I think that alcohol definately messes up your blood sugar. When I was pregant with my third child I was borderline diabetic. I was able to manage it with diet but, I believe that it has something to do with cravings. And I have noticed that the more I stay away from sugar the less I crave it and the less I crave sugar it's easier to not want to drink. I have been known to get up in the night and eat an entire chocolate bar though. It will go away. But, healthy diet is key and drink lots of water....lots of tea too. I also take some herbal stuff for moods and that helps.
But, people with trouble regulating alcohol crave sugar that's a fact.
I also used to get that with previous times that I tried to give up alcohol.
This time around it's been very different. This week I've made different goals. I exercise for 60 - 90 minutes every evening. I cook my own nutritious meals at home. I also have a goal of no potato chips or soda (well... I'm aloud one day a week for a soda and packet of chips). Although I'm hungry in the evenings (due to the alcohol abstinence and high exercise), I have no sugar cravings at all this time around. This has been a very interesting experiment for me.
I would highly recommend getting in regular exercise.
I read the article. Thank you! Really great info and I am so interested in getting having better health and taking care of myself. The longer I stay away from the bad lifestyle choices the more I think about how much I missed and how much I want to be around a long time! LOL! And diabetes is something that really scares me. I also looked at some of the other pages in the article---very interesting stuff. I think I was really jacking up my blood sugar with red wine. And when on a jag I didn't eat....I also think that I was eating mostly carbs to up my energy the next day. Hangover food---potatoes, fried stuff....etc. I am going to try to limit my sugar to mostly natural and I wonder if I don't eat it for a couple of days if the craving will go away. OH--also, i thought it was really interesting that diet mixers make for faster alcohol absorption. I totally experienced that and always wondered if it was my imagination!
Poor nutrition really messes with your blood sugars and has wide reaching effects. You really need to focus on consistent nutrition throughout the day. I'm really glad you started this new thread on the sugar cravings. Sugar can become an addiction unto itself. When quitting, one thing I never hear about is the psychological effect of crashing blood sugars and how they impact cravings for alcohol, the stress it creates, the anxiety that develops.........all from poor nutrition, or worse glucose intolerance and diabetes. Here is a good article on the effect of alcohol on blood sugars. Not good.
Tip.....eat nutritionally dense meals 5 times a day and avoid too much refined sugar. Avoiding sugar is a real challenge because it's in everything. 4 grams of sugar converts to 1 teaspoon of sugar. So let's say you drink 1 can of Coke (they're all bad so I'm not picking on Coke).....around 39 grams (9.75 teaspoons). Would you ever consider pouring almost 10 teaspoons of sugar into a glass of anything? Read your labels and do the math. It's pretty much guaranteed you're getting way too much sugar right now.
Consider what chronic drinking did to your blood sugars, nutrition, and vitamin counts..........nothing beneficial.
Hi Dave! I think that it's so interesting the whole sugar craving problem. I do notice it's increased at certain times of the day for me.
My nutrition has been poor lately. I am working on that this week. I am going to do some fresh eating and i've been upping my exercise. I think it's helping. But, it's funny how once I start on the sugar I want it all day!
I can really relate to what you are saying. I still get them and there isn't a Mike 'n Ike or a Rolo that's safe in my vicinity :) I don't over-do it but I find I enjoy them more now, where as before when was drinking, I rarely ate sweets.
There was a thread called Sugar "Cravings" under the "Dealing with Urges" section and you'll see it's a very common thing when someone quits drinking. That being said, how is your nutrition and exercise? Nutrition is really key. If you are really into nutrition, maybe you can share your insights? Always looking for new ideas. Not to plug a product but I find the Vega Power Shakes are awesome for getting a fast hit of nutrition.
I have read that people who have had drinking problems, when they quit, have some sugar cravings initially. ...I did have that the first week. I don't quite understand how the sugar craving thing works but.......this four weeks AF and I have noticed that I still have intense sugar cravings.
Once I start to eat any kind of sugar I almost binge on it. Example at work every morning I've been eating like 10 jolly ranchers! Weird! Or last night 2 bowls of ice cream, juju bees and some taffy.
Seriously! It's like I'm on a binge or something. Is this even close to normal or anything any of u have experienced??
