has anyone ever managed to kick the sugar habit? 23 January 2016 at 10:55PM in Health & Beauty MoneySaving 80 replies 10.5K views

heuchera

I'd really like to be able to kick the sugar habit. I am ADDICTED to the stuff!

Has anyone ever managed this? I don't really like the idea of substituting artificial sweeteners, I would rather just lose the taste for sugary things. Apparently when I was very young I never used to touch sweets! I probably got into the habit at school and it's never left me :undecided



If I've got a budget of, say, £20 for food I will always make sure I get a £1 packet of Club biscuits or (today) french fancies to 'last me the week'. Of course they never do last the week. I just scoffed three this evening


They say it takes 21 days to form a habit.. But I can't imagine going 21 days without my sugary pick-me-ups. I love the taste of sugar and chocolate, but I hate the fact that it's controlling me and not the other way round. Maybe I should just try going cold turkey but I've a feeling that'll last about half a day.


If anyone here has been a sugar addict and managed to rid themselves of the cravings please share I'd love to know if it's possible and how you did it.

trolleyrun

I'm not addicted to sugar but maybe treat it like any other addiction? Initially think in minutes, then hours, then a day and eventually weeks. As in, I'm not going to eat something sugary for two hours, then increase the time in stages. Worth a go as I'm sure it'll be too "scary" to think too far ahead. Good luck!

teddysmum

heuchera wrote: »

I'd really like to be able to kick the sugar habit. I am ADDICTED to the stuff!

Has anyone ever managed this? I don't really like the idea of substituting artificial sweeteners, I would rather just lose the taste for sugary things. Apparently when I was very young I never used to touch sweets! I probably got into the habit at school and it's never left me :undecided



If I've got a budget of, say, £20 for food I will always make sure I get a £1 packet of Club biscuits or (today) french fancies to 'last me the week'. Of course they never do last the week. I just scoffed three this evening


They say it takes 21 days to form a habit.. But I can't imagine going 21 days without my sugary pick-me-ups. I love the taste of sugar and chocolate, but I hate the fact that it's controlling me and not the other way round. Maybe I should just try going cold turkey but I've a feeling that'll last about half a day.


If anyone here has been a sugar addict and managed to rid themselves of the cravings please share I'd love to know if it's possible and how you did it.

There is no choice if you are diagnosed with diabetes and want to keep your sight, limbs, kidneys etc and live a normal lifespan.


Don't just suddenly stop, but cut down considerably, by using less sweet items. If there are no cakes , sweets etc in the house, you can't eat them, so don't stock up.


Actually, after a time of using substitutions (eg fruit instead of chocolate ), people often find that they no longer like very sweet things. No way could I eat a meringue or crème egg, nowadays.

heuchera

teddysmum wrote: »

There is no choice if you are diagnosed with diabetes and want to keep your sight, limbs, kidneys etc and live a normal lifespan.


Don't just suddenly stop, but cut down considerably, by using less sweet items. If there are no cakes , sweets etc in the house, you can't eat them, so don't stock up.


Actually, after a time of using substitutions (eg fruit instead of chocolate ), people often find that they no longer like very sweet things. No way could I eat a meringue or crème egg, nowadays.

Thanks, I would really like to stop before it gets to that stage :eek:
We don't have diabetes in our family, thankfully, though many of us eat a lot of sweet things.

Maybe there are some reduced-sugar cakes/tea breads I could bake, to use for when I get my mid-morning lull..

I will stop buying the sweet biscuits and treats.

Sharon87

One January I gave up everything bad, chocolate, sweets, crisps, alcohol.etc

I learnt what I missed and what I didn't. I learnt I didn't miss crisps, but I did miss chocolate. Cold turkey may be hard but if you can set yourself a time limit and stick to say 'no cakes, chocolate or sweets' for 21 days, and see how you get on.

There are substitutes that aren't artificial sweetener, so maybe you could have dark chocolate - not as sweet, but can help curb the chocolate cravings, maybe eating baked goods, but the less sweet ones like scones. So you're not feeling like you're on a diet, just cutting back on the sugar.

I used to eat loads of sugary things, now I'm finding I can't eat as many sugary things at once than I used to. I can have a packet of biscuits and only eat 1 or 2 and not like 8 of them!

If you have sugar in your tea, half what you currently have instead of switching to artifical sweetener, unless you want to try stevia, the taste isn't the same, but it has no adverse effects on the body like the other sweeteners can have (which can potentially raise your blood sugar level, based on a study I saw on a BBC documentary).

fizzypotter

I agree with the above, I found it easier by making it a "thing"
decided to do "no junk November" told everyone I was doing it and a friend at work joined in, it made it so much easier knowing I "couldn't" have any, rather than saying oh I'll just have one sweet then end up finishing the bag !!
That said, its not lasted over Dec and Jan but I can definitely eat less now than I could before, and plan on cutting down drastically again now that I know I can do it.
Good luck x

heuchera

Strangely, I don't have sugar in tea or coffee, and I hardly ever drink sugary soft drinks! It's usually things like Club or Penguin biscuits, chocolate bars, danish pastries and cake, etc.

scooby088

Another thing that the government is going to tax us on, we all know things are bad for us even breathing our oxygen is bad for us. I have no intention of giving up anything remotely with sugar it makes tea and coffee taste better and even chocolate too. If we stopped doing or eating things that were bad for us we wouldn't lead very fulfilling lives.

DigForVictory

Me, I'm finding staying off the "pick me ups" a load easier since I actually listened to my knee sounding like gravel in a blender.
I enjoyed Christmas a bit too much. My work trous are tight & my knee going upstairs? I can even hold a biscuit & think, "actually, um, no" & put it down!

WantToBeSE

I did it a few years ago and lost about a stone. I treated it like any other addiction, like smoking or drug taking. It is, in my opinion, just as dangerous (if not more so).

I felt AMAZING!

But then i fell off the wagon, gained the 1st back again and am yet to get back on the wagon. I desperately want to though.

EDIT- I made a thread about it. You can read about it here is you like http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.php?t=5155310

missbiggles1

heuchera wrote: »

Strangely, I don't have sugar in tea or coffee, and I hardly ever drink sugary soft drinks! It's usually things like Club or Penguin biscuits, chocolate bars, danish pastries and cake, etc.

Why not switch to darker, less sugary chocolate when buying that sort of thing.

For home baking, there are masses of sites offering recipes.

http://www.goodhousekeeping.co.uk/food/baking-recipes/the-best-low-sugar-baking-recipes