Anyone else have sugar cravings?
 

Just saw my doc who thinks it’s psychological. If I could just walk past the bakery section at Safeway and not come away with a box of donuts, I probably wouldn’t be a diabetic anymore. I swear though that I can smell the desserts from the parking lot. I go to the gym 4-5 days a week religiously but I can’t out exercise a bad diet. As I’m typing this, I’m thinking of the bag of Oreos in the cupboard.

You've got a sweet tooth, and yes, I think it's mostly psychological.

I don't have a sweet tooth. They are all sweet. If it was up to me, I think I would be OK. I can go through a grocery store and not buy sweets. But if the wife buys sweets, or asks me to buy sweets, I can't NOT eat them. If they are in the house, then I eat them.

Probably ~15 years ago I got a check-up where my cholesterol was in the mid 200s. Someone here on the board posted a book by a medical Dr that said that the issue was that our diet has too much sugar in it. EVERYTHING these days has sugar unless you make it yourself. I think the book said something like "100 years ago, the avg person consumed 2# of sugar per year, but today, the avg person consumes about 75# of sugar per year." (I don't remember the numbers for sure, but it was something crazy like that). I was eating 3-4 pints of ice cream per weekend (my weekends were 3 days). A pint (or possibly 14oz) of ice cream was a single serving as far as I was concerned (and that was a smaller serving than when I was younger).

I'd go so far as to consider it an addictive substance.

Best to go full zero on refined anythings, not just sugar.

Find yah some locally grown fruits and veggies.
They take a little more effort, but can erase the craving for the junk from how good the real stuff can be.

My body is blessed/cursed with very strong negative reactions to junk food.
I don't even have to know sugar is an ingredient to be walking somewhere to spit it out on first bite.

Be stranger if you didn’t.

Chris, the physical addiction only lasts 3 or 4 days after quitting sugar cold turkey. The mental addiction varies of course. I stopped eating processed food and sugar (and any other sweeteners) 4 or 5 years ago and it's been a total life changer. I feel born again. I lost 76 lb.s in the first 4 months and I didn't even quit to lose weight. I quit sugar on the advice of several new age doctors to help my arthritic fingers and foot. The arthritis is completely gone and my energy level is through the roof. I can't stress enough how much this change in diet made in my life, pretty much in every aspect

5 pounds a month.

https://www.amazon.com/Cup-Small-Conversation-Hearts-Pound/dp/B082YH1PQX/ref=sr_1_2_sspa?crid=2ZQJBXD0PH62&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9 ._zcUjBL6TNDshMGSsc5lB60vvHzSs1H8PFZNytUnzLkHxRCqj h70krFk_hb-XP88816rqKrECZmbAfd34PPwQTVGOPdLAfw3y3cNPxGuQKqp_n cLYtzpaqsafKyp3ZCOD8bRr05wWCux6diFNh22h3HLfVKp6yM7 DXJx1RKP-jhnoeAI7h3FqCmjodKkEb3Uv837-v2LEKAswlB3FPfO3OXZsTt-q8BoKIWxuqr9qnGAE3W3VuxM5VYdWtrcoMS_0sOkcGSSaAEIez 6DQrIZzo4tc1REfAxA-EujpU1EO-s.lrzvaHQv7uYExYD8uUqaNYOHrLzQZsNv6V8Az5Htv08&dib_ tag=se&keywords=sugar+heart+candy&qid=1728508955&s prefix=sugar+heart+candy%2Caps%2C187&sr=8-2-spons&sp_csd=d2lkZ2V0TmFtZT1zcF9hdGY&psc=1

My whole life, I've never craved sweets. Candy, cake, donuts...I pass them over.
I think it's hereditary....my brother and sisters are the same.

Agreed. I have seen the results of one of those genetics tests that folks can send off for. They have a section that tells you if you are more likely to crave sweets or savory foods so someone somewhere thinks it's at least somewhat genetic. I assume sugar like some other substances causes a release of serotonin or dopamine, and that's why it's so darn popular.

I eat some occasional sweets. I have long been a bigger fan of salty and greasy treats.

A bag of Fretos is more my style than donuts or ice cream. Chex mix during the holidays is my weak point.

What, you eat those. On purpose, and they aren't free?

What are they, 95% sugar, 2% saw dust, 3% gypsum?

I'm an addict as well. One thing that works for me:
I was at the store and was craving cookies. I got a bag of Nutter Butters. While I was in line, I read the nutritional statement and saw that each cookie was 16 carbs. There were 80 cookies in the bag. I thought to myself, I will eat this whole bag which would be 16x80=1280 carbs. Then I thought, I will go back to the cookie isle, read the labels and get the lowest "total" carb bag of cookies. I read all the labels and to my pleasant surprise, prepredge farms was the lowest count at 16x8=128 carbs. I noticed all of the cookies are around 16 carbs each - no matter the brand. And Prepredge Farms is one of my favorites. So, I base my decision on total package count since I know my own habits of eating the whole package.

My dad had a sweet tooth, and I kinda do as well. I remember a long time ago (around 1990) I saw an empty bag of Hershey's Kisses in the back of his car. We were going to lunch and I said "Where would you like to go?" His response- "See's?"

My brother saw him late at night taking a spoonful of Nestle's Quik powder and putting it in his mouth and rolling it around. One time I saw him slicing up a tube of Pillbury's Sugar Cookie dough and putting it on a plate. I said "What are you doing?" He said "Salami."

My dad was a sweetheart and funny. I miss him so much.

That Sugar Film documentary


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SNr71oGoZC8

With me, it's a forbidden fruit thing. Once I became a type 2 diabetic, I really miss sweets. To the point that if I became suicidal, my first stop would be a bakery and an ice cream store...

I was scheduled for Knee replacement due to knee pain. Before surgery date, I had some bloodwork for a physical and was told to cut out sugar... prediabetic. I cut out sugar and all my knee pain went away in less than two weeks. I'm back to cycling and hiking again, no surgery. If i eat sweets I will experience knee pain within a day or two.

I crave em. I’m also diabetic. I can avoid ice cream, chocolate etc out of site, out of mind. What I can’t avoid is pizza. Pizza is what will end up getting me in the end.

For my mom it’s coke. She has been drinking this poison for decades (10 cans per day) and has uncontrolled diabetes and high blood pressure. 2 weeks ago today she fell due to dizziness for the 6th time and suffered a severe brain injury, broken arm, broken jaw, broken nose and is now in a nursing home unable to stand on her own. I have never seen someone so addicted to sugar. Even as she lays there not sure of who I am now, she begs me to smuggle in a coke. If I could I would drop a nuke on the coke company. Poisonous garbage that kills people.

I crave sugar/desserts all the time. I'm lucky that all I need is 1 or 2 "cookies" a day. If my GF buys a bag of Oreos, she cant stop until the whole bag is gone. In my case, I usually have to throw away the last half because they have turned stale before i eat them.

The big issue: Sugar is added to a lot of things you buy at the market.

It's almost impossible to avoid.

Yep, if the bag is in there, I'd probably be able to go through it in 3-5 sittings (although I'd be happy to go through it in 1 or 2. Stale Oreos are awesome!

Sugars more addictive than opiods. And it seems based on this sample set - you can add me to it as well - that diabetics crave the stuff. Candy is my Achilles heel…

Edit - add citation

https://www.ramsayhealth.co.uk/blog/lifestyle/is-sugar-more-addictive-than-cocaine

Yes, with me it was getting way out of control.

I'd scoff down a whole family sized pack of sweets/candy then roll off the couch onto the floor and fall asleep. Doc said I'm not diabetic but what I'm doing is NOT healthy.

So I went cold turkey for three years and are just easing myself back into eating deserts when I'm at a restaurant or sugary drinks sometimes.

I get urges every so often. When I’m at the grocery store, I can pass by and not buy anything. But when I do, I intend to overindulge. Many times I throw out the remainder, so it’s not tempting me. I’m weak…

I try to eat more fruits, vegetables and salads.

No, no sweet tooth but my weakness is carbs. Those damn things are extremely additive. Bread, rice, potato all that crap. Hell, they don't even taste good. What's good about rice or a piece of bread? If they are hot, there's a fuzzy feeling when I eat them.

A carb addiction is a sugar addiction

Almost. I had a Red Bull once during a long ride and loved it. Then I read the label. IIRC each can had 26 grams of sugar. Sacred feces sez I . No more Red Bull.

Yeah, I know. Its a bit different than eating a donut or a sweet coffee or soda jammed full of sugar.

Wow, I'm really sorry to hear about your mom. I hope she heals up well.

I used to drink a lot of soda, but I went cold turkey over twenty years ago. I switched to unsweetened seltzer water. When I was drinking my max it probably wasn't 10 cans per day. It was probably the equivalent of 6 most days with a max of 8 some days.

I probably have an addiction to sweets also. Some years ago, I realized that I had begun eating way too much sugar. I worked on drastially reducing it and have been fairly successful. For me, I discovered not having those things around was the best way to go. I'm supposedly prediabetic, though I've managed to reduce my blood sugar level from mid 6's to low 6's and the high five range. Sometimes I I feel good when I tell myself I can't eat some sugary thing and pass on eating it. I think one thing that resulted from the high sugar time is visceral fat that I didn't have before, although I don't know if that was just a result of the aging process.

I don't go for sweets much. Have a hard time walking away from a bag of beef jerky though

Cake, cookies donuts, not so much. Maybe stay out of the bakery section

I’ve tried going cold turkey no sugar like Greg but I can’t seem to sustain it. My weight has seesawed so when I go fall off the wagon, I gain more than I lost. Doc says he’s going to give me a referral to see a dietician. I’ve gone that route in the past but it’s like joining Weight Watchers for me. I’m all gung ho at the meetings then on the way home I stop for a McFlurry. Damn I weak minded.

what were your mainstays for meals and snacks? I've got the arthritic fingers of an old man at only 51 and not excited about what is to come.

For me, nothing compares to being hungry and to start eating chips and salsa at a Mexican restaurant.

Right now, I'm deciding 400 calorie breakfast wrap or a bagel with peanut butter and jelly. Until I go through the several days of withdrawal, you can guess the answer.

I'm 58 now.

I love me some sugar. not so much donuts, but a friggen piece of cake is my jam. and pie. and the sweet office ladies always have a huge jar of nice chocolates.

I just recently took a blood test and my doc surprised me with , "hmmm..your blood is trending in the wrong direction"

it has been three weeks since I have had rice, bread, noodles or SUGAR. COLD turkey! even my doctor was surprised I went with the nuclear option.

sugar sneaks pasts the perimeter as in ingredient, but no more SWEETs for me, at least for the near future. clearly, I am not addicted to it, much. I do find now that I stopped, I have zero cravings.

maybe just stop? rid your brain and body of the craving?

I don't eat anything with sugar listed. I snack on a lot of apples, the less sweet kind. And even they seem very sweet to me now. I can't imagine putting a piece of candy in my mouth, it would be over powering. I eat a lot of nuts and goat cheese. Sounds weird but my tastes have changed and this is what I crave now. I buy bags of pecans at Costco and roast them in butter and salt. For meals I'll eat whatever, just no sugar and light on the carbs. I know, strange. My wife thinks I'm crazy.
It took 3-4 years for my fingers and foot to feel good again. It's so worth it in so many ways

Oh, on a side note.

The brain may adjust your tastes and go "sugar bad".
But the gut ecology may be out of whack and send complaints if not fed sugar.

Work on understanding the gut ecology and what you want to feed it for your health vs what you don't, and the process of quitting junk food can go a lot easier.

The gut has an incredible nerve network and it can drag you up or down with it.

From what I've read the gut biome is incredibly important physically and mentally. The "good guys" feed on fiber only and the "bad guys" on sugar only. And there's 40 trillion running around in your body!

Yes! Most evenings it is something sweet or a glass of alcohol. Not good.

I avoid sugar in general but alcohol I make an exception for. I don't over drink and don't drink daily though. I'm just trying to be relatively healthy, I'm not trying to be a Monk!

I'm a type 1 diabetic and recovering sweet tooth. I was diagnosed at 54. I'm 61 now. My insulin pump only holds 200 units which lasts 3 days. It prevents me from indulging in anything with too many carbs, especially any simple sugars/sweets. It sucks. I love bread, would eat a scone every day for breakfast if I could. Alas, others have more significant issues so I count my blessings, and my carbs daily.