HELP!!! I'm a sugar-aholic!!!

T

teeny

Member
Hi Everyone!

For the last three and a half months I have been working out 3-4 times a week with a goal to lose 10 to 15 pounds. I have been doing step aerobics and weights. I have lost about 9 pounds and 6 inches total. I know that I could have lost it faster if I wasn't so addicted to sugar. I am happy that I've done that much but I'm still not to my goal. In the last month I can't seem to budge the scale or the inches! Throughout this whole thing I have not changed my diet. I eat pretty well, except when it comes to sugar. I am so addicted to it! Ice cream, cake, cookies, candy, chocolate, pie! I know that the only reason I'm not gaining instead of losing is because I'm young (21). I am pretty sure that if I can just stop the sugar binging and stick to my workouts I could reach my goal by my birthday which is Feb. 21st. Please help!!! I need some advice on how to curb my sugar addiction!!!
 
Hi Teeny,
I have a problem with desserts too. I'm sorry to say this, but for me there is only one way.

Cold Turkey.

-joy
 
You absolutely have to stop sugar binging but by no means do you have to give up the goodies you described. Eat them in small portions only. I think you should be certain to eat protein, fat and carbs in every meal whether you eat three regular meals per day or six smaller ones as some prople do. Boost your fiber intake and eat fruits and vegetables before you reach for the goodies. You should find you feel full and satisfied if you eat a balanced diet.

Do not think of yourself as a sugar-aholic or sugar addict because you aren't. The foods you describe taste good and can be comforting but you do not have a physical dependence on them and any psychological dependence can be broken with behavior modification! They are overabundant and you said it yourself-- you haven't changed your diet and diet is so important when it comes to being fit. Eat to compliment your exercise. You workout hard. Your body needs nutritious food to restore your energy and build muscle.

Teeny, it is within your power to change this and you will get loads of support here but you have got to plan a healthy diet and limit treats. I eat a little chocolate most days, one small square. I occasionally indulge in something decadent. My diet is clean and healthy but I eat full fat sour cream, butter and cheese, not daily but as often as I like and I love to eat and eat great food. I just keep my portions reasonable and I always keep my fitness goals firmly in my mind when I plan meals. You have almost four weeks to make a helthy diet a part of your lifestyle and to go into your 22nd year on top of it. Wow! A lifetime to be fit! I didn't start until I was 30! You can do this! If you need a pep talk or anything I am in these forums quite often, Teeny. Make a plan, write it down, see your goals clearly in your head and do it!
Bobbi "Chick's rule!" http://www.handykult.de/plaudersmilies.de/chicken.gif
 
Boy, I have the same problem. The only thing htat I can suggest that I have been able to do is just not buy it. Go grocery shopping on a full stomach and think, "ok, if I buy it I eat it, so I just won't buy it.". Honestly if it's not in the house your are more than likely not going to eat it. Plus when you go and get gas, don't buy any candy, just walk right by that eisle and don't even look at it.
Right now i have been buying more than I normally do and I'm really not happy with myself for that. So, i have now decided that I can't take my three year old shopping with me anymore. He asks for things that I normaly wouldn't buy, and I will give in because I figure at the time, " OH I can use my will power.". No, I can't I need to stop fooling myself. If I dont' see it I dont' want it, ya know. So, just try to stop buying it. I dont' even enter the bakery section of the store any longer. I just walk around the outside of it and don't look around at all. It helps, trust me. Oh, and when checking out, look at the magazines with all the skinny models on them instead of the candy side, that should help too. I like reading the funny headlines of The Star and those kinds of Magazines. Sometimes I find myself laughing outloud at what they claim.
Anyway, I hope that this helps. I need to take my own advice now though. I have been a bad girl. But I have lost a couple of pounds. So, the exercising does do something, thank god!
Good luck to you! OH, and since you're 21 stick to the low carb beer! I know at that age I frequented the bars as much as possible. No sweet shots either, that will help too.
Ok, I'm off my soap box, bye!

Kathy
 
My parents used to call me a "junkfood junkie" growing up. All my life I've loved junk. But what has worked best for me, is when I started following BFL, I get one free day a week...to eat whatever I am craving (not to eat just to eat). The first few free days were UGLY but after awhile, the cravings almost went away. I do usually haev some milk duds at least on free day (my splurge) but most of the time I don't even finish a box. For some reason just knowing that I can have them on Sat., seems to help diminish the craving.

Colleen
 
Bobbi - question...

You wrote that there is not a physical dependence on sugar and that you shouldn't think of yourself as a sugar addict. I have a question for you about that.

I've struggled with eating disorders for a very long time - anorexia, bulimia and binge eating/compulsive overeating. I've been having a terrible time with refined carbs/sweets. Years ago, when I was anorexic and starting to binge I went to my doctor for help and was prescribed Prozac to boost my serotonin levels. My sugar cravings/binges were gone within a week with no struggle at all. This lasted for a couple of months, but eventually the effect wore off.

Anyway, my question is - isn't it possible that someone can have a physical dependence on sugar in the sense that refined sugar/carbs boost serotonin levels and the cravings can be the body's way of regulating that? I'm not saying that this is Teeny's problem, but I do think that it could be an issue for some people.

Just wondering what your thoughts are on that.

Erica
 
Oh, this is a tough one. I agree with what has already been said, especially with Kathy suggesting that you ban sweets from your house. However, I also agree with Bobbi that you can indulge but only in small portions. You gotta live a little.:)

The way I did it -- and the way I'm STILL doing it -- is to reach for fruit. Apples, grapes, tangerines, nectarines, mangoes... Sometimes I mash half an avocado, mix it with skim evaporated milk and some Splenda. That's my treat. I know avocado is loaded with fat, but it's good fat. Better than eating a slice of cheesecake. I also know mangoes have a high glycemic index, but it's better than eating a Snickers bar. It's still tough, and it took me about two months of doing this before I could walk by the Cinnabon place at the local mall without stopping by.:)

I don't know if you like fruit, but this somehow worked for me. Joy adviced to go cold turkey. I also read that advice from a health expert on our local paper. Sugar is addictive and I try to avoid it as much as I can. It's impossible though. Even the whole wheat bread I eat has sugar in it. But I hope this still helps...

Congratulations on those lost 9 lbs. and 6 inches.

Pinky
 
I feel your pain.I know to well what you are talking about.I am not even that much for chips and pop but I love anything with sugar in it.Sometimes I wonder if I am addicted to sugar as well.
With alot of effort (at times)I have controlled my sweeet tooth.And you would be amazed at how easy it can be.Sometimes I eat choclate and I barely even taste it b/c I swollow it so fast.Then there are other times when I take a piece and I REALLY savor it and you wouldn't beleive the thoughts that go through my head! I can feel my face start to screw up b/c if you really taste it,you would be shocked at how sweet it really is.BUt for some reason I don't use this method very often.:-(
If I allow myself one small treat a day ,I like for it to be in the evening b/c you are finished eating for the day and the chances of you having more are slim.But I crave sweets after lunch normally.So if I eat it after lunch then the chances of me having more later are greater.And then there are days when I feel like life is to short,why not eat sweets.But what about if I smoker felt that way?
I read before that sweets go straight to your waistline.I don't know how much truth there is to that.But I sort of beleive it.
With that said,Congrats on your weight loss! It takes alot of hard work.
You have already gotten some great advice here.My advice would be to have a small treat a day.Like 3 hersey kisses or half of a cookie.Maybe even a light hot choc?This would also be my advice for myself which I plan on starting today.Its the only part of my diet that I am not happy with and I plan on changing it.
Like Bobbi said(i think),it is totally up to "us" how we want to change.No body can do it for us.And on another tread, one lady said...nothing taste as good as thin feels.Both of those statements are very true.
Best of luck and let us know how you do...
Lori:)
 
I'll share my experiences with you. HOpefully you'll gain something from them. If you find anything that works for you, please share them with me! I know I'm addicted to sweets, primarily chocolate. My biggest mistake was to try the moderation/portion size technique. That just doesn't work for some people. For 10 years I binged probably twice a month on sweets, but worked out enough that I maintained my wt. 5 yrs ago I tried the moderation thing and ever since I've been pathetically out of control. During this past summer I went cold turkey for 3 weeks - no sugar. Then I tried a small cookie after a meal. I've been off the wagon ever since. And have even put on 5 lbs. What I did for the 3 wks though was replaced all snacks with raw veggies. Everytime I went to snack, I'd force myself to eat raw veggies. After 3 days of that I craved the raw veggies! Then I had the cookie and fell off the wagon. My body/personality is all or nothing. Some helpful things for me have been: don't keep white sugar in the house; stay out of the kitchen as much as possible(that triggers snacktime); I've made the mistake of eating too much healthy foods too. I was eating too much fruit and yogurt - both contain a lot of sugar. Just some of my experiences.
 
I'm all or nothing too! I'm just not one of those people that can have, say, 3 potato chips and walk away from the bag. If i can't have the lot i'd rather go without!!! Thats me. lol ... moderation and food don't go that well with me. Now i devide my meals into small meals so i eat about 7 times day and now i'm never starving or stuffed. This has helped me. For me a healthy diet must included the food i like, yes chocolate, chips, cake, all the stuff with little nutritional value, otherwise i'll binge on it for weeks on end, and thats no good x
 
Hi Teeny! Everyone here has already given you wonderful advice but I'll just add to say that you should concentrate on eating at least one LARGE salad a day putting in as many veggies as you can such as romaine lettuce, grape tomatoes, 1/4 of an avocado, artichoke hearts, radishes, yellow/orange/or red pepper, red onion & top off the salad w/tuna. Also at breakfast make a 1 whole egg + 1 egg white omelette w/FF cheese & buy Ezekiel bread top the bread off w/1Tbsp of jam. The Ezekiel bread has at least 4 grams of fiber. The more FIBER you have in your system + the fruit will GREATLY diminish your need for sweets. You'll be so full you won't have any cravings. HTH & Good luck! Kathy:D
 
Thanks so much everyone for all your replies! I've recieved a lot of good advice. I learned two things that I think will work for me. One, yesterday I was doing some research about this on the internet and I realized by a couple of things that I read, that I'm probably hungry all the time. So when I think I'm craving something, really my body just needs food. Plus, my cravings have gotten 100% worse ever since I started working out. So, what I realized was that I don't eat enough calories, especially since starting to exercise. I also think that I'm the kind of person that gains weight when I don't eat enough food. Number two, I think that I'm either going to have to go cold turkey on this, or I'm going to only allow myself treats on weekends. I'm going to try the latter one first, and if that doesn't work then I'll have to go cold turkey. I'm going to start focusing on eating enough healthy food also. So with those two combined hopefully I can start to control this! Thanks again everyone for all your advice!!! :)
 
>Boy, I have the same problem. The only thing htat I can
>suggest that I have been able to do is just not buy it. Go
>grocery shopping on a full stomach and think, "ok, if I buy it
>I eat it, so I just won't buy it.". Honestly if it's not in
>the house your are more than likely not going to eat it. Plus
>when you go and get gas, don't buy any candy, just walk right
>by that eisle and don't even look at it.
>Kathy

I totally agree with this one. My weakness is potato chips!!! I don't buy them at the grocery store anymore, because if they are in my cabinet I will eat them. I can't control myself when it comes to chips. If I do eat them, I'll get a small bag at lunch or something from the vending machine and only eat 1/2 the bag. If they're in my house though, that is another story.
 
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