I have finally decided I really want to change my eating habits as due to binge eating bags of sweets and chocolate when upset/worried about family, I have gone from a size 12 to a 16, and am unhappy with the way I look and feel.
I have started writing a food diary and intend avoiding all sweets and biscuits for at least 1 month.
I have read that taking Glutamine may stop my sugar cravings and wondered if anyone else has had success with it?
Yes I'm in exactly the same boat. I am also addicted to sugar at the moment but when I start juicing vegetables and following Jason vale I can get rid of it again in a few days , off to go shopping and start again. I'm so unhappy like this and am starting a new job at the moment and would be feeling more confident if I looked like my best self! Good luck.😊
Thank you and good luck to you also
Hi Elizabeth,
Well done on taking the first step which is recognising the problem. Cutting out refined sugar in your diet is a great first step to a healthier lifestyle. Now worrying about family is hard to cut out as we are always going to worry about those people closest to us but when this happens if you can stop reaching for that bag of chocolate you will along with a few other lifestyle changes be back in those size 12 dresses in no time.
Can take a lot of will power initially to go cold turkey so you might want to substitute the sweet things in your diet for fruit. As a treat in the evenings I have some fresh fruit (usually blueberries, strawberries or raspberries) with low fat natural yoghurt. Now be careful when you are buying the yoghurt as low fat doesn’t always mean low sugar so check the carb content. If it is below 10g per 100g on sugar you are fine. This is a great little treat and really refreshing it also provides you with that bit of fibre and some vitamins. Try not to over do the portion size considering there is a fair bit of sugar in fruit and you will be fine.
In time try and substitute the chocolate and sweets for vegetables, I like to munch on carrot sticks really low in sugar and high in fibre, you can also get a low fat dip but again make an effort to see what is in the dip before you buy.
I haven’t heard of Glutamine being used to prevent sugar cravings. I know people who are keen on their weight training use it to recover but this is associated with muscle maintenance and growth. My advice would be to try and substitute the refined sugar out of your diet and increase the amount of fruit and vegetables you eat.
In addition to cutting out the sugar I would recommend looking at the rest of your diet and seeing if you can make some changes. The advice on these pages is great and with some exercise as well you will be back in that size 12 dress in no time.
Here’s some information on Glutamine if you haven’t seen it already.
bodybuilding.com/fun/glutam...
Good luck
Thank you very much for such good information. I am doing what you suggest and having fruit instead. I really appreciate your advice,
Oh, Glutamine... I am not technically a binger (would not get the diagnosis), but I do consider a unit of chocolate to be a bar and a unit of biscuits to be a family-sized pack. And since Glutamine does not sound like something that grows on trees, I will venture two tips which are more natural:
1. some proper bingers on this site (come forward, please!) recommend healthsidekick.com, there is a specific support group for binge eating and some members on this forum say it helped them. (It's a mental technique.)
2. i switched to high fat diet (yummy cheese, butter etc.) and it does the trick for me. I am feeling full and somehow my mind stopped wandering towards the goodies shelf. If I really get peckish, I take some nuts and dried fruit (raisins or apricots). The nuts are quite filling, so they won't let me go for as long as I would with biscuits, and I don't have that much need for seconds. I have not been doing this for long, but a couple of weeks without cakes and biscuits (and crucially, without the cravings!) is a first for me.
Hope you can find a non-chemical solution to your cravings too!
Thank you for your advice.
Welcome, I hope you find what you need in this community. You'll find many motivational posts here! Start by dowloading an app on your phone to keep track of calories (Fat Secret, My Fitness Pal...), it's a great aid! Good luck!
Accepting theres a problem is a great first step and usually the scariest, a food diary is great as it makes you more aware of what you are eating, and you can see patterns, some people put notes on theirs stating why they ate something, how they felt etc... to find emerging patterns of when the bad habits we happening so they could try to find another way of dealing with a situation. Ive ever heard of it, read up on it first and maybe check with your gp or 111 befire trying things like that. all the best
Thank you for your advice. I've made an appointment with my doctor to discuss it.
Np if they say its safe let me know if it works, my sweet tooth can be a nightmare lol. Hope it helps
I had the same problem of sugar addiction but now after 7 weeks I can turn my back on chocolates etc. There's a Tesco express about a 20 minute walk away and before I would get the car out to get my sugar fix. Yesterday even with a poorly leg I walked there to get some salad. What a change around!
It is really down to rethinking things and changing an addictive habit. You have taken the first step realising you have the addiction. That's when I stopped buying the stuff and stopping hating myself in the morning for pigging out the day before. Anyone can do it if I can as I reckon I was wasting 600 to 700 calories a day on chocolate and sweets. You will be so proud of yourself when you stop and have more confidence too. Go for it!
I used to take glutamine to help with my knee problems, it certainly didn't help with my sugar addiction.
It took me several goes to get rid of the craving for sugar. I guess it will be different for different personalities. I gave up drinking tea, couldn't bear it without sugar, and started drinking fruit teas instead. I had dried fruit when the cravings were bad, and watched the clock to space out my 'sugar hits'. It eventually got easier and the cravings did go away, and stayed away.
Good luck, grit your teeth and you will get there.
Thank you for replying and for your sdvice.
I understand the frustration. I turn to sweets and choc for comfort. I do find that substituting fruit is useful. And also not beating myself up when I do turn to the old habits.
A food diary is great.
I think your sugar cravings will decrease automatically when you switch your diet. And also try to find something that's healthy. For example I sometimes use nuts and raisins. Very satisfying and self-limiting. I can shovel down heaps of choc in one sitting without even putting my mind to it. But I have to work hard at a handful of raisins or dates!
Thanks for your good advice
Hi - i'm exactly the same with sugar. I love chocolate. Day 3 for me and sugar is definately the toughest addiction to get over 
I got a bag of the mini boxes of raisins which sit on my desk at work so i'm not as tempted to go to the vending machine. I've also found that brushing my teeth and using a mouthwash completely puts me off eating anything sweet - possibly an odd way to get over a craving, but it seems to work - good luck !
I would recommend keeping a food diary even if you are not watching the calories. Its an eye opener that gives you a reality check of what you have eaten. If you constantly go over 2000 calories thats an indicator you need to do more exercise. If you dont exercise the extra calories away then this is those extra pounds that you eventually make you fat.
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