After a horrendous eating day (a Christmas selection pack of mars, snickers, malteasers, twix and milky way, toffee popcorn, cheese and crisp sandwich, half a tube of smarties, and by that I mean the Christmas tube of smarties, and two small meals), I am trying to lose weight again!
Or at least try to get my sugar addiction under control. I am self-destructing.
Any tips?
I have a sweet tooth so understand the nightmare of finding sweet treats whilst dieting, I have been pleasantly surprised.
meringue biscuits 21grams is 85cal approx (careful of sugar content) weigh watchers have some lovely low calorie snacks chocolate roll, caramel wafers, bakewell tarts etc. Also Hartleys jelly pots no added sugar are 6 cal a pot which is awesome. Or maybe try planning a treat into your calories, flake bars (multipack size) is 137cals per bar, or crunchies are 150cal each. Plan it in as a treat after dinner so you dont feel deprived of your favourite treats.
hope this helps
good luck
I agree with previous reply- factor a treat every day or once a week! Good luck !
This is exactly the thing that I would do, like you I would HAVE to finish the whole selection pack!!
The problem for me is that I don't give my tummy time to tell me I'm full, so after eating one thing I just carry on and eventually I'll feel like you, sort of like I'm self destructing, I'll feel really bad and will start a diet the next day, then the cravings kick in again and I've forgotten how I felt the last time I ate so much junk and I'll do it all over again!!
The only thing that has helped me a little is to be very full after a (healthy, low fat) large meal so that even if I want something sweet I can barely fit it in!!
Slimming world diet can help a little because there's some things you can eat lots of without counting any points, so you can fill yourself on free foods, ...doesn't take away the cravings completely though, it's just that you really can't fit anything else in....and believe me I can eat junk for England LOL!!
All the best and please let me know if you find some miraculous cure for sugar cravings.
X
This is exactly like me I just don't know when to stop. Good luck xx
thanks for the replies, much appreciated in my darkest hour 
Unfortunately for me and sugar i think its all or nothing, so it will have to be nothing for at least a week and then start rationing the treats. I have bought so much Christmas choc only to eat it and then have to buy more.
I had some success on slimming world ten years ago but now i behave like an addict, but not quite as bad as heroin! i get super moody, and just can't stop myself eating the crap food when i am on a roll. but i have to pull myself together and do it. I can't keep eating the children's chocolate!
This could be me writing this post, I bought sweets & chocolate for Xmas pressies … have had to replace them several times ;-( think I'm going to have to go cold turkey. It's weird I have a stop button for savoury food but not sweet could eat cakes & sweets till I feel sick, good luck x
OK.... help... ONE suggestion is to have plenty of FRUIT around ( the sweeter the better) so tyhat when you get ' pangs' for sugar , try and fulfill it with fruit ( bananas very good for this, but also at this time of year little juicy sweet clementines , buy a whole load and then feel ' obliged to eat them!) ... will take a little time.. but with perseverance you can 're-train' yourself.. it is often a question of availability! you ' eat' whats on hand or what is ' normal' for your to eat..
Does this help a little? Try it and let me know?
Horrendous is the right word. Just reading all that made me feel sick! I don't know about the 'Christmas tube of Smarties' - do I understand you to mean that's a bigger one than normal? I haven't seen Smarties for many years, not since I had littlies around.
I think you are right, it's addiction and you're doing your best to self-destruct. There ought to be some treatment for sugar addiction similar to that for the other kinds of addiction. You're right in saying that you need to get your sugar addiction under control. Have you tried talking to your GP?
All that stuff that you ate is not 'food' and you don't need it, but you eat it because you're addicted to it. Losing weight will obviously not work because of the effects of a high sugar load on your body. There will be others here with a similar problem. All I can suggest is, focus on one problem at a time. Forget losing weight. Concentrate on freeing yourself of the sugar addiction.
Hello there, I totally understand. Sugar addiction is very real!. DONT feel at all obliged to get chocolates in the house for other people!. I know you want to treat people but what you say about self destructing is powerful!. You need to have as little of that stuff around you!. possibly even just have a muffin out in a coffee shop when meeting a friend! I made a decision to never buy sweets in the supermarket and it helped my weight drop 2 stone. Your body will convert foods into sugar, you DONT really need it! WHATEVER avoid soft drinks such as coke!. They just are NOT worth the poor health that follows!. Wish you well.
I have been a sweets addict for years. Looking back, it is remarkable that I have been so healthy while drowning myself in sugar!
Trying to reduce it gradually did not work. As soon as I ate one, I wanted 30 more!
I have now been sweets-free for nearly 3 weeks. I just had to go cold turkey and ban it from my life and my home If it is at home I will eat it.
The first two days were hellish (I was very bad-tempered too), then I calmed down and resigned myself to the new situation, I am now eating more fruit, as I still like the sweetness.
it is good to be free of all that baggage. Definitely worth the bit of suffering. I feel better: less restless, and not constantly hungry.
Try to be brutal in your elimination of the stuff. You don't need any of it.
I am the same with crisps. don't like sweet things at all. I simply do not have them in the house. if people are coming round & I want to have crisps on the table then I get one of the guests to bring them and take any leftover away.
I occasionally have a bag of crisps but only when I am out. It is not easy but it seems it is the only way.
Good luck
The only thing I know that helps is do not buy it in the first place. If it is there, I will have to nibble it, so I have to make sure I only possess as many sweeties as I am willing to eat. And when other people give you packs of sweeties... I hide them in a draw in another room and hope out of sight out of mind works...
how many days before your period?? it was always my time, I went nuts on eating, couldnt sleep until I had what my flavour buds needed. Make a diary to see if it is hormone based. I used to put on half a stone just before a period, and loose it after a period, which made me a yo yo eater. Antidepressants might help or try st johns wort
Actually I just started mine yesterday! I keep meaning to do a diary and map this cycle of behaviour. I'm still breasting feeding so I am not sure about taking St John's Wort or anti-depressants for that matter!
I think they find one that would not pass onto your baby, what about woman who really suffer after having a baby. search on internet, will give you answers google it!
Hi FDPG, I know how you feel. Sometimes I eat when I actually don't even want food. But I've noticed that it's always food that are bad for us. Like you, I feel like it's all or nothing so I cleaned up my diet and was really strict. I ate loads of protein and fruit and veg and cut out all sugars, carbs etc for a while. I lost 2 stone really healthily and felt so much better in my body. What surprised me though was that once I'd had a break from all those sugary foods I found I no longer wanted them anyway. When I started to relax my diet a little I had a small chocolate at work and found that it tasted really chemically, unlike the natural sugars of an orange for example. I was pleasantly surprised at how much I didn't need or want those kinds of foods any more.
Unfortunately, the slippery slope of eating a little has lead to me losing my self discipline with my diet and I too am craving and eating way too many sugary foods. However, I know that once I have had a break from them I am able to cut them out quite quickly.
Good luck with stopping your sugar addiction, I know it's not easy but it is well won doing for loads of reasons. By the way, my replacement sweet treat was dates wrapped in bacon and roasted in the oven. I'd have loads prepared and would have one or two when I got in from work instead of eating other sweet stuff.
It took me several goes to beat the sugar addiction. If you think it might be linked to hormones/menstrual cycle, this article has some suggestions on how to stabilise your blood glucose. It suggests cutting out the 'high sugar' foods, like white bread, cereal etc, and going for more fibre and protein foods.
healthyeating.sfgate.com/co...
There is also the suggestion that you may be lacking enough magnesium in your diet.
I keep a small bar of very dark chocolate in the fridge, just for emergencies.
Ttotally sympathize, I've got a pretty sweet tooth as well. Over the years I've tried to get control over the sweet cravings but nothing has lasted for long, no matter how good the intentions.
In the last few days I've rediscovered a book I first came across a few years ago by a Dr Kathleen Desmaisons, just have a look on amazon or google.
Basically her method is a 7 step plan to gain control around sugar and lose some weight along the way. Have only just started on step one but I have confidence that it will be effective. Don't know if this is of interest but whatever you decide to do ,good luck.
sugar is very addictive i am sure you are seeking sugar because it brings endorphin in to your brain. A natural feel good chemical in our body. try to stick to heather sweets so you do not develope high cholesterol and clogged arteries skinny people are affected by heart disease also.
Thanks again for the suggestions. I have been really avoiding rubbish sweet food for the last couple of days and not doing too badly, but as I am into day 3 now I will have to stick to my guns and keep at it.
I decided to completely not eat junk sweet food - cake, biscuits, chocolate, sweets - and avoid carbs but not cut them out completely. I am still eating potatoes and rice, but I had brown rice instead. I have a had ryvita style crackers, but no bread and so far, no pasta. But I won't upset myself if I eat some pasta!
I have been looking at labels of things and there is sugar in practically everything! I eat a lot of soup and the stock cubes all have glucose in them, mayonnaise has sugar in it (I had a tiny bit on tuna salad) - it seems crazy. I may look to cut sugar out completely, but I will stick to just junk so far. Christmas may be a challenge, but it seems silly not to keep going if I can get through the next 10 days.
I must also remember to take my thyroid tablets regularly. Tiredness does not help sugar avoidance.
I will be looking up the websites and books suggested. Thanks again.
I love chocolate and years ago I just stopped eating it for about 12 months . It was really hard but I can now eat chocolate in small amounts and stop. I have a tub in the cupboard and I have broken the chocolate Into 100kcal portions and wrapped in foil. When I fancy chocolate I just take one of these and leave the rest in the cupboard. I rarely eat more than one a day. Sometimes I eat half and put the rest back as i realise I don't really want it.
It's much easier stop when you haven' t got a big bar in front of you.
My solution for the Christmas sweets was I left them in the car. When it's dark and cold outside sometimes it just doesn't seem worth it. I also sometimes keep funsize mars bars in the freezer so if I'm looking for a treat I can eat one of them and they last a lot longer which tricks me into thinking I've had more.
I empathise. Sugar addiction is as real and scary as any other addictions but not as recognized generally and horribly misunderstood. I find online support groups such as overeaters' anonymous helpful. Also, kind and patient self-talk. Usually I over-eat in response to a particular emotion/feeling and unraveling all of that and working out why I am really choosing to overeat is key. I cannot have just one biscuit so I don't buy them. I also diarise and use art work to express myself - and I dance quite uninhibitedly when I am alone and need to cheer myself up. I walk daily and that helps too. I met a 52 year-old fitness fanatic a couple of years ago in the States and she was tremendously inspirational. She had been addicted to sugar all her life until she'd "seen the light" (her words, not mine) aged 50 and cut it out of her diet altogether. She'd lost a tremendous amount of weight, kept it off, was fit, energetic, positive and radiant. People like her who work at it daily always gave me hope. Hope mention of her helps you too. You are not alone. I am on my own weight loss, health journey and realizing it's one day at a time and some days one hour at a time (smiling).
Have you read Zoe Harcombe's book(s) on this subject. They're enlightening and helpful. Have a look, you can download them from Amazon.
I'm with you all they way, but my downfall is food of any type!
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