I am addicted to binge eating..sugar

[alaska1204]

I am an addicted binge eater...sugarno matter how much progress i show...i can't seem to stop the cycle..eating well...then binging a month, a couple weeks, even a couple days later. and the worse part....sometimes i WANT to binge...I know it will make me feel better...anyone out there with the same problem?

[Seamonkey]

Me! And it sucks becuase I was doing great for a month but one day I just really wanted to cheat and I did. That was like 4 days ago and i just never stopped eating. I think I gained 5 lbs...I dont even want to get on the scale. Im back on atkins today though. Cheating was not what I thought it would be. I just feel slow and like I have all this gross food sitting in my stomach now. I felt so much better when i was sticking to the diet so i dont even know why i cheated in the first place. Its hard at times but sticking to it is so much better. Before I cheated I was eating some of those low carb bars to get rid of my cravings but I think that just made them worse. So if you're trying to get rid of cravings with fake sugar stuff, beware of that.

[julirama723]

Seamonkey is right. If sugar and sweets are your vices, you MUST eliminate them completely. This means no splenda, no sweetened products. No sodas, no crystal light, no SF candies or ANYTHING sweetened. You've got to break that cycle of addiction.

Feeding a craving makes it worse, it makes it stronger. If you want a weed to die in your front lawn, do you feed it fertilizer? If that pesky stray cat hangs around your house, do you give it milk to send it away? NO! Feeding the addiction makes it stay FOREVER and flourish.

Alaska, you can do it, you can beat this sugar addiction. I'm definitely a sugar addict. And I've got bad news for you...it never goes away completely. You must always be watchful and observant. Here and there I notice I start to add sweeteners, or add more drops, and once I notice, I eliminate it completely for a while until I feel under control. I've given up granular splenda for good, and I just usually use stevia, as it doesn't cause cravings for me, and it's natural.

[meena-beena]

I can soooo relate to you. I know EXACTLY what you are going through. The bad thing though is that the only way to beat the addiction is to quit it cold turkey--sounds easy but it's a nightmare to go through.

I'm addicted to both sugar and white flour so eating either is the kiss of death for me. I know that when I have a craving--and man are they bad, it's because I've eaten one of those things and I am reacting to it. Having kids around makes things harder, I can't tell you how many times I've had an argument with myself over the kids cereal (which I can eat by the box). lol--embarrassing but true.

The good news though is that you CAN beat your addiction. It takes a little work though because unlike alcoholics--you can't live your life without ever eating. You can live if you never take another alcoholic drink again. Once you figure out what causes your binges, you can modify your diet to avoid those things and live binge free.

For me though, the only way to do that though is to reset myself by getting on induction and riding out the two weeks. Then, when I add back foods I pay close attention to any new foods that cause an issue. When I find one, I stay far away from it.

Artificial sweetners are an issue for me at the moment just because I am restarting induction. I know eventually I'll be able to add them back in and not react, but for the time being I'm playing it safe.

Hang in there. There is hope. You can beat it, it just takes time.

[lancelotsgirl]

Alaska, I can relate. At my job this past week, there has been several food days, kind of like pot lucks. I have been sitting next to (literally cube next to mine) cakes, 2 apple pies, chips, Doritos, cookies, sodas, candy, chocolates, LASAGNA etc!!!

I did really great until tonight, while I was at work I took a piece of one of the apple pies. I started to eat it, feeling the sugar rush in my head, the wonderful dizziness of sugar, pure sugar laddened with flour, and more sugar! Well a few moments later my stomach started cramping and I felt miserable.

I logged on here from work and started reading other people's success stories. I learned my lesson and I suppose I ate out of an old habit of boredom and the wonderful and intoxicating feeling of a sugar rush.

After a few bites I threw away my piece of pie in the garbage can in my cubicle. Tomorrow morning when I go in I'll have to switch out trash cans with someone so I don't have to see it; I don't want to be reminded of my horrible mistake, I want to move on.

To answer your question, yes I too have sugar cravings, ravenous ones too!

[sillygirl]

Just like the heroin junkie! An addiction is an addiction! The good news is we're all here trying to do something about it! Don't give in, take a walk, have a glass of water, come to the board and in a few minutes the craving will be gone!

[harmony3098]

hi alaska...i am feeling your pain too...i never really considered my self addicted to sugar and i am learning that i most definitely am...i am going to take the advice of those who posted here and once again get that stuff out of my system...keep working it...the only failure is giving up!

[kellypa2678]

I too have the same addiction. I was the same as you, I would do great for like a month, and well then came easter and all the candy (skittles) and I cheated. Its been a rocky road for me. I know you are to kill the sweet tooth, but what worked for me, was to find something that would take the bad sweets place and I did that. I found a way to make a pumpkin like bread and put some sweetened cream cheese on top and it is awesome. the best part is the three main ingrediants are cheese, egg and pure pumpkin. I do not get anymore severe cravings, but I still think about sweets. But this atleast keeps me safe and "legal".

[Tomorrow_I'll_Be_Perfect]

Oh pick me....pick me! I have no ability to exercise self control when it comes to sugar! They say that admitting you have a problem is the first step, but quitting is soooo hard. Sugar is everywhere!

[thinkinthin247]

I know the feeling. I do the same thing. Mostly binge on the sugar like ice cream, cookies, cakes and pastries but it doesn't stop there. I go for a few slices of pizza and a burger and fries too. And i know what you mean about wanting to. There's times when i'm doing so well on my diet and something happens that will triger me wanting to binge. Mostly something guy related or any thing emotional. the binging makes me feel better for the moment. It's like a high I get from the time i step into the store and begin putting everything into my basket to the moment i get into my comfy sweats at home and watch my favorite tv program and over endulge. But the moment it's all over I feel like crap! I swear if I look into the mirror I can see the fat just piling on by the second! Then I go to bed full and uncomfortable and wake up not wanting to go in to work or do anything but hop on the treadmill for 12 hours. Then I say to myself I'll just start over but then when I step outside to start all over i'm tempted yet again which starts a cycle. My cycles usually lasts for a few days. mainly through the weekend then I'm back to dieting to lose the water weight i put on and whatever real weight I gained then when I see my face slimming down again I binge again. Some times the binging isn't even triggered by anything. It could just be lack of discipline and me giving in to the first craving or pure boredom. there's even times when I'm not even craving and I just want to binge. I fluctuate between 165 and 175 year round. It's embarrassing because I know people notice it. But it's like any other addiction. Just try and never give up. This is a great place for support from people who are feeling and going through the same things as you. We can all leran from each other.