And what about sugar?

[nela]

Just wondering...do any of you have major sugar cravings? If so, what do you do to get over them, or do you occasionally give in?

I must admit I've had the worst cravings over the past month, and have eaten a dessert on every Sunday. Unfortunately I seem to have stalled, until this morning when I realized I'd lost a kilo. I'm trying to steel myself for this weekend, trying to break this bad habit, but it's hard.

Whenever I see myself walking past a shop window and see the real evidence of my shrinking body, I feel very motivated to carry on, but it's hard to refuse dessert when eating out at friends' or at restaurants. :rolleyes:

I'm normally quite disciplined, but I just love chocolate sooo much! :cry:

Any others fighting their sugar addiction? Any suggestions? I've found eating an apple after lunch helps somewhat. I also keep sugar free gum around for a crisis. Just the taste of the sweetness helps. I've read that it may trigger cravings, as the brain doesn't distinguish the real sugar from just the taste of sweetness, but maybe I'm wrong. Any thoughts on this?

[PaleoDeano]

Hi Nela,

I am a definite sugar addict! And every time I give in to sugar, I go on a binge (that is very hard to stop... and I seem to consume more and more until I can stop).

My experience has been that the further away from carbs I stay, the easier it is to stay sugar free. If you are eating dessert every Sunday (or every time you go out to eat) or with any frequency at all, it will probably be quite hard to lose those cravings. It would be nice to think you could limit sugar... but not only do I think that is a myth, but I also think that sugar in any quantity is very harmful to your body. If you have ever been addicted to say smoking (nicotine), you know that you can't just have one whenever you feel like it. Sugar and grains have pharmacological properties that make them extremely addictive!

My advise on this subject is to admit that you are a sugar addict (most people are, you know!), and accept it. Then, if you really want to defeat it, you have to stay away from it... pure and simple. Perhaps (and I really hope this is true) if you stay away long enough, you will decrease the cravings so significantly that it won't ever bother you (except now and then). I have had this experience with smoking. I NEVER thought I would get to the point where I never thought about it... because every time I tried to quit, no matter how many months I went without it, I still thought about it many times a day. BUT, after finally going long enough (and I am talking over one year) I was able to actually stop thinking about it! Now, after over 2 1/4 years without smoking, I NEVER think about it at all! And, I (like so many others) have eaten tons of sugar for way more years than I ever smoked! So, it might take 2 or 3 years of not eating anything sweet until I just don't really think about it anymore. Well... one can dream, can't they?! :)

I too am very disciplined about following my diet, but sometimes that sugar is just too powerful, and I break down!

I think just the taste of anything sweet will cause you to start craving sweets. I have resorted to giving up all fruit that is sweet in any way. Tomatoes, peppers, avocados, and the like are all fruits, but they are not sweet, so I still eat them. Perhaps if you begin to get use to eating other foods... like lots of different types of meat... eggs... the taste of FAT!.... all the different veggies (with low carb / high fat dressings)... eventually these will be the things you crave... and your sugar cravings will be a distant memory. I could not imagine lighting up a cigarette (and don't understand the appeal I had before). When I feel this way about pumpkin pie with cool whip, strawberry cheese cake, bavarian cream-filled bismarks covered with white icing, and butterscotch-banana malts... that will be a wonderful day!
:Party: :yay:

[Ohio Kim]

I eat Sugar-free Jello all the time and the Atkins book as some excellent recipes for SF Jello mixed with Snapple, etc.

[nela]

Thanks guys for your replies!

Dean, as always, you make a lot of sense. Comparing the sugar addiction to smoking is so true. Like you, I can't imagine lighting up again, after being smoke free for over 3 years. I quit cold turkey, the same way I quit sugar, carbs, etc.

It's hard at times though, especially when you're out and there's nothing low carb available. Last Saturday we went to an amusement park with another couple and spent the day there. We had lunch at a Mexican restaurant in the grounds and there was only 1 low carb dish! It was chicken (which I had). The rest was chille con carne, and other things with beans, rice, etc. Hard to do!

In the evening, back at home, I caved in and had some milk chocolate. :skull: I thought, in for a penny, in for a pound, and I'd already blown it at the park when I had some of my husband's beans/rice.

But today I'm back on the straight and narrow! :thup: I find it so easy to keep to the diet during the week.

take care :)

[sunkist]

Hi Everyone
Take it from a former sugarholic :agree: !!

I try as much as possible to stay away from REALLY sweet TASTING foods. Even those with artifical sweeteners in them. I have been cuttin WAY back on dietrite (maybe once a month now if that) - I do have my mocha's still maybe 3 times a week - but the place where i go doesn't make them over sweet at all - I prefer the strong flavor of the coffee to be the main taste.

Sometimes when you do have sugar cravings it is because you are too low in carbs for your body and your brain is telling you it needs some simple carbs. So have a piece of fruit or make a smoothie - but just try not to go and eat bread, desserts or cookies.

Also there is the theory that sugar cravings are due to a lack of minerals specifically calcium. :read: I find that by taking extra mineral supplements (& B-Vitamin Complex) I have hardly ZERO sugar cravings.

Good luck!!! :daizy:

[PaleoDeano]

Hi Sunkist!

That is such great advice!

I agree with staying away from artificial sweeteners... for me, if I eat anything sweet, my sugar cravings will go up.

And the sugar cravings being related to being too low in carbs makes perfect sense! The trick for me would be to eat some carbs that are not sweet. Back at the beginning of September, when I was trying to get "clean"... I was eating almost no carbs. After a week I was still having lots of sugar cravings, and feeling weird. I thought it might be that I was still just withdrawing from sugar, but it had been quite a few days since I was eating sweets, that I started thinking about letting myself eat some salad (veggies). I went and made a salad with all sorts of veggies (but nothing sweet tasting), and after eating that (with high fat dressing), I felt 100% better. So, I think the sugar cravings were, as you say, just my body trying to get me to give it some carbs. I am just glad that I had the sense to give it veggies instead of donuts or pie! :)

That sounds very interesting about the mineral supps causing zero sugar cravings! I take calcium supplements every day. What type do you take, and what amount? I also take some pretty good multis (which I believe have good B vitamin complex in them), but what do you take? Boy would I like to have zero sugar cravings!

One thing that has helped me is eating plenty of animal fat. If I am low on that, then I crave sugar. And it is because my energy level gets low, and my body just wants some energy. But, fat provides such a superior type of energy! I have been trying to make pemmican, and have almost got my first try completed.

Anyone else have any other helpful suggestions on dealing with sugar cravings/addiction?

[sunkist]

Hi Deano :yay:
I personally take Twinlab supplements because they are pretty potent formulas. They have a multi-mineral & a B-Vitamin Complex that also contains Vit C. I have been taking these for years and they are great. No added sugar or junk either.

Yes I have really learned that when my body tells me something in the way of a craving - I try and figure out what it is trying to tell me. When I had my egg yolk craving (I craved like 5 egg yolks every night for a week) my body was saying "Hey - you need some EFA's - some lecithin, more B-Vitamins" and my body was right!!! I needed those things because at the time I was eating an all raw vegan diet - and I was not eating enough fat or B-Vitamins.

If you have stayed away from refined sugars and are STILL having sugar cravings - then your body needs carbs. The secret is what carbs work best for you. You don't want to run out and grab the nearest donut :wiggle:
so use either a fruit that agrees with you or a starch that is low on the glycemic index. Personally moderate fruit works okay for me - it's the starches that kill me and out cravings back up thru the roof.

I also totally agree abput low fat. It stinks!! I am a firm believer in knowing what your genetic background is also to knowing what foods you can handle. I have a friend who is Chinese and I kid you not - she can eat rice till it comes out of her eras and she doesn't have any weight issues at all. If I did that I would be a balloon!!!

When I did high carb low fat - I was at my worst looks wise, weight wised & most importantloy health wise. I am really fascinated by the changes someone can make in their appearance and outlook simply by eating correctly. You can change your actual bone structure by eating correctly. If you have poor posture, if you have overcrowded teeth in your mouth etc. These issues can be addresses by eating correctly!!!

My main diet is
4-5 raw egg yolks daily,
2 pieces of raw fruit daily (so far no weight gain from this-usually apples, mangoes, grapefruit),
two big green salads daily - made with assorted greens that are high in minerals like dandelion greens, spinach etc)
two servings of cooked meat daily (chicken, beef, fish etc.)

If I eat more than this amount of cooked meat - I don't feel well. That's why I eat alot of egg yolks to offset the lower cooked protein intake.

I find that this helps keep my body neutral on the Ph Scale VS too acidic (too much meat/not enough fruit & greens) or too alkalinic (not enough meat/too many fruits/greens)

[PaleoDeano]

Hi Sunkist,

I too use Twinlab. I take the Dual Tabs Multi Vitamin/Mineral. And I take Calcium supps... Nature's Bounty Coral Calcium Plus, which has trace minerals too.

I have eaten fruit in the past, and sometimes I have eaten lots of fruit. But, in the last 6 months, it seems that fruit really causes weight gain. But, I have also been concerned that it causes more sugar cravings to creep back into my life. I am making pemmican and am going to be drying cherries, strawberries, red raspberries, blueberries, and blackberries to put in the pemmican. I have never eaten pemmican before and can't wait to get some made. When I was defrosting the fruit and washing and getting ready to dry it, I was very disciplined about not eating any. But, boy did I want to!

My genetic background is northern european. That means lots of animals and animal fat! Not dairy though. Your chinese friend may not have weight problems, but she might still have excess insulin that is causing other problems. Maybe? You have northern european and north american ancestry. So, you most certainly should be eating more paleo, and low carb. I can see why you were at your worst eating high carb. I too was on the low fat/high carb kick (thinking it was so healthy) and gained a lot of weight and had high cholesterol and triglycerides! And, because of low (no) fat, I was constantly hungry! And would eat lots of granola and raisins and no fat milk and fruit juice and all that sugar, sugar, sugar! And, of course this was so healthy, you know! :rolleyes:

Yes, I have heard about changing bone structure and teeth by eating correctly. That is encouraging!

When you say you eat raw egg yolks... do you mean you don't eat the egg whites? Body builders eat lots of eggs (but I thought they ate the egg whites - for the protein, and probably cuz they are scared of the cholesterol - another myth). I think you mentioned that your husband is a trainer (body builder?). Does he eat that way? I am going to start getting eggs from friends who raise chickens (free range) and then I won't be concerned about eating them raw. I may try that. Do you mix these eggs with something? Or just drink them down? Why don't you feel well with the cooked meat? Do you think it is the acidity? Or perhaps you aren't getting enough animal fat to go along with the meat (rabbit starvation)?

I too am concerned about the Ph Scale. I eat salads with a large assortment of veggies, including spinach and other greens, and cooked greens like broccoli and asparagus. I use to eat a lot of fruit, and was probably always fine on the Ph Scale. But, too high on the fructose! I should really just eat more veggies, I suppose, to be more balanced. I am sure I am too acidic and that has been a big concern of mine. Cheese is really acidic.

BTW... you seem to be on a strict paleo diet. Are you? I think that is fantastic! I use to be. I only started eating dairy to get more animal fat. Once I have pemmican made (am going to use bison fat & meat), then I am going to quit doing butter and cheese. I will go back to olive oil and canola oil. I have always thought that there is no place for grains and legumes or dairy or high carb for our genes. Don't want the foreign proteins. And I recently think animal fat is something that our ancestors thrived on (especially innards, like marrow and organs and intestines and the like). But, I think (low carb) vegetation is probably equally important.

Sounds like you have really figured out what to eat, and have developed the discipline to stick to it. That's great!

[sunkist]

Hi Dean
I'll answer your specific questions this way from your own post:

When you say you eat raw egg yolks... do you mean you don't eat the egg whites?

You know if I put them in a blended smoothie I can eat the whole raw egg, but for some reason I just can't eat the whites plain. I can do that with the yolks, no problem. But the whites are a bit slimy and I think that kind of freaks me out :yawn:

Body builders eat lots of eggs (but I thought they ate the egg whites - for the protein, and probably cuz they are scared of the cholesterol - another myth). I think you mentioned that your husband is a trainer (body builder?). Does he eat that way?

Yes bodybuilders do eat eat egg whites - although they cut back on them right before a show because they have alot of sodium. I personally can't eat COOKED eggs because they do NOT agree with me digestively speaking (ha ha)
My husband and I own a gym and he trains pro fitness, figure & bodybuilding competitors. He definitely agrees with Paleo eating and for his competitors who are in prep for a show - it's no breads, no dairy products, no added sugars - very low fruit, mainly fibrous veggies, salads, proteins - he does believe in yams but that's about it for the starchy carbs.

He USED to belong to the extremely low fat mentality - but after he saw what it did to me - he re-thought his philosophy! Especially with women - too low fat is a DISASTER hormonally.

I am going to start getting eggs from friends who raise chickens (free range) and then I won't be concerned about eating them raw. I may try that. Do you mix these eggs with something? Or just drink them down?

That is excellent and about the only way I recommend someone even bother eating raw eggs. If you can't see for yourself how the chickens that lay the eggs live - then it's too scary to think that even though they are CALLED organic etc. the chickens may in reality be all cooped up and given drugs etc. I will mix my egg yolks this way:
in a fruit smoothie, over chopped nuts & dates, mixed with olive oil for a sald dressing, over chopped chicken, just the yolks plain in a cup, you can add a teeny bit of stevia & vanilla extract to make it sweet and it's really good. If I could handle bread better - I would be eating about 5 egg yolks at one sitting with toast :yum: Yes - I often just crack about 3 eggs and put the yolks in a cup and drink them down.

Why don't you feel well with the cooked meat? Do you think it is the acidity? Or perhaps you aren't getting enough animal fat to go along with the meat (rabbit starvation)?

You know this is an excellent thought and it could be why. I think it's about finding the right balance for ourselves. It is especially important (I feel) to eat a good balance of meats and veggies because too much meat has the potential to be acid forming. But it is so individual. This is why I believe so much in listening to our own bodies instead of ignoring what we feel inside and just following a new diet every 6 months. We just need to be still & quiet and listen to our own instincts and cravings and try to discern them rather than ALWAYS squashin them down. And sometimes it's a matter of decyphering a craving, like I said before. We don't have to give in to a sweets craving by eating cookies or candy bars - but I DO think our body is needing SOMETHING in order to correct a deficiency!!

I think in general we as a society have become TOO cerebral in every segment of our lives and instead of going with what we know in our guts is right - we think about it and rationalize and intellectualize everything - even the food we out into our mouths!! Our brains will soon be as big as watermelons!! But our bodies may waste away!! :eek:
I think we need to get back to more instinctual living and stop second guessing ourselves and get out there and do more physical stuff (of course here I am typing away on my computer - ha ha!!)

Oh well - that's my ramble to start out the morning! :lol:

[PaleoDeano]

hi sunkist!

that is too cool that your husband adopted the paleo/low carb eating for training. that is happening a whole lot out there. i have seen so many examples of athletic training turning from the high carb/low fat myths to the low carb woe. this woe is really starting to catch on with the medical community and the general public as well. i have just recently noticed about 4 different billboards using low carb as a selling point for food products.

what is it with yams and potatoes (starchy veggies) and body building?... i have seen that before. the 6 meals a day of lots of protein... but the one with starchy veggies. what is the advantage to that? there must be one. but i have noticed a paleo trend in all of the meal plans i have seen on body building. it is the first sport to really go that way, and for good reason... it would be the best way to lose that body fat!

i have made paleo mayo using raw eggs and canola oil. it is pretty good too. what is your take on olive oil and canola oil (cold pressed)?

btw... would you give me directions on making a smoothie?... do they have lots of fruit in them? they sound very good, and i guess you can add things like raw eggs and oils to them to get extra protein and fat.
http://forum.lowcarber.org/images/smilies/yum.gif (http://forum.lowcarber.org/misc.php?do=getsmilies#)

i agree about listening to our bodies. it is truly something we would have to practice though, since we obviously have ignored our bodies for so very long. i believe in a holistic approach to health. and, you are right, we have become way too cerebral. we cannot possibly ever intellectually understand fully our existence. we can only understand a very small slice of it. there needs to be some other way of tapping into it. and that is with other means, as you say... listening to our bodies and trying to understand what they are telling us about what they need. because they obviously know a lot more than we do about it!
http://forum.lowcarber.org/images/smilies/roller.gif (http://forum.lowcarber.org/misc.php?do=getsmilies#)

what you say about our brains becoming as big as watermelons... actually, if you think about it (no pun intended), our brains are part of our physical bodies too, so they will waste away with the rest of our bodies if we don't listen, as you say. in fact, the incredible imbalance of omega 3/6 fat ratio has had a direct impact on brain chemistry and caused many problems, especially for children. mood swings, depression, etc. the brain is mainly composed of fat, you know.

take care http://forum.lowcarber.org/images/smilies/sunny.gif (http://forum.lowcarber.org/misc.php?do=getsmilies#)