I find it so hard because sugar is such an insidious food. I continue to waver between sugar and cigarettes. Really not doing well with either one. I hate this seesaw!
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I binge eat, like alcohol. However I’ve got anxiety issues at the mo haven’t felt like eating. The plus side I have lost some unwanted pounds. There is no balance with me, it’s all or nothing 
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Hi Katie. So glad you’re here. I hear you and I understand. You are strong though, clearly, as you’ve made the choice to acknowledge that what you’re going through is hard, and it is! Omg. And you’re here! Please know that everything is going to be alright. It may not feel like it now, and times may still be uncertain, but you, who you really are, YOU will be okay 
sugar addiction is HARD. But a little bit of self love and loving kindness will help us get through this. I wish you well.
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Perhaps tackle one thing at a time. That’s what I did. First I stopped smoking, then drinking, now I’m working on the unhealthy foods. It is the chocolate and sweets that helped me too quit the first two tho. Don’t be too hard on yourself. Get rid of that nasty nicotine monster inside your head and body, drink lots of water and then once you’re free of cigarettes, you can face the sugar addiction. Just a suggestion tho, I wish you well @Amm
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Still here battling this sugar addiction… had some wins, but many more losses. The battle continues. I wonder if this one is ever gonna stick. My mind seems so powerful and my own intelligence is working against me. I’m tired of the excuses I make. I’m tired of my habits. Yet, I’ve been tired of em for a while now, but still I continue to do and eat the things that I know harm my health and wellbeing 
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I am still struggling too. Especially if I relapse alcohol, I will eat anything to try to fix a hangover, then the next few days, even if I don’t drink, I emotion eat like crazy. At 6 days no booze, and finally feel like trying to tackle eating.
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Be kind to yourself @Misokatsu. It’s hard when we try to tackle too many things at once. I found that if I first focus all my energy on learning to become a non-drinker, and practicing saying NO to the drink that matters, the FIRST drink, staying focused, committed and determined on that quest, then I was able to feel a sense of pride and courage in myself and my abilities. For me, I had to eliminate alcohol and the craving for alcohol before I could even think about foods/sugar. Eating the foods I wanted helped me to say NO to alcohol, it gave me an alternative. Now, I feel in good steed in the non-drinking department so I’m focusing on the poor food choices I make /sugar addiction I have. One thing at a time, one day at a time What tools are you using and what new habits have you established to help you stay sober? Have you thought about joining any recovery groups? AA, Refuge, SMART recovery? A community of ppl going through the same thing is amazing and offers huge support on this road to long-term sobriety.
Wishing you all the best! 
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Hello Everyone, how are you doing with the sugar addiction? You are so right that it’s hard to kick. I have had months and years of no binge eating and no sugar, then fall in the gutter and have to start all over again. I had been doing well and now have to start again. When I mess up like this, I feel frustrated and really angry with myself.
At several points I was a normal weight, but at my high a few years ago I weighed twice what I should have—281 pounds. It was probably higher but hey, if you don’t weigh you never got there. Right?
I have gotten rid of about 65 pounds and kept it off, but obviously must lose more. I don’t know if others here are also overweight or just battling the urge to binge on sweets.
I think one of the big problems with a food addiction is that it is somewhat socially acceptable. Nearly everyone can identify with overeating at holidays or special occasions once in a while. I even if it might be somewhat appropriate if our mindset were known, police don’t give tickets for driving under the influence of candy or cookies. I can be just as crazy, but no ticket.
I do want to mention there’s support for us if you want it. It’s called Overeaters Anonymous and the website is oa.org. It’s available in many countries, literature in for sure English and Spanish and probably other languages I don’t know about. I know people who come, have lost their weight and kept it off for years. Maybe I am just sicker and that’s why I go back. But I am a lot more sane than before and my binges are of shorter duration. So there’s hope.
I wish you peace and freedom from the first bite.
Brand spanking new to this forum. Soooo thankful I came accross it. Not sure if I’m joining in the way I should or just taking space on someone else’s post…
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Welcome! Totally ok to jump on a previous thread and share your experience 
. I struggle with sugar too.
It doesn’t seem like there’s anyone posting in this thread anymore but I will. My sugar addiction is out of control lately. I’m 65 days sober but have always and I mean ALWAYS had an addiction to sugar. I really want to say that being sober has nothing to do with how much sugar I’m consuming. I could be wrong. But I’m finding that I’m utterly exhausted lately from work and stressed here and there but not badly, and I’m giving in to all sugar cravings. I also work in a school and it’s the end of the year with lots of activities and events and my school seems to be obsessed with ordering cupcakes and cakes for the staff, and I cannot stop myself from getting 3 or 4 or 5 servings of sweets. It’s debilitating and embarrassing, and I’m so ashamed and feel so guilty by the end of the day with how much I’ve eaten. I don’t know what to do, I feel like I’m at a loss. I thought alcohol was everywhere, no SUGAR is everywhere. I have no control when I see sweets. How do I stop? And if I can stop how do I completely abstain all the time from sweets? Because there is no such thing as portion control or moderation with me, it is all or nothing. It has to be nothing…
I always had a sweet tooth and in sobriety, I allowed the indulgence to thrive until I felt solid in my recovery…about a year and a half in. I get 100% that I eat / use / drink / shop / smoke / fill in the blank for comfort, solace, numbing and avoidance of feelings.
I am a big baker, I love baking. Cookies, breads, bars, brownies, protein balls, yum. So…I switched from sugar to Lakanto Monkfruit Sweetener that does not spike glucose. I also stopped eating any processed foods with sugar (pasta, bread, condiments, etc). I do not use honey, agave, etc in any cooking or food. I do eat natural sugars in fruit and vegetables. I drink a little coffee black and eater or sparkling seltzer.
It helped me a lot. It isn’t for everyone, but it has become my way of eating over the past 4 years. I no longer feel ruled by my sweet tooth.
I don’t know what you normally eat, but baby steps can be helpful. Replace sugar drinks with fizzy water. Substitute fruit for baked good.
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I have been struggling with sugar a lot lately too. I find that when I have been exercising more regularly, I tend to eat healthier (maybe crave trashy food less?) But I’ve been pretty sedentary in the last months. I gained in three months the weight it took a year to lose. How is that fair? 
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Thank you for responding! Those alternatives to sugar sound good. I can’t stand the spike in blood sugar that I can feel, and the crash that comes later that always leads to more cravings. I do think I want to stop eating bread, but that’s scary to me as I loooove me so egg sandwiches in the morning. But that can also spill over to a peanut butter and skinny girl jelly sandwich at night. I do actually drink flavored seltzer which has helped both my sweet craving and alcohol craving (since I put it in a cute wine glass) and I have, or was, consuming much more fruit when I first became sober. I’m about to go on summer break and I hope that helps since I rarely buy junk for the house when food shopping. But that can also lead to boredom eating so I have to be careful with that as well.
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Ugh same when I first became sober I exercised like crazy and really had no cravings for junk or sweets. But I’ve been so tired from my job that I have been neglecting working out and there’s so much food available at my job that I just keep eating. I’m sorry that is the worst that you gained back so fast. That happened to me 2 years ago after a traumatic event, 6 months of progress gone in 3 months. I finally started losing the weight when I went sober but it’s beginning to creep back up and it’s terrifying me. 
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You definitely don’t have the ups and downs of sugar spikes. Or the sluggish feeling if you can wean yourself off sugar. I hadn’t had bread in years, but I just found a cashew butter bread recipe and it is amazing…tho expensive to bake. Costs less than a bottle of booze tho.
And yes, I feel you on the scale. I ‘try’ to be less scale focused and more focused on eating real food and being physical because I enjoy it (which I truly do). But old habits, poor self image and diet / wellness culture die hard. The ‘fantasy’ of a healthy body …thin toned forever young white woman (now add in the botox/butt lift/etc)…has infected us for sure. Hard to get past that and be grateful for my functional body that works as it is intended. As with life, a work in progress!
You are not alone.
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Hi Sami, I am sure you’ve heard that in early recovery, man, a lot of ppl eat a lot of sweets and it’s not even recommended to try and curb that all too much, since your body is craving the sugar it’s used to get in alcohol. but I can understand your worry and frustration. I also gained a good bit of weight in my first semester of sobriety. it’s come off since but I definitely have my flows, my bigger and smaller times. I try to allow for that. I used to be extremely focused on that, now less so. it’s been one of the most difficult things to make progress in.
I know what you mean about snacks at work. we also have snacks at work and there have been phases where I would gorge on them because I was stressed and unhappy.
what I can recommend for this specific situation (since I don’t know if it’s wise to cut out sugar altogether so early in recovery, I really don’t know, and I haven’t cut it out myself, I lift weights, so I need carbs and stuff) would be to treat it like your alcohol addiction: hightened vigilance in situations where treats at work are supplied. abstinence from them, period. have something else you get to eat. bring your own food to work, make sure it’s nutritionally sound and plentiful. don’t go near the snacks at all. protect your non eating them fiercely by saying no and walking away.
I can’t have sweets in the house as, like you, I have no off switch. I do believe that when I make the decision in the store to not even enter the sweet aisle, not consider it an option, I am spared heartache later in the week (day, more like).
let us know how you get on with your journey! wish you all the best!
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I’m sorry to jump in , but I have been eating way too much sugar. What are some of the symptoms of eating too much sugar and even withdrawls?
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Hey there!!!
There are a few of us on the sugar free challenge, we gather on this thread…
Come join us.
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Thank you!
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