Sugar "addiction"

Sanglunaria

To sum it up briefly: I frequently find myself feeling absolutely miserable/cranky and feeling rather anxious(?) if I don't consume something (or a few things) sugary (candy, cookies, cake, etc.) everyday. It's not really a problem because I don't gain weight from it all, but at the same time, it can't be good if I feel like I'm "dependent" on sugar.

Admittedly, I don't have the best lifestyle around- the only exercise I really get is the walking that I do on college campus to get to classes. I don't really binge eat sugar like finishing a whole box of oreos in one day, but we'll just say that I definitely eat more junk food than what's recommended.

But on the other hand, I have an Asian metabolism, so I'm pretty much constantly hungry. And on top of that, when I eat meals, I eat fairly healthy (i.e., home cooked Chinese when I'm home for breaks, and while I'm at school I do a good job avoiding the burgers/fries/pizzas- actually weigh a lot less now than I did in high school).

So basically I tried to stop eating so much sugar a few times for about a week each time, and trying to substitute it with healthier things like fruits and cereal, but that just never seems to satisfy my hunger pangs and always left me feeling rather dull.

Does anyone else feel this way/have any suggestions? :\
 
From my knowledge, Sugar is not techincally addictive, but I know the brain produces a chemical that makes it seem like it is addictive.

I'm more of a soda addict (combo of both sugar and caffeine...eek!). I've tried cold turkey, worst days of my life. I find myself drinking soda...just to get a buzz or something.

I eat healthy...just drink a lot of soda (A LOT).

Trust me, I'm in your position...almost.

EDIT: Oops I forgot the suggestion. Weaning is the best. Cold turkey will just encourage you to continue the bad habit.
 
If I was you, I'd try to slowly wean yourself off the sugary snacks. Try setting yourself strict limits on the amount of junk food you have, and maybe try to eat fruit instead or something since you seem so dependant on snacks
 
I feel the same way, but with salt as well. It got me addicted to koolaid, jerky, and thankfully fruit/carrots and its a good thing i don't like candy or soda!

My suggestion: Crave your unfathomable sugar lust with fruit instead of process, your on the right track. Good for the digestion!
 
I was in a similar position...in fact I still am to a degree. I'd just demolish chocolate and milkshake and whatever other sugary goodness I could get a hold of. Once the sugar rush had faded away, I'd feel really down and worthless, so I'd just eat more until the point that I felt really fat and worthless.

I found the best way to wean myself was to just keep myself busy. The only times I really wanted to go on a sugar rush was when I had nothing better to do. It also helped that I started trying to get fit at around that time period so I was granted an added incentive to lay off the sugar.

It's a depressing circle, but I never considered giving up sugar altogether for a second. Sugar gets a bad rap in the media, but humans have been consuming it for thousands of years! All things in moderation.
 
i'd suggest fruits too. a few fruits with a lot of sugar in them are cherries, apples, mangoes, grapes and pears. these wouldn't have insanely high sugar contents like candy or cookies but if you eat a lot of grapes and cherries or a couple apples a day you will probably start to become less dependent on sugar. you have to control the urge to consume those foods too though. its a combination of will power and letting your body get back to its natural state
 
blackshellbowser said:
I'm more of a soda addict (combo of both sugar and caffeine...eek!). I've tried cold turkey, worst days of my life. I find myself drinking soda...just to get a buzz or something.
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ya me too, i drink like a case of coke a day :/ although ive been really good lately since ive stopped drinking at work (about 2 litres a night, thats in addition to what i drink off work, so it can be like 4 litres in a 24 hour period :S).
 
Give up high fructose corn syrup drinks and beverages is a great way to lower you sugar intake.

Start eating dried pineapple. It basically the healthiest way to consume sugar if you need it. But its so sugary you will grow sick of sugar I promise you.

ya me too, i drink like a case of coke a day
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Did you know coke kills freedom fighters in Brazil that try to stop coke from stealing there land from them and paying there employees something around .50 cents an hour.
Coke a Cola is basically one of the worst company's ever to exist on earth. They kill people and they produce food produces with no nutritional value. Just to let you know.

That was mad preachy wasn't it?
 
The closest thing to a sugar addiction I have is a craving for chocolate if I don't eat anything containing it for a few days. However, I do eat chocolatey stuff as if it wasn't loaded with empty calories but it doesn't appear to affect me. At any rate, I generally hate drinks with a high sugar content so that's not a problem.
 
Ambitions said:
Start eating dried pineapple. It basically the healthiest way to consume sugar if you need it. But its so sugary you will grow sick of sugar I promise you.
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i can't believe i forgot to add pineapples! on a side note, growing sick of sugar wont cure the craving. your body and mind will still want it even if you are getting sick from it.
 
To add to that point of growing sick of sugar, I'd like to say to remember that the body needs a moderate amount of sugar to keep the brain stimulated. Stop having that sugar, and you'll find yourself with an extreme lack of energy.

On the other hand, too much sugar can give you too much energy at once, and less energy for every other time. It can also make you feel incredibly tense, which feels really nasty.

Really, the best way is to find a balance, because this isn't a habit that you can just get rid of, like biting your nails, since your body doesn't need fingernails digested to be healthy. You actually need sugar to live, and it's quite hard to concentrate if you don't have a good amount.

Going cold turkey with anything is a bad idea really, because your body really needs time to get used to things. Don't do that, just don't. Like everyone else has said, it just doesn't work.

Yeah, so I like that suggestion about eating fruits, since they have natural sugars, and I second it.

Heh, if you're a soda addict, I'd just start buying healthier drinks in a can. At least they still look like pop, so you still get that natural feel when you're drinking it! I'm quite a lover of V8 and Minute Maid. Those are some awesome healthy drinks in a can.
 
I used to eat candy a lot, then my uncle bought me like 100 candies, and he made me eat them all. X.x I don't really like candy now. Also I've replaced sugury drinks with protein shakes, and candy bars with protein bars. :)
 
I basically have a sugar free diet.

Its all about wanting to take care of you body. Take pride in your health. When you healthy, strong, physically fit and you know it, thats when your like " O yeah, thats why I gave up sugar, that was so fucking easy"

Plus you start going to whole foods and really hot chicks work there and they think your super smart when you know alot about health.

Just give up sugar.....its that easy.

EDIT: But I have given up Drugs, Alcohol, Animal Products, and HFCS....maybe Im just a super human or some shit. (The last sentence is a joke)
 
Sometimes when i'm thirsty I really feel like having a cordial over water. I use this to tell me that my blood sugar has droped below a certain level. That doesn't make me addicted does it :S
 
Seconding Lee's notion that the best way to avoid it is to keep busy. I have a bit of a problem with having too much sugar myself, and I find myself eating something sweet pretty frequently if I have nothing to do. If I'm busy I almost always end up eating less sugar.
 
It's called "Self Control." Whether your addiction is physical or psychological, you can beat it by making the decision to deal with any side effects and not give in. I know it sounds stupid to say, but that's really the only way to break a habit like this.

For the first bit, you'll be very cranky, hungry and unsatisfied with meals. However, once you get your body accustomed to it, you probably won't ever want to go back.

I quit drinking soda in college because I was playing soccer on scholarship and soda is not only bad for you in all kinds other ways, but its also a diarrhetic. That means it actually causes your body to lose more water that you are taking in. That's really bad when you work out 3-4 hours a day, 5-6 days a week.

So while I used to drink soda at lunch and dinner, I cut it completely out of my diet. After the season was over, I never went back because I discovered that food tastes SO much better with cool, clean water washing over the tongue instead of sugary syrup that alters the flavor of everything. Soda is just too sugary for me most of the time now and its definitely helped me physically to get it out of my diet.

So just make the decision and stick with it. You can do it. And when its over you'll be happier and healthier for sure.
 
Starbucks, anyone?

I've always had a distaste for chocolate and candy, but lately, I've found myself craving. =/ Perhaps bologo is right.
 
I have been fortunate enough to have two paretns who are crazed with being healthy. Of course, I still eat some junk food, although any junk food in my house is either: low fat, low sugar, baked, organic, etc.. so it is healthier than average junk food.

I also grew up on either fruit juice (my current fav. being the V8 splash) or water. The first time I ever drank soda was at a friends birthday party, and soda is something that is never found in my house.

So basically, sugar is something that hasn't really been a problem in my life, and I can easily say that I am not addicted to it.

Except for chocolate. I absolutely love chocolate, but I am still not addicted to that since I can easily go for weeks without eating any. (but if it is there in front of me, then I see no reason not to eat it)
 
Kira said:
I also grew up on either fruit juice (my current fav. being the V8 splash) or water. The first time I ever drank soda was at a friends birthday party, and soda is something that is never found in my house.

So basically, sugar is something that hasn't really been a problem in my life, and I can easily say that I am not addicted to it.
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You don't seem to realise how mush sugar is in fruit drinks :S In some cases it's more than common soft drinks!

Harvey fresh orange juice. energy per 100 ml's -- 190 kjs
Coke, energy per 100 ml's ---------------------------180 kjs

Said juice, sugar per 100 ml's -----------------------11g
Coke, sugar per 100 ml's ----------------------------10.6g
 
Well I meant artificial sugar. Soda is flavored with artificial sweeteners, while fruit juice (no sugar added) has natural sugar.

And I do drink water more than fruit juice.

Still, maybe I am actually addicted to sugar... damn. Ok now I will have to see how long I can go without drinking that stuff.

Although anyway you put it, fj is much healthier for you than soda.
 
Agamemnon said:
i have to have something sweet after dinner to satisfy me.

@sanglunaria: what school do you go to?
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Virginia Tech. Pretty big campus (with 26,000 people, you'd need a big campus) and lots of walking around, if that's what you're trying to get at.

I guess I forgot to mention one very critical thing: I hardly ever drink soda. I think on average, I drink one or two 12 oz. cans a month at most.

Heh, seeing Kira's avatar reminded me of how much sugar L ate in Death Note... and justified it by saying the brain burns the most calories. :3

But anyway, not to shoot down a lot of the given suggestions, but I -am- busy pretty much all the time. Like, it's very, very rare for me to catch myself doing/thinking about nothing. I guess what I'm trying to say is that even when I'm occupied, my hunger still beats me on the upside of the head.
 
I pretty much only have chocolate once a year, in easter. I LOVE chocolate but could live without it for a ridiculous amount of time. It is just self-control.
Since I've got a job I've been paranoid about junk food, cholesterol[sic] and etcetera for I have few options aside from unhealthy food. I always refuse fries, sodas and ask for salads(and dude I hate salad), grilled chicken and things like that. I don't know if I am on the right track or if it does not matter but at least it makes me feels better.

When you eat or do something that makes you super happy, like sugary stuff, your brain produces a hormone which makes you feel great. Maybe you could find something else healthy that you love to eat? Also going by the general consensus that moderation is the best way to go.
 
Odinwolf said:
It's called "Self Control." Whether your addiction is physical or psychological, you can beat it by making the decision to deal with any side effects and not give in. I know it sounds stupid to say, but that's really the only way to break a habit like this.
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self control can work for mild physical addictions but a strong addiction can not be cured by willpower alone. if your body starts to depend on a substance heavily you need to detox your system.
 
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