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muchachadeldiva
New Member
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Posted: 21 Jan 2008 08:51 am |
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hi guys,
ive been trying unsucessfuly to lose weight recently, no matter how hard i try theres one reason i keep failing, and thats becasue i cant stop eating chocolate. or anythig thats sweet. i just seem to need sugar! for a while i hardly ate any, then i changed jobs, and they have a biscuit cupboard and theres always sweets and i just keep eating them! i feel cravings constantly and i always feel i need some choc and ive noticed that im putting more and more sugar into my tea than i used to.....
its making my dieting a nightmare because i just cant stay away from sugary foods...
i need some help/advice? i really really need to break this habit?
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Nir
Senior Administrator
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Posted: 21 Jan 2008 10:46 am |
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Hey I can relate. I'm making my fruit smoothies with milk at the moment (instead of Whey powder). The difference is that Whey is sweetned but milk isn't, so the sweetness from the fruit "isn't enough" and I'm using a few artificial sweetners for a boost. Anybody familiar with the sweetness of sharon fruit (persimons) is going to look funny at me.
Oh, and when I drink strong coffees at IKEA I sometimes put 4 artificial sweetners in there.
If I want something sweet in my mouth and it isn't time for fruit, I chew sugar-free-gum (the brand I buy is 2.6 calories each).
Dr Fuhrman suggests that if you abstain from sugar for 6 weeks (eating only natural products such as fruit for your sweets) your taste buds will become more sensitive and you will get enough sweetness from fruit and not require the intensity provided by highly sweetned processed foods like cookies.
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muchachadeldiva
New Member
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Posted: 21 Jan 2008 12:49 pm |
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thanks for that, and who is Dr Fuhrman?
its very difficult to keep away from sugar/processed foods and also meats too, it seems like most 'diets' or 'healthy eating' plans base your meals around meat (lean meat) but im not too comfortable eating so much of it. i saw your food triangle that you posted onto someones topic, and it started with the biggest food group being veg,then fruits and whole grains, followed by some fish then poultry, then the 'bad' food.
is this the kind of diet you follow? whats a typical days menu for you?
im just as bad with artificial sweetener, i love the taste of sugar! sweet chilli sauce is one of my biggest downfalls, im also a tomato sauce freak, and i know how much sugar is in that! im just in denial....
i tried making smoothies, but there wasnt enough time in the morning, and i dont think preparing the chopped fruit the night before is any good as apparently fruit starts to lose its enzymes from the moment its cut, so by the next morning the nutritional value has decreased.
im also feeling toothache coming on! argh! not a good sign......
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trimB
Distinguished Member
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Posted: 21 Jan 2008 03:14 pm |
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I hear ya about being addicted to sugar! The cravings are SO intense. I've never been a smoker, so I can't comment on sugar withdrawl versus nicotine. But I did give up coffee a year or so ago. Not even close to as difficult as abstaining from sugar!
But I will kind of echo what Nir says. If you can SOMEHOW make it through at least 2 weeks, then the cravings will abate. I had to go cold turkey like this... then once the addiction or habit was broken, I wasn't so strict. Now if I find myself wanting too much sugar, I have to go through a quick week or so "detox".
Anyway, that's my story. Keep trying different things to find what works for you, and keep us posted!
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Skinnieme
New Member
| Joined: | 26 Dec 2007 |
| Location: | Ohio USA |
| Posts: | 66 |
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Posted: 21 Jan 2008 09:44 pm |
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Hi muchachadeldiva,
Just a side note: I found you Nir. You helped me and soontobeme with the gas mark conversions. Thank you.
In 1993 I had psoriasis over 90% of my body and I weighed 195 lbs. It hurt when I took a shower, it felt like I was one big rug burn. Then after 26 years of going from doctor to doctor, I found one the told me it was my diet that was the culprit.
He tested me for food sensitvities (similar to allergies but less severe reactions). Sugar was one of the foods listed. Although skeptical I followed his direction to the letter. I was allowed small amounts of honey and maple syrup on special occasions.
After 4 months under his care I lost 45 lbs and 80% of my skin cleared. I was awed. But I still craved that sugar which I found was in everything (corn syrup, high frutcose, dextrose, etc.) canned or boxed.
I kept sugar at bay for 6 years. In 1999 I started eating sugar again. The first couple of bites feels like I've reached heaven until I feel the regret afterwards.
THAT is what I want to avoid. I know what sugar does to my body ~ I want to nourish my body, not destroy it. I am going back to the nutritional way of eating taught by that wonderful doctor. I need to do it for me...
This is the hardest thing to do. I know what you are talking about
Skinnie
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suenos
Distinguished Member
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Posted: 22 Jan 2008 12:53 am |
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Hi muchachadeldiva!
I hear you on the sugar addiction & the desire to break the habit....a serious inability to say "no" to anything sweet was my personal stumbling block to either weight loss or weight loss maintainence for years.....'cause I kept trying - and failing - to do the sugar thing "in moderation" rather than just put my foot down and deal with giving it up....I finally realized I was like a drug addict hoping/trying to get "clean and sober" - but not by kicking the drug for once and for all, but by trying to only use it "in moderation".
Since that didn't work for me, and I've never seen it work for anyone I know over the long term, I pretty much take the hard core approach that, if you truly feel you are "addicted" to a certain food, and that addiction is making it impossible to achieve your weight loss/health goals, it's better to just make the decision to banish it from your life, endure the head banging cravings through the withdrawal period, and, once it's out of your system, not try to fool yourself that you can go back to having "just a little bit"....unless you want to start all over again. Been there, done that, not fun.
Like Trim says, if you can make it through the first couple horrible weeks, the cravings, while still present, become bearable, and after a couple months pretty much become a non issue...and I say this from the standpoint of a once crazed cookie/cake/icecream junkie who has not had sugar in a couple of years.
You're right that a lot (but not all) diet plans designed specifically to break the sugar habit are high in lean meat...I'd suggest looking at several ideas/plans, finding the one you can live with the easiest in the short term (just for the time needed to break the addiction); once the "I want sugar" monkey stops playing with your brain you'll find it a lot easier to come up a a longer term weight loss approach that better suits your individual preferences.
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Nir
Senior Administrator
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Posted: 22 Jan 2008 09:15 pm |
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muchachadeldiva wrote: thanks for that, and who is Dr Fuhrman?
Eat To Live by Dr. Joel Fuhrman
i saw your food triangle [..] is this the kind of diet you follow? whats a typical days menu for you?
I try to follow the 'Eat To Live' diet to the best of my ability. I eat about 3 or 4 kilos of food per day. By weight I eat more vegetables than fruit though by calories sometimes there's more vegetables than fruit. (I eat a few other things too.) I do a colour-coded breakdown with percentages at the end of every day - look here for my last few days.
Last edited on 22 Jan 2008 09:23 pm by Nir
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OWF
Distinguished Member
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Posted: 25 Jan 2008 10:30 am |
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OMG !! Me too!!!
I am definitely in the same boat! Yes, its easier to live in denial about it, but I think I am addicted to sugar. My mother is, and so is my brother. Addiction runs in my family. Alcohol, some drugs...and MY addiction, which I believe to be SUGAR. I always said it wasnt as bad as it could be...but I am thinking maybe it is just as bad as alcohol addiction. I cant even give it up! Or, well, I have tried to give it up completely and went nuts and binged on it after 2 days without it! 
I have no advice unfortunately because I clearly struggle with my weight and have for years now. (since I was a teenager and went on all sorts of screwy diets..) I don't know if giving it up completely is the answer or slowly cutting down is the way. I feel like I am one of those people that when you say "you cant have this or that" that or this is ALL I crave! So...I dont know what to do either, but its nice to know I am not alone.
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