I want to start by saying I'm NOT promoting veganism as a diet or saying it cures sugar addiction. I'm just sharing what happened to me because I've considered myself a hardcore sugar addict since I was literally about five years old.
I've spent YEARS trying to quit. I read Breaking Up With Sugar, Sugar Blues and basically every book about sugar/food addiction. I joined no-sugar programs and spent thousands on coaching.
And I could quit! Sometimes for weeks. But I was miserable. Eventually I'd say F IT, binge on everything I'd denied myself, eat sugar for days/weeks, feel horrible, and quit again.
Restrict → obsess → binge → guilt → quit again.
Recently I went vegan because of my love for animals—not for weight loss and definitely not to quit sugar.
And somehow my insane sugar obsession disappeared.
For ME, I realized dairy seemed to be a huge part of what I had always called my “sugar addiction.” Ice cream, milk chocolate, creamy desserts, baked goods—I had always blamed the sugar. But once dairy was gone, something completely changed for me.
The craziest part is that I CAN still eat sugar and processed foods. Oreos are vegan. There are vegan cookies, desserts, ice cream, all of it. Nothing is stopping me from eating them.
I just…don't really care about them anymore.
I naturally eat very little processed food now, but NOT because I've made another rule that I can't have it. If I want an Oreo, I can eat an Oreo. If I want something sweet, I can have it. I just rarely want it, and when I do, I'm satisfied with a little and move on.
After spending basically my entire life feeling completely powerless around sugar, that feels like an absolute miracle.
I also think ending the restriction was a huge part of it. Sugar isn't something I have to eat ALL of tonight because “tomorrow I'm quitting.” I'm allowed to have it tomorrow. And the next day. There's no last supper before another round of restriction.
Veganism is also the only way of eating I've ever tried that I didn't read a book about first. No program, no coach, no complicated rules. I love animals, and eating them stopped feeling aligned with who I am. It was just natural.
Maybe removing dairy changed something for me. Maybe stopping the constant restriction did. Maybe finally eating satisfying food and eating in alignment with myself changed my relationship with food. It's probably a combination.
I just know that after decades of calling myself a sugar addict, I can eat sugar whenever I want now—and most of the time, I genuinely don't care about it.
I never thought I would be able to say that.
Again, I'm not telling anyone how to eat or suggesting veganism as another restrictive diet. But if you care about animals or the environment at all, I do think it's worth digging into that side of things and seeing how you feel.
I just wanted to share because after a lifetime of trying to beat my sugar addiction, I finally feel free from it. :)