How To Cut Suggar And Over-eating ?

[Lynnel]

I'm quite addicted to suggar, and constantly eating in general.

It has never caused any trouble short term because my metabolism is pretty insane, but I feel like it's seriously negative for my health overall and since any addiction is bad for your happiness, I wondered if anyone solved the problem here.

Being in meditation for a long period of time helps because you're not as stimulated anymore, but otherwise, I couldn't find a short term solution.

[cly]

I think drinking kombucha everyday has helped me. I think it takes away sugar craving, and it really is low sugar.. There are many more benefits too. 

[Phocus]

Think about the level of satiation that you're experiencing when you eat.  After you eat a meal, do you feel full and satisfied?  I had/have similar cravings but I noticed that when I switched to a plant-based diet that these cravings were reduced greatly.  If I eat some kind of sugary junk food, I tend to want it more.  If I eat a large balanced meal that doesn't contain processed/refined garbage, I am full and satisfied and don't think about it as much.

Perhaps also analyze the conditions that are present when you experience those cravings.  I know lots of time people get bored and eat out of habit or for entertainment.

[Siman]

My experience is that becoming aware through mindfullness really helps. I currently eat a lot of vegetables, with a fallback once in a while (don't get to dissapointed by a fallback and get back on track). Remove easy acces to food and for transition use some better backup foods. I've had apples for a while, which i did not love, but i found ok to eat. When i got hungry or had a need for food i took an apple. Or you could take 10 deep breaths before eating and take  a conscious moment to think if you really need tot eat, or just feel to eat. Learn to listen to your body.

And you could ask people to help you remind you that you are on a diet. I caught myself off guard while eating with family or friends. It's easy to get seduced, when in low consciousness (like me). Don't know if this applies to you, but maybe it helps.

I really loved Leo's video with the message that people with a strong mind do not get seduced by food for pleasure. It's weak!

Although it might be hard (at first)  you'll be proud when you'll succeed. You can do it!

 

Edited February 22, 2016 by Siman

[Who is batman]

Best solution is to not buy it at all.Get rid all junk from your home and dont get any of it in your home and change those with fruits.Good thing you can do when your cravings are very high, is to ask yourself: How does this shit serve me? why would i eat junk to feel like junk? and you can think up many other things about that food

[Gabrielle]

I've been sugar free for a couple of months now. I can say it took a LONG time before I even considered it a possible lifestyle. Once I moved beyond that phase, the sugar free lifestyle was literally all I WANTED. And yes, I've heard a million times, as I'm sure you have, starting out is the hardest part, right? Hell Yes!! That is correct sir, LOL.

But I'm being honest and coming from a place of addiction that may be similar to yours (gas station diet), it is such a CHOICE. A f***ing piece of sh*t choice that seems impossible until, what I HONESTLY believe the secret is, enough miserable time has passed. Then it's literally me sitting at my dining table laughing at how douchey my dinner is. And guess what?? Not only am I enjoying this ridiculous roasted veggie and sprouts (yes, I know..) taco, I'm enjoying it more than I've enjoyed anything I was eating while addicted to added sugars. Please trust a recent former full blown sugar addict, there is a detox period that is uncomfortable. Embrace that discomfort batman, I know you can! AND I know that if you are here on this forum, you know why that embrace is important.

Just a brief look at my detox experience

Jan 1: NEW YEAR NEW YOU mentality bull everybody shamelessly joins, and I'm one of them. I watch the documentaries That Sugar Film and Fed Up, you may be familiar and if not you should look into them. I recommend watching after you begin a healthier diet, it will resonate more with your subconscious without a defense mechanism in place.

Jan 4: Feeling like shit during a green smoothie cleanse that started on the first, I'm tired and lethargic. Also in exciting late breaking developments I find I'm backed up. I take my "healthy" fiber gummie chew supplement for digestive health. Within minutes I find myself googling the adverse effects of eating more than the recommended dosage. I talk myself out of eating more than the already extra serving I've excused myself. Now onto anything and everything else.

STOP! I consider the fact that, yes, I feel shitty, but for some reason have been capable of sticking through with this smoothie cleanse thus far... So WTF?! Can the minuscule amount of added sugar in those supplements be what's causing this distraction toward craving? YES B**CH (I told myself). And Yes B**CH, I was right.

Jan 5th: Okay.... I guess I'm going to get pretty anal about ingredients lists'.... let's do this. NO ADDED SUGARS. I'm straight up THAT person at the grocery store.

Jan 6th- lets say the 16th: Hell. Get familiar with your big picture because accepting that sh*t is going to suck right now is how I got through what I consider my sugar detox process. Do yourself this favor because you as a human being 100% deserve to feel the clarity and overall enjoyment of food that comes from ridding your diet of fake sheeeett that you've been conditioned to view as normal or even healthy. I know if I can do it, literally anybody can (shall I remind you of my gas station diet from merely weeks ago???).

 

Now this is all preference, but I eat primarily raw fruits and veggies throughout the day and an animal protein a couple of times a week. My HOLY GRAIL has been the sweet potato/Yam. I never even liked them before! Now? That's my candy, that's my desert!! As much as you may find this unbelievable or unrealistic, trust me honey I've been there. And I can't believe sometimes how far I've come thanks to avoiding added sugar. YAMS YOUR MY BOY!!!!

OMG and I like cinnamon now, WTF is happening to my tongue!?  I Love It and you will too, batman,  

Love & Light

Gabrielle

Edited February 25, 2016 by Gabrielle

[David]

@Gabrielle your post was very enjoyable to read and genuine! Big kudos to for your success and taking the time to help another member. 

[Guest]

I would consider my way as the most effective one to cut sugar. I started to drink water. Lots of water. Tell yourself that water is healthy. If you drink a little more than 2 liters of water a day you don't really have the time to drink anything else. In other words: Don't ever drink something like a soft drink. Even juice is dangerous. It really has much sugar. You can't tell yourself that by drinking juice you can substitue eating real fruits. If you compare the amount of sugar in an orange with a big glass of orange juice you would be surprised. You have to realize that all your cravings probably result from a higher blood sugar level. Few tips:

1. Vegetables don't have so much sugar like fruits

2. Whole grain doesn't taste so good but it is better than white bread because of its more complex carbohydrates.

3. Don't put sugar in your tea (I could kill my parents for still doing it)

4. Create an environment where you don't have so much access to sugar. When you are still living with your parents, tell them to buy less sugary stuff.

5. Realize that diabetes is a true thing. Many people suffer from it.

6. (This might be a very huge one, but it is still not 100% sure) Consider the fact that many people die because of cancer. Cancer cells have the characteristic that they usually have unlimited sugar intake rate which might result in faster growth of those cells.

 

 

[Hunter Arrington]

On 2/25/2016 at 8:25 PM, Gabrielle said:

Now this is all preference, but I eat primarily raw fruits and veggies throughout the day and an animal protein a couple of times a week. My HOLY GRAIL has been the sweet potato/Yam. I never even liked them before! Now? That's my candy, that's my desert!! As much as you may find this unbelievable or unrealistic, trust me honey I've been there. And I can't believe sometimes how far I've come thanks to avoiding added sugar. YAMS YOUR MY BOY!!!!

 

What is this yam you speak of? I love sweet potatoes also...what are some ways you make them? 

[Phocus]

@Gabrielle Agreed, amazing post.

[Dhana Choko]

Becoming aware of every situation where you eat a lot of sugar, is very important. And even if you have a huge craving and if you buy that soda or sweets, then eat it with full consciousness. Every piece one by one and be fully present to your experience, all the emotions and thoughts that go in your head and just be there and watch how you eat. When you do this, remember to be present only to those sweets - so no tv, music, phone, no otjer conversation, quiet space alone is best. Only you and the candy/soda/sugar.

Also when you go to a supermarket, go in to the most sugary aile there where you usually buy your favourite things and just stand there. Look at every single candy bar, name them in your head, observe the colours, tag lines, go through the aisle one by one (yes it will take time :D) and let all the emotions come to you, memories, all the needs and "I wants" and judgements and just everything and just Watch yourself and be patient, gentle and stay in the observing state. Then when you feel calm, leave the store and do not buy anything. 

These exercises are very powerful. Watch what happens in your life after this.

 

[Lynnel]

It's been an entire month without sugar and I don't miss it anymore.

I only eat healthy, almost perfectly healthy. The most not healthy thing I ate was a bit of mayonnaise.

Leo's video about awareness being curative helped a lot !

[egoeimai]

Sugar causes cancer. Good for you that you got rid of it. See a post of mine about cancer I have recently posted. It ecplains everything .

[Huxley]

On 2/24/2016 at 7:22 PM, Who is batman said:

Best solution is to not buy it at all.

I know this sounds very logical, but this is a great solution, however a challenging one. Sugar is in everything, but once you start by leaving out the snacks, cookies, and the obvious usual suspects, this can help a great deal. What this creates is not a perfect situation in which you don't eat sugar anymore, but what it does do is bring awareness about what you buy. Just like counting calories on a site such as Myfitnesspal; it creates a sense of accountability. 

I do not have any sweets in the house, nor anything like juice, jelly, or other hidden-in-plain-sight sugar products. For ym hot drinks I use Stevia or something similar. But what I do have is actual sugar in the cupboard, that when I do really have a craving, I'll add it to a peanut butter sandwich. I am aware of the amount of sugar, the act of eating it, and I don't feel tempted to drive across town to the local DQ to get a nice quarter gallon Cookies 'n Cream Blizzard (yum). So the damage is limited, physically, but also mentally. 

The tips here are great, drinking water, creating awareness, shop selectively. Knowing that you are addicted is the biggest step you have made. Take it from a fellow addict, sometimes I still go on a donut run and shamelessly devour them even before I get home. But then, I get up again, back to my Kale shakes and workout regiment, which i enjoy tremendously. 

[Lynnel]

@Huxley I'd argue that if you have force yourself not to buy it not to avoid eating it you are still addicted, because the product still alters your behaviour although in a different way.

You are truly free only if it exists, even in your kitchen and there is no desire to consume it.

[Siim Land]

The reason why you get sugar cravings is that the body is in an energy crisis. 

The functions of sugar cravings: 

• Prevent hypoglycemia
• Maintain an energy balance

What's the solution? Teaching your body how to burn its own stored body fat for fuel. Therefore, you shall be less hungry and will have access to constant energy. A short period of ketogenic eating acts like a sugar detox that resets your taste buds and creates these fat burning pathways in your metabolism.

I've also created a nice explanatory video about this.
 

 

[Huxley]

On 8/20/2016 at 10:56 AM, Lynnel said:

@Huxley I'd argue that if you have force yourself not to buy it not to avoid eating it you are still addicted, because the product still alters your behaviour although in a different way.

You are truly free only if it exists, even in your kitchen and there is no desire to consume it.

Yes this is true. I consider myself an addict when it comes to sugar. I will not only create an awareness around sugar consumption, but also keep myself on my toes regarding the consumption of sugar. The result may be that concequently the urge for sugar seizes to exist.

For me, I do not have any weight issues, I do not eat large amounts on a daily basis. But I do want to keep sugar coonsumption in check purely out of preventive motives. So will I ever truely be free? I may or may not. But in the meantime I do create some boundaries that help me cut out potentional sugar consumption. 

[Superwoman]

On 02.03.2016 at 2:18 PM, Dhana Choko said:

Becoming aware of every situation where you eat a lot of sugar, is very important. And even if you have a huge craving and if you buy that soda or sweets, then eat it with full consciousness. Every piece one by one and be fully present to your experience, all the emotions and thoughts that go in your head and just be there and watch how you eat. When you do this, remember to be present only to those sweets - so no tv, music, phone, no otjer conversation, quiet space alone is best. Only you and the candy/soda/sugar.

Also when you go to a supermarket, go in to the most sugary aile there where you usually buy your favourite things and just stand there. Look at every single candy bar, name them in your head, observe the colours, tag lines, go through the aisle one by one (yes it will take time :D) and let all the emotions come to you, memories, all the needs and "I wants" and judgements and just everything and just Watch yourself and be patient, gentle and stay in the observing state. Then when you feel calm, leave the store and do not buy anything. 

These exercises are very powerful. Watch what happens in your life after this.

 

3

Hi Dhana, are you a psychologist? It's seemed like I had an expert consultation with you  Thanks for the powerful exercises! I want to make use of them!!!

 

[Schulzy]

Its really hard to get off sugar because its really addictive. Best thing you can do is slowly eat less and less. I still eat from time to time.

[Alex4]

to me it has been a long journey to cut sugar. I gradually reduced the consume, with diferents periods of time where I consumed more and others I consumed less. Now I only eat sugar if I have a meeting with friends and there is junk food on the table.

My advice would be eat as much as you want but healthy and also do sport. if you dont like sport dont eat that much.