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  #1   ^
Old Fri, May-23-03, 19:52
zandria72's Avatar
zandria72 zandria72 is offline
Senior Member
Posts: 1,061
 
Plan: moderate - BFing
Stats: 247.5/195/150 Female 66 inches
BF:preg/curr/goal
Progress: 54%
Location: Muncie, IN
Default "Getting over" sugar - your opinion, please

I've been jumping around the SPII book...and I will read the whole thing, but I wanted to get the basic idea first. Her comments about sugar got me wondering.

In my experience, I have initially done okay with LC diets (not in terms of losing weight but rather just adherence to the diet). I am familiar with the feeling of no longer wanting sugar and other junk (or at least being able to resist the urge), but it inevitably comes back. At some point, I miss the foods. I'm not certain if there is a biochemical reason for this or if it's emotional/mental. I've always been a person who likes sweets, and when I abstain, I miss the enjoyment from eating them.

So, I'm curious how many people who really loved their sweet stuff just "got over it" after a certain amount of time on TSP or some other plan. (Yes, I could ask this to the general forum, but I'm more interested in beiners, especially since they abstain from artificial sweeteners). How long did this take? Did you find something else in your life to replace what you'd given up? Have you become a person who is no longer interested in sweets, or is it still a faint nagging issue?

(edited to add: I'm fanatical about pasta sometimes too...and a half cup of whole wheat pasta just doesn't do the trick, tasty as it is)

Last edited by zandria72 : Fri, May-23-03 at 20:18.
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  #2   ^
Old Fri, May-23-03, 21:33
inatic's Avatar
inatic inatic is offline
Registered Member
Posts: 48
 
Plan: leanbodies consulting
Stats: 183/130/130 Female 5'4.5"
BF:lean
Progress: 100%
Location: alpharetta,georgia (n of
Default

Hmmm My senses for sugasr have dulled and I do not crave it . I was a chocoholic. I still love chocolate!!. I have settled on eating Lindt 85% dark chocolate or russel stovers a few times a month. It is enough to have a taste here and there . I do eat slender ice cream sweetend with splenda as well.

I also eat protein bars which according to plan i shouldn't eat..that is also chocolate flavored, more like a brownie. Eating that helps me get my protein requirements in when i am out and about because i am also body building too.

I do limit the use of artificial sweetners but have not completely cut them out. Our family is 2 adults and 5 ds'. I cannot purchase everything organic or totally unprocessed.. I do the best I can always leaning to stay the closest to plan as I can. I don't know that I will ever lose my taste for sweets but I have learned to control the demon that once ruled me.
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  #3   ^
Old Sat, May-24-03, 07:49
Beth_N Beth_N is offline
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Posts: 72
 
Plan: Schwarzbein
Stats: 177/173/160
BF:
Progress: 24%
Location: Minneapolis, MN
Default

I have been doing Schwarzbein since about the first of this year, and I can't say that I've ever completely gotten rid of my sweet tooth, either. I haven't, however, gone strictly without sweets all that time.

Still, I was encouraged the other night by a noticeable change in perspective. I was really, really craving something sweet/carby after dinner, and I "binged." That "binge" consisted of about 1/3 c. of natural cereal w/ milk and exactly 16 Ghirardelli chocolate chips. I was feeling a bit guilty at first, and then I remembered what a binge used to look like for me. I get intense monthly cravings, and a night like this used to lead to something like 6 times that much cereal or, sometimes even and, 1/3-1/2 cup of chocolate chips (who measured?!!) Or maybe it would be ridiculously large amounts of ice cream or whatever other treat we had in the house. That would result in a sort of sugar hangover for the next couple of days, with me extremely irritable and desperately depressed. Suddenly this last little "binge" didn't seem so tragic.

And I was perfectly satisfied with that little treat -- even felt like the chocolate was a bit too much. On another night, 8 of those good, dark chocolate chips (4.5 g of carbs) completely satisfied the sweet tooth with no apparent ill effects. I have a hard time believing that kind of a treat, even fairly often, is likely to be devastating to anyone's health. Maybe I'll use the rule we used with our kids to keep them from getting into a TV habit - no two days in a row.

I should say that I recently got impatient and tried Atkins Induction. I lasted exactly 8 days before I got sick of having headaches and the shakes and decided again that I would rather be healthy than speed up the weight loss. I'm still glad I quit Atkins, but I think those few days with virtually no carbs helped me to really relish the carbs I added back in, rather than still feeling deprived because I had been accustomed to so much more.

Anyway, I begin to think I've finally found what I need to help me tame the beast and no longer be completely mauled by it on a regular basis. That's my main concern regarding sweets.

Beth N.
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  #4   ^
Old Sat, May-24-03, 09:12
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jessea jessea is offline
Senior Member
Posts: 477
 
Plan: Schwarzbien Newbie
Stats: 146/141/120
BF:shrinking
Progress: 19%
Location: Illinois
Default

Zandria, I was a sugar junkie! It was really really bad. Then I started Atkins. The carb withdrawals almost killed me. Found out I have Candida. This might be a possibility for you. Candida will cause extreme sugar/carb cravings. I quit Atkins after four months, gaining two pounds on that journey, and have been on SPII for almost three weeks. I have gotten the candida under control, and the sugar cravings are barely noticeable. Occasionally I just have to have chocolate, and so I will have ONE Nestle Treasures (with fudge in the middle ) and that takes care of it. I used to not be able to stop at one of those, most likely I would eat six. I would eat six, drink a glass of milk with it and call it lunch. Yep, I was bad!

I have given up diet soda now, and find that the fruit I can have on SPII is enough to keep me satisfied. I also put a small amount of all fruit spread on my whole wheat toast in the morning, and that is good, too. Hope this helps you! Jump into M1whowaits journal (Liz), she has a link to a candida test at the bottom of her posts. If you think it pertains to you, get back to one of us and we will point you in the right direction!

Good Luck!!!!!

-Denise
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  #5   ^
Old Sat, May-24-03, 09:51
Piano Piano is offline
Senior Member
Posts: 607
 
Plan: Atkins
Stats: 200/162.5/140 Female 5' 5 1/2"
BF:no clue
Progress: 63%
Location: Colorado
Default

Zandria, The sugar craving has mostly gone away for me. But WARNING it can come back easily, I had a piece of cake at a baby shower and my sugar craving came back and I ended up having an entire week where I blew it eating some sweets. When I really want something sweet I will eat a zone bar or even 1/2 a zone bar, it does have some sugar but it also has protein so at least it's balanced. I rarely have artificial sweeteners, maybe once a week I will have a diet soda.

Someone on the board here recommended putting lemon and a dash of stevia in ice water,so when I feel I just want something a little sweet I'll do that.

Pianobeiner
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  #6   ^
Old Sat, May-24-03, 18:57
zandria72's Avatar
zandria72 zandria72 is offline
Senior Member
Posts: 1,061
 
Plan: moderate - BFing
Stats: 247.5/195/150 Female 66 inches
BF:preg/curr/goal
Progress: 54%
Location: Muncie, IN
Default

I checked out the candida test. I scored 89, which put me in the "possibly" category. Seems iffy. I've always been a bit of a yogurt fanatic, so maybe that helps (opinions seem to vary on that issue).

I also love lemonade--maybe I'll try that one of these days. And dark chocolate! I used to eat almost entirely milk chocolate, but I have become a dark chocolate fan since starting this adventure. I guess that's a good thing.
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  #7   ^
Old Tue, May-27-03, 10:29
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m1whowaits m1whowaits is offline
Plemorphist
Posts: 7,925
 
Plan: Schwarzbein Principle II
Stats: 150/129/130 Female 5' 5"
BF:??%/??%/ 22%
Progress: 105%
Location: Virginia Beach, VA
Default

Do you have a problem with depression? Carbs raise serotonin levels. I was a sugar junkie and I think it was the depression. I now only have sugar cravings when I need a serotonin boost. I don't really even crave carbs. It's that "quick fit" my brain wants. 1/2 C Bryer's mint chocolate chip icecream usually does the trick maybe 2 or 3 times a month. I used to eat snackcakes and tootsie roll midgies everyday!!!!!!!!! I sleep better and take 5-htp. Really can handle stress much better and have little depressive dips not pits like I used to. And I've only been doing TSP II for 3 weeks!!!!!! Even when I can't go "buy the book" I use the guidelines to eat as good as I can with what's available.

Liz
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  #8   ^
Old Tue, May-27-03, 11:00
suzyq1958 suzyq1958 is offline
Registered Member
Posts: 31
 
Plan: Schwarzbein
Stats: 135/128/120 Female 63.5 inches
BF:too much
Progress: 47%
Location: Colorado
Default

Have you tried using stevia (a little goes a very long way)? It's a natural no carb sweetener that Dr. S mentions on the TSP web page. It seems that she approves of using it. You can find it at you local HFS. I like using it instead of honey in the decaf and herbal teas that I drink. A friend of mine is a diabetic and he uses it in and on everything that he wants to sweeten up a bit.
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  #9   ^
Old Tue, May-27-03, 12:19
carpathia1 carpathia1 is offline
New Member
Posts: 21
 
Plan: Schwarzbein Principle
Stats: 150/149/135
BF:24%
Progress: 7%
Location: NJ
Default

Zandria, I agree, I enjoy sweets, even though TSP has cured me of my "cravings" for them. I was really addicted to sugar 3 1/2 years ago when I started Somersizing, but was able to control the cravings with AS. I started TSP about 4 weeks ago and have AS about 1-2 times a week. I don't crave them, but I still like sweets and plan to go back to using AS once I hit goal. I will not use them every day, but maybe every other day.

When I want some sweets now I have either a diet soda or a pure de-lite bar (only 3g carbs) or Slender ice cream (sweetened with Splenda) or home made ice cream.

Sweets are a pleasure I get out of life and I don't want to give that up forever.

For the past 6 months on Somersizing, I was craving sweets so badly, I wanted desserts after every meal. I think it was because I needed more carbs to even out my blood sugar. Having carbs just at breakfast was probably sending my hormones into a tizzy!


Carolyn
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  #10   ^
Old Wed, May-28-03, 07:42
ImMusicMom's Avatar
ImMusicMom ImMusicMom is offline
Registered Member
Posts: 28
 
Plan: Schwarzbein
Stats: 152/135/130
BF:??/25%/21% or less
Progress: 77%
Location: Hagerstown, MD
Default

I've been low-carbing for several years and only recently started TSP. I was really worried that eating carbs (many more than I was used to) would start the old cravings. BUT, eating only natural and whole foods has refined my palate yet again. This morning I reached for a box of KETO cereal (Apple flakes) and found that the refined products and the malitol tasted yucky. I changed to TSP because I really agree with the "real" foods idea, and had gotten into the packaged junk with my standard lowcarb diet. I have not eaten any sweeteners but about two packets of Splenda in 2-3 weeks, and I see a HUGE difference. I hope to continue to avoid the sweeteners. So healthy and no cravings.......
I eat fruit (a big variety) and who knew corn (bought at Walmart, even) was THAT sweet.
Linda
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  #11   ^
Old Wed, May-28-03, 19:42
amieK
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Plan:
Stats: //
BF:
Progress:
Question Good Question Zandria!

Conquering sugar cravings has been a major theme of my journey. It's been a long slow process but they gradually seem to be getting less powerful. I have "cheated" "fallen off the wagon" "gotten off track" "gone off program" more times than I care to count. But I always manage to pick myself up, dust myself off and get the LC thing going again. And the cravings are weakening.

I am slowly learning to recognize what my body really needs and to respect and honour that. For instance, several times during our recent move, I got so busy I forgot to eat. When my hunger grew to the point where it was impossible to ignore, I found the first things that came to mind were sweets but when I really tuned in to what I needed, I just knew that what I really needed was protein. So I ate a chunk of leftover roast beef or some rotisserie chicken with salad and was satisfied. I treated myself to a pack of delicious organic strawberries and munched on a couple at the end of meals when I got that "I-want-something-for-dessert" feeling. I am pleasantly surprised I have managed my eating so well over the course of this move. I guess I am making progress, but it sure has been slow.

I do think there is a BIG emotional component to craving sweets, here's a poem I wrote several years ago, was going through a difficult time in my marriage and in retrospect I think I was suffering depression, which m1whowaits mentioned as a factor in her post.

My poem:

I need a little sweetness
some honey
for my tea
a simple word
of kindness
from your lips
to me

Don't know if this answers your question, but I enjoyed thinking about it. Thanks for another thought provoker.
amieK
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  #12   ^
Old Wed, May-28-03, 22:26
amieK
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Arrow

PS apropos of the Winnie the Pooh quote, often the anticipation of eating something sweet is better than the actual eating of it in my experience.
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  #13   ^
Old Mon, Jun-02-03, 16:22
zandria72's Avatar
zandria72 zandria72 is offline
Senior Member
Posts: 1,061
 
Plan: moderate - BFing
Stats: 247.5/195/150 Female 66 inches
BF:preg/curr/goal
Progress: 54%
Location: Muncie, IN
Default Lots of good comments...

...and reactions seem to be mixed. My opinion is that the urge will never completely go away, even if the cravings disappear. Some things are just too darn tasty.

I have had depression (most of my life, actually) but I don't think I'm experiencing it now. Sometimes I think that it is hard to tell, since I really don't think I know what "normal" feels like. I will say that I went through a HUGE change and reduction in depression when I quite take BCP three years ago. That started a cascade of events that lead me to where I am now.

I haven't tried stevia yet. That's on my current list of things to do, however.

amieK: I like your poem. I used to write a lot of poetry when I was depressed too. And as a Pooh fan, I noticed the quote right away. Sometimes that is very true...but then, if we don't eat it, I think that the accompanied feeling is more negative than the anticipation was positive.
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  #14   ^
Old Mon, Jun-02-03, 21:04
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tigger64 tigger64 is offline
Senior Member
Posts: 193
 
Plan: Schwarzbein
Stats: 104/114/99 Female 4'10"
BF:
Progress: -200%
Location: Arkansas
Default Missing Those Sweets!

Zandria,

I can relate to your feelings of loss in regard to sweets. I sometimes just want something and cannot be satisfied. I especially feel it now. A lot of times, I'll promise myself, especially at a party or restaurant, that when I get home I'll make a Mock Danish--a real big one--for myself. That helps! I do love those mock danishes. I need to expand my repetroire (sp?) of stevia dessert recipes, but not being much of a cook or baker, I have just not done it yet. I think that the fact that I have a big huge piece of chocolate cake like my grandmother used to make in my kitchen isn't helping. I try to keep all of that kind of stuff out of the house and do much better when it isn't. My daughter, who made the cake, is insisting that I eat some of that cake, too. She is just 10 years old and I'm sure I will end up eating some. I did tell her that I would only eat the last of it because I know from experience that that strategy works the best for me. It is a sad thing that those things that taste and smell the best are usually the worst for us. Each time I was pregnant with my 3 children, I would dream of being in a bakery and it was HEAVEN! I'm hoping that just maybe it is true! LOL

Tig
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  #15   ^
Old Mon, Jun-02-03, 21:12
ALEKA ALEKA is offline
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Posts: 14,309
 
Plan: General low carb
Stats: 257/239/220 Female 5ft. 7 1/2in.
BF:
Progress: 49%
Location: Southern Illinois
Default Zandria

Hi Zandria--I am on Atkins for 4 weeks and new to the support group. I do not know what your diet consists of. Can you give me a shorthand version?????Thanks Aleka
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