Sugar Withdrawal
Despite how I felt yesterday morning, when my body seemed to be reacting as if I were withdrawing from an addiction or something, today I feel somewhat renewed. I’m doing really well.
In a classic sense of relativity, breaking a sugar addiction is both really hard and rather simple. It comes down to how you choose to frame it. Seriously, yesterday I had a spell where I felt like things were out of control and my legs were ridiculously weak as I trudged up to the house from turning compost, because I was exhausted and felt like I should get some water. I have a history of tremors, but what I next experienced was more like the shakes of withdrawal.
It startled me. I had decided not to try a cold turkey detox from sugar. I simply reduced my intake to something closer to the recommended daily amount. I am primarily reducing portion sizes to serving suggestions, which is a dramatic way to discover how much excess I have been consuming on a regular basis.
My body’s reaction was as if I was completely withholding the key to its survival. I have noticed a couple of periods of ravenous cravings. They don’t come to me as a need for something sweet. It is trickier than that. I simply get a compelling urge to eat something. It’s as if my body knows that it doesn’t need to force me to eat candy or other treats to get sugar, which I would recognize right away as not the healthiest choice. Maybe I would just grab a convenient (processed) granola bar or make a couple slices of toast.
Results: Sugar!
My body would get what it was after. It is a complicated relationship between my brain and the cells of my body. Logically, I understand that I shouldn’t consume too much sugar, but physiologically, the brain responds to the ever-increasing input and becomes programmed in the insidious relationship with the cells to keep up the supply and demand.
So, what? Now I have to outsmart my own brain? It doesn’t seem right. Who is in charge here, anyway?
I guess that I (unwittingly) taught myself how to be addicted, so now I have to teach the brain and cells how to get back to where we once belonged. You know the tune.
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Relative Something 
I watched F U. I will never look at coke or OJ the same again. Thanks and stay strong!
Jane
June 6, 2015 at 7:33 pm
Thanks for your support. I’m so glad you saw the documentary. Plenty of food for thought.
johnwhays
June 7, 2015 at 9:28 am
Make no mistake, sugar does engage that same reward center as does cocaine and all those other highly addictive drugs. This is not somebody’s good idea; this has been established by brain imaging and other study methods. Yes, you will experience withdrawal symptoms, or as you put it, that “compelling urge to eat something.” I know exactly of what you speak!
Some people do better cold-turkey; some do better with gradual withdrawal. For myself, the only method that works is cold-turkey. Drink lotsa water, go for a walk when the craving hits, and wait for it to be over. The cold-turkey withdrawal period will last from 1-3 weeks. Then, it’s over, but you will still get occasional pangs when you see advertising on TV or smell a batch of fresh baked cookies.
Best wishes for s speedy recovery!
– Dan
Dan Hunter
June 6, 2015 at 1:02 pm
Thank you, Dan. I know all too well that pang of smelling fresh baked cookies. I look forward to getting my system beyond that 1-3 week period (I think made a bit more difficult by my current attempt to do so gradually). Gotta work within the confines of my current reality!
johnwhays
June 7, 2015 at 9:27 am
Oh, one more thing I’ll mention in case it helps. Very dark chocolate (>85%) activates my reward center without activating my sugar addiction and without trashing my taste buds. So I can use it for a treat without endangering my ‘sobriety’ (as they say in FAA) or ruining my taste for small amount of sugar in healthy foods.
Dan Hunter
June 8, 2015 at 6:20 pm
That could very well help me out. Thanks! It is lucky for me that I have developed an appreciation for dark chocolate recently, after detesting it my whole life as much as I dislike coffee. Of course, I LOVED milk chocolate.
johnwhays
June 8, 2015 at 7:25 pm
Getting out of sugar is not an easy thing. I have been years struggling with that. The treasure is to discover why of the cravings so you can substitute it with what the heart and body needs. Get aware of the time, the conditions and a place of the cravings. Then you can see if it canbe diminish with a phone call, a visit, etc. it’s not easy but thank you for this post so I can start doing my work to discover where in my life I need sweet so I can get away of the artificial sweet! Love!!!
C´Ubuntu
June 6, 2015 at 12:02 pm
So nice to discover kindred spirits in the ones we already feel a connection to. Love, indeed.
johnwhays
June 7, 2015 at 9:18 am