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Craving triggers (sugar)

Discussion in 'Self Improvement' started by Biggus Dickus, May 1, 2020.

  1. Biggus Dickus

    Biggus Dickus Fapstronaut

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    Hi there,

    I am trying to cut down on refined sugar consumption. The end goal would be to get refined sugar out of everything that I repeatedly eat as part of a routine.

    I notice that it's usually the same sort of triggers that make me want to eat sweets. And then the craving doesn't really go away until I give in to it, partly just to get that stupid battle of craving vs my rational mind over with. It annoys me until I give in.

    I oftentimes crave sugar right after the main meal of the day. I guess that's partly because at home we used to have a sweet dessert everyday after the main meal. So I suppose it has something to do with rythms that my body got deeply used to over a long period of time.

    It's especially a problem when I'm eating at my parents house nowadays, because that dessert habit is still there. I oftentimes say no to the dessert, but then I have massive cravings for sweets right afterwards. As if my body is already planing in its dose of delicious ice cream, then doesn't get it and as a consequence demands it with a vengeance.

    Since sugar tends to make you crave even more the more you eat, it's a problem when I have to give in just about every weekend when I'm visiting my parents.

    How does one fight down these cravings when they are triggered? Going outside and letting the sun burn on my face for 10 minutes seems to help, but sadly that's not always an option.
    What are your experiences on cutting down on sugar consumption? How do you manage to keep going whilst not letting little exceptions become the rule?
     
  2. Hey man, currently trying to limit sugar intake aswell. My main problem is binge-eating, so when I start to eat a little piece I will finish the whole package. I do not really care about the small amount of added sugar in processed food, as this would maybe amount to 20g of sugar/day maximum, while my bing-eating-sessions amounted to 200g+ of sugar per day. So all I wanted to do was limit the amount of sweets I eat (preferably to 0).

    I have tried some different techniques, that all worked to some extend (but not as permanent as I would have wanted it to be). Now I have (to an extend) better control over it. Important is to mention that it took time (a long time, a lot re-tries).
    1. break the habit and build timeframes where you are able to say "no" easily: I told myself "you are allowed to eat anything you want on even days (i.e. 2nd may, fourth may,...), on the other days you cant eat any sweets". That worked really well for some time, as I was able to easily say no to cravings on even days, as I just had to wait for one day. It helped me to build some sort of sense on how to say "no", but also keeping it easy to achive. Then I added another restriction "no sweets after 6pm". That was harder, but also manageable.


    2. Abstain from your most liked thing completely and eat everything else you want. This worked really well for me too. My problem was mainly chocolate, not so much other sweets. I forbid myself chocolate and was allowed to eat anything else. As a lot of sweets have a at least a thin layer of chocolate it restricted me to a lot of sweets. And when the cravings hit I was able to say "ok, no chocolate but I can get some Haribo". Then I would eat a couple of those, realized I don't really like them and be done with it.


    3. Abstain completely. Works suprisingly well, and at that time I realized how true the statement "sugar tends to make you crave even more the more you eat" is. Problem: When I do give in after some time I get completely crazy and binge-eat again. But then, what is one time binging confronted with two weeks of abstaining? Well still bad, but not as bad as doing it the other way around.


    4. Tell everyone that you don't eat sweets. Helped me to an extend. No more dessert-temptations.


    5. No sweets in your house. duh.
    So I think I drifted off a bit from your questions, to recap: Point 1 and Point 2 helped me the most with fighting my cravings, as it wasn't a matter of "Eat it vs. don't eat it", but rather a matter of "Eat it vs. maybe eat it later" or "Eat it vs. eat something else"

    And with all that being said I could use a little help against my binge cravings aswell
     
    Biggus Dickus likes this.
  3. Biggus Dickus

    Biggus Dickus Fapstronaut

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    Very good answer! Especially number 1 might be very helpful, I'll try that out. Binging is a tendency of mine as well, I can't just eat one piece of chocolate.
    Another issue I think is when people around you offer you sweets all the time. You can say no many times, but there will always be times where you just want to be nice and don't want to reject what's being offered. So I guess telling everyone you won't eat sweets is an important thing to do as well.
     
  4. all the best to you! let me know how you are doing ;)
     
  5. palindromo

    palindromo Fapstronaut

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    Man , try to raplace dessert with an apple or a fruit.

    Some days i eat 4-5 apples per day
     
  6. Good luck @Biggus Dickus with quitting sugar! I am leaving this forum so I will probably not see your progress, but I am sure you can do it!

    A last tip, what helped me was meditating on my cravings. There is that concept where you can note when and how the cravings arrive, how to deal with them and mostly how to live with them (not sort of pressing them down with sheer willpower, but rather accepting them)

    ( i used the app headspace, there is a 30day course about cravings. The app is quite expensive though, and I am 100% sure you can find the content in the internet or within free meditation apps aswell. I just want zo leave you this reference, as I can't answer any questions when I am gone :D)
     
  7. don'tlookbackinanger

    don'tlookbackinanger Fapstronaut

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    the recommended daily amount of sugar is approximately 35 grams per day.

    try limiting yourself to that.

    and btw youw fwiend in jerusalem was wemembewing you and your wife incontinentia.
     
  8. Rev2.0

    Rev2.0 Fapstronaut

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    I hear ya bro. I grew up in a family where fat-filled sweet desserts were a year round thing. And the holidays? Fugheddaboutit.

    That's why a small victory last week meant a lot to me. I was in a store where they had caramel filled Cadbury Easter eggs on sale for 80% off... or about 30 cents US a piece. If you've ever had those things you know how incredible they are. I could certainly afford one (or 10) and there was no one stopping me.

    First I thought, I'll treat myself to one, even though I'm working very hard on eating healthy and have been killing myself to get/keep myself in shape. So I picked up one and was holding it and thinking how good it would be. And then this voice said, "that egg represents your weakness for P and M. It's right there, it's free (or practically), it will for a short time make you feel extremely good, and the only one who can stop you from having it is you." And I thought you know what, if I can say no to this chocolate egg maybe it will make me just a little stronger in resisting other things. So I put it back, paid for the rest of my stuff and left.

    And you know what? My PMO urges have been less since then. By this point in my fight nothing surprises me except how tricky our minds can be when we're denying them what we've freely indulged them for so long.
     
    Last edited: May 6, 2020

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