Sugar Junkies - support needed page 5

[MamaGrok]

Thanks for saying that clearly, Leida. I had a screaming todder keep me up last night, and am too sleepy to be typing. I think that when hunger reduces naturally, skipping/reducing/delaying meals can be safe & helpful, but forcing it is dangerous to someone with a bingeing history.

[magnolia1973]

For me, I haven't been able to give up sugar, but have drastically reduced my consumption. Every day I have a teaspoon or two in my coffee and every night I have either chocolate or ice cream, plus I eat fruit. I maybe eat 1 large chocolate bar or a pint of ice cream a week, plus what, 10-14 teaspoons in my coffee.

I have not had binges since starting, but then again have never full eliminated the sugar. However I eat far less than before. It used to be more like 1-2 tablespoons in my coffee, and then probably 3-4 portions of other sweets a day. And I have emptied a bag of mini candies on many, many occasions.

I'm not a big believer in full on eliminating foods, though that is what I had to do with wheat.

[BestBetter]

03-24-2012

"Sugar is SO the problem. If you don't understand this, you just don't get it and likely never will. Good luck paying your own medical bills, I will vote against health care reform. I won't pay for your stupidity."

Fiercehunter, do you recognize the above quote? It's one of your hundreds of anti-carb, anti-sugar gems from Choco's post. Here's another:

"I ate a low omega 6 diet--no nuts whatsoever mostly-- throughout the 2000s, ate TONS of wild salmon- a can a day almost from 2002. I ate very little soy from 2004 to the present. In 2008 one day one of my lower teeth chipped off & I had adult acne in early 30s & some body fat problems beginning in my mid 30s. What caused it? Sugar and grains of course, in MODEST semi primal amounts."

Not really sure why you felt the need to post in this thread.

[Leida]

Checking in at the start of yet another day of fighting sugar... Fingers crossed!

[ShannonCC]

This is like barging into an AA meeting and shouting, "Lighten up, a$$holes; have a glass of wine every day for the heart!"

LOL! Thanks for the laugh MamaGrok, that was a good one (and true!)

Thank for all the support here everyone That was me having a two day temper tantrum and getting over the hump I guess. It's been easier since. So a week and a half of having to talk myself down every single day, then two days of $%^%$^ and since then . . . I'm fine. I haven't had to talk myself down once since then. Of course we'll see what happens the next time PMS hits . . . Or winter, when I usually have problems with depression.

When I started primal I went 3 months without refined sugar and thought I had a handle on it and that I was ok to have a treat now and again. So I did and within a week I was back to eating sugar every day. So this time I know that I just can't. For whatever reason, my body has no control over sugar and I really want to do my best to try and accept that (even though it really sucks).

I've had a sweet tooth my entire life, but it's gotten worse with age. Or maybe pregnancy. Things did get substantially worse after my second pregnancy (with my plus size baby boy - huge baby but nope, no gestational diabetes, he just took after my side of the family). So maybe it was a hormonal pregnancy thing for me, I don't know.

Of course he's 10 now so you'd think it would have gotten better but I guess whatever hormonal changes pregnancy make don't just disappear on their own.

And for those who mentioned, yes, I am taking care of my emotional health too. I won't bore people with the details but this past year and a half I've made a lot of progress on that front (after a lifetime of lying to myself and saying I was fine).

So thanks for the support and for listening to my rant.

[fiercehunter]

I think the emphasis should be on learning to eat primally. Sugar is not the devil and is not this addictive food everyone says it is; in fact, it may be necessary for health.
Glucose and sucrose for diabetes.

I used to feel bad for years about putting a few sweets in my cart when I went shopping but now I get that it's normal and healthy to eat some sugar- it's not the white death, toxic, the cause of obesity yada yada yada and all we've heard the last few years.

[Sooze]

Ohhh.. I'm so glad I read through this whole thread. I got a lot out of it- so glad there are others of you fighting the sugar battle every day. I'll be checking in with you all! I fight the binge monster on a daily basis. My 2 biggest weaknesses are cold cereal with milk and sugar of any kind. It seems like cereal grains are the absolute worst for me in terms of making me feel the "autoimmune" sh!tstorm of migraines, chronic fatigue and the like.

I went primal in January but have not yet been able to commit for longer than a couple of weeks' stretch of grain free, and have not yet gotten through a full week without at least ice cream. My rationale was that at least Ben & Jerry's has completely grain free flavors, and so I would get one that is made with real cream, no artifical ingredients. No joke, I started out with one a week as my "80/20" cheat day, and slowly increased to where I was eating 4 pints a week! My weight seems to maintain fine with that much ice cream, as long as I eat primally otherwise, but I can't get the sugar monster to quiet down. I will go several days and feel wonderful, and then feel that urge to binge.

Like others, having read your thoughts, I think when I am full also seems to trigger me. But also any day that I am irritable or extra tired, I want to dive face first into food!

[BestBetter]

I have a history of binge-eating, mainly focused on sugar, which is now in remission. I still have times when the urge is too strong for me, and I cave, but there are some differences now:

1) I don't let myself feel guilty afterwards. This is huge. Instead of beating myself up, which really just reinforces the emotional connection to food, I try to think about it objectively: "I ate too much of...and now my stomach i killing me. This is the physical feeling I want to keep in mind next time I'm tempted to eat this way again." instead of, "I'm a terrible worthless person for giving in." I've found that demonizing myself is the surest guarantee that I'll be binge-eating again in the near future, because what's the quickest way to feel better when you're miserable or stressed? Sugar, of course!

2) If I have to have something sweet, I try to make sure that it's something that will do the least damage possible. I have some rules for myself: no omega 6 crap oils, no gluten, low fiber (I have IBS, and fiber really wreaks havoc on my system). I keep these rules in mind when I'm selecting something to eat. This usually means I have a difficult time finding something 'appropriate' and as time goes by, i lose my desire for a quick sugar fix. Or I do find something, and it does less damage than eating, say a dozen doughnuts from Dunkin'.

[fiercehunter]

Just learn to eat 70-100 grams of protein a day, add good fats and fruits and vegetables.... I personally think labelling the desire to eat sugar which is natural as an "addiction" locks you in a box mentally. It's a negative focus that has a time wasting quality to it- doesn't it make more sense to use your time to learn to eat primally than "battling" something that honestly isn't a problem except for what you have been brainwashed to believe thanks to the media? That is my take on it.

The "sugar is bad" thing started back in the day with the low carb/high protein movement & books like Sugar Busters. Yeah, get the sugar out, right. Uh huh..... It's bad to binge, bad to eat sugar, sugar is the white death and on and on. I've been semi primal over a decade already, since the late 90s, and what helped me was learning to eat animal protein & moderate low carb- The Zone, though yeah I know that diet sucks and has things wrong with it.

If you don't tolerate sugar though and crave it that is a sign of impaired metabolism, insulin resistance etc and has to be dealt with sure but don't ever count on losing the taste for sugar because you won't- it's not the goal, doesn't matter that the media says it is. Eating some sugar DAILY is normal and healthy.

PLEASE stop referring to yourselves as "addicts" and "junkies"- get out of the box while you still have your sanity.
Glucose Clearance – 180 Degree Health

Eat some SUGAR.

[Artbuc]

That Matt Stone video is freakin' hilarious.