Withdrawing from the white powder was one of the hardest things I’ve ever done. And I don’t mean cocaine – I’m talking about the drug that studies suggest is even more addictive: sugar. In my twenties, I developed an unhealthy reliance on sugar. I ate one to two desserts a day, which could include anything from a Gu pot to a cupcake, alongside regular squares of chocolate – which I didn’t even count. I always craved something sweet after lunch and dinner, and when my energy flagged daily at 4pm, it was time to buy myself a treat.
I knew I was consuming far too much of the sweet stuff, but because I never put on weight, I didn’t have an external signal that my body was being affected by my habits. So I lied to myself that my body must be immune to the harmful effects of sugar and kept on happily eating cakes, my addiction getting worse with each year that passed. Even though I knew that sugar could increase risks of heart disease, diabetes and tooth decay among other issues, I didn’t stop eating it. I couldn’t. Until I developed acne for the first time in my life. Dermatologists could not confirm why I’d suddenly developed acne aged 27, but I was advised to cut down on sugar. ASAP. This was the wake-up call I needed. My vanity did what the NHS guidelines and media headlines about sugar’s harms had failed to do: I decided to go cold turkey and give up all processed sugar.
I am not alone. In the UK, 79 per cent of people consume up to three sugary snacks every day, and 13 per cent are now actively trying to take steps to cut down, according to a 2024 study. There are now even “sugar rehabs” to help people break free from sugar addiction, such as The Body Retreat in Dorset. Their one- to two-week “Sugar Detox Retreat” promises to help you “kick your sugar habit, reclaim control of your health and regain your waistline”.
The idea is that you have support during the first few days of giving up sugar which is when the cravings kick in and “most home programmes fail”. From £2,950 to £6,300 depending on what programme you choose, you also have group sessions of hypnotherapy, Neuro Linguistic Programming, exercise, and most importantly, healthy meals. The two-week version also helps you reintroduce natural sugars to your diet.
Back when I first quit sugar, almost nine years ago, these kinds of rehabs didn’t exist – nor would they have been a good financial fit. So I did it solo. I vowed to give up anything that looked sugary, from the obvious desserts and chocolate bars to cereal bars and sweet drinks (I’ve never been into fizzy drinks, but I did love sugary chai lattes). Some people choose to also give up fruit and natural sugars but that felt unnecessary to me. If I could swap my addiction for cakes and desserts for apples and pears, that would be a life-changing win. The problem was that it wasn’t that easy.
Presenter Susannah Constantine recently told The Times that for her, giving up sugar was harder than quitting alcohol: “A bar of Galaxy never changed my personality in the way alcohol did, but my behaviour around sugar had become alarmingly familiar: what began as a harmless reward for giving up booze had quietly taken on a darker edge.”
I’ve never been addicted to alcohol, but when I chose to give up drinking almost a year ago, it was more of a mild inconvenience than the full-blown horror that was quitting sugar. Dr Nicole Avena, who has spent the last 25 years studying sugar as an addictive substance, says that generally, sugar withdrawals of headaches, mood dips, irritability and intense cravings last a few days to a week “as the brain recalibrates its reward pathways”. But for me, they lasted four hellish weeks. I thought about sugar nonstop. I drove my colleagues crazy as I reminisced non-stop over brownies and tiramisu, trying to ease the pain of my cravings by talking about them in detail. I had more mood swings than my pubescent self, bursting into tears at work and screaming at my partner over trivialities. It was shocking to realise the effect that this substance – and giving it up – was having on me.
Dr Avena, author of Sugarless: A 7-Step Plan to Uncover Hidden Sugars, Curb Your Cravings, and Conquer Your Addiction, explains sugar is so addictive because it “activates the brain’s reward system in the same way addictive substances do, triggering dopamine surges that reinforce cravings and compulsive intake. For some people, the withdrawal and loss of that reward hit can feel as intense as giving up alcohol.”
She believes that it’s possible for people to change their relationship to sugar without giving it up entirely: “My research and clinical observations show that the brain is highly adaptable, and people can shift from compulsive patterns to a balanced, flexible relationship with sugar. In Sugarless, I outline how this kind of long‑term change is not only possible but common when people understand the science behind their cravings.”
When I was finally through the pains of sugar withdrawals, I noticed all the benefits people talk about when going sugar-free, such as fruit tasting better than ever. I’d never noticed how sweet an everyday satsuma could be. When I relapsed and nibbled a slice of birthday cake a couple of months later, it didn’t taste anywhere near as good as I remembered. The sugary sweetness was too much, and I realised I preferred my grapes. But over time, I also realised that being so hardline with my no-sugar rule was, well, a little bit joyless. I didn’t want to never eat sugar again – I wanted to find a way to eat it without losing all control.
That was the start of a less painful but far more complex journey that I’ve been on ever since. I needed the help of therapy to change my relationship to sugar, realising I was using snacks to literally try to fill an emptiness within me, and that I reached for treats whenever I felt bored or sad. I had to learn to ask myself if I really wanted a cake or if I was just feeling a bit lonely.
Over time, things got better. I now eat intuitively. If my body wants a bit of sugar, I let myself have the odd treat – ideally without refined sugar, which is much more addictive. I also have an inbuilt rule that I’ll try to bake cakes instead of buying them, which means I either eat a healthier dessert as I use far less sugar than is recommended, or the obstacle of having to bake an entire cake means I end up just eating an apple with peanut butter instead.
I eat a singular square of dark chocolate most evenings, and I don’t crave more. Somehow, I have a balanced relationship with sugar where I can choose how much I consume and enjoy it without obsessing over it. Nor do I feel emotionally attached to sugar in the way I used to. For me, I had to give up sugar entirely all those years ago to get there. The nightmare withdrawal I went through is a permanent reminder to never let myself get too addicted to sugar again. It also allowed me to reset my body and rebuild my relationship with sugar from scratch.
Dr Avena says a short detox program can help people break the initial cycle, but she points out that lasting change requires understanding the brain science and building sustainable routines. “Start by stabilising your blood sugar with protein and fibre, identify your personal triggers, and replace high‑sugar habits with structured alternatives rather than relying on willpower alone,” she advises. It took me much longer than I ever thought to achieve a healthy relationship with sugar - but it’s been worth it. My detox never actually improved my acne (that turned out to be hormonal and was solved by a stint on the contraceptive pill) but it gave me an even better gift: the ability to eat a square of chocolate without devouring the whole thing.
