I had an incredibly difficult weekend. Worse than I’ve had in years. I broke down on Monday and ate a handful of M&M’s. I say I broke down in that I have a very real food addiction with a portion being stress eating. Anyway, I did it. And I ate a few bites of Belgian waffles. I know it isn’t an earth shattering amount of carbs, but it is enough that I feel like dying. It’s a great reminder to not do this again.
Thanks for letting me rant.
Thanks for sharing that with us. I have been struggling with eating behavior for years, and getting free of sugar now is pretty reminiscent of what getting free of alcohol felt like back in the day. Please don’t beat yourself up; just try and take good care of yourself.
@katiea Thanks for sharing your shameful Jimmy Swaggart moment.
Now, off to the kitchen for some bacon and eggs !
This is interesting. For years I’ve been convinced and adamant that sugar is addictive. I don’t have personal experience with alcohol so I’ve always felt I didn’t have a right to liken sugar addiction to alcoholism but I’ve quietly believed it is of similar intensity. No decent person would bring a bottle of booze as a treat to an alcoholic who has been sober for so many months or years. Almost everyone though will offer sweets and treats and gifts of food to people who have openly committed to quit sugar. I have had to BEG people not to bring crap to my house and they do it anyway, always justifying it as being “just a little treat”. That little treat, if it comes at the wrong time, can set off a binge lasting months or years. Makes me fuming mad that people can’t seem to empathize with this.
Congratulations @PaulL on your two freedoms.
@katiea Just recommit to yourself. Visually cut off your slip up and let it fall away into the past. Move away from it clean.
All that stuff gets thrown away at my house. I’ve been an abstainer for 5.5 years. I’m very clear with folks. Are you taking this with you? It will get thrown out otherwise. And I do, dish soap poured over. Because I used to throw it out and get it back out again. Food addiction stinks. . Ugh.
Here’s to abstaining , keeping off the binge triggers and false fixes.
Onward. Forgive yourself. Fight the remaining binge urges. Mine last 2-3 weeks if I get exposed. You are not alone!
The various Twelve-Step programs have developed ways of dealing with cravings. Those who feel the need for some moral support with this new way of eating might want to check out Overeaters Anonymous to see if it can help. I’m not sure how they feel about the eat-to-satiation part of this WOE, but they will certainly identify with the need to deal with cravings.
Thanks. I adopted the abstainer frame work, but use a different support system. I can see how many benefit. I enjoy my food sobriety. It’s a real gift and skill set.
Thank you so much for your feedback, support and suggestions! That is why I love this forum so much. I appreciate all of you and your responses. 
Wow, this is so “me”. I have been rescued from the addiction to alcohol, but still have the terrible sugar/carb addiction as well.
The support/comments here have been so positive and reminding us to move on and not beat ourselves up. Throwing away this stuff and being adamant about what you will NOT have in your home is also powerful.
Somehow, the carbs are harder for me than the alcohol was…this isn’t for the squeamish! But, with support and encouragement like this, there really is hope for lasting change and healing, come bad weekends or more. Thanks to you all!
You can do it! I gave up sugar at the end of March, and refused to worry about all the other carbage I was eating, but I started to feel so good that I just naturally started cutting out other carbs. A couple of slips have taught me that a carb hangover is no more pleasant than the other kind. As with getting sober, I now find myself wondering why I ever put up with feeling so crappy in those days before everything changed.
Katiea, you’ll be fine. Don’t sweat it. Seriously. Stuff happens. You ate a handful of M&Ms, not a half dozen 16oz bags. You ate a few bites of a waffle, not a half dozen whole waffles. And it sounds like your body gave you some negative feedback.
No reason to beat yourself up. Stuff happens. Just move forward and eat like you should going forward. You’ll be fine. Will you have another “oops” sometime in the future? Probably. Most of us do. The thing is not to let the “oops” become a new direction that you don’t want to go.
As they say here, KCKO.
I sure can relate to how you feel. I had made up several different sweet, fat bombs telling myself all along these were not bad for me since they don’t have the real sugar. Well for me they were because I started to binge on them. I sure won’t be making anymore any time soon. That delayed me for about 2 weeks since I couldn’t bring myself to throw them out. Just part of the journey…I learned a lot. Don’t beat yourself up, it’s all a learning process.
Hello, I am new to the forum and am finding reading through all of the science and struggles very interesting - thank you for your contributions. I have been dabbling with keto for a few months now but I struggle with giving up alcohol, especially when it comes to beers on a Friday night at the end of the week. Then, I will crave carbs and sugar the next day. Then, I beat myself up for days. I need to get out of this cycle. Any advice would be very welcome, I want to be stronger and feel more positive about myself.
BECAUSE you feel terrible about it, I see it as a GOOD thing, it shows you’ve fixed your issues. If you binged and made stupid excuses for it THEN you would still have food addiction issues, the fact your feel this way because of it shows you DON’T anymore. Your in control, thinking straight and feeling bad for a slip up. No biggie. People that eat “healthy” with all their low calorie low fat cardboard still eat some cake and bacon every once in a while, we’re no different. Sometimes we don’t choose ideal times to cross into the darkside but oh well we’re not perfect. I knew I was “fixed” when I decided to have an order of french fries on time (my all time kryptonite) and although there were very good, that crack like reaction in my brain was gone. I ate most, but then decided I had enough (that never used to happen). That’s when I knew I was ok.
@Amy_Owen can you check for the lowest carb beer? We have a couple of zero-carb ones here. Red wine can be keto friendly. Otherwise what about a vodka lime soda on plain club soda. Plain soda-water can be a decent substitute with the benefit (?) of no alcohol too !
Many have said that once they get well into keto that the alcohol has much less appeal. Good luck on your keto journey.
I was prepared to write something somber and serious but this is cracking me the hell up!
@katiea, it ain’t over til it’s over. You’ll be fine. Pass the bacon.
Thank you for your advice. I think I will stick to gin or vodka and soda, or red wine like you say when I feel like alcohol. I appreciate your support!
I found that I too have to be an abstainer. There is no moderation when it comes to sugar for me. I learned that after a few pieces of pecan pie last year at Thanksgiving caused a 3 month crazy sugar binge. I’ve tried OA and I’m a life time member at WW but neither worked for me. A strict ketogenic diet is working well!!