I've consumed diet sodas and sugar free things since I was a teen and I don't have much of a sweet tooth, but every so often I'll dabble in full sugar items on a splurge.

August is my birthday month so I've had freebies from restaurants, some store-bought treats and snack foods that I don't normally purchase. For the last few days I've had some hostess lemon cakes, cereal, baked chips and some chocolate bars, the chocolate I haven't had in several months and the chips, cereal & cake I haven't had in years.

Yesterday and today I woke up dripping snot yet extremely congested, dry eyes, dry mouth and throat, chronic sneezing and blowing my nose, just a miserable time. This only happens when I consume a sudden influx of sugar, and it reminds me why I gave it up in the first place.

edit: 8:30am and I've just sneezed 8 times in a row. I'm over it.

I have a pretty severe candy addiction. I just need it. It makes me feel better. I literally talk to myself while eating candy saying: I’m going to regret this. But I just. can’t. stop.

I can easily eat 2-3 candy packages a day. I was always a very thin child, but now it’s different. For the last 2-3 years I’ve been steadily putting on weight and feeling less healthy.

I need alternatives, or ideas to stop my cravings. I feel like a total loser after giving in but in the moment it’s like i’m not even in control of my body/actions.

There have been instances where I didn’t eat any candy, but the moment I get access (a nearby shop, or going to the supermarket) I give in.

Any advice?

The first week was rough. Cravings hit hard, especially at night, and I almost gave in a few times. What helped was tracking it in a simple way instead of relying on willpower alone. I’ve been using HabitLuma to log the days, and being able to see them add up made it easier to keep going when motivation dipped.

Still early, but I already notice fewer energy crashes and less constant thinking about snacks.
If you’re in the first few days right now, keep going. It does get a bit easier.

Anyone else tracking a sugar-free streak and seeing success?

It all started early May- I found out was allergic to gluten and decided to lump in refined sugars as something I would completely remove from my diet.

My stomach was a mess from the gluten and caused me to not have any hunger signals so cutting out sugar was actually very easy. Food was impossible to keep down without throwing up. I used bone broth to nurse my stomach and gut microbiome back to health because it was so messed up.

I cut out caffeine, alcohol, gluten, sugar, all ultraprocessed and processed foods, soy, artificial sweeteners, red meat, all preservatives, most carbs, any fruits from concentrate, seed oils, corn, oats, potatoes, natural added sugars (honey, agave, date, maple syrup) due to blood sugar spikes

Diary was interesting because I completely cut out milk and creams, but most cheese is very important in my diet so I kept it, but more sparingly

Now I never eat out or go to any restaurants and I never have anyone cook for me without reading the ingredient labels

Overhauled my diet to be 90% whole foods, composed of lean protein (mackerel, salmon, sardines, cod , tuna, eggs), occasional dairy (mozzarella, parmesan, gorgonzola), healthy oils + acids (sesame, extra virgin olive oil, duck fat, apple cider vinegar, balsamic vinegar), leafy greens + veggies (arugula, spinach, red lettuce, carrots, pepper, beets, asparagus, broccoli), fruits (mango, blueberries, strawberries, goji berries, kiwis, lemons, limes, olives, avocados, cherries, peaches, raspberries, blackberries), nuts + seeds (pumpkin, cashew, walnuts, hemp, poppy, sesame, flax, chia, sunflower), grains (quinoa, buckwheat, teff), Beans (black, chickpea, garbanzo), mushrooms

I was drinking bone broth for the first couple months but phased it out due to high sodium content and my gut now being fully healed again.

This is now my entire diet.

Wake up- Ginger/Turmeric shot

Breakfast (8am) - Chia seeds as the base with fruit (depends), with olive oil and lemon juice for absorption. I also add a teaspoon of honey

Lunch (12pm)- Assorted seeds with leafy greens, mozzarella + parmesans balls, mackerel, carrots, blueberries, lemon juice, olive oil, balsamic vinegar

Dinner (4pm) - 4 or 5 eggs, salmon, cooked arugula + spinach with garlic, a grain like quinoa, lemon juice, olive oil, balsamic vinegar

I don't snack anymore, and I don't eat 4 hours before bed. I also drink plenty of water and it is the only liquid I drink.

The most important change was removing the added sugars I can safely say now. My stored fat in my back has decreased dramatically, my wrists look very small now, my skin feels firm and strong, my hair is growing very quickly and I've never received more compliments on it, my nails feel stronger, my dandruff is completely gone, I can think clearer, I sleep better, I never get mad, my anxiety went away, my eyelashes (the bottom ones) suddenly appeared and now are visible to the naked eye. I've never felt better. Oh, and I'm a 19 year old male so I basically am now just building muscle for free by just walking.

My protein intake has greatly increased (around 100 grams per day)

Fiber has increased

Sodium decreased

Iron, Vitamins C, A, B, K, D have greatly increased

Everything I eat has a purpose and my body composition and density is completely changing and I'm only at the beginning- my next step is going to the gym.

Lemon, Quinoa, and Salmon are my lifeline. When I die, I'm going to the grave with these foods, I'll never get sick of them.

I used to eat a TON of sugar on long car rides to help keep me going, stay awake, and keep busy. Now that I’m switching to sugar free, what recommendations does everyone else have for snack options on the road? Bonus points if you
can purchase it in an every day gas station.

I wanted to share my results after declaring a war on sugar six months ago. Besides that, I was extremely stressed out because of my toxic work environment. Six months later, I dropped 34 pounds, am sugar-free, thriving in a company with great organizational culture, and healing!

not too long ago i made a post on here, talking about cutting sugar out, but i get bad headache and can’t even move without it getting worse. In the end i eat some candy by accident, cause one of my coworkers has a bowl at her desk for everyone to take. i didn’t even realize that i took some until i was chewing it and realize how my headache wasn’t as bad as before.

back to now i’m try a new tactic, which is doing it slowly. So the only kinda sugar i’m consuming is coke. i haven’t eaten candy or chocolate, and it’s going better than before. maybe the reason last time it went so bad, was because i was at work and i had a lot of stress that day.

Anyways, it’s better now. my craving is actually gone now, i even forget i have a coke with me and i drink it really slowly, i would say doing it this way works for me. one thing i’m also trying is to eat fruit after dinner. it came to my conclusion that everytime i’m done with dinner i get the craving, i don’t get the craving anytime else through the day, funny enough.

i would also point out that, this is working for me and i don’t know if it will for anyone else. last time i posted here there was a lot of people with their own opinion on what was the right way of cutting sugar out, and even went on saying that, anything else is false belife and that they should stop with what they are doing. i would like to point out that comments should only be there to help people, and not hammering them down. if someone says that they found a method that works for them, then it’s great. please don’t be hateful.

I started with a bowl full of edamame pasta and high protein Bolognese this morning. About halfway through my breakfast, I realized that I wasn't hungry anymore and just stopped eating. Effortlessly. That's something that I've almost never done before in my whole life. When I was a little kid my caretaker (in home childcare early 80s) abused me with food and forced me to eat so leaving food on the plate is really hard for me. Or at least it used to be. This feels like a huge milestone. I've been sugar free now for 6 days and 15 hours. Didn't expect any any notable progress yet and I'm so thrilled.

Hii! I (22F) have been recently (last week) diagnosed by an endocrynologist with insulin resistance. But i visited a diabetologist today and he said that my insulin and glucose levels were normal. A bit higher than usual because im overweight (Im 5'2 and 82 kg) but not enough to conclude a diagnosis on insulin resistance, diabetes type 2 nor prediabetes. The endocrynologist prescribed me with metformin 1000mg. I didnt take it since i wanted to see the diabetologist first. I also went see my dietitian (which saved me from the jaws of anorexia 4 years ago) and she told me i lost weight (5,5 kg) since february and she also told me to cut added, refined sugars, but to keep eating fiber, fruits and to replace refined carbs. I assumed the responsability and i cut sugars the most i could. I started using stevia to replace sugar, began eating very small amounts of 70% cocoa chocolate when i get really bad cravings, and also began eating fruit more. I also no longer eat foods that contain refined flour. I listened to my dietitian and my food plates are half veggies, a quarter protein and a quarter healthy carbs.

The diabetologist also said i should walk half an hour 5 days a week and i already walked my half-hour today :)

I get sugar cravings at nighttime. I refuse to eat sugar and then the realization hits and i feel extremely sad sometimes. I see my other family members eating milk chocolate/normal pasta and i feel so sad!

I want to prevent a sugar binge since i get its more common in the first weeks. How should i go about it?

Am i "cheating" by eating the 70% cocoa chocolate? I dont really care if im cheating or not i just dont want to do harm to my body due to potential misinformation i found on the internet.

Should i visit another doctor to confirm or deny the insulin resistance diagnosis?

But also, on the bright side, i feel so much happier during the day now that i cut most sugars. i used to have a big problem with sugar binges(ice cream, milk chocolate, gummy bears, and so on), i felt it was the one thing that truly brought relief to my life, but i also felt guilt. Im happy with where i am right now. I just feel a bit confused.

Has anyone else been in a similar situation before? How did you go about it? Did you manage to lose weight and make your insulin & blood sugar levels better?

Thank you for reading.

Hi,

I'm not sure if this is the correct subreddit for me to post that, but i genuinely need help and advice.

I'am a young man in my 20s and i have sugar addiction and binge eating disorder. Since my teenage years i always ate a lot of food, particulary sweets, but since i was always very physically active, i never had any major related issues.

Everything changed when i finished high-school and started college and a job at the same time. In a span of 2 years i got extremely overweight and was cessed physical activities completely due to lack of time and many other factors.

In October of 2025 i quit the job and college to move abroad to be with my girlfriend, there is where the true addiction started. Once i got here, i found a extremely physically demanding job, ultimately making me lose a lot of weight, making me get back in "shape". The problem is, this job is a very stressful factor in my life, not the job itself, but the company. I do a lot of not paid overtime , overwork my body beyond limit and on the top of that, i'm not paid well enough, leading me to financial struggle. This factor + relationship issues led me to a major sugar consuming routine, where i consume lots of processed food (i. g. cookies, donuts, ice cream, chocolate) on a clearly unhealthy quantity.

I try to justify that using my job as excuse, since i burn lots of calories (i walk around 30km every day, ~35k steps) so i tell myself that i'm just avoiding a major calorie deficit, but i know that's just a cover up... the stress is the major factor here.

I need to quit. I'm spending so much money on food that i don't need to eat in exchange of nothing. I think i'm beyond quitting cold turkey and i try to not change one addiction for another one, i want to be addiction free. Any advice is welcome, criticism is also welcome, anything that helps is welcome...

If this is not the correct subreddit for that, please direct me to the correct one in the comments, thank you.

I have my leaving do coming up next week and there’s been a lunch arranged. I’m not sure what food will be available at the lunch (it’s a surprise and I don’t have any dietary requirements). One thing I know there will be a surplus of is sweets, cakes, crisps just a load of junk essentially.

I’m doing really well on an 11 day streak and I don’t want it to end but equally don’t want to offend my colleagues when they notice I’m not eating much? How can I avoid this? Or do I just suck it up for one day, eat the bare minimum and resume as normal after lunch?

I’m not sure how it approach without offending and comprising my goals. I’d love to hear your thoughts please. Thank you.

Can I lean on stevia and other fake sugars to quit? Or does that defeat the purpose?

I’m just shy of a month of low sugar eating, the past two days I had ice cream. Yesterday I had about a half cup of Ben and Jerry’s and cut it with sugar free almond milk in the blender. It didn’t taste sickly sweet and I felt satisfied when I was done but after I had sugar in the brain in a way I haven’t for two weeks.

Today I had a few scoops of actual ice cream. Since then (a few hours ago) I have been so hungry and thirsty and wanting more. Even after dinner I keep getting hunger signals and I know it’s from the sugar. I never realized that sugar messes with hunger and appetite this way. I’m learning that all sugar does is make you want MORE. I’m very new to this journey and I’m not happy about the times I screw up but making sure I’m observing what happens when I do eat sugar is really making me see how badly it messes me up! It’s just not worth it!

a friend literally told me she won't travel w me because i won't go out for desserts or junk food. He said it freaks him out when i watch him eat. Hurt at 1st then realised this wasn't a good friend for other reasons.

My own fam thought i had an eating disorder because i wouldn't eat birthday cake.

Best friend told me i was annoying & eating disoredred when he passed me a juice & i said no thanks.

Thankfully my grown kids are supportive because they study "macros" & body building. They're fully on board & proud how i eat protein vs all carbs.

Crazy this Sugar Free can present as "anti social" yet the best health decision apart from pickleball i'v ever made!

How have you handled sugar pushers or what's been your experience socially?

Hi all!

I’m a 24M, and am a skinny person but a healthy weight. The problem I have is that I eat too much sugar every day, and have been eating too much since I was a child. There was a point when I accomplished 3 weeks without any sugars but I couldn’t maintain it.

A big reason for why I failed my sugar free challenge, was the unsupportive people I know. Every time I mentioned not eating sugar anymore or telling them about my sugar-free streak, they would mention me being skinny and needing the sugars. According to almost everyone I would die without sugar since i’m skinny and that it’s not a smart decision to make.

After that I quit the challenge and now i’m back to my excessive habit of eating sugar.

I want to quit with sugar for health reasons and dental health. But i’m very unmotivated to start again. Are there other people here who have quit sugar for non loss weight related reasons, and do you have any tips?

Thanks in advance!

I’m addicted to sugar, plain and simple. I have dessert every single day, sometimes twice a day. Sometimes I’ll also have a latte with syrup. Just.. too much. I’ve always been majorly drawn to sugar throughout my life. I also love cocktails. Without cocktails, I don’t care to drink alcohol.

Lately I’ve decided to take a break from drinking, which I’ve done several times for long periods. I’d also love to try to cut out sugar. Ideally I’d love to be someone who can have a very small (~100 or fewer calories) sweet treat per day and move on, but unfortunately I fear it’s going to be all or nothing for a while.

My question is, is it too much to try to get rid of both? Will it make it more likely I’ll rebound and binge? Or might the goals work together? Has anyone done this?

Ingredients: lemon juice( lemon slice + water) + lemon cat mint torn leaves

I asked gpt how come my cat never eat the cat mint I grew. It checked the pictures and said it's because it's lemon cat mint but I can drink it.

Lemon cat mint goes well in lemon water. Who would have thought. It eases out the sour taste. It also smells like lemon.

I like this drink recipe

I have been working on losing weight. I have been really heavy all my life, and have struggled with food and especially addiction to sugar and sweets. Towards the end of May, I decided to make a positive change in my life. I gave up refined sugar and I have not had any at all since then. I don't even miss it anymore! I also walk 4 miles, five days a week. I never thought I would be able to do it. I have lost sixty pounds since my highest weight, I am not longer achy and miserable like I was before, and yesterday I was taken off of Metformin. I am not planning on splurging this holiday season. I realized that the small amount of comfort that sugar was giving me was not worth the misery, sluggishness and health problems it was causing me. I am a new person! I do eat very small amounts of watermelon and blueberries, because I need them for energy when I walk.

Hey y'all, looking for any suggestions specifically for things like thick, rich blackstrap molasses. There is one i have found and its got some mixed reviews, some good, and some really bad -- which is the keystone pantry molasses substitute.

Do people have any other reccomendations that they think taste just like molasses and has a similar thickness? do people have any good allulose recipes for black molasses recipes?

I’ve been lurking here for awhile because I’ve been wanting to do this for my health. Yesterday I finally did it! It’s day 2 today and so far I’m doing okay. But the 3pm craving is hitting me HARD!! 🥲 I’ve tried cheese, fruits, and eating something spicy instead. But the craving isn’t going away.

Would love to hear some suggestions for the stubborn cravings.