Always hungry/craving sugar

[lb24]

I'm always hungry and especially crave sugary food during the day (biscuits, cakes, etc.), especially when at work. I have a good sized breakfast, lunch and dinner which are all healthy food. I'm not overweight. I've gone to the doctor and am not diabetic. Can anyone help?

[Englishbird]

There is a technique in Paul Mckenna's book 'I can make you thin' to stop cravings. This is probably an emotional craving and hunger rather than a physical one. Without getting too psychoanalytical on you, I'd read the book, even though you're not looking to lose weight. It's a very easy read and makes a lot of sense.

I can go into it more if you'd like, but I don't know that i'd do it justice on here.

[hannahjo]

Hi Ib24. Heres a couple things you might want to look into:

It could be hypoglycemia, there are many other symptoms which could help you to determine if you have this or not (most notable � shaky and/or dizzy spells, fatigue, sugar cravings, needing to eat regularly) its too complex to explain here but if you google it you can find out more. Or if you did want me to go into more detail just say and I�ll do my best! You�ll probably find loads of info relating it to diabetes, but you can be hypoglycemic and not diabetic � so don�t worry! Hypoglycemia is all your blood sugar levels, to combat it you need to keep your levels regular which you can do by sorting out your diet, again if you want more detail just ask!

Secondly you could simply be addicted to sugar, an addiction overlooked as serious by many people as sugar is so regularly accepted and available. However this is serious � sugar can really affect your general wellbeing and your psyche not to mention all the health problems it can bring on like diabetes, heart disease, stroke� again if you think it�s this I can pass on my tips for getting over sugar cravings!

[lb24]

Thanks for the above info.

hannahjo - it sounds to me like its your first paragraph. If you have any further info on how to get sugar levels regular it would be great!

[hannahjo]

Hey Ib, to get your blood sugar levels regular you need to do 2 things; firstly, eat regularly � make sure you always have breakfast - and secondly avoid caffeine, white flour, alcohol and sugar. It doesn�t sound very fun I know, but hopefully avoiding these foods will help you feel better. Some people say you should completely avoid these foods 24/7, but I find that as long as I keep them out of my day to day diet, a treat once in a while doesn�t hurt. I think the most important thing to do is to listen to your body, keep track of how you feel after you eat certain foods and if you don�t feel great then cut them out.

If you do decided to cut out the sugary foods, then when you do get a craving either try to busy yourself with something else, ride it out (most cravings only last for 20 mins), have an alternative healthy snack or herbal tea or brush your teeth � I find the mintyness curbs the craving, plus everything tastes like poop after you�ve brushed your teeth so you wont want to eat! You may find it really hard going at first but after a month the cravings should be much less frequent, as your body will get used to not having excess sugar. After you�ve been off the sugar for a while you�ll probably find that you can�t handle as much sweet stuff as you used to, and foods with natural sugars in (like fruits) will seem much more flavoursome as your taste buds will have also adapted.

The GI diet is a really good diet to follow to keep blood sugars level, even if you are not trying to loose weight. If you have a look on here: www.glycemicindex.com it should explain how & why it all works.

Hope that helps!

[WendyS]

Since the beginning of January I've started drinking hot water with a slice of lemon two or three times a day and find it surprising that gradually as I'm getting used to the taste of it my craving for sweet things like chocolate is slowly reducing.

[lb24]

Wow, thanks for the tips hannahjo! You're better than a doctor! :)

[Pri2006]

Hi Ib24,

Well I am currently reading two books on sugar addiction which I thoroughly recommend. They are a real God send.

Potatoes not Prozac - by Katherine DesMaisons PHD

'Are you sugar sensitive? Have you ever wondered why you can't say no to fattening foods or alcohol? Millions of ppl are sugar sensitive.

ISBN: 0 671 77377 1

First published in Great Britain by Simon Schuster UK Ltd in 1999

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The Sugar Addicts Total Recovery Programme - All Natural, Simple Solutions That Build Energy, Heal Depression and Enhance Mental Focus

by Kathleen DesMaisons

Simon and Schuster Publications

ISBN: 0 7432 0673 8

If you go to amazon you can prob check out the books.. i discovered them on ebay...

I hope you have some luck, I have an awful craving and have consumed two boxes of choc every weekend from Christmas.. even though I now hate choc I still have to eat it.. it calls to me.. 'eat me eat me'..... Seriously try the books...Good luck!