I need to do a hard-core sugar detox as I’ve been eating like a child for a little while… any tips on beating the inevitable cravings and staying stong for a couple of weeks to break the cycle?

Dont bother

Couple of weeks?

#hollowlaugh

I gave up sugar in my tea and coffee on the 1st of February. It STILL tastes of ass. I was only having one spoonful before! Do you ever get used to it?

I find avoiding extremes helps with keeping cravings in check: if I go hungry for too long the temptation to reward myself by overindulgence is hard to resist. You can trick yourself for a while but overdoing with going too hard will backfire eventually.

Have a snack on something and give it a minute to kick in, keeping hydrated also helps

As above… Reduce intake, but don’t got OTT as then you’ll fall off the wagon and over indulge.

I gave up sugar in my tea and coffee on the 1st of February. It STILL tastes of ass. I was only having one spoonful before! Do you ever get used to it?

I gave up sugar in coffee at the beginning of the first lockdown a year ago. It’s now OK and I’m used to the taste, but still of the mindset that it would probably taste better with sugar…

My advice: find a different vice for the times when your cravings hit (8pm for me). Like smoking or something. I went with mint tea. It tastes kinda sweet yet obviously isn’t as calorific. Even a wee dram of whisky puts me off sweet stuff, but regular whisky might not be the best health move I suppose.

Most sugary things are so completely unnecessary so you can just go cold-turkey if your mental strength is good. I sometimes dictate a month of no cake / biscuits / chocolate / sweets and I usually lose some weight during that month, mainly because I don’t raid the cupboards at 8pm. Alternatively, don’t allow yourself anything out of a packet. If you want something sweet you have to make it (cakes, biscuits etc). It might not be a good long term solution though, and since I eat chocolate daily, I would urge everyone to not take my advice.

It’s the evening cupboard raiding thatvfoes for me, no matter what I have for tea. Hoping lighter evenings will mean more walking and riding that may break the cycle

Grapes. The answer is always grapes. Not the crushed and fermented kind either. Just as they are from the vine

I have been weaning myself off sugar/carbs for a couple of months. I think for probably over a decade now I haven’t really been responding to having a full stomach, but needed a blood sugar kick to feel satiated, which has caused considerable weight gain. If you have the same problem, I think it is one dietary problem that requires a non permanent diet change to relearn that feeling of fullness without the sugar hit, before adding in a more normal level of carbs back into your diet.

Firstly it will take willpower, there is no getting around that.

I started with just going no carbs one day, then having a normal eating day for a couple of weeks, then 2 non carb days followed by a normal day for a couple of weeks etc. Now I am just having 2 cheat meals a week which is something I will stick to for a few months. I have built up a kind of ritual around the cheat meals, I usually have them when watching the football and that is my time to treat myself. That works quite well knowing I have that “me time” coming up within a few days makes it easier.

When I say no carbs, I really mean no sugar or beige carbs, but plenty of salad, broccoli, carrots etc. I have cut out fruit as well, but that will be the first thing re-introduced when the time is right.

I Keep some healthy high protein snacks in the fridge, usually just some boiled eggs or some egg muffin cups (lots of instructions and recipes for these on youtube) at first I was relying on them quite a lot, but now I barely think about snacking between meals.

I usually meal prep for at least a couple of days in advance so if I am feeling lazy after work or working out, there is almost always a healthy meal in the fridge rather than being tempted to order a delivery or go and buy something unhealthy.

I get some no very low calorie dressings from amazon (proper low calorie not fake low fat filled with sugar or vice versa) which helps to spice up salads and prevent monotony.

I have lost 10 kilos so far, I feel the that I have stopped chasing the blood sugar rush, but am still not getting that full stomach feel when eating a big meal, so will be sticking with it for at least a few more months.

I started this two days ago. Bloody hell i feel knackered and really irritable.

Alternatively, don’t allow yourself anything out of a packet. If you want something sweet you have to make it (cakes, biscuits etc). It might not be a good long term solution though, and since I eat chocolate daily, I would urge everyone to not take my advice.

I would also urge everyone not to take your advice. Making a Victoria Sponge for example every time you fancy something sweet is going to end in weight-gain carnage. But what heavenly carnage…

Life’s too short and full of woe as it is. Cake makes things better. Eat the cake

I found a replacement.

Not sure pies are any healthier though.

I read somewhere that the way to beat sugar cravings is to have some sugar.

Alternatively dont have any in the house. It’s not that hard, really. Sorry to be that guy

I gave up sugar in my tea and coffee on the 1st of February. It STILL tastes of ass.

Is it Civet coffee?

Grind the enamel off a few of your teeth.

Asides from the obvious (shops, water, [frozen] fruit, teeth filing…), 100% dark chocolate is ace. Doubt any better for calories if you’re counting, but Montezuma 100% it’s gorgeous and not too pricey. Less likely to be demolished too.

I had them very badly

Dark chocolate is a good one for me. I get 90%. I f* hated it at the beginning but you soon get used to it (and find the normal cheap ‘dark’ chocolate that before you probably found too strong literally tastes like milk chocolate – because in reality if you look at the label it’s probably 30% and 70% sugar….). I find – anyway – I eat a *LOT* less of it. So it might be 3x the price, but works out at worst break even.

Interesting one that worked for me quite well: Concentrated juice/squash (mixed, obviously). Obviously, yes, you’re feeding yourself a bit of sugar, but it tickled whatever receptor I needed tickling rather than eating a whole bag of sweets – you know

Frozen blueberries with my breakfast, they’re sugar – obviously – and I only have maybe 10-15 of them, but they help trick my brain into thinking you’re eating candy

I’m sure there are loads of other ways I fight it but I’m too tired after a long day to think

The main, unavoidable one, is a lot of exercise. And a generally much healthier diet. Imo just start there, and get to the sugar / shit food intake last. Seriously: Last. Exercise and good quality nutrition intake first, then you’ll find stamping out the crap food much easier – because you’ll actually begin to repulse it.

Can a sugar habit be ok if you’re not putting weight on and staying fit? I mean, you’re burning it all regularly so apart from teeth, what else can be bad?

I gave up sugar in my tea and coffee on the 1st of February. It STILL tastes of ass.

Try using a straw. You’re obviously drinking from the rim.

Asides from the obvious (shops, water, [frozen] fruit, teeth filing…)

Wut?

I was diagnosed with type 2 4-5yrs ago. I had to reduce my carb intake and sugar intake overnight. I now control it with diet and exercise. The more carbs I ate the more I craved. You need to increase your protein intake, that’s what makes you feel full. I dropped my carb intake to a 3rd of what it was and changed to brown rice and pasta. Whole grain brown bread etc and massively increased my veg and salad content. Increase the healthy fats nuts, seeds olive oil etc. 5 yrs in and all good. You’ll be amazed at how sweet things taste after a while off the sugar. I don’t miss it at all

Can a sugar habit be ok if you’re not putting weight on and staying fit? I mean, you’re burning it all regularly so apart from teeth, what else can be bad?

Nice try. I think the fly in that ointment is diabetes.

^^^^ I recently started to think maybe it’s time I stopped thinking it’s OK to keep stuffing my face with cake and chocolate and crisps because I was remaining overall slim.

I had the Christmas cake which wasn’t made at Christmas for my birthday. Smashed it. I’m sure a cake that size used to last much much longer.

We do eat a varied diet with all the healthy stuff, but also just very partial to cake, biscuits, and pudding.

The guy that presents Trust me I’m a Doctor wrote a diet book a few years ago called The Prediabetic 8 week blood sugar diet. Worth reading.

Effectively a keto diet with intermittent fast8ng, but all the reasoning is based upon scientific research papers and no Hollywood fluff.

I stopped getting sugar cravings of any kind after about 2 weeks (but is as bad as quitting anything else….headaches etc). It resurfaces if I eat meaningful amounts of carbohydrates deliberately…

So I don’t.

I miss pizza and pasta and porridge, but The positives outweigh the bad.

Sugar is a state of mind.

Pretty much completely kicked sugar, along with crisps and other non-food few years ago

How? I stopped buying it! If it ain’t in the house you can’t eat it!

Doesn’t always work though, a mate stopped buying bad stuff but would get out of bed and walk to the shop at night to buy bags of sour patch kids 🤣

Alternatively, don’t allow yourself anything out of a packet. If you want something sweet you have to make it (cakes, biscuits etc). It might not be a good long term solution though, and since I eat chocolate daily, I would urge everyone to not take my advice.

This actually does work for me. I find i eat one biscuit a day rather than, you know, the whole pack. And you can reduce the sugar in them too a bit or replace with honey. This week’s are jam and lemon curd thumbprints. Even plain ones taste amazing compared to a pack.

When I started Keto I found Pepsi Max helped with the sugar cravings. I also use erythritol in my tea at work.

Maybe I’m just weak but it’s been nearly a year and I still get cravings. I don’t get the same satisfaction out of chocolate that I used to any more though but the sense of guilt is huge.

@doomanic – I think the cravings are probably because you are satisfying the sugar craving with fake sugars.

That doesn’t give the craving pathway/dopamine rush time to die.

It’s like people who give up smoking with nicotine patches. You just get addicted to the patches, or gum (and the industry knows this – which is why BAT is spending £1bn on social media influencers to get around advertising bans and get kids addicted to non-fag nicotine substitues).

For me the best way to cut down is strength in the supermarket.
If i dont buy it i can’t eat it, i’m trying to snack on fruit but thats just replacing refined sugar with natural so not convinced a good solution.

I’m in the same position as the OP have been eating quite a bit and really need to sort it out.

Isomalt boiled sweets. Chocolate limes are good.

Don’t eat too many otherwise it turns into Isolax
😬

Have a nice cuppa with stevia.

Enjoy umami snacks instead. I like Itsu seaweed snacks at one end of the scale and pork scratchings at the other 🤣

When all else fails grab fruit. In fact grab fruit first. Apple or orange. Both are great.

I say all this after having the other night eaten 1 x apple before mashing a large bar of Cadbury/Daim into my gaping mush. I don’t always win.

+1 for grapes

Alternatively dont have any in the house. It’s not that hard, really. Sorry to be that guy

That
I find it it much easier to be good in the supermarket than in my house. I can resist biscuits on the shelf and buy a pineapple instead. Then when I want sugar and go to the cupboard I have o biscuits and have to eat a pineapple, which is better. If I had biscuits i would eat the lot in one go

Analyse the source of your sugar products. If it’s online shopping then cut them out when you order or eat dry fruit and nuts instead.

I try and remind myself that we’re essentially cavemen who rarely had access to sugar and fat. That mindset seems to help me if I’ve had a few days eating crap.

^ that last point is a really good one

When the addiction gets you and you cock up and eat a pack of biscuits or whatever, next you’ll get depressed at yourself and beat yourself up – which can start a cycle of ‘well I’ve screwed it now, might as well eat more crap’. Turn that emotional response into anger, not defeat. Anger will work for you – you’re angry at yourself for screwing up, therefore will – whatever – force yourself to do something positive eg, if you bought a multipack of biscuits – ceremonially throw the other full pack in the wheelie bin.

Btw. Sugar is addictive. Rats choose sugar over their own life. Sugar over cocaine. It’s worth battling the addiction though, because it probably very well will save your life [to some extent].

Giving up sugar in tea and coffee soon becomes ok and amazingly going back seems so wrong.

My issue with sugar tends to come when im feeling tired, which may sound pretty obvious but try and increase sleep and that helped alot. Also i started to snack savoury snacks like chicken to help fill me up, but the more i starv myself the more likely i am to binge on sugar later.

https://www.outsideonline.com/2397767/should-you-monitor-blood-sugar

https://www.outsideonline.com/2201466/are-endurance-athletes-more-susceptible-getting-diabetes

https://www.bellybelly.com.au/health-lifestyle/is-fruit-good-for-you/

https://www.diabetes.co.uk/news/2016/sep/men-experience-an-abrupt-decrease-in-testosterone-levels-after-sugar-intake,-study-finds-99746064.html#:~:text=The%20study%2C%20published%20in%20the,to%2074%20years%20of%20age.

https://meatrx.com/category/success-stories/food-addiction/