I am not overweight, but I was once and I have an obssession with food. When she said not to eat sugar I began to eat more of it. Then I felt like a failure and began binge eating other foods as well.

I feel guilty about eating meals because I ate sugar in the in between. On a more positive note I don't consume caffeine anymore.

This is hard one for me as well. I cut out the caffeine( though chocolate was a little hard to do) but I can't seem to control the sugar. I have major carb cravings. Especially if I'm stressed or upset. I'll do good for a couple of days and then boom I've gotta have a cookie or ice cream. I'm not over weight either but I'm not as thin as I'd like to be. Keep me posted if you learn any tips on how to dodge those cravings.

I will see what I can find out. Maybe we can do it together? A friend of mine told me once that change is easier when you are held accountable. I want to cut back and sugar really is an addiction for me.

Good morning! If cutting things out "cold turkey" doesn't work for you, then don't do it that way. Cut things down slowly. Or, plan to have ONE special treat each day. I have modified my diet to be eating more healthy at my three meals a day, plus my snacks, but I make sure that I have one square of dark chocolate each day and either a small shake or bowl of pudding (both homemade and low in sugar) each evening. That way I get the health benefits of the dark chocolate, the calcium that I need from the dairy products, but limit the sugar intake. Take each day the best you can. Try different things. One way doesn't work for everybody. Eventually you should come up with a "diet" that works for you. Take care and don't beat yourself up over the situation.

Try making homemade treats using other sweetners like honey, molasses, aguave or a number of other things in the health food store. Or the health food store has treats made with other sweetners also. Still don't overdo, but you can at least have a treat. Sugar is a hard one for me too and when it finally clicks - what I'm doing to myself - then I can make the switch, but it has to be cold turkey. I can go a whole year without any sugar and then if I finally have some, usually it is because of social pressure, than I'm right back where I started and it's hard to go back. I hate the feeling that the sugar has control of me, but that's what it's like when I'm eating it - I can't stop! So it's always better for me not to start. Good luck!

The best sweetener that tastes very similar if not just like sugar is stevia. You can buy it at a health food store and buy the non-bitter. I've used it years before ever getting the program and especially when used in recipes, nobody can even tell in my family. Plus it is 500-800 times sweeter than sugar so it takes only a very small amount and it is calorie free. Stevia is the best thing out there.

This may sound like a dumb question so,,,pardon me if it does but, I am dealing with this sugar elimination as well. I have been eating some of the weight watchers ice creams however they have some sugar in them....would this be considered off limits too? We people say they are cutting out all sugar does that include even that fruit in a can??? I know this sounds obsessive but, I am not sure if I need to be cutting out those things too. Thanks for any input.

You can buy those products at any health food store without sugar. Again, stevia is the best sweetener out there, so look for products made w/ stevia which can be found as health food stores, including ice-cream. You can also find fruit in cans w/o the added sugar, those canned fruits usually have tons and tons of sugar so I would just stick w/ fresh fruit, tastes better anyways. But you can find the canned fruit w/o added sugar at some health food stores as well. But fruit in general will have sugar, I don't think Lucinda means to cut out foods w/ natural sugar.

I have to say that this part in the program was difficult for me too. I overcame an eating disorder and have a fragile relationship with food and exercise still. For me, when someone says "I CAN'T have something," I want more of it or I'll go to the other extreme. I believe that this part of the program is an issue for those of us who have an obsessive relationship with food. I would suggest that you don't tell yourself that I can't have sugar/caffeine, but tell yourself that I get to eat more of other things like veggies, yogurt, etc. This type of positive thinking may help you not focus on not having sugar but focus on getting to eat something else! Also, understand that you don't have to completely get rid of sugar and caffeine. Letting yourself know that it's okay to have some sugar and caffeine will help with your obsessive thinking and, ironically, hopefully help you to reduce the amount you have. Good luck!

I guess for me Khaki it was the every opposite, any excuse for me to avoid things I would never touch because of a prior eating disorder makes me happy. I wouldn't touch them when I had anorexia years and years ago and still deal w/ thoughts so this excited me because I could tell my parents "I can't eat that. Lucinda says not to." I'm also supposed to start the emsam patch soon and it had many dietary restrictions and I'm actually secretly inside excited about it. This is horrible thinking and I am working on it (session 3). I am working on seeing myself the way God sees me and not the world. I am working on the inner healing from the eating disorder thoughts that surfaced w/ the anxiety. You just have to do what is best for any of the eating disorder. But I am telling you guys to try stevia, it tastes almost exactly like sugar and you can use it to make cookies and cakes if that is what you are craving, you can use it to make anything. Sugar and caffeine are stimulants of adrenaline. Just try the stevia please. The non bitter. I use it for everything. On a sweet potato last night. But I don't think the occasional caffeine or sugar is a problem, but it if becomes a binging problem, that is a serious problem that needs to be addressed, as I dealt w/ bulimia for about a year as well.

Good for you.. cutting out caffeine is such a huge step, but don't skip meals to compensate for extra sugary treats.. Because regular food usually balances out rushes of sugar..

Both sugars and caffeine were hard for me to cut down on, but at my place i took out my sweets and replaced them with fruits.. So even if i want a late night snack.. I can't resort to high sugar..

But i so treat myself every so often so I don't totally crash and eat every donut, cake, and ice cream bar in sight