You are not addicted to sugar…
Most people who say they’re “addicted to sugar” are actually stuck in a restrict–binge cycle, not dealing with a true addiction. Here’s why that distinction matters:
1. Restriction creates the obsession
When you label sugar as bad, forbidden, or off-limits, your brain treats it as scarce. Scarcity increases desire.
The result:
- Constant thoughts about sweets
- Feeling “out of control” around them
- Eating large amounts once you “give in”
That’s not addiction — that’s biological and psychological rebound.
2. Binges are a response, not the problem
Bingeing isn’t caused by sugar itself. It’s caused by:
- Undereating
- Cutting carbs
- Skipping meals
- Moralizing food
Your body is trying to protect you from perceived famine.
3. Sugar doesn’t hijack the brain like drugs
Despite popular claims, sugar does not meet the clinical criteria for addiction in humans. People don’t:
- Steal to get sugar
- Experience dangerous withdrawal
- Lose function when sugar is available normally
What does hijack behavior is the cycle of deprivation and compensation.
4. Permission reduces power
When sugar is allowed regularly:
- Cravings decrease
- Portions normalize
- Guilt fades
- “Loss of control” disappears
Sugar becomes just… food.
5. The cycle looks like this
- “I’m quitting sugar”
- Increased cravings + fixation
- Binge
- Shame
- “I need more control”
- More restriction
? Repeat
6. Breaking the cycle
- Eat enough overall (especially carbs)
- Include sweets intentionally, not reactively
- Remove moral language (“cheat,” “bad”)
- Focus on consistency, not purity
Bottom line
People aren’t addicted to sugar — they’re addicted to the promise that restriction will fix everything, and bingeing is the predictable fallout.