I am having a hard time getting off sugar or even reducing it much Has anyone actually done this and noticed a big difference in their stress levels? I realize that until i reduce or get off sugar i will never know if it does, i did get off sugar pops but i am a bad girl when it comes to icecream and cookies.....
I am really wanting to reduce it because if it makes me less of a crab it would be great for my family and i would feel better about myself
I need to lose weight and i have always lost weight by eating what i want and that includes sugar items......... i find that when i have tried to tell myself no to sugar i will eat more sandwich type things and get fatter
i have also noticed that if i try to cut down i want them more and say the h#%$& with it and eat 10 cookies LOLL i have a very rebellious attitude at times and well i think if i just got off it or reduced it and saw how much better i was as far as freaking out during my 18 days of pms a month it would motiveate me
anyone really do it and how did it feel?
if so how did you do it
thank you
Lori

GET OFF OF IT! You have no idea how much it is contributing to the anxiety cycle til you're off it.......completely. (read some of my sugar posts in the diet folder). Better yet read the book "Lick the Sugar Habit"....www.NancyAppleton.com One of the contributing factors with panic disorder ties into adrenalin. We are burning out our adrenals with sugar....I have learned that the less adrenalin I have, the worse the panic attack. My body is in a crisis trying to fire adrenalin (where there isnt any!) and my system is spazzzzzing out! Adrenalin needs to fire to kick over dopamine.......which relaxes us......as does seratonin. Sugar depletes the body of soooooooo much. Creates utter havoc in the brain and with the neurotransmitters. It is pure chemical. It has no nutritive value.....no vits or minerals or amino acids.....no protein......juts calories! And it raises our histamine levels which make us very cranky........and high histamine will cause us to crave more sugar. Until we stop eating sugar and let the histamine level drop, we just keep craving it. It akes about a week to drop it. Staying away from starches like bread, pasta, potatoes, rice, any bready things has also helped......these are all types of sugars also. How did I do it? The more I've read about what its been doing to me, the more freaked out I was......and then by getting off it and feeling the difference kept me going. I dont want to live to eat...I want to eat to live. I want to eat foods that make me feel alive.......not half dead with anxiety and cranky and bloated and dizzy! No one loves ice cream more than me......but I love feeling good more. One dip of ice cream will give me about 10-15 minutes pleasure, but i will be anxious for 2 days (46 hours) after it. We are making lots of choices every day that are either going to reduce our anxiety and situation or add to it.

After 8 at night was my hardest time. I would eat some cut up peaches (fresh) or eat a tsp. of cashew butter or handful of walnuts....drink water...anything to take the edge off......now I could care less about ice cream or sweets. We are rebellious types. Lets use our rebellion in a positive way! Rebel about wasting our days feeling like you know what.......wasting time being anxious with limitations! Lets put that ornery side we all have to use in a positive way! You can do it. One hour, one day at a time. Count out 7 days and work thru one at a time. Its soooooooo worth it to get alllllll the way off sugar! You're worth it.

Peaches

peaches i have read all your posts and everyone elses on sugar lol it seems to me not even a handful of people on the board have professed to getting off of it that is why i keep posting to see if more have done it and how they did
I am a sugar addict and have been for years. I think it is expecially hard for people that have been this way all their lives to stop doing it.
I do not have panic attacks unless i speak in front of groups (which i have no desire to)
But i do have bitchyness and pms and i would like to reduce my sugar intake but i dont plan on getting completly off it because if i plan to get off it completely i will fail and say the &%^%&& with it. I would like to reduce it and have treats now and then, but i have no plan to completely get off of it.
Sugar is in everything and I feel like the key is probably moderation.
I did get off caffeine and very glad i did.
I am not going to not eat a piece of cake at my sons birthday parties ect. I think in those times it would be ok to have an occasional treat.
yes as far as rebellion goes when i feel i "should" get rid of something that i like then i will say the heck with everything cause it is too frustrating for me
I got completely off caffeine and it was a miracle that i did i total miracle.....and i feel better and sugar pop
maybe in time after i reduce the sugar i will want to reduce it more but for right now i would just like to reduce it
Have you ever been addicted to sugar peaches? Or was this easy for you to get off of it?
My husband has never been addicted to him for him to give it up would be easy but for me it is very hard.
I would like to hear from more people on here that have actually given it up. And from some that have reduced it too.
From what i have seen on here i rarely see any posts about it, except from a handful of people.
I am getting really frustrated about it and want to just skip this part cause i am obsessing about it and i am eating more sugar instead of less.
I actually know all that head kknowledge about sugar its just getting off it that i have a problem with.
thank you peaches, that is great that you are off it, for me it may take a little time
Lori

I LOVE SUGAR! I love chocolate, candy, lollipops, sugar in my coffee/tea, hot chocolate, cookies, brownies, ice cream, cake, EVERYTHING with sugar in it! I also know that I become addicted to almost anything--alcohol, coffee/caffeine, sugar, obsessive thoughts, negative thoughts, you name it. So sloooowly I'm trying to rid myself of all these habits & addictions. I have a tendency to want to alter my state of consciousness or my mood w/whatever I can. So once I minimized my drinking alcohol, I switched to other stimulants like coffee and lots of sugar!!! (If you've ever been to an AA meeting, you notice lots of coffee, doughnuts, cigarettes, etc, b/c I think subconsciously we're trading one substance/state of mind for another.)

I haven't cut sugar out of my diet completely, but I've drastically reduced it. I don't drink soda (or every so often I'll drink Sprite, b/c at least it doesn't have the coloring and caffeine of other sodas). I drink only decaf. I used to put HEAPING spoonfuls of sugar in my coffe or tea, now it's barely a spoonful. I definitely don't eat sugar cereal to start my day! Also, there tends to be a lot of sugar in juice and fruit drinks, like Snapple, so I drink Crystal Light instead--it's sweet, but has NO SUGAR (not very nutritious, but sometimes I get bored of water, so this is a decent substitute.) If I want a treat, I try not to binge on whatever it is (cookies, chocolate candy bar, etc). I'll just have a few or one, instead of having as many as I want. Cake, I'll have a small piece instead of one that fits the size of my plate! And my days are a lot easier now b/c of it.

Basically, I've tried to become more aware of my sugar habits--how much I actually eat of it, what kinds of food & drinks have it in it, what kind of mood I'm in when I want it, what time of day I usually crave it, what could I have instead as a healthier substitute. This has helped me to reduce it, and maybe some day I won't have/"need" it all!

Try not to obsess about it though... Like I wrote in another message to you, once the ball gets rolling, all the little things seem to follow...

thank you grateful and starting over,
i am the same person Lori==saralvsbrds my name has been saralvsbrds for 3 years on aol,,,,,i changed it cause we were going to get rid of one of my aol accounts and i would lose my sara name, but they gave me two more months free....lori is my real name lol
thank you for writing me i would love to cut down on this sugar but like you said it is baby steps and a little at a time. Thats the way i will do it too. And i like you guys will indulge myself at times. See i wouldnt even be able to reconginze if sugar was making me nutty until i started to reduce it.........so i will take baby steps too and see where it leads
I looked up posts on sugar for over a year and this seems to be a very hard thing for people to GIVE UP ....it looks as though most people still hav a treat here and there but notice the affects of it when they eat it....
so baby steps here i come lol
Lori

Lori,
I so give you credit for even posting something that you know may be tripping you up....willing to atleast consider reducing sugar is huge!! Its a giant step in the right direction.

I was raised on Sugar! My dad was a childrens dentist, then an orthodontist...but in the 50's and 60's we just didnt think of sugar the way we do now. From 2nd to 7th grade I was one of the fattest kids in my school. When you look at my class pics...I took up 2 seats where most took one. At the end of every school year we had Field Day....where there were relay races etc. The only thing I was ever able to do was be the heavy weight at the end of the tug of war! How humiliating for a little girl! My brother was ashamed of me and I think my parents were also, but they never did a thing to help me lose weight or curb the junk food. Again, it was not talked about then like it is now. My garndparents who I loved were sugar junkies! My granmother even put sugar on our salad. I would stay with them on Saturday nights alot and we'd eat pie and ice cream and Tasty Cakes and cookies and jelly beans and carmel popcorn as we'd watch tv. Great memories, but oh my Lord, no wonder by 5th grade I was wacked out. This is when panic started for me. But here again I was very heavy and ate not one good thing. We had Coke for breakfast, lunch and dinner. I would put about 5 tablespoons of sugar on top of my Sugar Frosted Flakes and then buzz to school....by the time learning was beginning, I was crashing. School was such a struggle between the fatigue from so much sugar and bad food, the teasing and the panic. I just dreaded it all. My mom hardly ever cooked a nutritious meal......alot of TV dinners, even though we were pretty well off......she just hated to cook. If we had vegetables they were smothered with something or so much salt or so overcooked, what was the point. From 3:00 til dinner I sat and watched tv and ate junk every day for years. If you could see the circles under my eyes then and how bloated my chubby little face was! I was honestly miserable all the time. When I hit Junior High, my metabolism changed some and suddenly all the fat left and I slimmed down, but I still ate a ton of junk. I was always constipated......excuse the details, but I could go 2 weeks! (or rather...not go...LOL). I would get such stomach aches. Every sniffle, we were taken to the doctors who spewed out antibiotics like candy. My immune system was shot...I got anything and everything coming thru town! I always felt horrid and was so lethargic. Depressed. I say this all so you know that I know what you're going thru. Dont want you to think I was without some struggle.

When I was 21 I met a guy I started to date who was a vegetarian.......to make a long story short, I started to eat better and then better and then even better from just hanging around him. It took a longgggggg time to aquire a taste for brown rice and vegetables and whole wheat stuff......years. But even though I ate alot of healthy foods, I still ate alot of sweets. They were not stressed as being that bad for you. And I loved my sweets, especially ice cream.

When I started to work with a nutritionist 11 years ago, he took me off sugar........but so many things changed in my diet then that I couldnt attribute the sugar with any bad side effects. Salt, dairy and wheat went with the sugar.......so I couldnt really tell how the sugar played into it all. That diet saved me and restored me and balanced out my chemistry. The random panic attacks went with it. But like anything, it is alot of work and tedious to stay disciplined. And when you feel so good you think you'll just have a little here, a little there. About 3 years ago I slowly started to slip back into eating things I shouldnt........sugar being just one of them. I thought I was getting away with it all. Then I ate ice cream for the first time in years.........WOW.....it was like nectar from Heaven! I was hooked again big time. In 2 years I'd gained about 30 pounds mostly from my ice cream craving. Sure enough last year the panic attacks started again.....and got bad! I went back to my nutritionist to find out that all that sugar had burned out my adrenals again......and thus the panic attacks. So back on the diet I went and within weeks felt great again. But I still couldnt get fully off sugar. An old friend came home who I hadnt seen......a real health nut! She said some stuff to me about sugar that just clicked this time....then I started reading more about it and how it effects you. I decided to go off all sugar and breads. That was in June. If you read my posts over summer then you know how much I have felt the effects of sugar if I even have a little now. Since this was the lingering culprit this time round, I could see clearly the difference being off it.

Reducing it is the way to go for now. The only reason I say get off it completely is you will not really be able to see the true difference until you're completely off it for awhile. Plus keeping a little in the system makes you just crave it. Now that I'm off all of it and its out of my system, I dont have any craving for it. The cycle has been broken. I have dropped 15 pounds since June and have 15 more that will go in time. Its a process as is anything. Some people start and stop smoking, then one day just go cold turkey. Thats it. Except we all know what cigerettes are doing.....sugar is a little more deceptive!

Lucinda's program is good, no doubt...but there are some gaps......and diet is a huge one that is only covered briefly on one tape. It plays in bigger than that. But do what you can do. Cut down. Make one day like Saturday your Cheat Day where you have something...like a sundae or cookies or cake. And have treats at functions....if you want them. But in time you may not want them at all. If you have that stubborn streak, you will work it to your benefit, eventually.

Keep going Lori......think positive!

Peaches

wow what a story thank you for writing all that for me im sorry you went thru so much as a child and everything.
you said you lost weight when you got off sugar? last year i lost 65lbs eating peanut butter m and ms pepsi and crab meat (i wouldnt recommend it my hair started to fall out (my hair is down to my butt).........anyway see how i diet? terrible ey?
i had gained that weight from meds for fibro,,,,,,,,,,then this past year i gained 38 lbs from just overeating all sorts of things due to learning my sons lost vision i have done it to medicate myself and in the process i am fat again.......but gone are the pepsis and m and ms cause they have caffeine in them lol but,,,,,
anyway I completely understand now what you are saying to me and i understand now why you are so pro get off sugar your life has completely turned around.
i dont have any panic attacks anymore because i had counseling for that five years ago when i first got them. but i got the program for my severe depression, pms and my freaking out. I freak out alot. Scream, yell, worry , fret,.........its gotten better since i got the program my pms is alot better.
i do have to say i have been watching when i do get nervous and go grab sugar (i get nervous when the kids whine and fight, ect, and go grab cookies) i notice too that i feel good fo about 10 minutes then i freak and start screaming cause i cant seem to handle them fighting or one more thing.
Im wondering if like me, alot of people on this program want to skip over this subject of sugar, i have found lots of posts over the past year on giving up the caffeine but not the sugar.....
I am going to keep trying, I know at first i tried too reduce real fast and i got sick feeling...so ill take it slow
Im so glad you told me your Whole story i was worried you might have just been a health nut like my husband and for him its no problem to give up sweets cause he doesnt eat any LOLLLL
Thank you for writing me and not getting frustrated with me Lori

Lori,
I dont think alot of people consider the effects of sugar and how it contributes to their anxiety. Not sure why. Maybe again because it is not stressed in the Program like it should be. Its a hard thing to give up for sure. There is something very comforting about sweets....but that is a Catch-22. When you run to those things when stressed about your kids, its giving you satisfaction on one hand as a comfort, but on the other its fueling the fire! Sugar makes me soooooo cranky. Makes me edgey and I dont have the same tolerance and patience I have when off it. I feel frustrated within a half hour of eating it now and I get headaches. My brain feels loose in my skull (not really but it feels like that)and I feel dizzy. I can see why you're yelling even more after running for the cookies. Why do we keep perpetuating these bad habits that work against us? Lets just put it this way.......sugar doesnt do a thing good for me! I dont even enjoy it if I have something now because right after I wait for all the discomfort to settle in. Then I'm guzzling water to try and get it out of me! Not worth it any more. If you were to read how sugar stresses our poor pancreas out and some of the other glands and the effects it has on the brain, it might lose some of its sweet appeal.

One last thing......this whole disorder is uncomforatble to deal with. Its very stressful working on it and dealing with it. I think alot of people on here have enough trouble trying to cope just in general.....adding on exercise and diet and these other things may be overwelming. Sweets are a little retreat from the grind of anxiety. When people post on here about how much they love sugar.....they really love it! All their little goodies. Hard to give them up when you feel so lousy........yet I am convinced sugar is one thing keeping you feeling lousy. Everyone has to work it thru at their own pace. You gotta find something to replace the cookies when stressed.......something that will calm you not rev you up more. Something will come along and you'll know it. Some people like your husband just dont crave sweets....they usually crave salty things though.
Peaches

hi peaches i dont know how to use that quote thing but you said this..""""""""""whole disorder is uncomforatble to deal with. Its very stressful working on it and dealing with it. I think alot of people on here have enough trouble trying to cope just in general.....adding on exercise and diet and these other things may be overwelming. Sweets are a little retreat from the grind of anxiety. When people post on here about how much they love sugar.....they really love it! All their little goodies"""""""""""""<<<<<<you said all that stuff there and yes you are so right it is hard to change all this stuff and go through the program and not have "crutches" its very hard... speaking of the cookies the boys came in and sean was being naughty and i went upstairs and grabbed two cookies and now i feel depressed not about grabbing them but just depressed......i eat other things too besides cookies.....i didnt gain 38 lbs without shoveling food in this year lol i make alot of things that make me want to sleep like sandwiches ect. Being fat is makeing me very unhappy cause most of my life i have been thin I showed Don a bunch of pictures of me and the way i used to look and even a pic from last year not the fat one from this year though.
I desire so much to be healthy and fit and free from all this junk i shove in my mouth. My husband says i self medicate which is right but he doesnt tell me in a nice way he says your so fat and puffs out his cheeks and acts like an azz.......food is my downfall
he ran to booze and and caffiene pills ect when we found out about the boys and i ran to foood..just shovel it in ..thats what i did
I hope i can change all of me i think this food stuff really makes me moody and adds to my anger, frustration and depression
thanks peaches your lucky you learned aboutthis when you were younger I am 40 years old and i have 40 years of bad habits even thin i woould shovel the sweets and junk in but i cant stay thin know that i am older and inactive
thanks Lori

Lori,
YOU CAN CHANGE THIS! I KNOW YOU CAN! We are very determined types. You have learned to respond this way....just like we have learned to respond to other things that create limitations and rob us of our precious days. If you are eating sweets, then more than likely your boys are. This is adding to their hyperness which sets you off.........and then you run for sweets. You get depressed because the sugar will actually suppress you and because in your heart you know its killing you! You have to make a plan to defeat this bugger! Go to the store and get apples, pears, cantalope, melons, raspberries, peaches, nectarines...some fresh fruits. Avoid the high sugar tropical fruits like bananas and pineapple. Come home and make a fruit salad. Keep it ready to go in the fridge. Every time you want to eat cookies (in fact throw those out...they are just tempting you)run for the fruit! And maybe a handful of walnuts or cashews (no salt). This may not satisfy you totally at first, but its a start. Don't worry about the fat in the nuts...its good fat. Sugar is badddddd fat! Break down the day into 4 parts. Morning, afternoon, late afternoon and evening. Get thru one part of the day at a time without resorting to bad food. If you can get thru the morning session without, then try the afternoon one....and so on. Know that the last 2 will be the hardest because the boys and husband come on the scene, but if you break it down into smaller chunks to get thru, you will feel some sort of satisfaction and accomplishment. If you dont do it for one....do it for the next......dont totally throw the plan away.

When I was back on sugar those 2 years, 3 years ago, this is how I got back on track. When I would go to the Mall I told myself walking in, "I only have to get in and out without any junk." This was my ONLY mission. I might have a salad while there, but even going near the food court was too tempting for awhile. Then when I went to the movies, same thing. "I only have to get in and out without and candy or popcorn". I would bring my own snacks in my bag...nuts, dried fruit, saltless potato chips.....water. Once I got past the candy counter I was ok. Did I crave the stuff? You bet. But I was determined to get back on track. By breaking this huge problem that had grown out of control in my life, I was able to "win" a little at a time. Then it bacame like a game. You may still run for food when stressed, but eat good food...or less junky types of food. BABY STEPS.

I have never been very athletic. I love to swim and hike, but my ears fill up with water now and wont come out and I live in a barrier island so not much opportunity to hike....LOL. But I have been pushing myself to get fit and even learn to run. I read recently where a woman in her 90's started running when she was 78! I am almost 50...anything is possible. But again I broke it down. Run 1 block, walk 1...run 1 block, walk 2...whatever. Trying to build up stamina. And I am watching my self talk.....rather than "I hate this!" which was my mantra in the beginning....I run along repeating, "i can do anything God strengthens me to do". I'm getting there. I dont love it yet. No runners high yet. I am still gasping along...but I am moving forward. That in itself is rewarding.

Gezzz I want to encourage you to try! You can get a handle on this...if you want to. I know everything seems overwelming, but it wont go away until you start to take steps in....a little at a time. Keep posting. I'll look for them here.

Love,
Peaches

thank you coach peaches.....you know how you said they didnt stress the sugar in the program??? i am obsessed with the part about the stimulants I felt they did stress it and how it was important to get off them because a person cant expect to get better with anxiousness full of sugar and caffeine. So , for me, I read one sentence and it sticks with me. And i want to do this part.
I ATE THE LAST COOKIE.....SINCE STArting the program i got rid of alot of sweet stuff that the boys and i ate. I still had made them eat fruits and stuff but, they ate alot of crap like i did. Anyway I told them last night im not going to buy anymore cookies (see i eat the cookie dough and then i eat the cookies too) we buy the kinds that you can just put in the oven. BUT we have a candy jar. I put all kinds of candy in it. none that i really love though. Seany was eating tons of it last night. And he was upset cause he has been losing more vision. So he kept eating and acting out. I only had some crappy kind of apples on hand that my husband likes, so sean ate candies. I havent been buying much fruit lately because its been so expensive here lately. nothing on sale and alot of it not RIPE.
But today i said to my husband should i just buy it anyway? even tho its not on sale. he said yes ...so i am going to go buy some anyway.
When i have pms i crave sugar bad. Shane loves to go to dairy queen and we go once a week and did twice in the summer, Sean likes the mister mistys and shane likes malts and shakes....Ive been wanting a sundae today or pie. Its like i am a wreck without sugar.
Even though i told you i eat alot of it I have cut down. I gave up sugar pops (two a day), my peanut butter m and ms which i ate some every day. And i havent been eating sugar every time I want it but i still eat plenty. i get frustrated not eating it. Its like i want my sugar. ANd then i eat a bunch of other stuff. Also i have colitus and if i eat too much fruit then diarrhea city.
I am going to take baby steps.
I can tell you this peaches. I have been watching myself after i eat sugar. I run to it when the kids fight or have problems. And then i watch myself 10-15 mins later (depending on how close i am to my pms period) I freak. so............. the sugar is affecting me like the caffeine did
I am a very depressed person too and the caffeine made me sort of not get that jump on the day type of thing. So next thing i do is try to eat sugar.
Wanna know why i am going nutsoid? Cause I am giving up all my crutches to cope that i have used to cope with. Even being thin alot of my life i ran to sugar ect.
anyway i read everything you told me and i will go to the store tonight after i get my ads if i can get out of here (husband works till 830).....and go for the fruit.
gosh this is hard no wonder not many people post on this cause its hard LOL
thanks peaches Lori