Sugar addict! HELP!

Hey everybody! I really hope we can move past these hurdles and become the enthusiastic high raw fooders we all want to be!

I personally, am struggling with a sugar addiction. And not just sugar, but baked goods specifically. I recently gave up dairy and only consume soy milk and/or eggs in my baking of yeast-free whole grain breads (as I am trying to take this slow). But I'm having serious issues staying away from baked sugars. Like on Fridays we get donuts in the office. I don't even like donuts but last week I had two chocolate cake donuts and they tasted so awesome. Of course, afterward I got a really minor headache and that hazy refined sugar feeling, but they literally worked for me like crack. A couple days later, I couldn't take it anymore and made myself a small recipe of chocolate oatmeal cookies. I finished off 6 of them within an hour. I'm not overeating (for example, those cookies were the only thing I ate in about a 12 hour time span - I know, serious lack of nutrition).

I guess I'm hoping someone else has dealt with this and can tell me how to go about conquering it. I don't want to get Diabetes! :(

▶ Reply to This

Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Toeknee on August 11, 2008 at 9:01pm: Do you have any raw recipe books with raw versions of the foods you like? Do you have a dehydrator?; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Justin on August 12, 2008 at 8:08am: I completely understand! It's not difficult to talk me into eating sweet stuff, but I always take a lot of fruit with me to work. Anytime you have a sugar craving....your body really wants fructose (fruit). You just interpret that as donuts. The temptation is just like a trigger for me. I guess its kind of like a person trying to quit smoking and sees a pack of cigarettes on the coffee table. Every time you get that craving, pop some grapes in your mouth and get busy with your work. In a few minutes I've noticed it always subsides! Goodluck :); ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by RawZi on August 12, 2008 at 8:40am: I eat raw saturated fats when I don't want sugar cravings. It helps me feel so much better than sugar, there really is no comparison.; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Carla on August 12, 2008 at 9:28pm: what kinds of foods do you get the raw saturated fats from? Yes i definitely would pop some fruit into my mouth. Honestly after my crazy low carb diet I tried years back. I realized fruit was fabulos and I couldn't take a SAD diet that would exclude fruit.. make sure you have fruit handy whenever you can. People laugh at me because i tend to carry a grapefruit and orange an apple or whatever can survive in my bag, just in case I get a craving.; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by RawZi on August 13, 2008 at 6:15am: Raw fresh coconut is about the best source of vegan saturated fat. I do more A2 cow pastured unpasteurized homecultured whole heavy top cream and the butter or whole pastured raw eggs. They have a lot of calories, so eating them has more than just nutritional benefit, but also fills the satiation receptors so that sugar, starch and any other un-needed is will not be wanted.

I couldn't take a SAD diet at all. I ate semiSAD as a child, and never to go back. I've been semiSAD vegan, and although that didn't necessarily restrict fruit, why would it? It too was very unhealthy for me, and I should never do it again unless I want to suffer a lot and be unable to do good. Grapefruits are great :); ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by LaineE on August 12, 2008 at 11:54pm: The office environment gets to me too.
It's usually hard to fight the free m&m's at work, especially when it's right in front of me the whole day. So, I carry around some raw trail mix. Dried fruits with nuts beats the cravings for me--I forget about the m&m's.; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Ryan on August 13, 2008 at 12:26am: what the hell is with offices? its like we know working here sucks so bite this nasty food as payment. Its like their devilish reward.

When you deny what you want in life bad or good you will only want more. So until you feel that having one donut is not a sin you will never give them up.; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by pinkkpanthur on August 13, 2008 at 1:34pm: See, I don't view donuts or any cooked food as a sin. I see it as a big scale of cost and benefits. If I eat a donut for example (which for the record, I really am not a fan of. I prefer a rich ice cream or coconut macaroons) I don't feel guilty, but I do know that it's not going to settle well with my body, it will give me headaches - especially if I eat the whole thing within ten minutes - and I'll get a little jittery and then really tired after the refined sugar has worn off. So normally I choose not to eat them.

Since I cut out dairy, I'm having more sugar cravings, and I'm concerned about it because I have candida. Although I'm really confused. I've read different sources and they all recommend different treatments for it. Some say eat saurkraut and kim chi for probiotics, others say these items promote growth of the yeast and "bad" bacteria. Some say stay away from sugars entirely and others say don't eat fats and oils. What the crap! Does any one know anything?; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Toeknee on August 13, 2008 at 2:05pm: It is a bit confusing.

The best advice I can give to you is to keep your colon clean if you have candida.

Your diet choices will probably depend on your own experimentation. I have tended to avoid high fruit in the past. I have modified my diet to very high green and vegetable diet with some fruits and a little fat. I tried to cut out fat completely, but I got really achy-- but this is just my own experience.

Food combos are the majority of the problem. In the past, mixing fruit and fat in the same meal was really bad for me. Now, I try to avoid the having fruit and fat on the same day. I have eliminated candida by avoiding all sweet items for 5 weeks (and taking probiotics) and doing a series of colonics. But, once I started adding the fruits back into my diet candida came back. So, now I decided to try having fruit on most mornings and I have more fatty in small (quanities) items when I don't eat fruit. It works much better for me. Finding balance has been a challenge for me, but I am finding my way slowly but surely.

Good luck!!!; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by RawZi on August 13, 2008 at 3:47pm: If the vegie kraut is made right, I've never seen it promote yeast growth. I've eaten (and prepared) a lot of it. I made a comment of a recipe for it on David Hestrin's profile page.; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by kayell on August 13, 2008 at 2:33pm: IMO, I believe that a high fruit/low fat diet like 80/10/10 would help. Your body needs sugars to run right (IMO), and fruit will give that to you (IMO), without the negative problems from the cooked, refined carbs. This is all dependent (I believe) on eating very low calories from fat (under 10%) This belief of mine is based on reading 80/10/10, trying it out on myself, and additional reading of various research. YMMV

(egads, this is impossible wording)

My rec - give 811rv a try for a month, see if it helps. You get the sugars your body needs, without the bad stuff, and without the diabetes.

PS. I want to be all raw. Can I still play? "become the enthusiastic high raw fooders we all want to be"; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by pinkkpanthur on August 13, 2008 at 3:07pm: See, my problem is I do best with closer to a 50/50 balance. 50% raw fruit and 50% raw vegetables, sprouts, nuts and grains. When I eat too much fruit, I get light headed and when I don't eat enough sugars, in the form of fruit or not, I get to where nothing else tastes good.

And yes I eat grains and I'm not willing to give them up (*stomps foot stubbornly*). I don't care what they supposedly do to me. Basic grains like rice and whole wheat pasta, when combined with vegetables or sprouts, seem to work splendidly for me.

I'm about ready to stop listening to what everybody else says and just figure out what makes me feel good. Seems pretty logical to me ...

Oh and yes, you can still play ;); ▶ Reply to This