are a little expensive,  but are sweet enough to make me happy and take long enough to eat ot make me forget that what I really want is a tub of chocolate frosting lol.  And as for chocolate fixes, Kashi bars are pretty good..my fav. is the raspberry chocolate one...snackpack chocolate puddings don't have the best ingredient list but are low cal and low fat. and have the smoothness to them.

I agree that the easiest thing to do is quit cold turkey, but make sure you have healthy alternatives available in your house.  Whatever you do, don't buy the bad stuff!

ok. no more jelly beans. I promise. I have definitely been uping the fruit content and so I get the sugar fix without the icky feeling after. 

And I am noticing that I feel better (physically and emotionally) and I am actually craving it less (even though its early in my 2 week challenge).

I also have this really good gourmet chocolate at home (made with skimmed milk I just found out!!!). I never gourge on that b/c its pretty pricey and its just not the kind of stuff you need like 5 pieces of. So that works for me. But the rest of that refined crap? Yeah, its just not worth it!

And another key: no more sweet snacks at work. I have a mason jar of plain almonds, and some multi grain crackers and Laughing Cow light cheese triangles (2 = 45kcal!) for my 10:30am snack. But no more Jelly Bean! Baaaad Jelly Beans! Bad!

Hey bella,

I have this problem with certain sugar related things too.  There are some things I'm good about.  I can keep my lindt dark chocolate with chillis in the house (YUM!) and only eat 1 square a day at 50Kcal. BUT, when I bought a bag of super nibs for a treat when my friend was coming over... OMG well, you know what happened. I ate 7 super nibs in one night.  I just kept going back to the kitchen for more.  So, the next day I tossed the super nibs (you told me to keep them and practice moderation but I didn't!).  Then, recently, I had a very small bag of Jelly Belly jelly beans (OMG best candy ever) that I bought with my friend for her bday.  BUT we forgot to eat them when she was here, so I was left with the jelly beans.  What did I do? Ate them all in a day.  So, new rule for me (and its the conclusion reached by others here): NO CANDY IN THE HOUSE.  Gourmet things, yep.  Delicious chocolate, sure, its so rich I can have a piece and be satisfied.  BUt jelly beans, nibs, swedish berries (mmm swedish berries) these are all key binge foods for me and just can't be in my house.  I can't say no.  Sugar is a drug. A yummy yummy drug. You should try making some low cal cookies and then freezing them in 2 cookie servings that you have to take out and defrost, so its a very conscious choice before you eat them...  Did you make the coconut chocolate cranberry cookie recipe I gave you yet?  You should.  So satisfying.  Ok, go time.  XO

ps.  I now want candy.  I am literally salivating.  Does this problem with anyone else reading posts of this nature?  lol...