Battling sugar addiction

[zilly84]

For 4 years now I have been a vegan. I lost 40 pounds and still have 30 or so to go...but it's not coming off. I bought Dr. McDougall's book and a few others and have been reading because no one but no one has been able to get my weight off. So I am once again turning to you for some help. I have Stevia in the house and use it in tea (decafinated). Dr. M. Says no Stevia so that might be one problem? The next is avocados...ahhh I eat them all the time! Maybe I need to get rid of them??? I use Coconut oil in my food...I guess that is bad??? I am juicing and eating salads and nuts. I also include three fruits a day in there like apples and a banana or a tangerine! Sometimes I just have a grapefruit for breakfast. Any help to tweek my eating would help. I still have a lot to read in the book. Thank you.

Dr McDougall recommends no oil at all. It damages the endothelial cells and leads to heart disease. No added fat if you have weight to lose. No avocado or nuts. Also no blending or juicing fruit. You need the fiber. And the broken down fiber causes insulin to rise and this also damages the endothelial cells. I believe he recommends about 3 whole fruits a day. Some are sensitive to fruits and it can raise triglycerides. Also no artificial sweeteners including stevia. I reading stevia can have a negative effect on gut bacteria.

[roundcoconut]

I will just add that many, many of us have already had the experience of, The more loopholes to overeating that we close, the healthier we are.

I weighed 35 more than I now do, back when I overconsumed through all the normal pathways. I added oil to my food. Processed sugars were still in my vocab. Flours, breads and dry cereals were a regular part of my intake. I salted my food and did not hesitate to drink my calories. Nut butters contributed massively, as they were a trigger food for me.

Closng the loopholes has brought my weight way down, but it has been helpful to be mindful of ALL the loopholes by which one can and does seek out the most dopamine-generating foods that are available. So if I were to say, "No sugar" and then go to town on the peanut butter, well, that alone would probably get me nowhere, because obviously my body can't tell the difference between the extra sugar I'm not eating and the extra peanut butter I probably AM eating.

So really, eating well has been a process for me!

If that is of any use, then good! There's a lot of excellent info on Jeff Novick's forum, and that is probably the best and most obvious place to start. Very thorough info there!

[barryoilbegone]

Given how many folks have issues with refined sugars (me included), it'd be nice to see this as a permanent prominent thread, alongside the Upcoming Talks, and Meet the Forum Members. Coming to the forum, we've generally steered clear of oil or on the way to doing so, but sugar tends to be one of the last stands in terms of addictive foods. Giving it up, except in very small amounts, for the unrefined starches is key too.

If you're picking only one of them to give up, it'd be oils over refined sugars, but lots of McDougallers need on-going help with one or giving up and keeping away from this.

[Yomom]

I too have an addiction to sugar. I have greatly subdued it, but I can slip up if I fail to plan, get caught without healthy foods (prepared, ready to combine, cold in the refrigerator, such as brown rice, beans, or potatoes, to which I add vegetables, frozen corn and tomatoes). I have learned that I have to avoid baking recipes -- yes, the recipes are from our gurus and are "healthy" but I WILL find a way to eat it ALL. I have had to beat down my tendency to want to "treat" myself when in the store. I have to pre-eat before non-restaurant social functions so I can resist, or bring my own potatoes or alternative food to eat surreptitiously. Restaurant dates with my husband (a non-McDougaller) are the most challenging.
Anyway bottom line for me is, I have learned that I have to avoid ALL sugar at ALL times. A tablespoon of sugar (in any form) in my morning oatmeal will trigger intense cravings all day.

[roundcoconut]

I'll add one more thing about my experience with my own personal trigger foods:

I've gotten a LOT of mileage out of the phrase, "I do best when. . . . ". When I am honest with myself about what my past experiences show me, then it is clear to me that I do best when I eat certain foods, and abstain from certain other foods. It is clear from my experience that I do best when I have access to food during certain times and situations, but not others. It is clear from my experience that I do best when I measure out my portions of certain foods before cooking up a batch. I also notice from my experiene that I do best when I do certain non-food-related activities to give myself a sane and pleasant life.

The other smart thing I've done, is that I HAVE taken my particular addictions seriously, and done WHAT IT TAKES to rein that in. For me, that means I don't have bites or sips of things that might trip me up. I don't do it socially, I don't do it under peer pressure, and I don't do it recreationally. If I were an alcoholic with a mere two days of sobriety, I would taken ANY MEAUSURES NECESSARY to avoid being around others who were drinking, or to avoid going into establishments where I've had alcohol in the past, or allowing any alcohol into the house.

A favorite phrase of mine, is that I want to be kind to myself, but hard on my addictions. I don't give them an inch. I don't trust my addictions at all.

Mind you, my addiction is primarily the binge eating, but for other people their addiction may primarily be the sugar. So my daily medicine and the steps I take to work toward a lasting peace with food, may be very different from someone else's.

A sugar addict can probably keep one weeks' worth of other foods in the house, without feeling that those foods call to them to indulge. Me, I go into coffee shops on a daily basis where sugary crap is served, and have never once wanted to buy one of their treats! So we are all different!

[Franchesca_S.]

by roundcoconut » Sun Feb 26, 2017 8:59 am

I'll echo what others have said -- brown sugar out of the bag probably tastes good to nearly anyone! One of the hardest things about growing up (meaning: living in someone else's household, in which I didn't have a vote about what we kept around) was that my mother DID keep baking ingredients like this around, so there was always someplace to take food from.

Roundcoconut,
You make some interesting points. I really limit sugar and notice that the small amount of raisins I use (in salads) taste much sweeter to me than before.
I also have done a better job of cleaning out my house of trigger foods and am doing better because of it.
Franchesca

[lucidguppy]

For a little while now I've had quite a lot of coffee with sugar.

Need to go back to tea with no sugar. Need to get back into the gym too.