How to trigger an experience to get rid of sugar addiction?

[febflake]

Hi!
I am more than often tempted by sugar (bread, snacks, soda, chocolate, etc. ). I can feel the negative effects it has on me (short energy boost following by dizziness and unnatural hunger for more sugar or even normal food, emptiness feeling) and am very aware of unhealthy effects on an nutritionist level.
Some months ago i saw Jamie-the-famous-English-cook on TV. He was showing young students what nuggets were made of (bones, meat, skins, additional meat powder all mixed in a mixer) and the experience had a strong impact on the kids. And on me as well. It was really a visual one. I am not a vegan but i only eat meat once a week or two. Until then I had a strong appetite for this this (meaty snacks). It's been 6 months now and i can't even touch the package when i walk by the shelves in the store.
As some of you may know, bread and some food derived from cereals are made of Gluten. Which is something the body has a hard time to integrate (and get rid of). As a matter of fact it was used to glue paper (painted paper?) on the walls at the beginning of the century. Yep. Gluten=glue -> in your bread. Combined with the fact that bread is made of glycid (which is sugar; and depending on the bread you eat it may be a lot of sugar). This was a revelation that helped me get rid of bread. And all went well. No more bread, no more sugar side-effect as well after eating (was kind of disturbing to feel bread effects on my body.. who would have guess?).
So now here's my point. I am looking for a strong experience to get rid of sugar envy. An experience like the one with meat and Jamie (the mixer) and the one with Gluten+sugar for the bread. Has anyone read or seen anything that would be so shocking it would trigger some kind of disgusting effects on me? (like some alcoholics that can't stand the view of a bottle once they have experienced an ethylic coma)
Thanks for reading! Hope you see what I am talking about and can help me!

[Zulu]

You might consider:

#1 - Stopping positive emotional triggers

#2 - Cut out all bread, sugar. I have found Atkin's advice on this to be correct... after a few days, carb cravings just dissapear. A thought.

[Lotus]

I developed type-1 diabetes mellitus (insulin-dependent or "childhood diabetes") when I was 17. I thought that changing my diet would be a nightmare, because I ate carbs without much thought, although I had a very good diet because I also had chronic bowel disease.

The things my nutritionist instilled in me:

1. The more processed a food is, the worse it is for your blood sugar (often because it's a function of glycemic index:

Apple > apple juice > apple fruit roll-up
(fruit with fiber) > (fruit juice without fiber) > (fruit with added sugar)

2. Glycemic Index matters. Glycemic Index is the speed (compared to glucose) at which carbs are broken down and enter the bloodstream, raising your blood glucose (bg) levels.

Foods with a high glycemic index will raise your bg rapidly, which in non-diabetics, causes your pancreas to dump insulin. Often, it dumps too much, so you get that "crashed" feeling a while after eating sweets. The "crash" is a low bg. It's called "reactive hypoglycemia." Your brain senses this hypoglycemia -- literally, low glucose in the blood -- and it trips its hunger mechanism, making you crave something which will raise your bg to normal levels. Hmmm, what will raise my bg? Mmmmm.... sugar. It's a viscious cycle.

You can interrupt this by eating foods with lower glycemic index. It takes your body longer to untangle the carbohydrates in them (simplifying them to glucose), so you don't get a sharp rise in bg. Your pancreas doesn't panic and dump insulin, so you don't later get a sharp drop in bg. No sharp drop in bg... no hunger mechinism tripped. Make sense?

So you can eat carbs without cutting them out totally, if you don't want to cut them out.

But Zulu is right, if you cut out all carbs, you will stop wanting them after few days. This is because your body switches over to burning fat for fuel, which causes a small amount of ketone bodies to build up in your bloodstream. Ketones (in trace amounts) are notorious for suppressing appitite. (Ketones in large amounts cause nausea and vomiting, but you need to be diabetic before that's a problem. ) Your pancreas will just produce basal insulin, and you won't be having nearly as many fluxuations in bg. (Having been in diabetic ketoacidosis a couple of times, and knowing what ketones in large amounts can do your body, I'm skeptical that the Atkins diet is safe in the long term... but that's just me. There's evidence on both sides of the debate.)

As far as shocking you? Gee. I dunno?

Did you knowa lot of white sugar (from cane) is filtered with bone char? (Sugar in its rawest form, extruded from cane or beets, is not fit for human consumption, according to the FDA, which should give you an idea of how much it is refined before it becomes table sugar.)

Wheat... well, eat whole wheat if you must eat it. Again, white flour is heavily refined to get it white and fluffy. All wheat probably has bugs ground up in it, but somehow that doesn't bother me personally.

You might visit your nearest med school and ask if you can visit the dissection lab. My summer in gross anatomy, scraping fat off corpses with the back of a scalpel, almost put me off all food perdiod.

[Athena]

that's so funny-- and a great idea. almost like reverse nlp or hypnosis, to make a strong negative association.

not sure how you could make it repulsive to flip off any cravings on an instinctual level, but avoiding it on an intellectual level for long enough and your mind may simply process it as inedible.

not sure what exactly you are trying to avoid, whether table sugar or all sugar containing foods?
If simply trying to avoid white sugar, you can also try positive replacement association, like, instead of something sugary, you would rather have strawberries, or something yummy and bright and more appealing.

If you want a sugar replacement, you could try a product like birch sugar.

But as for making 'sugar' replusive in your mind... maybe ask a hypnotherapist?

[thadroe]

The positive replacement is a good idea....when you get the itch for sugar....just eat fruit, especially berries. This worked for me. I used to be a huge sugar addict.

Also, I use dates, date sugar, and agave nectar to sweeten things up. Dates are sweet, rich, and you get the benefit of fiber and other nutrients from dates.

Once you break the sugar habit, you'll notice a big difference if you do eat it again. Whenever I have processed sugar now, I can feel it big time!

Thad

[blindness]

I stopped eating white flour four years ago. For quite some time I had been adjusting my diet and exercising. I didn't lose much weight by cutting calories alone but when I stopped eating anything with white flour I lost 30 pounds in about 4 months and have kept it off. I just imagine that bread, cakes, crackers, bagels, etc are basically comprised of pure sugar. Our body cannot differentiate carbs that come from candy versus those that come from white flour, as white flour is very quickly absorbed into the bloodstream and increases insulin production just like white flour. Really, when we eat bread products we are essentially eating bowls of pure sugar and when i imagine flour = sugar I have no problem not desiring it.

When I want a sweet I opt for dark chocolate or something that I will really appreciate for it's quality.

[HolisticWellness.com]

I know it sounds crazy--but green smoothies seem to get rid of sugar cravings for most people. It involves finally being totally nourished. See
Raw Family

[febflake]

Hi! Thanks a lot everyone for insight and advices!
@Zulu
I don't think I can't stop the positive emotional trigger yet. I am rushing sugar food under those two specific circumstances:
1. boredom/problems I don't to think about so I replaced them with chocolate. I am trying to get rid of negative here.
2. when there's nothing to eat in the morning because fridge is empty or because i am too lazy to cook something I rush the baker store for sweetness.
I need to work on a much deeper level. That's why I was looking for the repulsive association experience. But I know it can only be a short cut in my case or at best a support.
I am going to need to associate number 1 with something else like playing the guitar or singing. Number 2 is pure laziness.
@Lotus
The schema about processed food is really, really nice! Simple, direct, efficient. I used to drink some v8 (vegetable juice) and was thinking about dropping that.. I wondered how there could be so many water in it (it's written on the can that 200g of vegetables were used to produce 200ml of v8.. never really got that equation since v8 is really liquid!). I don't drink soda or fruit juices but this equation can easily adapt to anything I eat! I believe this one can help me to put a picture on what I am eating.
You did a wonderful job explaining the whole glycemic index and insulin connection! I was aware of it but although I intellectually am aware more or less of what is happening it isn't scaring me that much. When I am preparing meal I think about it and do accordingly but when I feel the urge to eat chocolate it's all gone and seen as a something else (see previous answer). Regarding the atkins diet, have you heard about montignac? There are some differences though but the whole montignac diet is based on the glycemic and insulin relation.
I am going to try a 7 days or 31 days sugar free plan. See if there's something about body addiction (or relief ^^) or if i need to work the psychological side of it (as Zulu mentioned).
Bone char?! Now that is what I was looking for! I found an article that deals with sugar business history (From Indian company to French studies in Sugar cane under Napoleon and last century England. Let's just say this business is a bloody one) and many others about how industrials have heavily augmented refined sugar proportions in processed food last 25 years. Sugar conspiracy? I don't know but it's definitely a drug :/
Concerning wheat and white flour well.. living in Europe I am not sure we are talking about the same bread. I used to eat the black and grey kind but not any more. Never ate white one. Tastes like sponge or fluffy stuff they put into armchairs and car seat.
I am definitely thinking about the corpses/fat experience! Maybe I should watch that fight club scene a hundredth time ; )
@Athena
Yep. Regarding the Jamie experience: at first it was really in the gut but I believe it is now an habit. The last sugar thing I deliberately eat are: chocolate (when I am not in a rush that is ^^), honey in yoghurt and hot chocolate milk. As I said, it's the urge I want to fight. I believe I might have to apply some cognitive method here.
@Thadroe
I will look into dates in a week. I think I will try a 7 days sugar free test and see what comes up.
@blindness
Are you still eating bread (grey/black)? And what is the cacao percentage in the black chocolate you eat? Mine is usually 56% and I know it means a lot of sugar is making up for the 44% left. I am not quite sure I am going to like 70% sugar as much as as like 56% one.. I might be dropping chocolate as well then :/ (and 90% cacao sugar tastes like cement)
@HolisticWellness.com
GReen smoothies? Is that fruits and vegetables mixed in a mixer (er well) and then some water is added and then it is drunk? I might try that I happen to find a mixer around the kitchen ^^ Should I look to what I am mixing or am I free to put whatever I want in it?

Okay! Thanks for all your replies and comments people! I am going to start the 7 days sugar free test and will post in a week to report what happened!
Here's what I am planning:
1. No chocolate, no honey in yoghurt, not hot milk w/ instant chocolate (even though the box reads vitamins were added).
2. Try to work on a cognitive level for the chocolate urge and replace it with fruits eating or another activity (guitar or singing)
3. Make sure the fridge is holding whatever is necessary for breakfast any day of the week so I don't rush the bakery store.

I'll be back in a week ^^

PS: please excuse my rude/weird English.. it's not my first language and I haven't practised in a long time

[elai]

Ok, you don't eat meat, you don't eat anything wheat based, you don't eat anything milk based and you don't eat anything egg based. Be prepared to basically have to prepare all food by yourself and never eat anything out at all unless you go to specialized, vegan or asian restaurants. You will be surprised how ubiquitous wheat, milk, eggs and meat & meat byproducts are used in cooking and food preparation. Even if you go vegan, adding wheat (and soy now adays) to that equation will cut out alot more than you imagine. Wheat flour is used in sauce thickening, spices, EVERYTHING!!! (From experience). The only "junk food" you'll ever be able to eat again is pure dark chocolate, pure fruit bars, and very plain potato chips make from potatoes, sunflower oil and salt. Most restaurants will not be able to meet your requirements and you'll have eat at some asian restaurants, vegan restaurants and the rare, occasional north american restaurant.

[Athena]

not true. It's actually very easy to eat mostly raw vegan. Breakfast, lunch, and snack are almost always eaten at home, and is easy with standard raw meals (vegetarian protein powder, eg rice protein) with nuts for fat, and vegetables or fruit for carb. the fresh ingredients become the focus of the meal, balanced out with vegetarian source protein and fat.

it's actually much easier to eat mostly raw vegan, as meals are a lot easier to prepare.

when you go out, can easily request cleaner versions of whatever is on the menu, and most restaurants have vegetarian options.

eating vegetarian or vegan doesn't have to be 100%, know where the balances are, and get the majority of your meals clean.

VERY EASY

[Meilyne]

I know what you mean about something putting you off of a food, it's happened to me a few times.

Once with KFC I found what I thought at the time was a kentucky fried worm (although it was probably just a piece of skin)...I couldn't even drive past a KFC without gagging for years.

Another time my mother mentioned she found a flour beetle on a store bought cookie. That put me off of store bought cookies for about six months.

To get off of chocolate maybe read one of the many web articles about the child slavery issue apparently associated with it. Although personally I don't know if anything could stop me eating chocolate.

Being a food addict myself though really the issue is getting down to why you crave certain things. Once you get past the issue that maybe it's your body screaming for a certain type of thing (i.e. sodium, iron, etc.) for physical reasons then it's usually an emotional/psychological reason. Myself, I'm still trying to work out the exact reason and since I can't afford an expensive therapist I've started an online journal that will hopefully help me figure it out.

Good luck to you.

Sue
Diary of a Fat White Woman - My Struggles with Food Addiction

[Angela]

I've been sort of amazed by how well the shangri-la diet gets rid of cravings. You don't have to buy anything, just look it up online. It's extremely counter-intuitive, because it is only adding a couple of spoonfuls of light-flavor olive oil to your normal diet -- I used it to lose a few pounds, but the real benefit was it has made me lose my afternoon sugar craving entirely, and startlingly, has made me lose my taste for alcohol. Also, my 3pm energy slump is gone -- I'm pretty much revved up all day. I recommend it.

[febflake]

Okay, here I am back to report my failure
Haven't been able to have a whole week w/out chocolate or rushing for something made of sugar.
@elai:
I failed to see your point. I am cooking my own stuff in the kitchen and.. well.. that's it. I don't have any problem with eating outside (as long as i like what I eat) though. It's not like I have the money to allow myself to do that : ) (not that I would anyway). I am not vegan or anything else alike. Basically I am trying to have a mediterranean diet (salad, fetah, a lot of vegetables, fish, eggs, vegetables again, chicken or something alike once a week, only oil instead of butter etc..). Not perfect but much better than microwave food.
@Meilyne:
Thank you! I hope you are going to work it out too!
@Angela:
I had a look, i don't know. I believe in the healthyfood+sport combo. I'll have a look some times in the future if I feel the need.

Now a good point: since sunday I decided to note the money I would have spend on chocolate rush. I am ashamed to give the amount so I won't but let just say that today is tuesday and I haven't bough anything yet : )

[skydust]

Sugar is, like you say an addiction. when you have sugary food you crave more sugar, then you feel bad, so u want more sugar, and on and on it goes.

I suggest you go on a GI diet, which is very low on carbs and sugar. replace sugar in tea etc with fructose, which is a natural fruit sugar that doesnt raise your blood sugar levels much. eat spelt pasta instead of regular or brown pasta. you can find lots of info on it if you google it. i am on this diet myself and i feel much healthier, more alert, more happy, and ive lost weight with it too.

also, when you start eating this way your body will eventually get used to it and not crave the sweets. it is however important that you dont deny yourself anything, if you are really craving a certain food, have some of it.

also, another way is just to eat so much of it that you feel sick just thinking about it. i dont recommend this though as its not very healthy.

[Hayoota]

Hey, if u want to get rid of chocolate addiction, then here is what you got to do. try eating 6 to 7 chocolate bars on a daily basis for like 10 days but stop eating anything else. I know this is unhealthy but it is hard to get rid of chocolate. After the ten days period, u will hate chocolate for 2 months and this is what happened with me. I lost 5 kgs since i didn't have the appetite for chocolate cz i suffered for 10 days eating only chocolate

[cdn2wheeler]

There may be another way to reduce a chocolate addiction: Read Carol Off's book, Bitter Chocolate.

You'll never look at the stuff in the same way again.

[stellabeam]

I got sugar out of my diet for good with the help of a negative image.

A high sugar diet contributes to degenerative diseases like cancer. I know when I used to fill up on sugary foods, I would lose my apppetite and not eat nourishing foods like vegetables.

I am nursing an elderly woman with breast cancer. She eats mostly cakes, biscuits and choclates.

The Image (It is so grose).
She has a cavernous hole in her breast which oozes vile geeny yellow fluid and smells so bad that I dry retch when I walk in the room. I consciously link this image and smell, to sweet foods.

I believe they are linked.

Hope this helps

[quin]

I found some horror stories about fast food restaurants online which managed to stop me from getting takeaway for lunch today, but nothing in regards to sugar.

I have a sugar addiction that I would also like to stop.

For your information, sugar is also listed as brown sugar, caster sugar, dextrose, fructose, glucose, golden syrup, honey, lactose, malt, maltose, maply syrup, molasses, raw sugar and sucrose on food labels.