I am SOOO like you!

But what I have learned (or tricked my body) to do is replace my sugar craving with "bad but good" substitute.

Like baked apples with cinnamon, honey, and vanilla. Since I don't usually eat bananas anymore I use that as a cheat... but it doesn't OVER do it, like cookies or brownies or breads/grains, and it kicks the craving...

Or find a REALLY raw chocolate (90-99%) chocolate with almond butter. Just look at the nutritional values and determine accordingly. Lindt makes a GREAT 90% chocolate and 2 squares are usually PLENTY. (actually found it at Target)

eventually you may end up craving the good sweet stuff rather than the other stuff...

Hope this helps!

Try to slowly but steadyliy lower your sugar dose. Cold turkey is not for everyone. Measure (!) the amount of sugar you take in today and decrease by 5-10% every day. Sure, it takes some discipline but I know many people for whom it has worked. If 5% seems to be too much try 2-3%. But a slow decrease should work.

Alternatively you could subsitute with Stevia and THEN decrease your dose.

Good luck and let us know if it works for you!

try quitting sugar beverages first... like soda, fruit juice, lemonade, ice tea, etc. You will find that once you cut these out your ability to totally cut out sugar is easier. Sugary beverages spike your blood sugar tremendously and cause no satiating effect.. the result is that a few hours later you have a huge craving for sugar.

Also, there are plenty of foods that can satisfy a sweet tooth that are better alternatives.. dark chocolate, fruit, my favorite treat: frozen bananas dipped in chocolate and covered in crushed almonds

Never eat something sweet that isn't also bitter or tart. Also, don't pair it with other addictive substances like dairy. As long as I follow these maxims I don't have binging or craving issues. What things do I eat? Some stevia-sweetened coconut milk ice cream, some very dark raw chocolate, tart berries + coconut milk shakes.

Sometimes I find that when I've succumbed to sugar/grains I must give myself three days to get over the worst of the continued cravings. Telling myself that I just have to be good today often helps (that ol' one day at a time kind of thinking). And yes, sugar is addictive. It is hard to give up, so know that your brain and body is fighting you and your good intentions. Making it a battle over "mean sugar" sometimes helps me -- I'm not going to let the sugar win the battle. I'll often carb up with more starchy foods to help me get through the three days.

This is a Weston Price Blogger who I like. I personally would add another step to her 4 steps which would include never having any of the sweet foods in my house period but that's just because it's something I HAVE to do but it's a fairly good post.

http://www.thehealthyhomeeconomist.com/2011/01/slay-the-sugar-monster-in-four-doable-steps/

I was somewhat like you, even 1 year after going paleo. There were days were i would binge like crazy! Couple weeks ago i started taking some probiotics and the cravings are gone! Also getting enough sleep is pretty important to help control those cravings.

Just my n=1 :)

I have to say that I have much the same problem (although I find that my diabetes is a great motivator for cutting back on the sweet stuff).

Try going for a smaller dose sugar in somewhat-more-Paleo forms: berries, plums and apricots are fruit and should still be eaten in moderation, but they're smaller than apples or banana or pears; they'll give you that sweetness you're craving, but in smaller quantities. Picking smaller fruit of less sweet varieties is another way to trick yourself into lowering your sugar intake.

Dried apricots and other fruit might help too. I got gradually over my sugar jonesing via replacing modern sweet f00ds with fruit and dried fruit and then weaning myself off the dried fruit and moving towards smaller quantities of smaller fresh fruit.

Glutamine really helps control sugar cravings.

Also, last night I was at a party with a lot of temptations - so I purposefully stuffed myself full of meat (2 burger patties & 2 hot dogs) to make the cherry cobbler seem less appealing. It worked for me.

Make life a little easier on yourself and get rid of anything with processed sugar from your kitchen. Buy some of the things suggested above so you can satiate yourself in the meantime. Try and avoid situations where you will be tempted with sugar. If you have to get in the car and drive to the supermarket you will be less likely to cave than if you have something tasty (like a can of coconut milk and some frozen berries) sitting in your kitchen.

take a page from asian cultures - their taste varieties include sweet, sour, bitter, salty. You might be getting too much of the sweet & salty combinations and not enough of the sour and bitter.

If you have an asian market near you, try some foods like bitter melon. buy a few, cook them up. This is not going to change your craving overnight, but it can help introduce your palate to other flavors.

Also, if "you just find yourself" reaching for sugar, stop and have a glass of water first, and create a list of other things to do rather than reach for sugar. Get it out of your house. If you get it out, and you STILL will go buy more "just this once", you may wish to seek some counseling to uncover some potential deep-seated issues.

Being a fan of Joseph Campbell, I started my low-carb journey with a ritual fast. After all, going paleo is a new stage of life!

I picked a day when I had no major plans. I stayed in bed. I read and watched movies. I drank only water. I didn't go out, and I didn't have any friends over, so there was no social pressure to eat.

The day after the fast I started with a hearty breakfast of bacon and eggs and cheese.

I allowed carbs back into the diet after dropping about 30 pounds.

I follow a couple of simple rules: I only bother exercising when I haven't eaten anything yet that day, and I skip breakfast and lunch about twice a week to help reset my glycogen to minimum. That way, when I do eat carbs, the glucose turns into glycogen, not fat.

i don't know if this is an issue for you, but stress will trigger a sugar craving in me. try to consciously lower stress. don't procrastinate. get a lot of sleep- even if you have to take naps. go swimming, etc. you can do it!!!

If there is only one thing you do, then it has to be buying this book: "Potatoes Not Prozac" by Kathleen Desmaisons, it will provide you with all the science, strategies, recipes, tactics and advice for cutting out sugar for good from your life, set out in a seven-step type program.

I have tried it and also her other book "Little Sugar Addicts" for my children. It advocates the use of eating one potato per day (in the evening) - which she claims regulates seratonin in the brain, but even if you do not do this, the wealth of info on these pages makes it worth reading.

One thing I remember whilst reading it was thinking, 'My Goodness, at last there are people out there who feel the same way as me, it has a name - sugar sensitivity - and this is how you get over it' (not necessarily by going cold turkey; she has many other routes that have proved successful in overcoming the 'habit') Desmaisons documents many, many cases, some similar to yours and in fact, I too had been trying to give up for years, never being able to until I got into the program. She has an amazing forum on radiantrecovery.com if you need to talk to others going through the same process as you......

....recovery from sugar addiction is just as hard as recovering from acoholism, smoking etc. you need all the support you can get.......

good luck.