Addicted to sugar

[Vidgren]

Sugar and carbs are to me what alcohol and or heroine is to an addict.

I am afraid my motivation will fade and if so im right back where i started.

I have eaten alot of sugar while growing up and as an adult. I have always lived a somewhat active life and i have never been obese

Got my diagnose in may and have since minimized carbs and avoided sugar altogether. I eat lchf and i have lost 15kg My bloodsugar is never above 6.0 and everything is working great.

But..

Im still afraid i will sometime in the future relapse and start to eat sugar again..

What if?

Is it possible to live out the rest of my life on lowcarb?

Anyone else a sober sugaraddict?

 

[Guzzler]

Never say never. We are allowed a treat once in a while but armed with the knowledge of what sugary, carb heavy foods does to us we know enough not to let the very occasional treat become the first step in a slippery slope to addiction again.
Good evening, my name is Guzzler..... and I'm an addict.

 

[Mike d]

Anyone else a sober sugaraddict?

Simple answer is no ... can't stand sugars as I know what it (and heavy carbs) will do. 2 minute fix for 2 (or more) days of pain? No thank you. Hard as it might be, you must divorce D from a day to day life, set goals and stick to 'em

 

[serenity648]

I take it one day at a time.

 

[Just_Me_Rachel]

It's all fear. There's millions of what if's. This is just one of them. I live in fear of my future too, and like Serenity648 says, it's just for today. Today I'm okay. Today I'm where I'm supposed to be. Today. This moment. That's all I have.

Sent from my Moto G (4) using Diabetes.co.uk Forum mobile app

 

[Prem51]

My name is Prem, and I'm a sugarholic. I have been (mainly) sugar free for almost two years. I use sweeteners in tea and coffee now. I rarely eat sweets, chocolate, biscuits or cake. I don't miss them now. I have lost the taste for sugar, and it tastes strange when I do use it.
Can I do it for ever? I think I can. The alternative, the possibility of increasing amounts of medication, possibly having to inject, and diabetic complications are a great deterrent. And I quite like the things I eat and drink now.

 

[Sarah69]

Anyone else a sober sugaraddict?

Simple answer is no ... can't stand sugars as I know what it (and heavy carbs) will do. 2 minute fix for 2 (or more) days of pain? No thank you. Hard as it might be, you must divorce D from a day to day life, set goals and stick to 'em

Why would you be in pain?

 

[fairiesue]

Sorry to all you 100% strong non sugar eaters...we are all different. Some can do it easy, some take longer and some are hopless cases....thats me. I fight each day like you do but hell is a bad place to be! Please try no be so strong with your opinions guys we have no right to judge just encourage and support or simply ignore...xxx Scottish living in Rugby and it is tough enough.

 

[serenity648]

Sorry to all you 100% strong non sugar eaters...we are all different. Some can do it easy, some take longer and some are hopless cases....thats me. I fight each day like you do but hell is a bad place to be! Please try no be so strong with your opinions guys we have no right to judge just encourage and support or simply ignore...xxx Scottish living in Rugby and it is tough enough.

I have not noticed any judging. I am simply stating how I cope, as per the OP's post. We are all entitled to our opinions and our own reasons for what we do. That does not make us judgy or harsh in our opinions. Fact are facts. And the facts of what my diabetes may do to me if I continued to take in too many carbs are what keeps me on the straight and narrow.

 

[fairiesue]

Ok well with that reply you are giving a strong opinion. We all do at times BUT.... maybe a wee thought on how you reply to some people makes a difference when they are struggling through life with more than diabetes.......kindness goes a long way and it can help in so many ways...xxx

 

[serenity648]

Ok well with that reply you are giving a strong opinion. We all do at times BUT.... maybe a wee thought on how you reply to some people makes a difference when they are struggling through life with more than diabetes.......kindness goes a long way and it can help in so many ways...xxx

what was unkind about my posts? I am struggling day by day, sometimes hour by hour. That is not an unkind thing to say. What makes you think other posters on this thread are not also struggling with more than a diabetes diagnosis? Is calling myself and others who have replied on here judgement and unkind and opinionated a good thing? I do not consider sidestepping the issues around not addressing the complications of diabetes by continuing to eat and drink things which may elevate our blood sugars is a kind thing to do. That does not make my comments unkind or judgmental. I am rather puzzled by your stance on this.

 

[zand]

Carbs are addictive so most of us will have struggled with them at some point. The less you have them, the less you want them, so you suffer less from the addiction if you have less carbs. Right now I am struggling with trying to reduce my anti-depressant dose whilst not reverting to excess carbs. It won't help me at all if I give in to it, I will have to start again at square one. It's because I am not strong that I don't want to go through the cravings anymore, I don't want to make life harder for myself.

 

[luceeloo]

My brother is an addict, and his substance of choice is alcohol. He's not a functional alcoholic, but a self-destructive alcoholic.
Eight months ago he relapsed, and it hasn't been pretty. He's now, thankfully, on the road to recovery and as a family we've had a lot of learning to do... because rehabilitation is not just about the person within, it's about the external environment and all the people in it.
During this I have been involved in Al-Anon family support groups, and as a Psychology student I've been doing research on addiction.
I knew I was addicted to sugar, but it wasn't until recently that I realised how similar the addiction process is - the substance may be different, but the attachment and reasons for dependency are the same. We reach to these substances for comfort, and they become our answer in times of stress/angst/happiness/sadness. We find reasons to use them, and before we know it we have a deep emotional attachment to the feelings that our substance of choice brings us.

From a personal point of view, I know that I have to give up chocolate (My name is Luceeloo, I'm a chocolate and sugar addict and I am 8 days clean), but the thought of not eating my beloved cadbury's again... the substance that can cheer up a bad day, or make me feel guilty for having no control... the thought of not having that is something that I am only starting to accept.

 

[Prem51]

From a personal point of view, I know that I have to give up chocolate (My name is Luceeloo, I'm a chocolate and sugar addict and I am 8 days clean), but the thought of not eating my beloved cadbury's again... the substance that can cheer up a bad day, or make me feel guilty for having no control... the thought of not having that is something that I am only starting to accept.

@luceeloo I was like that too. My drug of choice was Cadburys Wholenut bars. I could eat one of those big (500gm ?) bars in an evening. I would eat two 4 finger KitKats with a cup of tea. I haven't eaten either for almost two years now. I have got to like dark chocolate with a high cocoa content, but don't usually have more than 4 squares.
I don't miss milk chocolate now and it tastes strange when I do have it very rarely.

 

[daisyduck]

If you stick with the LCHF for a while, going cold turkey on the sugar, hopefully you will find, like me that if you are tempted it tastes awful.
After a year on LCHF I won a Thorntons Easter egg. I ignored it for ages and then hubby opened it, so I had a small piece and promptly spit it out.. I couldn't believe how sickly sweet it tasted. I much prefer a few squares of dark choc now.. and I used to be a real milk choc fan !

 

[Chook]

Some people say they can't give up chips or pizza or cake - but my addiction was definitely choc covered confectionery. Turkish Delight, Bounty or Mars Bars - anything like that really. I used to like Milky Bar or Caramac but, even in those days, it tasted very sweet.

I, too, like dark choc now - Lindt 90% is my favourite - but I only have 20g at a time and thats enough - and even then its only once or twice a week now - it wouldn't bother me if I didn't eat it again but Mr Chook tends to buy me a bar every now and then as a 'treat'.

 

[zand]

Why would you be in pain?

Because sugar can cause inflammation and therefore you can get pains. I suffer joint pains if I don't low carb.

 

[zand]

@Vidgren well done on your progress so far. I have found that although I do backslide sometimes, the things I have when I backslide have gradually changed for the better. Yesterday's 'disaster' was having too many broad beans. I also try to think about if I really want to eat whatever it is, often I don't.

 

[Nicksu]

Try the herb Gymnema Sylvestra (I buy it off the internet - from Healthmonthly.co.uk). It is a herb traditionally used for diabetes - it directly affects you how you taste sugar also - you can't taste it like you used to, so therefore, how you can you crave something you can't really taste?

 

[Vidgren]

Thank you all for answering.

Its hard somedays but im going to make it.