Help with Sugar Addition

I understand! I have sugar addition, as well. I've been able to keep it under control (most times) by putting a bright post-it note on my microwave with something that will motivate me to stay away from sweets. The note is tough to miss when I go into the kitchen to get something sweet. Lately, the note says my new weight goal number and Gum - which is what I want to grab instead of sweets. I eat because I'm bored or anxious, and gum takes care of that. After a few days of no sweets, I don't miss them, until I allow myself to have too much again. For you, I wonder if the note said 'Diabetes' or more positive 'New shirt if you don't eat sweets for 3 days' or something that will motivate you to whatever goal you want. Good luck!!

I have a fierce sweet tooth as well. I was skeptical but did the South Beach Diet and a few days into it, the cravings were 90% gone.

Hi A.- I recently discovered Agave nectar! It's almost non-existent on the glycemic index...so no bad sugar that complicates diabetes. You can bake with it, flavor coffee or tea, it's delicious. It is not however low in calories. I use it as I would sugar; sparingly...but it's WAY better for you than sugar and still provides that sweet you are craving and won't send you into the sugar spiral.

I would also check into PCRM (Physician's Commitee for Responsible Medicine) they are advocating an animal free diet will eliminate all risk of diabetes and help you lose weight. This is not some PETA group; don't worry about that, I wouldn't have even looked twice at them if they were. I actually found them when I was researching the same things you are looking into. I have an extremely high risk of diabetes and am overweight (though not for long... :) )

Since I've been following this diet (not so much a diet diet but a better way to eat) My cholesterol has dropped significantly, I've lost about 45 lbs and I feel phenomenal. :)

This might not be the answer for you, but maybe you can take parts of it and apply it to your diet for better results.

Good luck!

I coach people on healthy weight loss by personalizing nutrition programs for them. I personally dropped 5% in body fat and my husband lost 63lbs. There's an herbal supplement that helps level your blood sugars and with cravings. If you'd like to take a look at this, you can contact me at 800-850-0609 or ____@____.com or www.loseweightnow.com/O.. I would love to help your dad who has diabetes also.

As with any addiction, you have to realize that you're the only one that's going to change it. It starts with admitting you have a problem - so Kudos to you, it seems like your well aware and admitting this problem. But then YOU have to change it. You have to show more respect for yourself and take yourself seriously and begin taking the steps to change it. Clean eating is hard to do, because it requires a lot of self discipline and determination, but boy does it feel good in the long run - because you proved to yourself that you could do something as you set out to do, but also because you're healthier. Buy yourself the Eat Clean diet books...and begin writing down commitments of promises to yourself and stick to them. Anytime that you're making a 'wrong' decision, talk yourself out of it... outloud so you listen. :)

Think of this:

Cardio-vascular disorders, kidney failure, blindness and foot amputations are just some of the typical consequences of an increased blood sugar level. The overall life expectancy of a diabetic is reduced by around a half. One in two sufferers die from premature heart disease and in total, approx. 30% of deaths caused by heart failure are diabetes-related. Diabetics are twice as likely to suffer a stroke than healthy people. What’s more, two in every three amputees are diabetics, as are 40% of all new dialysis patients and 30% of those registering as blind.

Are you willing to overlook or excuse eating certain things and accept that you may fall under any of these scenarios? Try and really picture yourself in one of these scenarios... use that as inspiration to begin eating better.

I know this problem all too well. I've removed all pre-prepared sugar snacks from my house. I keep sweetened dried fruit around for the kids and keep it in a place that they are able to get to it but that is considered "off-limits" for me. This helped a lot.

The biggest thing that has helped, though, is going to a counselor and working through the psychological things that contribute to my sugar/food addiction. I saw a Christian counselor for about a year to work through this stuff and it has made an incredible amount of difference.

In addition to working through the messy stuff, my counselor helped me identify triggers that cause me to head for the sugar. I have 3 people that I can call/text/email when I know those triggers are coming up and ask for additional prayer support to stay in control. For the times I don't know in advance that I'm going to experience one of my triggers, they still pray for me generally, but I also have a rule that I have to step away from the cupboard or refrigerator and assess why I am going to eat right now. Is it meal time? Do I legitimately need a snack between meals? Why am I looking for food? If I don't really need a snack but I'm craving one, I've found that often I just need water. Somehow my body seems like it wants food when I'm dehydrated. I also keep those Propel water flavoring packets around. They are only 10 calories and have enough sweet to get by the craving.

A.:

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There is an herb called Gymnema Sylvestre, that helps with sugar cravings. Find a good source. I would suggest you find a naturopath or chiropractor that carries Standard Process products. They are excellent.

Cold turkey. Sucks for a week, 10 days at most, and then you'll find you don't really crave them much anymore.

A.,

I also replied to your homeschooling question! I just wanted to pass along a website I found called Calorie King. It is a software program where you track what you eat and how it breaks down into protein, sugar, fat, carbs, and fiber. You can trial it for a week for free, and then it is $45 to download the program onto your computer. You can also pay a fee to have menus and other features although I have not tried this aspect. It is super easy to use, has a huge data base and adding custom foods is really easy. I had been struggling to loose the last 10 lbs of baby weight and with the accountability of this program I have only 4 lbs to go!! Plus it really opened my eyes to what my diet lacked or had too much of. I was surprised that while it was easier not to go over my calories for the day, I was way over in the fat allowed for the day. So I have made a few changes to improve that aspect of my diet. It also accounts for any exercise and helps track water intake, something I struggle with! The website is www.calorieking.com Hope it helps,

E.

Hi A.,

I have the same and I am seeing a wonderful nautropathic christian doctor. Is it possible you have a yeast infection, that will feed on sugar and you'll have intense cravings. There is a great book called Thin Within, bibically based..... Also, I host a Grocery detectives health talk to help people with making informed food decisions at the grocery store to eat a healthy diet. let me know if you are interested in more info.
L.

I've been off sugar for more than 10 years now. I don't miss it at all. I started by trying natural sugar substitutes like honey. Then I moved to granulated fructose (like what diabetics use). Then I went to fruit juice concentrate. It's hard for me to go cold turkey, because I feel deprived and resistant. So I make small changes until I'm where I want to be.

No, I never had a weight problem, but no sugar sure does make me feel better than I used to.

About a year ago, I ate some pumpkin bread someone made. They told me it had almost no sugar. Well, I know now that sugar doesn't agree with me, because I broke out in hives all over. I guess that's a good indication of how truly bad refined sugar is for you.

Another site you might find helpful is Dr. Oz's free site -- www.realage.com. You can get regular e-mail tips on healthy living. Nutritional programs. Recipes. Lots of great stuff and all free.

Good luck. It's really worth the effort to kick the sugar habit!

Hi A.,
I love sugar to and as far as getting ride of that craving is First get it out of your house. Second, the South Beach Diet has a really good program (no sugar for the first 2 weeks) if you can do this very hard your cravings will disapear. Hope this helps and God Bless
K.

I too suffer with this---Two books that I have found helpful in educating myself are "The Mood Cure" by Julia Ross (moodcure.com) and "The UltraMind Solution" by Dr. Mark Hyman (ultramind.com). I have sought the help of an acupuncturist and a nutritionist---they are the ones that told me about the books---and have discovered there are conditions, like the yeast overgrowth already mentioned, that make you crave sugar. Other causes can be due to insulin resistance or being serotonin (happy hormone) deficient. Through my journey, I have found I have pyroluria (a.k.a. the mauve factor) and am now on a reparitive supplement regimen and making large strides to improve my life.

Consistency is tough being a working mother of four but I can say the times I felt the best was when I was working out 5 days a week for a minimum of 30 minutes each time, sitting in my hot tub regularly (helps your body sweat out toxins but the UltraMind book describes how you can also do this in your bathtub at home with a few additions to the water), and sticking to a whole food diet with at least 30 grams of protein at each meal. Lastly, there is a supplement that is described in The Mood Cure, L-glutamine, that when taken regularly or when you are craving sugar will help curb that craving.

If you would like to learn more, send me a message and I can provide personal testimonials. The books are an easy read and definitely eye-opening as to why your body craves certain food/drink items.

Best wishes.

I hear you! I've had the same problem - and still do if I give myself the slightest chance. It's easy to turn to sugar for a little energy or a little comfort. And there is diabetes in my family as well.

I hope that you'll go visit your doctor as soon as you can and get a thorough checkup to make sure that in other ways you are healthy. That needs to be your first step.

The way I was able to get more control over sugar in my life was to change how I ate and what I did the rest of the day. I've been able to do this with the help of a gym and a personal trainer, but you can do it with a different sort of support group, or on your own, if you need to. Our bodies need certain nutrients to be healthy and feel good. We also *need* to expend calories through physical exercise; that's the way God made us. You probably have a lot to do, but if you can add more movement to your daily routine it would be a really good thing.

I learned that if I ate regular meals I actually ate less. I would start feeling guilty about what I ate, so I would skip a meal; then when I ran out of energy I would turn to sugar to keep me going - and kept at the sugar the rest of the day. It works for me to plan a few healthy options for breakfast and lunch and always stock those items in the kitchen - and NEVER skip those meals, no matter how busy I might be. I plan regular snacks as well, so I'm scheduling myself to eat six times a day. This has been amazingly helpful in de-sugaring myself.

Our bodies need proteins, carbs, and even a little bit of fat to operate well. Your best energy comes from proteins - with sugars your energy level spikes and then drops, but proteins give long-lasting energy. Carbs are not all bad guys! They are essential (and rather unavoidable), and some of them are very good ones which you want to include. Ask your doctor for recommendations.

There are a lot of books and programs out there, and you may want to have a go at some of them. But the basic principles are the same: if you make the calories you take in *the calories that can serve you the best*, rather than empty ones, your body will be happier and not as interested in the junk. And if you can expend more calories each day, then you're on the way to losing the weight. I'm not diabetic and I enjoy a little sugary treat now and then. But I'm glad that I'm in control of it and it's not control of me. As a matter of fact, I'm finding that a little is all I want or need - more than that and it tastes bad! As I say, though, I have to watch myself or I can get right back into that ol' addiction again. Hope this helps.

Hi!! 5'6 and 175 pounds? Your BMI by height/weight says you should be at 154, but muscle weighs more than fat, do you eat healthily and well rounded meals? Do you exercise? I think you should talk to a nutritionist and/or a personal trainer.

Change what you have available to you. Don't keep cookies, cakes, or other sweets in your home. Only buy them for special occaisions (there's nothing wrong with cake for a birthday etc). Instead stock up on fruits and veggies. Carrots, sugar-snap peas, edamome (sp?) broccoli and cauliflower, apples, oranges, bananas, berries, prunes, are yummy snacks. It will take a week or two to re-program your taste buds, but then you'll find that you prefer veggies and fruits to sweets, you'll feel healthier and won't have as much to worry about with diabetes and sugars.

Add in 30 min of cardio (get your heart rate up) exercise a couple time a week and you'll be amazed at the difference it makes.

Hi A.! You are right! Sugar is an addiction! Go cold turkey. The first 3 days you will feel crabby, sluggish and may have headaches. After that you will feel SO much better!

A word of caution about agave nectar. It is only low glycemic if you have 1 TEASPOON! any more than that and it WILL raise your blood sugar exactly like sugar. I was so excited about it too and after I learned more I was disappointed to find that low glycemic lable was a slick marketing tool.

Eating a diet of low glycemic foods is very healthy and is great for weight loss!