Slowly grown addicted to sugar...

[olivia115]

Yikes! I'm about 8+ months clean and I started off eating anything and everything, along with sleeping. I started to clean up my eating and exercising more but I have fallen off the bandwagon again and I always seem to want to eat... mostly sweets, but really anything. What works for you guys? How can I cut the sugar??

[BeHereNow]

YUMM sugar!  Haha!   I'm with you!  The only things that have worked for me are total abstinence.... or sticking to fruit only.  Its an addiction too.    If you find an answer please let us know!

[quit-once]

Sugar consumption is an issue I have been dealing with for several years. In fact, when I quit adderall two years ago, there were three addictions I wanted to free myself from: adderall, nicotine, and sugar. Here is how I have handled the sugar addiction.

 

First off, I don't believe that artificial sweetners are the best alternative. They are all chemicals which are many times sweeter that sugar. However, I do like sugar alcohols and splenda. The Adkins folks will tell you not to consume over 15 grams of sugar alcohols in a day (it causes noxious flatulance). I really like some of the Adkins bars and they all have very minimal sugar and around 5 grams of sugar alcohols. I also drink sugar free red bull and maybe one diet coke in a week. I like low-carb yogurt, grapefriut juice, and all berries. I eat all other friut sparingly mostly because I don't really like fruit in general. There are also a couple of flavors of Nature Valley protein bars that have minimal sugar content that I really like.

 

My key to controlling sugar consumption is not total abstinence, but strict limitation of the amount of sugars and starches I consume. I am aware of the exact sugar content of all foods I consume, and as long as the total sugar content is less than about ten grams per serving it does not lead to subsequent sugar cravings. Ten grams is not very much sugar considering a can of coke has almost 40 grams. Sugar is sugar, as a general term, whether it is fruit sugar, milk sugar or table sugar. However, I believe that the sugars contained in natural foods (not even juices) - that is foods in their natural forms - are just fine because there are other things in those foods that slow down the absorption of sugar, thus eliminating the subsequent cravings for more and more sugar. I feel the same way about processed foods containing refined starches - like breads, chips, crackers, pasta, etc. I can eat one small slice of bread or a small serving of pasta and be OK. but if I go over that threshold for starch consumption then I get cravings later on. I find it is easier just to not eat processed starches but you can't always adhere to that way of eating, especially when traveling or in social situations.

 

I believe that adderall caused damage to my digestive system resulting in acid reflux and GERD. Since eliminating refined starches, added sugars and liquid milk from my diet my digestive system has slowly healed itself without taking any more pills. I pretend like I am a diabetic and eat accordingly, in hopes I can prevent that awful disease from afflicting me in later years.

 

Sorry this was such a long post but this subject is really, really important to me and I wanted to share my thoughts and experiences. I share Robert Lustig's belief that sugar is indeed toxic, especially in the quantities consumed in the Western diet

[quit-once]

Couple of things to add to my above post.  I find that some of the sugar free candies made with Splenda taste pretty good.  I like Russell Stover's candy but you have to look for it on the top shelf.  It is made with plenty of fat but no sugar and there is a good variety of flavors but only a few I really like.  I can eat one or two pieces and it satisifies my sweet craving.  The other thing is that I have almost entirely lost my desire for sweet things since I quit smoking weed.  I read somewhere that potsmokers consume around 500 calories more per day than non weed users, although they metabolize the calories differently so they aren't any heavier for it.  I was in denial about those munchies until very recently.

[Motivation_Follows_Action]

Just to quit once's comments about gerd, I read that adderall is highly acidic (amphetamine SALTS), so maintaining an alkaline diet during recovery is recommended.

[catw66]

Hi - Since my appetite is now better, I too am noticing more cravings for sweets for some reason. What is working for me though is that I keep exercising and I put off the craving for sweets so I don't overdo it one day. I figure this is going to be temporary, I hope. There are some great non-refined sugar things you can eat as well. One of my favorite ways to combat a sugar craving is to slice up a green apple and dip it in non-sugar peanut butter. A nice piece of fruit can suffice as well at times.

 

Moderatation is key as I know that if I go overboard (as I have been here and there as I am at my mother's for a while and she likes to bake all the time,) that the sugar come down feels like an Adderall come down. I try not to eat any sugar on an empty totally stomach either.

[catw66]

My problems with GERD are going away as well now that I am not on the Adderall. I had never made the connection. How horrible that it is really acidic.