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Sugar Addiction, The Sweet Life!
 Posted by Trish Milburn Dec 20 2011, 12:10 am in food, guest blogger 
By Theresa Ragan For as long as I can remember, I have craved sugar. Candy in all of its delicious colors, textures and tastes, makes my mouth water. Chewy caramels, gummy bears, truffles–morning, day or night, it doesn’t matter–I want candy. I also like greasy bacon and popcorn with tons of butter drizzled on top, but if I had to choose one over the other, I would take the handful of hot tamales, licorice and/or Hershey’s chocolate over the butter and bacon. My family has tried hiding candy from me, but I always find it. I used to love going through the kids’ Halloween candy–definitely my favorite time of year. I equate Easter with marshmallow chicks and chocolate bunnies. Valentine’s Day is not about love, it’s about sugary hearts with tiny messages that say EAT ME. And don’t even get me started on Christmas! “Sugar and the taste of sweet stimulate the brain by activating beta endorphin receptor sites. These are the same chemicals activated by heroin and morphine.” — Wikipedia Nobody likes to compare food to drugs, but for me that’s exactly what candy is. I think about food 24/7. Sweets just happen to be my drug of choice. So why should anybody care? I have no idea. But just writing about candy makes me think of Willy Wonka and his golden ticket, a dream come true. The worst part of this post is that I’ve restricted myself from sugar for two months. None of my friends or family thinks about candy the way I do. I’m not even sure if they believe me when I tell them I want a piece of candy so badly sometimes that it feels like torture. I guess I’m writing about my sugar addiction to find out if I’m the only one with such a bad case of it. After filling myself with a delicious satisfying meal, I swear I could still eat a whole bag of chocolate-covered almonds or a few big delicious hunks of honeycomb. My sister, on the other hand, eats half of her dinner and she’s full. There’s no way she can manage to eat a few bites of cheesecake. I don’t understand. I cannot relate. And how, you might ask, have I stopped myself from gaining an extra fifty pounds? It hasn’t been easy. Every single day is a battle with sweets, especially as a writer. Sitting at my desk, I must make a conscious effort 24/7 not to overeat. Recently, I started to drink the required 64 ounces of water a day and I think that’s helping. I also work out three days a week at the gym and ride my bike and walk on weekends. I do believe that’s how I maintain, but if I could cut out 90% of the sugar I eat from my diet, I think I’d be better off and I might even hit my goal weight. When I am dying for chocolate, I heat up a small cup of low-fat hot chocolate and that helps take the edge off. Nobody needs candy. I remember watching the Dr. Phil show (maybe it was Oprah) and Dr. Phil’s wife said that the pharmacist told her that the hot tamales in her grocery cart were poison. And she would be able to lose that last five pounds if she stopped eating poison. I haven’t forgotten that. Anyone else addicted to sweets? Any tips to becoming sugar free? Find out more about Theresa and her books at her website.
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10 Responses to “Sugar Addiction, The Sweet Life!”Leave a Reply |
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Hey Theresa! Welcome – glad you could share!
I understand, but don’t have the same addiction to sugar. Mine is for savoury things (probably fat addiction). I can go without sweets, but can’t cut out crisps or popcorn or snacks like that. Recently, I’ve been substituting nuts to take away the cravings and nut bars too.
I don’t know that becoming sugar-free is possible *g*. But I think you can use coping strategies, like 100 calorie packs or splitting big bags into small sandwich bags. Allow yourself one small treat every couple of hours. Have dessert every other day or on days you work out. Get sugar from healthier sources like fruit. Make trade-offs – everyone here knows that’s my favourite option. I trade dessert for an appetiser or a glass of wine – perhaps you can go the other way.
Hi Anna, I think having wine is a great idea. And I have also found that low fat hot chocolate helps when I really want chocolate. Thanks for all the tips. Becoming sugar-free is probably NOT possible, which is why I should find healthy substitutes. I used to buy candy every time I went to the store. I’m finally learning to resist.
Thanks for having me today!
Theresa, I highly, highly recommend the David Kessler’s book The End of Overeating: Taking Control of the Insatiable American Appetite. He talks about how sugar, fat and salt (and combos of them) are addictive, the feeling of reward they give you is like the feeling of reward you get from drugs, the only healthy, similar feeling of reward is from exercise, dealing with food obsessions, etc.
I have noticed that if I’m eating sugary treats regularly – I want them more but get less of a feeling of reward from each successive one I eat. Even recognizing it, I’ll start thinking about the next one, etc. I can stop that obsession by eliminating or really limiting how much sugar I have. I can start appreciating thehealthier, natural forms of sugar in fruits and veggies.
I also can actually get sick of sugar and baked goods if I go over the board. I’m kind of getting sick of it now – and it’s not even Christmas yet. That will help me start 2012 strong. Best wishes!
Thanks, Michelle. I will definitely find that book! I would love to NOT think about sweets every time I sit down to watch a movie. I used to look forward to filling up the stockings with chocolates and those great suckers from Sees Candy. I’m not buying any candy this Christmas!
Theresa, I am right there with you. It is quite the struggle to avoid sweets, and I’m currently not winning the battle at all. I could easily give up most other fatty things, but chocolate is my downfall. You are not alone.
I feel your pain, Theresa. I have a huge sweet tooth, and I have to be careful because if I ever start feeding it things can get to snowballing in a bad way. It’s particularly challenging this time of year, not only because of the holidays but because I just want to curl up and read and watch TV and eat comfort food, including sweets.
At least half the battle is just awareness, the ability to think about that piece of candy or slice of cake before putting it our our mouths and asking ourselves, “Do I really want this or would I rather save the calories for something else?”
Hi Sally! I’m glad I’m not alone.
I wish I could find some really tasty non-fat sweet items.
Trish, that’s what my daughter does…she usually thinks about eating something long enough to change her mind about eating it. She works out and so when she looks at the food item, she thinks about how long she would have to work out to lose all of those calories. She says it’s usually not worth it.
I am not that disciplined. If it’s there, I want to eat it. Better to keep it out of my house altogether.
Thanks for all of the great tips everyone! I love this website!
That’s what I have to do with sweets and chips, Theresa, keep them out of the house altogether. I tried the 100-calorie packs, but they don’t help if you end up eating four of them.
Actually it doesn’t take long to stop the addiction, just about five days to get it out of your system–including white flour if possible.
I’ve managed to do this a few times in my life. And once it’s out, I don’t have to have it anymore. My habits take a little longer to die, so I end up buying a lot of candy after that five days, but I give it to other people. And it doesn’t even cause pain to share!
I guess I’m addicted to the buying of it too. I have no idea how to kick THAT.
Lesli
Theresa,
Yes, it is very hard to break an addiction to chocolate especially. Dark chocolate is healthier, but still a lot of calories and fat. One needs to watch out for low fat things because of the artificial fat and its’ effects on the digestive system. That fat usually has the “oleo” within the word on the label. I do find that the 64 ounces of water daily helps, but sometimes that is hard to do and still get anything else done. Once you get in the habit of it, you can continue for quite a while and it does help flush out poisons. Best of luck in accomplishing your goals.