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Short version: I have dramatically cut down my sugar intake for 4 days but eat normally otherwise. Now I feel so cranky. I feel no willpower, and I get nothing done. What can I do to NOT feel this way while maintain this diet? Also, when is this going away? Long version: Hi guys, It's been four days since I have decided to dramatically reduced my added sugar intake. I've already stopped drinking anything sweet for a while, so it's only down to baked goods and desserts. I had been highly dependent on these things, though. It's within my culture. Cane and palm sugar is an integral part of a diet in Thailand, and we snack on it. Then high fructose corn syrup in America. In November and December, I had at least 2-3 cookies a size of a saucer a day due to stress from a big exam that decided my fate. I exercised daily and ate healthily otherwise, so I only gained 2" of my waist from it, but I see the pattern, and I wanted to stop. It's not like I abstain from sugar entirely. I had one small chocolate chip cookie yesterday evening at a friend's place, and stopped myself from getting more. That's the first confectionery I ate since I decided to reduce sugar. I also still eat fruits-- bananas, grapefruits, etc. But now I feel very cranky. My focus is blurry if there at all, and I cannot get any work done. Any songs would render me to tear. And there is this small but consistent headache like a baby hand was squeezing my brain stem and release, squeeze and release. I also want to eat everything in sight, including my sweater, a comic book, and a plastic fork with a drop of day old soy sauce on it (Eeww, I know). I have been warned that this is to be expected, and the craving should go away somewhere between 3 days to 2 weeks, but that's a long time!! Is there some way to cope with it? Have some of you successfully slip in this new diet? Any tricks to get through? Additional suggestions as to how I can refuse cakes and cookies from friends and neighbors would be wonderful. Thanks!