Sugar self-regulation UPDATED first post with results - Page 4

[ann_of_loxley]

I grew up in foster homes so each home was different.
I have had free reign in some homes and it has been very strict in others - with some of them inbetween.

I have a sugar addiction. I cant get enough of it.

Someone once mentioned that they feel this is down to something my body is lacking in nutrience ...which is why I crave sugar. My sugar addiction is just that. It is beyond desire...I am adicted to it like a drug addict is addicted to their drug. If I dont have it - I get horrible headaches. I know this is very unhealthy! At the moment...I dont care! lol

I do not think that my craving sugar has anything to do with the homes that I lived in which had sugary treats strictly regulated.

However - I theres much more too it than that. I think it has to do with food in general and how we were brought up.

For me - I think its more about control (the rest of it is simply the fact that sugar is addicting to some people almost like a drug - I now theres a new book out about how to beat the sugar craving). My childhood was very much controlled by everyone but me. I remember when I finally moved out - I went food shopping! This was the first thing I took control over...interresting is it? For once I could by the food I wanted. After awhile the novelty wore off.

I eat pretty healthily. We are also on a budget. We tend to not buy crap because its expensive! So we dont always have things like that in the house. If we do, my son will want it. I dont limit him - with any foods, not just sugary stuff. If we are out and he wants something then he can have it if we can afford it. At the moment, he loves candy necklaces. They are only 10p. I always get him a few. Everyone we know is always amazed at how long they last him though! lol - One will last him a week. He wears it everyday, takes it off just for the bath and pool but it comes right back on again. The thing is...he savours them lol - he licks them very slowly...thats why they last hehe. But maybe he doesnt feel he needs to inhail them because he has that control over his own life - he doesnt feel he needs to grasp at whatever control he gets?

Just a perspective.

I am sure its much more colourful than thought - far from black and white.

[angela&avery]

i chose that treats were partially regulated. in that, we didnt typically have candy in the morning, although i dont think id have gotten in major trouble if my mom saw me eat a piece of chocolate after breakfast or something... i really dont think she cared...
as a kid we had all access to our halloween and easter candy...xmas candy.....

my mom would buy bags of m&m's and had no problem giving me hte bag to eat as i wanted.... but she didnt replenish.... she went grocery shopping every two weeks adn that was it... so of i ate all of the candy she bought in two days, that was it until she went again... i learned real fast to regulate it so it lasted... (id hide things on my brother bc he would eat them in two days....LOL) same thing with ice cream or cookies..

I dont have a problem recognizing how much is too much... but i kind of let my self have something until i get sick of it...... so .. i guess i sort of regulate myself for health reasons.... but i can have candy/ice cream in the house and not eat it....


i have a hard time not regulating it with my kids bc #1. DS is definately affected by sugar and junk and preservatives and colorings.... I let them have cookies and ice cream daily, but they cant eat them all day long.... I let them have dessert daily, but usually i serve them.... I let them have snacks, but after a crackery kind of nutrition less snack, i make them choose fruit or vegetables.

oh and #2. DH's family has a tendancy to over eat and be heavier, his mom has a terrible time and dd is built like his family (thus far), so i really want her to have healthy eating habits, while at the same time i dont want them to feel like they CANT have things so that they overindulge as adults....

its tricky for me.... im going to go back and read this thread bc this si very important to me... and id love some input....

[sunnmama]

Originally Posted by majikfaerie

i guess what i'm trying to say is: seems the best way to go is somewhere between partial regulation and no regulations, depending on the child and other factors.

Which would still be partial regulation......no?

We had partial regulation growing up, and I am able to regulate my sugar intake without too much effort. What I mean by that is, I love and crave the stuff, but I don't eat it in unhealthy amounts (I also love and crave salad!).

We partially regulate our dc's sweets. They get plenty, though! :

[majikfaerie]

Originally Posted by sunnmama

Which would still be partial regulation......no?

no, I mean, aiming for self-regulation, and if the child needs it, then partial regulation.
but still, whatever choice needs to go hand-in-hand with respect and education.

[BellinghamCrunchie]

Originally Posted by majikfaerie

i guess what i'm trying to say is: seems the best way to go is somewhere between partial regulation and no regulations, depending on the child and other factors.

I totally agree with this.

[BellinghamCrunchie]

Originally Posted by majikfaerie

yes, according to your very scientific, controlled random study

I'm thinking about submitting it to Scientific American for publication.

[Spirit Dancer]

Very interesting topic.

[Janelovesmax]

have a sugar addiction. I cant get enough of it.

Someone once mentioned that they feel this is down to something my body is lacking in nutrience ...which is why I crave sugar. My sugar addiction is just that. It is beyond desire...I am adicted to it like a drug addict is addicted to their drug. If I dont have it - I get horrible headaches. I know this is very unhealthy! At the moment...I dont care! lol

This is sort of OT, but you might have Candiasis (yeast overgrowth). Craving sugar (like an addict) is one of the symptoms.

[ann_of_loxley]

Originally Posted by Janelovesmax

This is sort of OT, but you might have Candiasis (yeast overgrowth). Craving sugar (like an addict) is one of the symptoms.

that would be my only symptom then lol...just googling it and none of the other symptoms fit at all!

[sunnmama]

Originally Posted by majikfaerie

no, I mean, aiming for self-regulation, and if the child needs it, then partial regulation.
but still, whatever choice needs to go hand-in-hand with respect and education.

Oh, I see. That makes more sense. I think that description is pretty compatible with the way I was raised, and the way I raise my dc.

[jjawm]

As a kid, we had tons of junk in the house, and not a lot of healthy stuff. My sister had an eating disorder, my other sister and my mother both struggle terribly with food. My oldest sister and I have healthy eating habits.

My mom has some disturbing food behavior. When she was visiting us for a month after my dd's birth, she bought a lot of snack food that she kept in the finished basement where she slept. While my dh was down there looking for something, he found a TON of Little Debbie snack cakes hidden around the basement. It was almost like an alcoholic - she'd insist on taking out her own garbage so she could hide the wrappers.

[oceanbaby]

We had some regulation - less about when we ate, and more about what we ate. Truly junky food wasn't allowed in the house.

As an adult, I'd say I'm pretty good at regulating myself with junk food. I get cravings, and often fulfill them, but I can have junk food in the house and ignore if it I'm not in the mood for it.

My general observation is that children who grow up with very strict food rules end up having a harder time as adults.

[majikfaerie]

Originally Posted by BellinghamCrunchie

I'm thinking about submitting it to Scientific American for publication.

honestly, it would stand up against a LOT of the "research" that gets touted by heaps of doctors

[Janelovesmax]

Originally Posted by ann_of_loxley

that would be my only symptom then lol...just googling it and none of the other symptoms fit at all!

Great.