Hello,

I haven’t posted much before, mostly out of shame. I rely on sugar for everything – for food, for a quick energy hit, for endorphins, for cutting through anxiety… Give me a jar of Nutella and I’ll finish it with a spoon. The longest I have ever managed to stick with the BSD is 2.5 poxy days and then “oh one piece of toast won’t matter….” Two pieces of toast, too much cereal and a Nutella fix later I’m back at square one. Has anyone been here & managed to make it work for them? How did you do it? How did you kill the cravings and find something to fill those “need sugar to be happy” holes? Exercise used to be my thing but I now have a toddler who doesn’t want to come running with me in all weather so I feel stuck.

Thanks,
Claire

Hi ilikejam,
There is an excellent book called the Sweet Poison Quit Plan by David Gillespie which takes you through the seriously bad effects of sugar but also a plan to quit it entirely. I think you might surprise yourself how quickly you can rid yourself of the craving – many people reckon on just 3 weeks.
Gillespie suggests both the ‘cold turkey’ approach and a gradual one and you need to find which works for you. Personally, I found just stopping easier but other people find that too challenging.
Don’t be ashamed of your addiction – you will see when you read the book that sugar is as addictive (and probably more damaging) than cocaine! And we have been duped and lied to by the sugar industry for over a century to keep us addicted.
Good luck with it – it’s amazing once you’re free of it.
SSB

I started out with a few low carb replacements for bread and sweets. I kept a six-pack of 8 oz Coke Zero bottles in the fridge, low carb bagels, low carb pizza crusts, sugar-free peanut butter cups, even had a jar of sugar-free chocolate hazelnut spread, not Nutella brand, obviously, but it tasted the same.

Caveat: they use sweeteners like sugar alcohols which, depending on the specific sweetener, can have some blood sugar effect. Sweeteners in general aren’t great for people trying eliminate carbs because they can extend the craving for sugar instead of ending it. In my experience, however, I found it reassuring to have treats available to me that tasted pretty close to the old days but wouldn’t send my blood sugars soaring or destroy my carb limit.

Over the weeks I gradually reduced my use of them until now they very rarely make an appearance on my food log. I had a bagel yesterday for the first time in months and really enjoyed it, but it didn’t set off any carb cravings whatsoever and I lost .8 pounds since yesterday so the system is still chugging merrily along.

If you do get some low carb, sugar-free substitutes, check the ingredients. Erythritol is the best of the sugar alcohols (zero GI, .2 calories per gram), and inulin, derived from chickory root, is the best of the rest. So high in fiber people use it to keep regular without even thinking of its sweetness. I avoid maltitol, sucralose, aspartame and saccharine because they’re shady in about 10 different ways.

Paul McKenna has a quit your sugar habit book out as well, I spotted it in Tesco’s a few months ago, he seems equally convinced by the danger of it and the difficulty in quitting it, but again can maybe help with some strategies. I haven’t quit it totally, although I didn’t use many sweeteners and alternatives during the 800 calories phase, I have now reintroduced some although I try to limit fructose.

Hi Ilikejam, you could be describing me when you say you can only manage 2.5 days! Actually it’s really more like if I manage one day it’s a miracle.

I have the hugest, loudest, most aggressive carb monster living in me. Unfortunately I find it practically impossible to not eat carbs, even if it’s just a small amount for onion sauce (onions have sugar too!!) on chicken and broccoli for dinner. I wish I could get those carbs right down and see if it kills that monster as so many people have found!

However, I am of an age (early fifties) that I am now seriously facing early death if I don’t get some of this weight off. I want to live, I want to live a happy, active life. I have stuck post-its on my fridge and larder cupboard with one word: LIFE. It’s just stopping me from relapsing for the moment (last night I had sandwiches and some crisps (ok far too many crisps) because I had to grab dinner on the way home late from work.

Today I’ve been back on track but I know tomorrow may be wobbly. Even so, I’ve managed more days in the past week than I ever have before. I’m working on the premise that I just get over it, dust myself off and have another go. I think it is gradually working and some day fairly soon I will be able to make the right choices all the time.

If you can manage to stay off the sweet stuff for a bit longer it will gradually get MUCH easier and after a few weeks you really won’t want your food and drink to be as sweet as you’re used to. It will take more than a couple of days though.

You say it helps with energy, anxiety and feeling good – but are you really not anxious about your health, full of energy and feeling great when you eat sugar?

I found it easier to go cold turkey. No sweeteners at all, even artificial ones. But for the few days I literally go through withdrawal and feel kind of short-tempered. You will get used to it. I do like seltzer with lemon or lime juice. Hang in there.

I too craved sugary stuff, I’ve been known to eat a tub of glacé cherries and spoonfuls of golden syrup. But no more. I’ve been eating BSD friendly food for 10 months now, maintaining the 2 1/2 stone weight loss and I can honestly say I’m not bothered at all by cravings for sweet things.
I’m not saying this to boast (well, maybe just a little) but to say it can be done! You will amaze yourself and you can do it!
Best of luck!