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Permalink Reply by KCCO on April 2, 2012 at 11:07am

I still crave it, but I'm more able to fight the cravings now. I drink tons of water. When I was first kicking the habit, I bought a 64 oz pitcher, filled it with water and the juice of two lemons and one sweetener and drank that all day. Fought my diet coke cravings AND sugar cravings. I've been off all soda for two months now.

I find I usually really only crave chocolate certain times out of the month (almonds are good to fight chocolate cravings, by the way). So what I have done is bought two organic chocolate bars and keep them in my fridge. Then I allow myself half a bar at a time (or per day). When they're gone, they're gone. The price keeps me from eating too many and I really stop to enjoy them too.

I eat a lot of fruit too, which gives you that sweetness, without all the refined sugar that is so horrible for you.

Fight through the cravings and I promise all that junky food won't even sound good to you after a while!!

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Permalink Reply by KCCO on April 2, 2012 at 11:08am

Also, you are addicted to sugar....sugar is addicting. Hence the reason it gets mixed in with heroin and other drugs.

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Permalink Reply by Laddie on April 2, 2012 at 11:28am

Another thing to try is go on a really low carb diet for a week or two even if you don't want to commit to a low carb lifestyle for a longer period. I'm talking under 50g per day or even down to the 30g espoused by Dr. Bernstein. Have you read his book, "Diabetes Solution"? There is a lot of good info in his book that can be very motivating even if you don't want to go to the extremes that he advocates.

It's amazing how quickly the desire for lots of carbs can be turned off by eating mostly protein, fat, and carbs from vegetables. I'm on my 8th day of trying this and for some reason I've been able to avoid that first bite of a cracker or cookie. I think this is because I know that one bite will open back the door to crap food. I have not begun to make a lifelong commitment to this, but it is very motivating to see good BG numbers.

Even if you only do this for a couple of days, it might work to get you off the carbfest merry-go-round. Obviously don't do this unless you are comfortable adjusting your insulin for such a change.

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Permalink Reply by Zoe on April 2, 2012 at 12:19pm

We all have different relationships with sugar, Sanjaka, as well as with carbs. Many people have trouble limiting one or both, but are able to do so. But if you are truly addicted to sugar as I was, you won't, unfortunately be able to eat it "only occasionally" because that will reawake your cravings all over again. Some people can tolerate it in small quantities and some cannot. Just like alcohol. For someone truly addicted to sugar (not just with a "sweet tooth" but having unresistable urges to eat it in huge quantities despite feeling terrible when you do) the only solution is to cut it out altogether. It takes about 30 days for it to get out of your system. That can be a hard 30 days for people who've been addicted to it a long time, but it doesn't sound like you have. After that the cravings go away. I haven't eaten sugar for 17 years. Everyone says "I can't believe it, that must be hard!". Only the first 30 days were hard physiologically (there may also be a psychological component that you may have to work through). I don't even think about it now.

Again, I'm not saying this is the case for everyone, but if it is the case for you, that's the only solution.

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Permalink Reply by drsoosie on April 2, 2012 at 12:55pm

I wish you had seen the 60 minutes special. It was so enlightening about sugar. First, sugar is a safe food for our brains from an evolutionary standpoint according to the experts.They called it a comfort food because there is no known source in nature where something with sugar is also poisonous. In addition, it is as equally addictive as cocaine or alcohol. It stimulates the pleasure center of our brain and releases dopamine. However, like alcohol you build a tolerance. So you start to need more and more for the same effect. Further, the experts on the show explained with very good scientific studies that sugar not only contributes to heart disease but also causes cancer. by feeding the insulin receptors on tumors, it helps tumors grow. All in all, it seems like sugar should be consumed in moderation. In fact, after viewing that report, it made me want to avoid it all together. but that's just me.

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Permalink Reply by Pastelpainter on April 2, 2012 at 12:56pm

I never used to eat sugar, only the sugar that was in fruit or food, so it was a real surprise to get T2. Now I have diabetes I too get dreadful cravings for sugar every now and then, I have even resorted to glucose tablets in dire need! Yuk. I think your body must want sugar for some reason, that is how I feel about my cravings. Then it will go away and I don't need or want sugar at all. I buy a small chocolate bar, the mini size) and eat that. Just something small and sugary that won't do too much damage to you, just make sure you keep it within limits, because I too think sugar is addictive.
It is really very odd.

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Permalink Reply by Zoe on April 2, 2012 at 1:13pm

If our bodies couldn't survive without sugar (the artificial kind, not what is naturally occurring in fruit) I'd be in real trouble since I haven't eaten it in 17 years!

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Permalink Reply by KCCO on April 2, 2012 at 1:42pm

If you take a look at ingredients in the food you eat....there is added sugar in EVERYTHING. Dextrose, maltodextrin, it goes by all kinds of names.

Thankfully, I see more and more foods all the time that are sold with no added sugar. Makes my shopping trips take twice as long sometimes, but I know in the end it's worth it.

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Permalink Reply by Zoe on April 2, 2012 at 2:01pm

Yes, I know, KCCO; when I first stopped eating sugar, I was astounded at how many things it was in. I've always gone by the rule of not eating something in which sugar is higher than the 5th ingredient.

But I still don't feel added sugar is something needed by our bodies.

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Permalink Reply by Randy on April 2, 2012 at 2:21pm

You are absolutely right Zoe. If refined sugar was required for life the humanrace would have died off centuries ago since it is a relatively new product. Even after it was invented it was not widely available.

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Permalink Reply by jackie on April 2, 2012 at 3:12pm

I had the same problem. but iI noticed i craved sugar more when my diabetes was going out of control.  I kicked my sugar eating habits by eating vegtables and drinking water. and checking my sugars more frequent.

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Permalink Reply by Aaron on April 2, 2012 at 6:23pm

I think I'm a carb addict myself. I crave carbs bad, like chips, sweets, and bread. Sometimes I can handle it, sometimes I can't and I eat more then I should. Sweets get me in trouble too, if I try to just have a little I always end up wanting more! The best way I handle it is just not buying it or having it around me.

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