Crave Sweets All The Time

[CruiseWriter]

I have a serious candy addiction---it's my go-to food and sometimes I eat candy in the morning,before breakfast. I know this can't be healthy or normal. I have Hashimoto's and overweight, in spite of daily regular exercise. I'm now a size 20-22 so don't know why I bother to exercise....seems like a time waster.

I don't know if I eat candy for emotional or hormonal reasons,don't know. I just know I will sit and eat half a bag of candy without even realizing it or unable to stop. Besides the candy, I don't eat healthy but I'm trying to get better with this. Chex or Fruity Pebbles in the morning;veggies,baked beans or sandwich in the afternoon with dinner similiar to lunch.

I've struggled with an eating disorder for years so I never learned how to eat healthy and can't spend much on food,either.

[Looking for answers]

I understand, I used to be addicited to sugar as well. I highly recommend a book called The Diet Cure. It gives a lot of helpful tricks for getting over the sugar addiction. She has several supplements she recommmends for getting over the "addiction." You may have Candida as I had...I had to go cold turkey and went through withdrawls for three days, then it eased up. I rarely eat sugar today, except for what's in fruit and small amounts of very dark chocolate. It's a blessing to not think about it all of the time. I think Renew Life also sells a supplement to stop cravings...something to also check out.

[txplowgirl]

500 mgs of Magnesium a day stopped my sugar cravings fast.

[sb2178]

Yes, are you anemic? I want to eat everything in sight even when not actually "hungry" when my ferritin drops. A multimineral with iron and occasional additional iron and magnesium calmed that down.

Often cravings mean you aren't getting enough of the good nutrients. Try a good MVI. Maybe make your meals beforehand...?

[rgarton]

I found when i was very anemic i craved very sugary things like you, i found a neat trick of whenever i got that craving i'd brush my teeth, and if that didnt seem to work i used to eat a banana, small ones are sweeter, or strawberries. Exercise is never a waste of time, it increases your happy hormones, so if you think your cravings are due to emotional/hormonal issues exercise will help more than anything. Oh! Maybe go for a quick power walk around the block or up the road when you get a craving? Hope any of this helps! Good luck.

[Takala]

I have a serious candy addiction---it's my go-to food and sometimes I eat candy in the morning,before breakfast. I know this can't be healthy or normal. I have Hashimoto's and overweight, in spite of daily regular exercise. I'm now a size 20-22 so don't know why I bother to exercise....seems like a time waster.

I don't know if I eat candy for emotional or hormonal reasons,don't know. I just know I will sit and eat half a bag of candy without even realizing it or unable to stop. Besides the candy, I don't eat healthy but I'm trying to get better with this. Chex or Fruity Pebbles in the morning;veggies,baked beans or sandwich in the afternoon with dinner similiar to lunch.

I've struggled with an eating disorder for years so I never learned how to eat healthy and can't spend much on food,either.

__________

Have you checked to make sure that your thyroid medication is also gluten free ?

Keep exercising anyway. It's more important to be in better physical condition, no matter what your size. It also boosts the mood.

My guess is that the gluten intolerance/celiac has contributed not only to your thyroid problems, but to your being malnourished enough that you're desperately hungry for some sort of thing to boost your energy levels. Don't blame yourself for the things your thyroid is messing up, just try to outwit the thing.

The above suggestions for vitamins and minerals are good. Imbalances will lead to strange cravings as the rest of your body attempts to regulate your blood levels of calcium, sugar, iron, etc. You should be taking gluten free multi vitamin, B complex, and calcium with D, and magnesium.

The other thing is that between the candy and the Fruity Pebbles type sugar sweetened cereals for breakfast, you are seriously assaulting yourself with a massive overload of sugar and simple carbs for breakfast. You must not be really insulin resistant yet if you're staying conscious afterwards, but if you keep eating that way, you'll be heading there. Instead of changing your breakfast all at once, I would suggest that you start adding some real food to it, along with some form of fat. You probably have been programmed to think "fat is bad." No, fat is not bad, nor is it fattening, it is just a slow burning fuel that has to be applied at regular intervals to keep things running and make you feel FULL and sated.

This means that you ought to add something like coconut milk to your coffee or tea, for example. It's not that many calories compared to a half bag of candy, and it is definitely better for you. A can of coconut milk can last a week and do 2 cups of coffee a day.

You could also try adding a piece of real fruit for your breakfast each day. Real fruit has natural sugars, fiber, vitamins, micronutrients, and you have to chew it. It will take longer to digest than the candy, be more filling, have fewer calories, and it will be better for you. You can sprinkle it with cinnamon which helps regulate blood sugar, and some artificial sweetener if you need it to taste sweeter. If it looks boring, slice it into neat shapes and arrange it on the plate.

The Cereal. If possible, try to switch to a less sweet form of gluten free cereal eventually. You can put on it maple syrup, honey, agave, or artificial sweetener, all of which don't spike your blood sugars the way white sugar does. All of the gluten free cereals that are not sugar puffed seem to be $$$ expensive. Why pay more for the cheapest ingredient, sugar, when you could have better nutrition for the same bucks ? You can also try cooking gluten free hot cereal in the microwave, such as quinoa flakes or kasha. You can even take cooked rice or polenta, and add things to it. Do you tolerate gluten-free oats ? The way to make cereal last longer in your stomach is to add a bit of fat to it again, such as nuts, butter, or putting coconut flakes on it or mixing some coconut milk with yogurt and putting that on it instead of milk. You can also try making a whole grain gluten free pancake, instead of cereal, or a nut meal or nut meal/seed combo. These are higher protein and digest much more slowly than a 'white bread' type of cereal serving. You can put agave or even a packet of splenda in it to make it taste sweeter, and skip the syrup and sugar. You can premix up the dry ingredients in ziplock bags in single servings, for speed and convenience.

The Proteins. You can also try eating an egg for breakfast. The simplest thing to do is to make a batch of hard boiled eggs at the beginning of the week, putting them in the refrigerator, then having one each day for breakfast. That's only 75 calories, it has protein and fat, and it definitely is better for you than half a bag of candy. You can also try eating nuts for breakfast, such as almonds, walnuts, pecans, peanuts or peanut butter, etc. You can make very tasty dry roasted nuts right in the microwave, by rinsing them with water, and then microwaving them for about 30 seconds for a big handful. There is also the meat/fish option, such as a slice of canadian bacon, some gluten-free turkey lunchmeat, a slice of leftover meat from dinner, fish. You can also eat a small piece of really good aged cheese for breakfast, or have some greek yogurt.

The Green Vegetable. Resolve it upon yourself to eat at least one serving a day of a vegetable. Put some olive oil and a squeeze of lemon on it, or for a big treat, some gluten free mayonnaise, if that is the only way you can choke down some broccoli.

The Treat. A piece of really good dark chocolate, is more satisfying than the cheap stuff. A piece of dried fruit, some homemade trail mix, or a Lara bar may also be better.

If you eat enough of actual nutritious food, and supplement to overcome the deficit, you can retrain yourself to want less sugar.

[HS7474]

I may be completely wrong but I struggle with binging/purging; I am constantly hungry and when I binge is the sweetest stuff I can find in the house. I've just started anti-anxiety medication (after therapy failed) and I feel loads better. I'm not insatiably hungry like I was before. I don't know what eating disorder you may suffer from but it may be worth considering. Good luck!