Books, movies, tips that help one give up processed sugar?

[pearaffair]

I was doing *so* well! I had cut back on sugar significantly. I was avoiding bakeries and had asked for no chocolate in my Christmas stocking! Haha!

Then I got pregnant and the cravings + lack of willpower has made this very, very hard. I've fallen off the wagon but I'm wanting to get back on.

Ideas? Resources? Let's share!

 

[missy]

Re: Books, movies, tips that help one give up processed suga

Congratulations on your pregnancy pearaffair!

I wonder if you should allow yourself your cravings given your pregnancy. Some believe the cravings during this time tell you what your body needs. Having said that the only way I was able to break my sugar habit was to go cold turkey on all processed foods and added sugars. That is, one cannot completely eliminate all sugar from one's diet but you can sure eliminate a lot of it and by not eating anything that is processed or adding any sugar yourself that is the way to do it.

I found I could not allow myself any candy or processed foods and by doing that I was able to stop my sweet tooth cravings and believe me I was a sugar addict. I used to have a roll of Mentos before 9AM every day when I was in my 20s (30 years ago) and I just stopped. And stopped eating all that sweet crap and within a few weeks I didn't crave them anymore. Nowadays I do enjoy during special occasions baked goods etc in moderation and only during special times. And I have never gone back to that awful sugar cravings I had when I was younger. So for me just stopping COLD is what worked best. Because I had tried other times and nothing held except for when I just made it all verboten.

Good luck and wishing you an easy and healthy and happy pregnancy!

 

[pearaffair]

Re: Books, movies, tips that help one give up processed suga

Congratulations on your pregnancy pearaffair!

I wonder if you should allow yourself your cravings given your pregnancy. Some believe the cravings during this time tell you what your body needs. Having said that the only way I was able to break my sugar habit was to go cold turkey on all processed foods and added sugars. That is, one cannot completely eliminate all sugar from one's diet but you can sure eliminate a lot of it and by not eating anything that is processed or adding any sugar yourself that is the way to do it.

I found I could not allow myself any candy or processed foods and by doing that I was able to stop my sweet tooth cravings and believe me I was a sugar addict. I used to have a roll of Mentos before 9AM every day when I was in my 20s (30 years ago) and I just stopped. And stopped eating all that sweet crap and within a few weeks I didn't crave them anymore. Nowadays I do enjoy during special occasions baked goods etc in moderation and only during special times. And I have never gone back to that awful sugar cravings I had when I was younger. So for me just stopping COLD is what worked best. Because I had tried other times and nothing held except for when I just made it all verboten.

Good luck and wishing you an easy and healthy and happy pregnancy!

I suspect you're right, cold turkey may be best!

Thanks for your kindness
I am definitely giving in to food cravings and making certain that I'm getting healthy foods in me before I go for the sugar. But I have not the best teeth (despite excellent oral hygiene) so I do want to try my best to stay away from sugar.

An excellent documentary about sugar is called "Sugar Coated". Maybe I will watch it again!

 

[momhappy]

Re: Books, movies, tips that help one give up processed suga

There are no books, movies, tips that would make me give up sugar entirely I believe that moderation is key. Often times, we set ourselves up for failure with a strict approach. I find that allowing myself a "treat" from time to time is enough to cure cravings while minimizing overall consumption.

 

[Matata]

Re: Books, movies, tips that help one give up processed suga

Pearaffair congrats on your pregnancy. In addition to what the others have said -- I found that a combination of healthy eating and exercise works for me. I am a sugar addict. If I go off the wagon, I go waaaay off and it takes me awhile to get centered again. During sugar withdrawal I grow fangs, claws, my eyes bug out my head, my head feels like it will explode, and I lose the ability to speak, reduced only to snarling and growling for communication. It's ugly, very very ugly. Withdrawal takes about 2 wks after which, if I keep up the exercise and healthy eating, my cravings for sugar go away. There's something about exercise that makes my body reject sugary foods. Trouble is, whenever I hit an emotional hiccup, I go off the wagon and I haven't found a sure-fire solution for that yet.

 

[missy]

Re: Books, movies, tips that help one give up processed suga

Pearaffair congrats on your pregnancy. In addition to what the others have said -- I found that a combination of healthy eating and exercise works for me. I am a sugar addict. If I go off the wagon, I go waaaay off and it takes me awhile to get centered again. During sugar withdrawal I grow fangs, claws, my eyes bug out my head, my head feels like it will explode, and I lose the ability to speak, reduced only to snarling and growling for communication. It's ugly, very very ugly. Withdrawal takes about 2 wks after which, if I keep up the exercise and healthy eating, my cravings for sugar go away. There's something about exercise that makes my body reject sugary foods. Trouble is, whenever I hit an emotional hiccup, I go off the wagon and I haven't found a sure-fire solution for that yet.

Excellent point! Exercise is KEY IMO to keeping the sugar monster at bay. From a former sugar addict I agree completely with Matata's statement regarding exercise and healthy eating. It really does help and in fact is necessary to be able to RESIST. Haha doing a lot of RESISTING (and not food related!) lately!

 

[momhappy]

Re: Books, movies, tips that help one give up processed suga

Yes, I agree that exercise is a critical component. I work out to maintain my weight, build muscle, etc., which also means that I don't have to feel guilty about occasional sweet treats. I've earned them

 

[Calliecake]

Re: Books, movies, tips that help one give up processed suga

Pear Affair, Congratulations on your pregnancy! Enjoy this special and wonderful time in your life. I have nothing to help you out with the sugar addiction. I'm reading the thread for tips myself. Sugar is my vice.

 

[redwood66]

Re: Books, movies, tips that help one give up processed suga

Congrats on your pregnancy! I am also a sugar addict and need to cut it off completely. I am fearing the withdrawal and headache that will ensue like Matata said.

 

[pearaffair]

Re: Books, movies, tips that help one give up processed suga

Thanks for all the good ideas, everyone!

My main concern was my teeth and now it is baby + teeth! I am going to try to eat lots of healthy food to ensure that I don't get snacky from missing out on nutrition. According to the book "Eat to Live", that strategy may help.

 

[azstonie]

Re: Books, movies, tips that help one give up processed suga

Congratulations on your pregnancy!

I feel ya on the processed sugar issue. I fell off the sugar wagon in December and it was a steep and speedy decline into full-on addiction. I'm clawing my way back to sanity, starting with no candy. I can control that. Then no high fructose corn syrup. That is hard because its in almost all processed foods.

Good luck to you and go easy on yourself!

 

[distracts]

Re: Books, movies, tips that help one give up processed suga

Oh man, I've never had to do this while pregnant, but I gave up most processed sugar about 7 years ago because it greatly increases my anxiety/depression. It turns out that after having barely eaten any for years and years, I can't tolerate more than small amounts without getting a wicked stomachache - like the other day I had a more-sugary-than-usual cheesecake and was miserable - and I find it way too sweet. If something has sugar in it, I can taste almost nothing BUT the sugar. So at this point it's pretty easy for me to avoid it.

But what worked in the beginning:

- pick something you really like that you can have whenever you crave processed sugar. I love cheese and crackers. And cheese crackers like Cheez Its, which may not count if you're avoiding ALL processed foods.

- eat fruit! See if you can find a fruit that satisfies the sugar fix. For me, blueberries and grapes do. Some apples like honeycrisps can.

- if you are fine with milk, there are plenty of no-sugar-added ice creams that use just the milk as a sweetener. To people who eat sugar they don't taste sweet but they taste really sweet when you haven't had sugar in a while.

- find a bakery that makes sweets using alternative sweeteners! I am lucky in that there is one very near me that I can walk to. For you it might be more of a distance. But it's super worth it to know if you reallllly want cupcakes you can get a whole batch made with agave or whatever.

- if you're absolutely going to break, do it small. I like peanut m&ms because they're primarily peanut. I can tolerate very small serving sizes of sugar without experiencing negative symptoms. Don't go all-in and eat an entire box of oreos in one sitting! See if you can make cupcakes with one-third the sugar in the recipe, or find a low-sugar recipe (this is extra good because no one else will like them, which leaves them all for you!).

As you can see, my solutions revolve less around sheer willpower and more about redirecting cravings. If I don't have diversions set up, if I think it's "no sweets or I've failed," I do always fail. The other key for me is to have a mapped-out plan for a failure that is easy to recover from, versus a weeklong binge on candy bars.

 

[telephone89]

Re: Books, movies, tips that help one give up processed suga

I just saw this and thought of this thread

 

[distracts]

Re: Books, movies, tips that help one give up processed suga

Also this thread has made me crave sugar something awful.