Has anyone ever tried a "sugar addict" diet? And how did you do?

Mics_chick

Just thinking this is really my problem coz the other day I remembered that I used to eat sugar sandwiches as a kid

I wasn't a fat kid at all - in fact I was skinny as a very young kid.
I started to have weight problems once I hit puberty but I still wouldn't say I was fat - just a bit overweight.

I did a websearch for "sugar addict" and quite a few diets popped up so I'm serious thinking of trying one and see if it makes any difference about how I think about food...?

Just interested in the experiences and weight issues of anyone who has tried this sort of diet

jenniewb

I'm not msure what you mean by sugar addict diet but I realised I was hooked on sugar when I was about 17 and was just drinking tea and coffee with more and more sugar, it would get to about 3-4 spoons and I had an eating disorder (anorexia) so this worried me. I'd put it in and not stir it just so I could get at least one sugar hit with the final swig being massivly sugary!

In the end I just went full pelt and cut it all out all in one go. I still can easily fall into wanting sugar and if I cave into it I immediatly want more the next time I get a craving, then the cravings take on a life of their own and I crave sugar all day long even after eating it. So I learn the best way for me is to cut it out and keep it cut out. (I'm talking about the refined or added sugar products here, not things like strawberrys or apples which have natural non refined sugars in them). I find that the first two weeks were or are hard and thereafter its much more controllable.

The longer I leave it out of my diet the easier it is to ignore. I slip up when I think just a little is an OK thing for me to do. If I don't want to get hooked again then its not an OK thing to do!!

Mics_chick

Thanks Jennie but is the anorexia under control now?

Oceansprayk

I tried EVERY diet more than once.

I knew I had a problem with sugar but didn't know what to do about it. I then saw a book called Potatoes not Prozac which explained everything - why I felt horrid, why saying no was not an option and what I could do about it.

I don't crave sugar/choc any more, I can eat three meals a day rather than graze, I feel heaps better. And my weight is taking care of itself.

You might be interested in looking at the radiant recovery website - it has loads of free information there.

Best wishes!

Mics_chick

Thanks Oceansprayk What do you mean when the weight is taking care of itself?

Did you lose any weight on it and now it's stable or did you come to terms with whatever weight you were?

jenniewb

Mics_chick wrote: »

Thanks Jennie but is the anorexia under control now?

Hmmmm, not sure I can ever really say conclusivly yay or nay. Lifelong self inflicted arguements over everything, but things could be worse!

Mics_chick

jenniewb wrote: »

Hmmmm, not sure I can ever really say conclusivly yay or nay. Lifelong self inflicted arguements over everything, but things could be worse!

Thanks for posting Jennie but I think as I'm VERY big my problem is probably the opposite to what yours was if you were suffering from anorexia at the time...

brighthair

as in cutting sugar out? yes if so, I am on a low carb, no sugar diet at the moment, and have lost approx 11kg in 6-7 weeks

jenniewb

Mics_chick wrote: »

Thanks for posting Jennie but I think as I'm VERY big my problem is probably the opposite to what yours was if you were suffering from anorexia at the time...

No, this was long after the initial anorexia started that I went on to tackle the sugar issue, about 10 years after initially becoming bulimic/anorexic.

As much as I am aware I have a problem, its a mental health problem, not nutritional/about food. The cutting out of sugar doesn't affect my eating disorder, even the bulimia! Its about trying to block things out with food diet.

I would say my problem with sugar is not the opposite of yours, its probably similar if you feel your addicted, find yourself hunting sugar fixes without reason (ie you have eaten enough) I think for me it probably stuck out more as I focus and focus and fixate on everything I eat and when it feels difficult due to a chemical addiction I am more likely to be aware and so try to deal with it. But thats were the ED really stops, the rest is all normal sugar addiction, something I think the majority of people struggle with, a biological thing its normal I think that we'd be addicted to sugar (read the book "And end to overeating"?) I don't think my ED has anything to do with it just like your "BIG problem" has anything to do with it, its just a partial result of it but I've no idea what else would be causing your problem so will not judge.

Just don't want you to think there are only certain types who recognise addiction to sugar or that only those addicted to sugar will be "big". If you have ever watched the Channel 4 programme "supersize-superskinny" much of the time the skinny members are living of a diet of sugar (red bull, sweets, white carbs....) and its because they are addicted to it.

I think sugar addiction is more common then you think and that partly this is because few people want to do anything about it or even see it as a problem.

Mics_chick

OK Jennie thanks for putting me straight I needed coz I made assumptions and shouldn't have
I've ordered a book from Amazon and eagerly awaiting it's delivery

Mics_chick

brighthair wrote: »

as in cutting sugar out? yes if so, I am on a low carb, no sugar diet at the moment, and have lost approx 11kg in 6-7 weeks

Well done BH

I don't know what specific diet you're on but I'm not talking about low carb as such coz most of them suggest still eating things with sweeteners in them but this is 1 step further than that.
Sweeteners are allowed but only ones that don't affect the insulin levels in your body so that you CRAVE sugar even more than if you'd had the sugar in the first place....