HELP! I’m a sugar addict.

[Maries]

I can’t get off sugar. I do so well all week long with MWL program and then totally loose control over the weekend with sugar in any form I can get it and then I binge on it all weekend. Any suggestions on how to overcome these cravings as the week goes on that sabotage my progress?

Also I would like to start the monthly weigh ins come May but not sure where or how to do that?

[Mark Cooper]

Hi! The MWL Group thread for May will be posted later today; after reviewing the introduction, guidelines and checklist, to join just make a post in the thread introducing yourself. If you are troubled by cravings for added sugar, it is probably best to try to completely omit it from your meals (at least for a time). The cravings are likely to be pretty intense, but if you can refrain from giving in to those cravings they will eventually diminish. Be sure you are eating plenty of starch with your vegetables and that you are eating whenever you are hungry, until comfortably full; those uncontrolled binges can sometimes be a result of not getting adequate starch earlier in the day, or week. When you post in the MWL May thread, it may be worthwhile to get more specific about what you mean by "totally lose control . . . with sugar in any form," sometimes other foods choices in combination with the added sugar can have an even more potent push toward the Pleasure Trap (sugar + fat + salt, as one example).

[wildgoose]

I can’t get off sugar. I do so well all week long with MWL program and then totally loose control over the weekend with sugar in any form I can get it and then I binge on it all weekend. Any suggestions on how to overcome these cravings as the week goes on that sabotage my progress?

@Maries, I am a sugar addict too. I'd rather have sugar with fat, but I’ll take straight sugary stuff too. Which is why I don’t eat it. Ever. I don’t even eat "legal" desserts sweetened with dates.

As to how to get off of it, it’s not easy. As Mark suggested, the best way is to completely omit it. If you can white-knuckle it and just quit, you’ll have a miserable 5 days or so, but then you’ll be through the worst of it, as long as you don’t feed the cravings by having ANY sugar. That’s what I did, over a year ago.

If that’s too uncomfortable a process for you, you can try a taper. It will be harder in the long run, because you’ll still have cravings, but it will work. The rules here are pretty simple. You get to have a sweet, twice a day. Never have anything sweet on its own. Always have your sweet stuff at the end of a savory meal that includes plenty of starch and vegetables. Try not to have a sugar-fat combination. Pick only one sweet thing and stick with just that. No variety.

Establish a dose. Say your chosen sweet thing is red licorice (no fat, lots of sugar). You would get to have 2 sticks of licorice after lunch and 2 after dinner. When you’re ready, drop that to one stick. Then half a stick. Then give up whichever half-stick is easiest (lunch or dinner). Finally, give up that last half-stick.

It doesn’t have to be licorice, but your chosen sweet shouldn’t be your absolute favorite. It definitely shouldn’t be chocolate (at least not the kind that’s loaded with fat). Remember, this is a dose that’s designed to get you off the stuff.

If you’re craving in the midst of your sugar detox, try having a banana instead (or banana “nice cream,” made of just frozen bananas). Eat fruit. Don’t worry about eating too much fruit at this stage. It’s way better than sugar.

Hope to see you in the May group!

Goose