It is such a nasty habit isn't it! All the negative health connotations and the guilt...
I was never a sugar addiction person, my weakness was fried food and chips! I could easily pass on a tray of mint slices and happily stop at one bite of chocolate. Since being pregnant, those days are gone! I think it was the low energy in pregnancy for me that led me down the rabbit hole so to speak, and once the stuff is in your system, you need more, and more.
I did manage to get off the 'stuff' accidently last year when I was trying to get pg for the 2nd time. I saw a TCM practitioner for fertility assitance and as she worked to balance my body with acupuncture and herbs, I found that I was naturally not looking for the daily sugar hit. It was amazing, I felt energetic, well slept and didn't fall for the 3pm sugar call! Fortunately I also fell pg, and then unfortunately I got tired again while building my baby and have fallen prey to sugars evil ways once again - especially now chasing a newborn and a toddler's needs. So my solution to beating back the demon is better diet, sleep, rest etc - ie putting myself first. Not easy!
I was going to recommend seeing an acupuncturist too. They can help with cravings and addictions and can also tape small beads to pressure points in your ears so you trigger the points when you feel the urge. DH (who is qualified but no longer practices) says the acupuncture can be very effective for many addictions.
What about a naturopath? I remember I was prescribed some fish oil tablets (nice strong ones) and some other supplements (that i can't remember the name of sorry) that really seemed to help with the sugar cravings, especially at night.
I think sugar cravings can be related to candida in the body too? (Correct me if I'm wrong anyone...)
I have to agree with MD with resetting your tastebuds! I have been following a low carb diet (to lose weight and stop the tired sugar crashes!) and it has worked. I no longer crave sweet things like I used to. It takes a couple of days (which are hard), but it does work. The scary thing is that when you do cut out sugar, you only then begin to realise how desensitised to sweetness you had become. Things like lettuce, cabbage and some vegetables start tasting sweet! How crazy is that?!! I cannot tolerate sugar in my tea now - it's just too sweet. It is scary!
Anyway, it is a big step to take and it took me while to do so because I just wasn't in the right headspace to make such an undertaking. Depression really can make you long for that comforting slice of cake and the thought of cutting it out used to give me major anxiety issues. I had to take the leap because my health was being impacted on by my weight gain, so it is different to your situation.
I hope you find a solution that helps you, but just thought I would share mine
Glamourcide, I really agree with you, it is an addiction, not just a craving. When you read about the biochemistry of getting a fix of sugar, it has everything to do with those brain receptors that are all about addictive behaviours. I think stress/depression really feeds into it too, I was reading another thread about sleep deprivation and how it prevents weightloss, those same stress-cortisol responses make you crave more calories (and lay them down as fat) then you have the brain receptor thing happening, it's no wonder so many people are hooked. I was thinking about what I posted yesterday (about connection etc) and I was thinking how that's a couple of parts of the 12 step program (for overcomign addictions) and I had a LOL moment.
Winter I just heard about the Sweet Poison book the other week, and Ive been trying to find a copy too.
Winter, that book Sweet Poison is available online at amazon, I just looked it up. If you can't/don't want to order online perhaps Dymocks or somewhere can order it in for you
I definately have a sugar addiction, I can give up any other tasty food under the sun but I can't function without sugar. If there's nothing sweet in the house I'll make something, often without even realizing I'm doing it.
Having said that, I've recently started losing weight (4kgs in the last month or so) from exercising as well as cutting down on fatty food and sugar. I've found that I've been able to gradually decrease the amount of sugar that I have is easier than going cold turkey. A big part of my success in doing this, I think, is cutting out simple carbs like whitebread and replacing them with complex carbs, like wholemeal bread. This has made a world of difference for me, probably because white bread has a high sugar content anyway that wholemeal does not, and complex carbs keep your blood sugar stable while simple carbs cause a huge spike then plunge.
Lucy in the sky with diamonds.
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