The S word.... (S***R)

[Jcannon98188]

From my basic understanding of pop culture, step one is to admit you have a problem right?

Quick intro: My name is Jason, I am 19 years old. And I have been addicted to sugar for 19 years (hi Jason). Which is pretty unhealthy. Oh, and I am type 1 diabetic, so this addiction is quite literally killing me. But here's the deal. I LOVE the stuff. Can't get enough of it. Soda especially (Mountain Dew, oh how I love me some Mountain Dew). I am ashamed to admit (ok maybe I say it with pride) that I once drank 6 liters of Mountain Dew in one day. It was intense, an amazing day, and the worst sugar hangover I ever had (Seriously, don't try it). Well my piss poor control of my diabetes has already caused my eye sight to go, and I know my other organs are just lining up to see who gets to go next. And I know that I have a serious problem that I know I need to fix. So I created this 3 part plan on how to overcome it.

1.)Admit I have a problem

2.)???

3.)Profit.

Ok, so maybe I plagurized the plan from the internet (and steve's blog). My question to you is, what is the best move for step 2. Do I go the route of Paleo (Looks interesting, but I also have the problem of being VERY picky with what I eat. Strange food is well..... strange), or is that really not enough. Do I need to go so drastic as to abstain from all sources of sugar (including naturally occuring fruitose) for a few months? Should I just keep on devouring all the sugar I can(I like this one ) What do you guys think?

[ETFnerd]

I would start here rather than paleo which isn't designed to address your special needs...

http://www.med.umich.edu/1libr/aha/ummp1.htm

[leadchipmunk]

If it is a true addiction, I would not cut all sugar out, I would work on cutting it back bit by bit until you get to only fruit, then if you want switch to paleo, and then cut your fruit out even more until it is a minimal level. Sugar withdrawal, as with all withdrawals, suck big time so cold turkey may just cause a relapse and an increase of sugar consumption. And paleo isn't completely needed, but by switching to non-processed foods, it will help cut back the sugar you may not know you are getting. Read labels, sugar in one form or another is everywhere. If you are intrigued by paleo, you can still do it if you are picky, I'm quite adventurous when it comes to food (I'll try anything twice), but most of my meals consist of steamed vegetables, chicken or steak or eggs, and that hasn't gotten old or boring yet. You can find food you like and try different cooking or seasoning methods so there isn't as much of a shock to the system as something like eating a sashimi platter, or you could find a cooking method you like and try a similar ingredient. Like spinach? Try replacing it with beet greens or kale. You won't notice too much of a difference.

And just so you know, step 2 and substeps 2a, 2b, etc. will take a while and a good deal of work until you reach step 3. But it is definitely worth it.

ETF's link is almost definitely better than my suggestion as it deals specifically with diabetes, so I would suggest checking that out before you consider mine.

[Rivanariko]

I definitely wouldn't try to cut out all sugar cold turkey, especially if you're as addicted as you say. When I tried to cut out all sugar for lent last year, I ended up feeling shaky and week for a few days, and eventually caved and re-embraced the wonder that is cake, and I'm not diabetic. Also, if my understanding of diabetes is correct, it has more to do with making sure that your sugar levels stay in the right range than cutting out all sugar, correct? You don't want them too low either. I would do some research into diets designed specifically for diabetics and talk with your doctor about the things that you need to be getting more of and avoiding more of as you try to clean up your diet.

[Timmy M]

i'll just leave this here

[Jcannon98188]

i'll just leave this here

See, I saw that and thought "Huh. All the foods I like have more sugar cubes. No wonder I don't like those foods there".

@Riv you are right about getting it to a certain level.

@ETF, thanks for the reply. My only hesitancy about simply following guides like that, is I feel they are too loose in their structure. They have good foods, and bad foods, and its OK to have the bad foods, but only in moderation. But what is moderation? for example. It is what I like to much about Paleo. With Paleo its like, "If its not Nuts, Fruit, Meat, or Vegetables then don't eat it." I love that. There are no special charts, no special programs, nothing like that.

That being said, my initial concern is that I feel like I might be addicted to sugars. The fact that I am diabetic comes secondary to that (As if I fix problem 1 then that will help problem 2, and I can't take care of problem 2 without addressing problem 1). So my issue isn't so much of "As a Diabetic, what should I be eating" (Because I know what I should be eatinbg. Nuts Fruits Vegetables and Meats. So..... Paleo )but more so what is the best way, or suggested way, for breaking an addiction to sugar.

I did a week of paleo once, severly cutting off my sugar supply. I did no preparation, and had no plan to deal with urges for "normal" food, and so it flopped really fast. I suppose another way of asking this, is how do you suggest going about radically changing my diet? Should I just 'do it to it' and make the switch, or should I do what chipmunk said, and slowly ease my way into the water.

[cline]

Good luck! I have no words of wisdom here (other than what's been said) but a lot of support. I have two friends (one with out of control diabetes) and a family member (also out of control diabetes) and they really struggle with the sugar thing. Really struggle. The one friend has admitted it (I think he's where you are) and I know it's tough. Part of the addiction, honestly, is mental. If you can deal with the mental bit, you will have an easier time with the physical bit. Maybe you can start re-thinking the sugar and then cutting back?

Really, good luck!!! the sugar stuff is really hard.

[CalvinHobbes]

As a type-1 diabetic you definitely need to be careful when cutting out sugar--you will probably see a huge decrease in the amount of insulin you need. If you're on a pump then it should be easier because you can temp-basal, take your pump off, etc. If you're on Lantus then I'd slowly cut back on how much you're eating. Lastly, if you're on a sliding scale, call your diabetes educator/endo and confirm the amount of carbs they want you eating daily and edit it to what you want with them and decreasing your insulin.

[Naturally]

I don't know the answer, I struggle with the same

[Namednoname]

This won't help with your sugar craving straight away, but try researching Intermittent Fasting, the benefits to a diabetic are vast, as well as a pretty easy way to help with fat loss.

I've even read quite a few stories of people managing to cure their diabetes with IF and a better diet. Some of the benefits I remember are reduced blood glucose and insulin levels. Increased Insulin Sensitivity and better glucose tolerance.

Ill put down how I'd test it. But before you take my advice, Read up first! I don't know the safest approach for a diabetic and my way might be too gung ho. So research and make your own mind up first.

Take the Leangains approach of 16 hour fast and 8 hour eating window (Roughly 16 hours is where the benefits your gaining from the fast is peaking)

I'd recommend starting you feeding window roughly around lunch time. Ending in 8 hours time. Then a vast majority of your fast is spent sleeping. And you got less time to think about food

Don't worry about changing your diet for now. Just see how the fast affects you. I've read reports of less drastic glucose spikes, quicker drops in blood sugar post-meal. But doesn't drop too low.

But I'm going to stress that if you take my advice, do your best to not change your diet at all. Which also means, at noon don't pig out on sugar because your hungry.

Try your best to have exactly what you'd regularly have.

Because if you go on a sugar binge, your still going to have a huge spike and crash. Albeit maybe not as bad as without the fasting.

I doubt you'd be seeing much differences in the first few days, so give it a week or two to test out.

Once your used to fasting, that's when to start making dietary changes. Take baby steps, remove the most harmful foods from your diet. And gradually work your way down.

If you can't live without mountain dew, just try gradually drinking less and less. While still making other changes in your diet. Eventually you'll be okay with drinking zero mountain dew.

It may take a few months with this approach to perfect your diet. But it's worth it in the end.

Lastly, the biggest reason why 90% of people never attempt to try IF, is simply the mental barrier, of facing down 16 hours of no food. But it is simply a mental barrier.

You will be hungry for the first few fasts, but that is due to the hunger hormone ghrelin. After a few days your body should adapt and you'll start being less and less hungry during the fast periods.

Reason for this, is Ghrelin is secreted at times which it expects you to eat. If you eat at 8am every morning, you'll get hungry around that time. If you begin to eat at 1pm each day, your body will adapt.

Ghrelin secretion will lessen in the morning over time and Ghrelin will begin to secrete around the time of your new 'breakfast'. If your still getting hungry during the fast. Your not eating enough during the feeding window.

And I stress again, before you act on anything I've said. Read and research Intermittent Fasting and make your own mind up on whether or not my approach would be safe for you.

I'm basing this approach on the way I got a few of my friends to try it out to help with their fitness. It's the easiest way to ease into it, you can clean up your diet overtime but IF is the single most beneficial dietary change you can make with very little effort. But I'm not sure how your body will react to it the first few times. Without a doubt though it's something you can get used to.

Essay over. Hope that helps! And I hope I covered a lot of the important stuff

Edit: Remember your not changing the amount you eat either! I've seen alot of people mess up on Intermittent Fasting purely because they're less hungry and don't feed themselves properly. Remember that what your essentially doing, is NOT eating less, but simply doing all your eating in that 8 hour window.

[Morrigainz]

And to up the fear factor..

Seriously though...good luck. I still struggle with my devils (beer, chocolate) and although I'm not diabetic so I don't have the same reasons for limiting myself...well...it still sucks and is hard. Good luck

[ZenGwen]

Hi Jason. Good work admitting you have a problem. There is good advice here already.

I just wanted to say, I used to drink 2 liters of Mountain Dew a day, in addition to all the other junk I was eating. When I moved to Scotland I switched to 2 liters of Irn Bru a day. They are pretty equivalent - in fact, Scottish-recipe Irn Bru is illegal in the USA, and American-recipe Mountain Dew is illegal in Scotland. It was a point of pride with me too. I used to make caffeinated Irn Bru muffins for my geeky friends. They went down a storm. We love to mess ourselves up, don't we?

I switched to diet, and then went off it cold turkey. (Which I wouldn't recommend for you.) But just to let you know, I haven't drunk any soda (including energy drinks like Relentless and Red Bull) at all now for two years, and I don't miss it. It can be done. I moved on to a pretty major coffee addiction for a while, but I've also kicked that now, and only have maybe a cup a day. I've also cut out most of the other sources of sugar I was taking in. No more sitting down with an entire packet of cookies.

Just wanting to get across, I totally feel where you're coming from, I'm completely rooting for you, and it can be done. Ping me a message if you ever need some support.

[Timmy M]

And to up the fear factor..

that's just asking for trouble...

[unicornassassin]

From my basic understanding of pop culture, step one is to admit you have a problem right?

Quick intro: My name is Jason, I am 19 years old. And I have been addicted to sugar for 19 years (hi Jason). Which is pretty unhealthy. Oh, and I am type 1 diabetic, so this addiction is quite literally killing me. But here's the deal. I LOVE the stuff. Can't get enough of it. Soda especially (Mountain Dew, oh how I love me some Mountain Dew). I am ashamed to admit (ok maybe I say it with pride) that I once drank 6 liters of Mountain Dew in one day. It was intense, an amazing day, and the worst sugar hangover I ever had (Seriously, don't try it). Well my piss poor control of my diabetes has already caused my eye sight to go, and I know my other organs are just lining up to see who gets to go next. And I know that I have a serious problem that I know I need to fix. So I created this 3 part plan on how to overcome it.

1.)Admit I have a problem

2.)???

3.)Profit.

Ok, so maybe I plagurized the plan from the internet (and steve's blog). My question to you is, what is the best move for step 2. Do I go the route of Paleo (Looks interesting, but I also have the problem of being VERY picky with what I eat. Strange food is well..... strange), or is that really not enough. Do I need to go so drastic as to abstain from all sources of sugar (including naturally occuring fruitose) for a few months? Should I just keep on devouring all the sugar I can(I like this one ) What do you guys think?

Dude, surely you've talked to your doctor about this? What is his or her advice? Has he or she suggested you go to a nutritionist?

ETA if you haven't talked to your doctor yet, DO IT. My mom has poorly managed diabetes, and dude........ seriously, you need to talk to your doctor about managing your diabetes.

[Jcannon98188]

Dude, surely you've talked to your doctor about this? What is his or her advice? Has he or she suggested you go to a nutritionist?

ETA if you haven't talked to your doctor yet, DO IT. My mom has poorly managed diabetes, and dude........ seriously, you need to talk to your doctor about managing your diabetes.

Yeah. My doctor more or less told me to come back when I was ready to get my act together. I switched doctors (Due to a move, not because I didn't like him, he was awesome) and am working on getting my self under control a bit before seeing them for the first time.

Also, thanks everyone for your encouragement! Can't even begin to tell you how much I want to chug a bunch of mtn dew right now, but I am resisting (partially because its bad, partially because I am broke and payday isn't till next friday ) What I really find strange, is when I am not trying to change my diet, I don't have that bad of a problem with mountain dew, its a yummy drink, but thats about it. But whenever I decide to try and get my diet under control, I get massive cravings. But I hear that is like that with just about anything bad for you that you eat/drink.

@Nomad

I think I will try that fasting bit. I havn't fasted since I was a little kid (used to fast every month once a month for religious reasons, but stopped when I was diagnosed) so it will definitely be a challenge. Especially since I am hungry like all the time, even if I stuff myself full of food. You will probably not hear this from many people, but curse you high metabolism! (Which incidentally, is caused by the fact that I don't take care of my diabetes, it caused my metabolism to get all out of whack. If I eat better, and take care of myself, I will actually gain weight)

Another thing I have been thinking about, is to pre plan my food. I find that I eat the most sugars, when I am hungry and looking for something to eat really quick. I think that next week after I get paid I will buy my entire weeks worth of food ahead of time, and carefully keep track of what it is that I am eating, and make sure to limit the sugar intake.

[Namednoname]

What I really find strange, is when I am not trying to change my diet, I don't have that bad of a problem with mountain dew, its a yummy drink, but thats about it. But whenever I decide to try and get my diet under control, I get massive cravings. But I hear that is like that with just about anything bad for you that you eat/drink.

What you said there reminds of the 'Marshmallow Experiment'. The study was basically looking at 'deferred gratification', or willpower basicly. The ability to show restraint in order to obtain something you want. (Which relates to dieting alot when you think about it)

The study put a kid into a room with a single marshmallow, and told that if they wait for 15 minutes, they get two instead of one. Only 30% of the kids tested were able to hold out for the second marshmallow. (Stat may or may not be accurate This is recalling from memory) But what was found was that the kids who actively tried to avoid eating the marshmallow, ie, stared it down, tried to talk themselves out of eating it etc. Generally failed. The ones who distracted their minds completely from the marshmallow by focusing on something else entirely, had a higher success rate.

So in your case, the mountain dew is your marshmallow, and your the kid trying to stare it down Your spending so much energy mentally trying to avoid it, that it's all you can think about when your trying to eat well.

All that seperates the two is a change in tactic. While the ones who failed are putting all their energy into avoiding eating the marshmallow. The ones who succeeded aren't even thinking about it, no energy is spent mentally battling it.

You've probably done something similar to this before. Have you ever, bought a new game and spent an entire saturday playing it? Forgetting to eat or drink? That's exactly the same thing, just unintentional. Your body is hungry and thirsty but your mind is focused on getting to the level. It's all about focus, wherever your focus is, wherever your putting all your energy is what your going to be doing.

Of course it's a lil harder in practice then in theory. But if you can master it, it'll be a pretty nice trick to have. (I'm certainly no master of it but it's something I wanna work on )

You could try setting an alarm on your phone for times you want to eat, then put eating out your mind. Once the alarms go off, then you can worry about what to eat.

All this is the reason why I think a lot of people say to keep distracted when dieting

[Jcannon98188]

What you said there reminds of the 'Marshmallow Experiment'. The study was basically looking at 'deferred gratification', or willpower basicly. The ability to show restraint in order to obtain something you want. (Which relates to dieting alot when you think about it)

The study put a kid into a room with a single marshmallow, and told that if they wait for 15 minutes, they get two instead of one. Only 30% of the kids tested were able to hold out for the second marshmallow. (Stat may or may not be accurate This is recalling from memory) But what was found was that the kids who actively tried to avoid eating the marshmallow, ie, stared it down, tried to talk themselves out of eating it etc. Generally failed. The ones who distracted their minds completely from the marshmallow by focusing on something else entirely, had a higher success rate.

So in your case, the mountain dew is your marshmallow, and your the kid trying to stare it down Your spending so much energy mentally trying to avoid it, that it's all you can think about when your trying to eat well.

All that seperates the two is a change in tactic. While the ones who failed are putting all their energy into avoiding eating the marshmallow. The ones who succeeded aren't even thinking about it, no energy is spent mentally battling it.

You've probably done something similar to this before. Have you ever, bought a new game and spent an entire saturday playing it? Forgetting to eat or drink? That's exactly the same thing, just unintentional. Your body is hungry and thirsty but your mind is focused on getting to the level. It's all about focus, wherever your focus is, wherever your putting all your energy is what your going to be doing.

Of course it's a lil harder in practice then in theory. But if you can master it, it'll be a pretty nice trick to have. (I'm certainly no master of it but it's something I wanna work on )

You could try setting an alarm on your phone for times you want to eat, then put eating out your mind. Once the alarms go off, then you can worry about what to eat.

All this is the reason why I think a lot of people say to keep distracted when dieting

So what you are saying is, to avoid drinking Mountain Dew, I should play more video games? I think I like this diet

[leadchipmunk]

I love the marshmallow experiment, find the videos on it if you can. Those kids are hilarious.

[Jcannon98188]

I have actually heard of this experiment before, but for some reason I have never applied it to what I am working towards. I thought it was ridiculous that those kids couldn't wait to get a better reward, but comparing it now, it kind of makes sense. I guess I am the ridiculous one.

[nightlight]

Hey Jason. It's admirable that you want to cut out sugar -- props to you. BUT, please talk to your doctor or your diabetes educator before you do anything drastic. NF is the best community out here, but we're not doctors. If you get some good ideas here make sure to clear them before you go whole hog

[unicornassassin]

I guess I am the ridiculous one.

Ha! As you said, admitting it is half the battle...

OK, here's a little tough love for you:

I'm glad you talked to your doctor, and I'm not surprised he told you to come back once you got your act together. I was thinking about your problem last night, and I found myself thinking "if losing his eyesight isn't a big enough reason to quit, WTF is?"

As I said my mom has poorly controlled diabetes. She has also lost her eyesight, and her kidneys shut down so now she does dialysis. She's had a lot of foot problems and at one point there was a question of amputating. She had to have part of her colon (or stomach?) removed and now she has an ostomy bag. A couple of years ago she was in a coma and on a ventilator and we had to have the conversation of whether or not to take her off the ventilator and let her die. She's been in other comas. Frankly, I don't know how the hell she is still alive.

I don't mean that to sound cold blooded, I'm just being honest.

So... I really hope you take this information that people have given you, and use it! I would hate for someone as young as you start having all the kinds of problems that my mom has.

[Jcannon98188]

Ha! As you said, admitting it is half the battle...

OK, here's a little tough love for you:

I'm glad you talked to your doctor, and I'm not surprised he told you to come back once you got your act together. I was thinking about your problem last night, and I found myself thinking "if losing his eyesight isn't a big enough reason to quit, WTF is?"

As I said my mom has poorly controlled diabetes. She has also lost her eyesight, and her kidneys shut down so now she does dialysis. She's had a lot of foot problems and at one point there was a question of amputating. She had to have part of her colon (or stomach?) removed and now she has an ostomy bag. A couple of years ago she was in a coma and on a ventilator and we had to have the conversation of whether or not to take her off the ventilator and let her die. She's been in other comas. Frankly, I don't know how the hell she is still alive.

I don't mean that to sound cold blooded, I'm just being honest.

So... I really hope you take this information that people have given you, and use it! I would hate for someone as young as you start having all the kinds of problems that my mom has.

I totally feel you. And I really hate this. I know I have to change, I know what the consequences are if I don't, I became good friends with an elderly lady who did not take care of her diabetes. She was bed stricken for 2 years before finally passing away. I have tried every scare tactic in the book, but I guess being a teenager was more important to me than taking care of myself. After all, I was young and invincible, nothing would ever touch me.

It finally hit me recently that I needed to get my act together, when I was playing with my niece and nephew. The thought occurred to me, that when I eventually have children, that I could end up dieing at an early age, and how much that would traumatize them. What do you know, it took me not thinking about myself, and to start thinking about other people to realize I need to eat better and get this under control.

[Jcannon98188]

Hey Jason. It's admirable that you want to cut out sugar -- props to you. BUT, please talk to your doctor or your diabetes educator before you do anything drastic. NF is the best community out here, but we're not doctors. If you get some good ideas here make sure to clear them before you go whole hog

Hi nightlight,

You guys ARE the best community out here! Haha. And we should definitely get some doctors here in the community, that we can't say "But we aren't doctors" But you are right, I do need to clear it with a doctor. I guess I should probably go and find a doctor nearby me and set up an appointment soon...... I really dont like doctors >_> Something about them telling me that I need to take care of myself. Please, don't ever tell me how to live my life! </over exaggerated drama queen>