i am a sugar addict

There's an old book out there, don't know the author anymore, but it's called "Lick the sugar habit"...... supposedly if you cut out all refined sugar for a month or so you lose your cravings. I did cut it out for about a month once, and it did actually feel like I had no need for sugar, other than berries and fruits. I don't have the self discipline right now.

disparaissant------did you notice any difference in your mood when off sugar for a month....

Yes I did turtle, I was actually feeling better but still sad, I love sweets and I am back to feeling like I need it too much. I had some improvement I guess, but I think a person needs to cut it out of their diet for a much lengthier time to really help moodiness.

I'm an iced coffee addict. I cannot go a day without wanting to guzzle a mocha. I cannot help it.

I think I may be addicted to sugar too... I usually don't eat big amounts of sugary things all at once (although sometimes I do), typically I just have a little bit pretty much every day because I feel like I need it. I'm worried I'll end up getting diabetes

dear sad--I am always very close to pre-diabetes...I need to pay close attention because I keep slipping...

You know, I've spent some periods of time here and there where I managed to stay away from sugar. Basically what I do (in case this were helpful to you) is cut out everything that makes the glucose in your blood go up, and I do this all at once, doing it gradually has never worked for me. There's the obvious things like chocolate, cookies, ice cream and stuff like that, but also juices, yogurt, tea, coffee with sugar added to them, sodas, energy drinks, etc. and also pasta, bread, pizza and other things of the sort. Then I try to eat only 'natural' food, meaning meat, fish, eggs, legumes, vegetables, whole grains, fruit. Although I think for pre-diabetes too much fruit might also not be good, I guess you can consult with your doctor.

Of course stopping at first is the most difficult part, but when I can go one day without sugar then the next day is easier, and so on.
I do eventually go back to eating all sorts of crap like I've been doing lately
I hope you can find the strength to cut out all the bad habits!

I am after sugar again...my weight is going up...I am headed for pre-diabetes..
this is just too hard...I am going to check my weight every day...my blood pressure is probably up...and my blood sugar is--- who knows...

and I am having an anger problem...

i think sugar may be THE thing to avoid if you are depressed..
i am a sugar addict...

A little sugar is not a bad thing. A LOT is sugar is bad. I have a hard time avoiding it because its in EVERYTHING. I never add sugar to my coffee or tea and try to avoid processed foods. Bleh

Sadly it's a vicious cycle, like yesterday I had and awful day so I ended up eating an entire can of ice cream. Today is not much better :/

I have diabetes so I should stay away from sugar. But I am addicted to it. I eat it when I am stressed out or depressed. It is a way to comfort myself. I also think I am addicted to caffeine. I don't drink coffee my choice for caffeine is pop. If I don't drink it everyday I get a headache and I become cranky. I tried eating stuff with sweeteners but it make me have digestive issues. So I went back to regular sugar. I can't deal with the headaches everyday. So I just continue drinking pop. Not good.

Sometimes I'll try to eat a lot of fruit because I assume that's better than a lot of refined sugar, although I don't really know if that's the case from a medical standpoint. But it doesn't necessarily even work and I might end up eating sugary things afterwards anyways...

me too...my fasting insulin and glucose are too high...I am drifting into pre-diabetes...

Sugar is a hard one to get off.

My sugar intake is about average I think. What concerns me is the amounts of caffeine, aspartame, and processed foods that I consume. I have tried several times to reduce my amounts but failed miserably.

I never really went in for all this diet affects your mood, or what ever.

maybe for some people it does, but I don't notice it

at little turtle: I am a sugar addict too (just check my latest post in the eating disorders forum)

it's highly embarrassing the amount I have had this week alone

it makes me feel guilty sometimes that i'm eating so much and doing god knows what to my body, but not depressed

I don’t really notice if it affects my mood because I feel sad and unmotivated most of the time anyways. Something I have noticed is that when I eat a lot of sugar for a few days in a row I’ll start feeling really tired and heavy, like any kind of physical activity is too difficult and tiring and I just want to sit around and do nothing, which means I’ll end up eating some more… ugh. This week has been particularly bad for me but I haven’t had any sugar all day today, I’m hoping I’ll feel a little bit better tomorrow.

Btw does anyone else ever use sugar as a sort of reward? Like I’ll tell myself, if I do this 30 min cardio workout (or whatever other stuff I need to do but don’t want to) then I can eat whatever I want. As if it would be any less unhealthy…

i just finished dr lustig's book---the hacking of the American mind....

here is one of his concluding statements----------------
SUGAR isn't just responsible for many of our physical problems,
but also plays a significant role in our MENTAL health...

what do you think about this????????????

I used to obsess about food all the time. I can feel a physical change in my body when I've had too much caffeine. So I don't doubt food could do other physical things to us also.

Also I have this theory that maybe the idea that food really matters very much at all is just a myth we all believe. I decided to drop it down a few pegs in my mental hierarchy. I started mentally listing all the things in the world that are more important than food or eating and I started observing the world to see how food was getting too much attention. I started telling myself that food wasn't very important to me

It kind of just absolved the problem for me. I don't obsess about it anymore. I just get hungry and eat something decent and move on with life. Huge relief from all the stress of years of counting calories and feeling guilty for eating crap and all. I still eat crap once in awhile but now it's not a big deal if I do or if I don't.

thanks winterbritt-----------counting calories is a nightmare...I think you just need to eat healthy...real food...not too much...mostly plants....and stay away from sugar...

also we need to know about metabolic syndrome...

I think reducing bad carbohydrates is important, and I have read and followed many low carb gurus. I believe it helps, but it didn’t solve my problems, but I’m bipolar. Going too low in carbohydrates causes insomnia, and that isn’t safe for me. Wish I could because I believe in low carb.

I have seen many, many posts of those on low carb that say it does help them emotionally.

Dr Perlmutter is another interesting doctor to follow. He is a neurologist advocating low carb.

Sugar yes. I notice that on the days I consume sugar, I get super worked up, anxious and can't really function.. But it's so good..... But yeah, trying to stay away from it too

how about bad carbs and good carbs...
example of bad carbs would be sugar and white bread...
example of good carbs would be broccoli...

Ha, yeah. I basically became a mild caffeine addict in the last year, in addition to a long-standing sugar addiction. The latter numbs me out and helps numb my emotions, the former is basically an upper. Hype myself up with caffeine in the morning, knock myself out with herbal sleep tabs in the evening.

Thankfully I've largely got out of that, though I still go back to it sometime.