The FastDay Forum

I have been stopped smoking now for 10 years, after doing so for 10 years.
I have given up alcohol, just recently, but still as wholeheartedly ( I wasn't addicted to this but it was equally problematic for me)
I have even given up another highly addictive substance for 10 years also.

I cannot give up sugar. I just cannot understand it. In my mind and that of some I read online, this really is the hardest chemical or substance to 0vercome. Why is it easy (for some) to find the willpower when the time is right to give up the things that are doing them harm....but not SUGAR and CARBS, cos really I think I am addicted to carbs.

Does anyone know?

I dunno Debs..i gave up cigs too after smoking 30 a day but cant kick the carbs.
I think it might be coz carbs and cakes etc are so darn comforting and filling too
Someone recently in an article on here said carbs becomes sugar from the neck down..scary thought..they say sugar is pure,white and deadly.

They're more readily available too...

That's true and I suppose it is much more socially acceptable to eat endless carbs and crisps and sweets, maybe that's what we have to change?

Yes @chichi13 everywhere isnt it! Making it even more difficult to resist! X grrr!

I also think when we give up booze or cigs we don't have them again (or every now and then with booze) , when we give up sugar/carbs we don't really give it up as they are in everything (even things we don't know they're in). When we have just a little bit of sugar/carbs our body/brain starts craving them again and we're back at square one. The difference is we need to eat to stay alive and we don't need to smoke or drink.

Hi @debsie at the moment I'm on a 3 week break from wheat to see if the pain in my heel ( plantar fascitis) can improve. From what I've read on ' marks daily apple' wheat and refined carbs/sugar can be addictive and he has a 21 day challenge as he believes it takes this long to help wean you off your urges and to get the gluten out of your system. I know wheat isnt the same as sugar but i believe wheat turns into sugar once eaten. He is a biologist and his website is a wealth of information and he links any statements back to the latest scientific research. He is the guy who wrote the ' primal blueprint'. I just thought I'd mention in case you wanted to have a peek at it. By the way I'm halfway through my challenge and the pain in my heel on a scale of 1 to 10 was 8, now its a 2 so I'm so happy and feel that the weight/gluten can cause inflammation in the body.
I just had a peek at the MDA ( Marks Daily Apple) site .if you Google it, search for ' the definitive guide to sugar' and ' sugar cravings' it says that sugar is addictive and it explains why and the damage it can cause. Someone really has to show me how to post a link one day
Big hugs to you.
Xxx julianna

I don't know the answer, but I have the same issue! I've given it up in the past with South Beach and various other diets, but I've always gone back. I think that is why I've been successful with this way of eating, because I can have sweets on my non-fast days. I also think that's why I haven't been able to reach my goal - because I can have sweets on my non-fast days!!

It's really, really hard. One is so darn yummy, I mean chocolate, cake, bikkies.......yum....anyway I digress. It's so readily available and it found in vast quantities in all those "Low Fat" produces we pay so much for (not anymore!!). I believe it is every bit as addictive as smoking and alcohol. I struggle terribly not to eat lots and lots of sugar, I love the stuff. 5 days ago I made the decision to give up Coke Zero, it was getting out of control and I think it really fed my sugar addiction too. Withdrawal side effects are terrible and I'm cranky but I know it's the right thing to do. We just have to keep trying. Good luck everyone.

Hi there. I have been sugar free for 6 months last year and I have to confess since I started eating it again, it has been an absolute nightmare. I have been sugar free for 3 days again and I'm already feeling better. My moods have stabilised and my skin is already improving.

Things I have learned:
If you are giving up alcohol too, it is not unusual to crave sugar. So if giving up alcohol is more important to you, then eat the sugar, but to be honest, you will lose your alcohol cravings alot faster if you give up the sugar.
Eat lots of fat. I don't care if you spoon peanut butter out of the jar - it will help your cravings. Butter, coconut oil all help with cravings.
Take chromium - it takes about 5 days to get into the system, but it does help with cravings and smoothing out blood sugar spikes.
Take L-Glutamine. This is also great for cravings and balancing your blood sugar.
If you can bear it, give up grains - they can trigger sugar cravings. If you can give up one thing, give up wheat - it has a higher GI than sugar - yes its true!

If you read one of Jason Vale's books and others such as Dr Perlmutter (Grain Brain), they both state that sugar is more addictive than heroin (as tested on mice). After the mice became drug addicts and when both substances were presented, the mice chose sugar over heroin. Now we ain't mice, but it does make you think.

Good luck!

Scary stuff. I know I cannot completely ditch sugar, I do live in this world after all. All I feel I can do is reduce it. I try as far as possible to only eat what I have made. So I make cakes and bread for us. It is still sugar laden but I feel better than factory made. I make Elder flower cordial every year and this with water and black coffee is all I drink. I sometimes drink lager and wine but am cutting back on that. It is a constant battle and as has been said we are surrounded by yummy things. I don't think there is a clear answer short of opting out altogether, not possible in our world!

What helps keep me on the straight and narrow (sugar/carb/junk free) is thinking about the food industry and all it's cunning ways of getting consumers addicted to 'junk'. The way they manipulate us by making sure that the ratio of fat and sugar in a doughnut is just right to make us want another.... and another.... for example! When I think about this and look into it I feel angry and tricked and even if it's just to be stubborn (just cos I am) I'll do everything not to be sucked into the food industry's big cons! It's disgusting really, criminal! Getting on my high horse now so going before I get too ranty still, that'll keep me away from temptation for today

this thread is proving really interesting. I am sorry I can't tag people because I am a dinosaur and it is not working for me but............ I am lately thinking I have a real problem with pepsi max. it is out of control countless cans a day, (Sorry, they are talking about blinking cakes on tellie!!). My knees are absolutely killing me. Going up and down the stairs is hell. I have been really wanting to be good and give up sugar just to see if i can improve that, my neck and my shoulders and even my ankles I noticed are getting really sore too. My neck I thought was tension but I've been wondering for a few days now if it's inflammation. That's interesting about those supplements I will def have a google for them.

I'd like to be fasting today or at least giving myself a time window but I am right off the wagon and struggling big time to get back on.

I had a sugar free month, and now I eat little - and yes I do know they sneak it into many things no sane person would expect - I read the labels and will buy if it is a long way down the list, at the same time being very annoyed because I think if it is that far down why couldn't they leave it out altogether!

What helped me is that I have overcome my brainwashing into fear of fat. As @rawkaren says, it is fat that satisfies. Yummy fats are my treats, I look at a piece of cheesecake and think why eat that with all the sugar and junk fats when I could be having berries and clotted cream, or hazelnut butter off the spoon?

The plus side of being mainly sugar free is I dislike the taste sugar itself but love the sweetness in fruit and veg - New potato, yum! For me it was definitely worth the effort but I was lucky as I did not really struggle.

this thread is proving really interesting. I am sorry I can't tag people because I am a dinosaur and it is not working for me but............ I am lately thinking I have a real problem with pepsi max. it is out of control countless cans a day, (Sorry, they are talking about blinking cakes on tellie!!). My knees are absolutely killing me. Going up and down the stairs is hell. I have been really wanting to be good and give up sugar just to see if i can improve that, my neck and my shoulders and even my ankles I noticed are getting really sore too. My neck I thought was tension but I've been wondering for a few days now if it's inflammation. That's interesting about those supplements I will def have a google for them.

I'd like to be fasting today or at least giving myself a time window but I am right off the wagon and struggling big time to get back on.

The problem with things like pepsi max and artificial sweetners is that the body responds in the same way as it does with sugar... hence the cravings for more (I think)