This may sound shallow

[sugarssweetpea]

But I would really like to ask everyone for prayers for fighting the sugar addiction. It is the one last addiction I have & I have been battling it for awhile now. I have quit many other things and stayed quit thanks to Jesus Christ, and have decided to embark on this journey of no sugar once again. I made it one day (Sept 2), but ate some today. I am back to it tomorrow. I want to at least go a year & see if it is something that I can do in moderation. I do not know if that is the right approach or not, but I also do not know if sugar has the exact same effect on our brain as drugs and alcohol do. I do know that I want to give myself at least one year away from it before I try it again, and who knows, I may feel so good that I may not want to have any ever again. We will see. I just would really appreciate the prayers right now. It is my one last addiction & is absolutely everywhere and sometimes seems like the hardest one to quit. Seems wierd sometimes to have the same feelings about it that I used to have about alcohol and cocaine. I think that sometimes Satan hits me harder with this one b/c it is my last one. Things can only improve & I would only be able to serve God better & more efficiently, be more useful as I would be healthy and being obedient to Him by honoring Him with my body & choices. I am currently 110 lbs overweight and am in fear of health issues along with the ups and downs that sugar seems to cause in my brain. Anyway, sorry that this is so long winded, but any prayers through this journey would be appreciated.
Thank you.

[best]

Sweetpea

We need to eat. We find sugar in many foods. Adding extra sugar is something we can learn not to do.
Staying away from sweets can be bad habits or underlaying issues we have yet to deal with. Moderation and triggers are part of the issue with me. Some is self will (I like sugar)

I know that if yyou go to OA. Get a sponsor and work through the steps and gather the tools that OA uses... Along with prayer... you can learn to moderate the way OA can show you.

OA can be looked at as tools here on earth that are given to us by God.
God can free you fully if that be His will. Going to meetings can be seen as us doing our part as God guides us and does His part when we ask.

Lord, give me this day my needs to get through this day in a manner that will bring You glory Lord.

Prayers are with you.

[sugarssweetpea]

Best,
The issues I have with it I feel are underlying issues. I find that I use it for comfort. I use it when I am bored, stressed, etc. I also use it in anxiety situations, like social get togethers for instance. I focus on the food, so that I won't have to deal with the people as much. I guess I try to hide behind it, but actually it is making me more self conscience as I am wondering if everyone is noticing that I am going back for more. I guess it takes the worry off of if they are finding anything else out about me. Anyway, as for the sugar itself, I wonder if I have the issues with the low serotonin & beta endorphins. I want to give myself time off of it so that I can further see how my brain is functioning as far as depression & such. I am also trying to get a little exercise in as to raise those two things naturally while taking the sugar away, so I don't just crash.
Thank you for your advice and your prayers.

[sugarssweetpea]

Well, I have to say that I failed today. I ate a candy bar that I had bought for someone else & did not see them therefore could not give it to them over the weekend, so it was in my house, & drank a couple of sodas that were left over from my son's birthday party this weekend. I want to cry. It was so hard today, so hard. Even when I prayed, the temptation would come right back. SOmetimes felt like only about 30 seconds later. I cannot go on like this. I cannot. I have no control. Why can't I stop & why is this so hard. I remember quitting coke, very hard. Took about 8 years after the first time I said I wanted to quit. I do not remember much about quitting alcohol. My husband tells me that I struggled some, but with pot, acid and anything else, I just quit. How can sugar/eating have such an effect. I am tired of it. truely tired. Crying once again. In a bad mood once again. Depressed once again. FED UP!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

On a more positive note...... TOMORROW WILL BE BETTER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Barbara52]

You have my prayers, SSP.

Have you been checked out by a doctor to make sure there are no underlying physical reasons for the sugar cravings? Not sure what those might be but a doc or a dietician might be able to give you some advice on how to approach this also.

[sugarssweetpea]

I have not been checked out by a doctor for this, no. I unfortunately cannot afford it. I just know that the need to over eat sugar, and other junk food has always been there. It may just be a learned behavior from watching my dad go at it. I don't know. I know that my mom used to eat 6 candy bars every night at one point & that I used to watch my dad just non stop eat. I also have underlying issues that I know that I use junk to cover up. I can rid the house of all junk food & will search to no end, practically turning the cabinets upside down just to find something that remotely resembles junk food (kinda like I used to turn the house upside down searching for that lost gram of cocaine that I knew just had to be there) when there is a whole refridgerator full of healthy stuff that I won't touch. The similarities are so much they are scary. Also, I have posted in another post that when I try to stay away from sugar, sometimes the urge to use alcohol or drugs becomes stronger. I have read a lot of info about sugar & the effects it has on the brain with the serotonin & beta endorphin levels are very similar to those of drugs & alcohol. I just know that I cannot control it, and believe me I have spent many years trying, and I feel that if I cannot control it, then it is best to leave it alone. It just seems harder sometimes b/c when I quit drugs, I could remove myself from the situations & people that used. I cannot remove myself from situations or people that eat sugar. It is everywhere & I think I only know one person that does not touch it at all. Anyway, sorry to ramble & thank you for the prayers.

[rayofsunshine]

You have my prayers too.

Don't beat yourself up so... you have overcome so much. And you can still do it... one day at a time. You have cut back on the sugar, even though you had a candy bar and soda today. Tomorrow maybe promise yourself to have a little less. You will feel better tomorrow.

[best]

Originally Posted by sugarssweetpea

I am tired of it. truely tired.

Not to be harsh, just truthful.

You have tried it your way. The way you feel is the best way.
How is it working for you?

Others have tried OA and found great results. If I ask them how it is working for them...I would think I may get a different answer...maybe one that says..Doing ok today. One day at a time.

You are tired of it. When you reach the point of being sick and tired, you will be ready to do what ever it takes to gather the answers that you need.

This I know... The 12 steps used in AA, NA, and OA work.
Not just for alcohol, drugs, or eating issues but for the whole person.
The reasons you list of why you eat at times are things that OA shows us a better way to handle such things.
Hungry, Angry, Lonely, Tired.... H.A.L.T. can all be trigger reasons why we eat as we do for comfort. OA can give us the tools that work so we better deal with such times as those.

I share what I have seen work so that when you reach the point of being both sick and tired of being sick and tired... you may look into what OA has to offer.

Continue to pray as I will also. May the Lord guide you to what is best for you.

[toad]

We will pray in agreement with you as you pray for deliverance.