silentrun

I wanted to warn anyone with a sugar compulsion that it is horrible for a person cholesterol. About 3 years ago mine went from 180 to 250. Medication was suggested. I told the doctor I was eating horribly and asked her to test me in two weeks. I started eating sensibly and it went back down to 180. This last time it was 250 again because I can't get this under control. I must because I don't want to take the medication.

DriGuy

Sugar is like alcohol. It is filled with calories, but no nutritional value. OK we need a certain amount of sugar, but no more than we get from raw fruit and vegetables, which are not filled with the harder to process refined sugar. But we pump the stuff into everything in quantities that become harmful to our bodies. It's yummy stuff. Kids are attracted to it with the first taste. Humans have invented the tradition of desert, a way to shovel mega-doses of sugar into ourselves after eating a meal that contains more sugar than is necessary. We didn't evolve to depend on refined sugar. Flies and ants maybe, but not humans.

alphaomega

I have noticed that in regards to behaviors, I tend to always go to extremes. All in or all out. If I'm drinking, I'm drinking everything. All the things.
If I declare sobriety I can stay firmly resolved, until I dont.

Moderations of any sort seem to be my Achilles heel.

But I also dont want to live a life where I deny myself any pleasures of the flesh and just end up sullen and miserable.

There are things I *can* FW and those I can absolutely not. Alcohol is one of the can not's. Ever.
That has to be my default mental battle cry for the rest of my days on this little blue dot floating in space.

What was so liberating for me when I got sober almost 2 months ago, was that I allowed myself carte blanche as far as what I was eating.
I liken it to being pregnant, when all bets were off in regards to my diet. It's fun sometimes to just not have to be so rigid.
I'm rigid, in both my consumptions and my abstinences.

I could use a bit of exploring some self controlled moderation -BUT NOT WITH ALCOHOL. Ever.

Thats a hard no forever for me dawg.

advbike

Great posts. I agree and can relate to all. Every single post.

I made two grocery store runs yesterday - one planned, one not. The first was normal, healthy stuff that I needed, and it was actually on a shopping list. But then later after I had to pick up a part for my motorcycle I was really craving a sweet drink and I had none at home. So I decided to stop by the Whole Foods near my house for a couple bottles of root beer. I walked out with $60 of groceries (WTF!), almost HALF of which were treats - a slice of pizza, two root beers, a fresh loaf of sourdough BREAD, a half gallon of vanilla almond milk, small dessert and a huge thing of pre-cut fruit. I don't even know how all that got into my basket. The rest was good stuff - meat, veg and stuff.

So I had a root beer (yummy), then ate HALF the loaf of sourdough bread last night. Some with cheese, then later some with butter. So many carbs that when it came time to eat my dinner of salad, salmon and brown rice.. the rice all went into the fridge. I was stuffed on bread. Thankfully I forgot about the dessert though, until now. But my point is it's simply a massive craving for carbs. I cannot be trusted to shop for myself, haha.

silentrun

For me alcohol and sugar aren't pleasures. They are compulsions. I dont even really enjoy eating garbage I just tell myself I do to try and make sense of it. I look at it more as what I'm giving up by continuing in that behavior rather than stopping it. The problem with the sugar is it has gotten so bad I seem to have no mental defense against the first bit. I'm glad that was still intact when I escaped the cycle with alcohol.

WaterOx

oh yes it absolutely is a drug

Introvrtd1

Sigh….I’ve cut way back or eliminated the processed sugar altogether the past week. Still feeling like crap sometimes Headaches, insomnia…Might be detoxing from sugar. Maybe it’s just paws revisiting, I don’t know. Hard to tell when the lines get blurred between one addiction recovery over another at the same time.

Am I overthinking this?

BeABetterMan

My 10yo son and I started talking about sugar yesterday and ended up talking about God. Why does sugar taste so good? Why does it give us the rush it does and please us so much? Not chemically or scientifically, but why is it such that the foods that are the worst for you taste the best? Sugar is a big problem for me in that I love it. I love chocolate with milk. Like, I love it. I luckily have a relatively fast metabolism and I like to exercise, but even with those factors I end up a little overweight. Sugar, it's a real problem for sure.

anxiousrock

50gr I'd lose it lol...I like to have fruits with my greek yogurt and some corn or couscous with my dinner a lot.....when I'm eating right lol. But once you're off the carb wagon, it's hard to get back on!
1700 cals sounds about where I should be too, but right now I'm eating a bit higher because I've been stress eating.
just keep reminding myself no one is perfect!!!

DriGuy

I don't think so. Maybe, but I don't think so. You are experimenting, and I think that's a good thing. But the weird thing is that I started replacing processed sugar with natural sugar from fruit just a couple of days ago. It was after reading Diet and Fitness Explained, by the same guy that wrote Alcohol explained, and it's hard to separate the psychological from the physiological, but I've noticed I have been able to quit eating after supper, which has always be a big problem for me. I thought about food after supper, but when I looked at myself closer, I wasn't actually hungry, which is different than eating out of habit, and especially eating when you are full. The author explains why unprocessed sugar helps prevent unhealthy hunger, while processed sugar does the opposite. It's way too complicated to go into it here, but I believe you are on to something, and I think you will know in time how different sugars affect you if you stick with it.

Psychology plays a big role here, so you still need to sort that part out too.

biminiblue

Yeah, it's absolutely physiological AND psychological. Keep playing with it, Introvrtd1. It's a tough nut to crack.


And when you give in and eat three donuts (and you will...) pay really close attention to all your emotions and physical feelings for the next day or so.

Three donuts is okay, by the way.

It will probably lead to discomfort, though.

Ask me how I know. Years I've been working on this, and it's not a whole bunch easier - because it's physiological for some people. Addicts I believe have a little something extra on the compulsion "gene."

tambdy

I am the same, I don't eat much in morning then light snack at night but I drink 3/4 2ltr bottles of juice per day.

2 years sober and can't stop the cravings for the juice, can't be good for me fit with the recent sugar tax and reduction in UK i doubt it would be that bad(hopefully)

advbike

Oh my.. that's not healthy. You're running on pure sugar. High glycemic response and eventual metabolic syndrome. And almost no nutritional value. Please add real food and slowly wean off the juice.

The reason you cant stop the cravings is that pure sugar intake instantly raises your blood sugar level, then when it comes crashing down an hour later you crave more. And so on..

tursiops999

I hear y'all.
I binged on sugar like crazy when I first got sober. Terrible stuff, chocolate candy bars etc. Now I am almost entirely sugar-free. I will have an occasional small slice of birthday cake at a party, etc, but I keep no sugar in the house and do not eat it day to day. Also no white flour or baked goods. It took a long time for me to tackle it -- I think I'd been sober about 5 years before I seriously managed to cut out sugar and flour. I started with keto, but like others here, I found that hard to sustain longer than a few months. Now I do eat healthy carbs, but I try to have my carbs in the form of real whole foods -- like a small baked potato, or occasional brown rice, and fruit.

I feel like I waited too long -- I don't think I needed five years of sobriety to do this. But I think in the first few months of sobriety it might have been too much to tackle. I guess my best suggestion would be to try to shift to healthier carbs in the form of real food, and away from candy/donuts etc. Eating lots of fruit might satisfy the sweet tooth while still feeling healthier than refined sugar.

Willow00

I can totally relate to all of your posts. I’m trying to wean myself off pure sugar. I’m sure it’s playing havoc with my mood and my energy levels. I’m trying to eat fruit instead of lollies (sweets/candy) and chocolate. I’m 74 days sober, and my mood has been pretty all over the place, mostly low, and I have been eating way too much sweet stuff since I stopped drinking.
Hopefully with less sugar my low mood might improve. And hopefully I might find more energy.
2 days without lollies….

Introvrtd1

Tried to experiment with different fruit like peaches, strawberries, blueberries, and cherries….so far, those haven’t bothered me too much since i’ve been using moderation.

I still wanna eat a whole chocolate cake with buttercream chocolate frosting

Willow00

I know what you mean Intro, I’ve been eating soooo much sugary stuff, and I crave it like alcohol. My mood has been awful, depressed and irritable.
I have cut out refined sugar for 2 days so far, and have been eating strawberries, a banana and pink grapefruit, or green apples instead. I’m hoping it might make a difference. I also need to exercise more.