sugar addiction, it is a fact

moneyistooshorttomention

On this front - I have an open mind as to whether sugar is or isn't addictive.

However - its something I very rarely have in any context (errrm....food-wise that is) - but I wouldn't know so much about alcohol;)

At this time of year in particular - can I put in a plea to people bringing food towards a communal meal/snacks. That being = please bring something savoury and NOT sweet.

I was at a Christmas social thing a couple of days back and I reckon a good half of the food brought was sugary and there was very little I could actually choose from to eat (as I wanted to avoid that).

I can see the same thing will happen again at another social thing Tuesday evening. There will be nibbles and I'd be willing to bet much of it will be sugary things (and the rest being crisps and the like).

All round - its clear that many people just don't think before deciding what food to bring to many social events.

Those of us looking for food to put on our plates that is savoury and at least relatively healthy really struggle to find anything we can take at these occasions. The sole exception I find to that is more "green" type events and I know I will find plenty of suitable food to choose from there and stuff that has sugar in and/or is generally unhealthy will be in the minority at those things.

PennyForThem_2

Caterina wrote: »

Recently I have been very stressed (DH was diagnosed with a life-limiting disease) and because of this, as well as having to give DH a healthy but high-carb diet for his condition, I have just started eating more and more, I have put a stone on in just a few weeks and am getting quite desperate to lose some weight, and I think that dropping sugar would go a long way towards helping me with this goal.

It is really hard to do just before Christmas, my mother is arriving from Italy in a week and will bring a lot of goodies with her, it will be virtually impossible to avoid alcohol - which in itself is not a problem as I only drink very little, but it loosens my control and I always end up eating more when I have even a glass of wine.

I am not sure what to do, on one hand I want to enjoy as much of life with DH as we can now, but on the other hand I think I need to get myself well and fit to be ready to face what could be a very difficult and demanding long time when DH's health deteriorates.

I will keep reading this thread with interest.

This is the wrong time of year to diet but after new year is perfect. Google 5:2 diet - this is a diet where 5 days you eat normally - up to you if you cut certain foods. The other 2 days which can be any days within a week and interchangeable you eat 500 calories for a woman or 600 for a man.

There a supportive websites. It has worked for me for 4 years. I lost 3 stone but still drink (that is my lifestyle choice which is fully informed about health issues - I am in my 60's and have always drunk).

What I like about it is the total flexibility. You can choose your days or even miss days - you could do 3 instead of 2. Often I make a chili lentil soup with lots of tomato and spinach for my fasting days which really fills me up. Yes, you have to be self disciplined and on those 500 calorie days you feel hungry. I am now balancing it. I actually eat normally 7/7 but over Xmas I will put on weight and will do 5:2 in Jan to shift it.

I weigh myself every day but you don't need to do that. I have kept myself to 10 stone which is within the healthy BMI for my height. I do not believe in going thinner (advised should be 9 stone - not going there).

sunflowersuffolk

Sorry to resurrect an old thread, but I too have been "addicted" to sugar and junk food all my adult life. I had put on such a lot of weight in last 5 years, I know my health and mobility are getting worse.

I tried the 5-2 diet, but didn't lose fast enough. Now I have found the Blood Sugar Diet which is a very different way of eating, compared with old school diabetic advice. I have lost one and a half stone in 7 weeks, and many have lost considerably more.

The great thing is that I have (so far) lost the desire/urge to binge. I am eating mainly home prepared food, no sugar, full fat products with no sweeteners, only limited complex carbs, and lots of veg.

It is worth a look, on the forums some have managed to reverse their diabetes and are off meds, with GPs approval.
https://thebloodsugardiet.com/forums/

teddysmum

sunflowersuffolk wrote: »

Sorry to resurrect an old thread, but I too have been "addicted" to sugar and junk food all my adult life. I had put on such a lot of weight in last 5 years, I know my health and mobility are getting worse.

I tried the 5-2 diet, but didn't lose fast enough. Now I have found the Blood Sugar Diet which is a very different way of eating, compared with old school diabetic advice. I have lost one and a half stone in 7 weeks, and many have lost considerably more.

The great thing is that I have (so far) lost the desire/urge to binge. I am eating mainly home prepared food, no sugar, full fat products with no sweeteners, only limited complex carbs, and lots of veg.

It is worth a look, on the forums some have managed to reverse their diabetes and are off meds, with GPs approval.
https://thebloodsugardiet.com/forums/

Do be aware that reversing diabetes does not mean that you no longer have diabetes. It just means that your blood sugar levels approach or enter the 'normal' range. (My levels are 'normal' now, but I'll always have diabetes).


Just like for an alcoholic, who goes back to drinking, the wrong lifestyle ,means your symptoms and bad sugar levels return.

jojorose

I left work in March having been office based for four years. The work was so tedious we all drank way too much tea and coffee and ate biscuits and cakes. In the four years I was there I put on stones.

Since leaving and taking early retirement we have both cut out the cakes, biscuits etc and are also doing the two meals a day. Its happened naturally and slowly. Purely not going to a sedentary job is going to change activity levels but along with the other cuts health is improving. My husband used to get terrible sugar withdrawals and in particular got the shakes. He is much more stable now as his levels dont plummet.

As an aside I read somewhere that it is common for a child of an alcoholic to have sugar cravings.

[Deleted User]

Yes Sugar IS addictive. There's been loads of research on this for decades (mainly suppressed by the food industry). What really "hit home" for me was reading about research in the US which used rats pre-addicted to Cocaine, which found that rats PREFERRED the Sugar over the Cocaine! They would even endure electric shocks to get to it (sorry about the gruesome details). Some people are more biologically prone to all sorts of addictions than others (hence some people just crave sugar more). For some people they literally have to go "cold turkey" and give up all sugar (in whatever form) completely. If you want to find out more, Google "Susan Pierce Thompson" (a US Professor who has been researching weight loss for years and has now pioneered what she calls Bright Line Eating) to find out about a way of eating that explains all this. Fascinating stuff about how the receptors in our brains that reward us are turned to ON by Sugar AND Sweeteners and any other substance (or activities) that gives us a temporary "high". (And when you aim to live without sugar, which I do, it's a real eye opener to find out how much sugar is added to all sorts of foods you wouldn't suspect). It's no wonder that so many of us have problems with cravings, sleep, mood swings and weight gain (to name a few).

PennyForThem_2

Agree

Once thought about pork chops - this was a couple of years ago - read the ingredients and found sugar - sugar in pork chops!

Did not buy.