What do you think?
Rate this book
Good Sugar Bad Sugar
Good Sugar Bad Sugar tackles the biggest dietary threat to the modern world: the addiction to refined sugar and processed carbohydrates, which is causing epidemics in obesity and Type 2 diabetes all around the world. Sugar and carb consumption is an addiction that begins at birth, but once you free yourself with Easyway, you'll enjoy better health, higher levels of energy, dramatically improved body shape and a happier, healthier lifestyle.
Allen Carr's Easyway is the most successful stop-smoking method of all time. It has helped millions of smokers from all over the world to quit. Allen Carr's Easyway method works by unravelling the brainwashing that leads us to desire the very thing that is harming us.
READ GOOD SUGAR BAD SUGAR AND BE THE WEIGHT YOU WANT TO BE FOR THE REST OF YOUR LIFE.
Allen Carr's Easyway is the most successful stop-smoking method of all time. It has helped millions of smokers from all over the world to quit. Allen Carr's Easyway method works by unravelling the brainwashing that leads us to desire the very thing that is harming us.
READ GOOD SUGAR BAD SUGAR AND BE THE WEIGHT YOU WANT TO BE FOR THE REST OF YOUR LIFE.
258 pages, Kindle Edition
First published August 1, 2016
368 people are currently reading
812 people want to read
About the author
Allen Carr
383 books285 followersAllen Carr was a British author and the founder of the global Allen Carr’s Easyway method, renowned for helping millions overcome smoking and other addictions. Born in Putney, London in 1934, Carr began smoking at 18 during National Service and struggled with the habit for over three decades. A qualified accountant, he finally quit in 1983 following a revelatory visit to a hypnotherapist. The experience didn’t directly cause him to quit, but it led to two key insights: that smoking was simply a form of nicotine addiction, and that withdrawal symptoms were minor and psychological in nature. These revelations inspired Carr to develop a revolutionary approach to quitting, one that did not rely on willpower, scare tactics, or substitution therapies.
Carr’s philosophy centered on removing the smoker’s fear of giving up. He argued that smoking merely relieves withdrawal symptoms from the previous cigarette, and that the supposed satisfaction gained is merely a return to the non-smoker’s normal state. Through live seminars, books, and multimedia resources, the Easyway method encourages smokers to continue smoking while they reframe their beliefs, ultimately extinguishing their final cigarette with clarity and confidence.
In 1985, Carr published The Easy Way to Stop Smoking, which became a bestseller and was translated into more than 45 languages. The success of his London clinic led to the establishment of over 100 Easyway centers in 35 countries, offering seminars to treat smoking, alcohol dependency, sugar addiction, and even fear of flying. His method’s credibility was bolstered by independent clinical trials, including studies in Ireland and the UK which found it as effective—if not more so—than standard cessation methods. This led to its adoption by NHS-approved services in England.
A key element of the Easyway clinics is that all facilitators are former addicts who successfully quit using the method themselves. They must complete extensive training and become licensed members of the Association of Allen Carr Therapists International.
Throughout his career, Carr also co-authored a wide range of Easyway books addressing various addictions and behavioral issues, often collaborating with Robin Hayley and John C. Dicey, the current Chairman and Global CEO of Allen Carr’s Easyway. Dicey, whom Carr mentored, continues to lead the organization’s development and public outreach.
Carr died of lung cancer in 2006 at age 72, though he had not smoked for 23 years. He attributed his illness to second-hand smoke exposure during seminars. Before his death, he remained committed to his mission, challenging governmental ties to nicotine replacement industries and advocating for wider access to his method.
Carr’s legacy continues through his clinics, books, and online programs, which have reached over 50 million people worldwide. His message remains consistent: quitting is not a sacrifice—it’s liberation.
Carr’s philosophy centered on removing the smoker’s fear of giving up. He argued that smoking merely relieves withdrawal symptoms from the previous cigarette, and that the supposed satisfaction gained is merely a return to the non-smoker’s normal state. Through live seminars, books, and multimedia resources, the Easyway method encourages smokers to continue smoking while they reframe their beliefs, ultimately extinguishing their final cigarette with clarity and confidence.
In 1985, Carr published The Easy Way to Stop Smoking, which became a bestseller and was translated into more than 45 languages. The success of his London clinic led to the establishment of over 100 Easyway centers in 35 countries, offering seminars to treat smoking, alcohol dependency, sugar addiction, and even fear of flying. His method’s credibility was bolstered by independent clinical trials, including studies in Ireland and the UK which found it as effective—if not more so—than standard cessation methods. This led to its adoption by NHS-approved services in England.
A key element of the Easyway clinics is that all facilitators are former addicts who successfully quit using the method themselves. They must complete extensive training and become licensed members of the Association of Allen Carr Therapists International.
Throughout his career, Carr also co-authored a wide range of Easyway books addressing various addictions and behavioral issues, often collaborating with Robin Hayley and John C. Dicey, the current Chairman and Global CEO of Allen Carr’s Easyway. Dicey, whom Carr mentored, continues to lead the organization’s development and public outreach.
Carr died of lung cancer in 2006 at age 72, though he had not smoked for 23 years. He attributed his illness to second-hand smoke exposure during seminars. Before his death, he remained committed to his mission, challenging governmental ties to nicotine replacement industries and advocating for wider access to his method.
Carr’s legacy continues through his clinics, books, and online programs, which have reached over 50 million people worldwide. His message remains consistent: quitting is not a sacrifice—it’s liberation.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 111 reviews
December 30, 2024
I'd previously given up smoking, alcohol, caffeine and salt, (and become the most boring person ever). So thought I'd try giving up sugar too, to sap all the joy from my life 🤣
This book helped!
This book helped!
March 22, 2017
I read this book after 4 Whole30 The Whole30: The 30-Day Guide to Total Health and Food Freedom (paleo diet) with sugar bingeing in between them, then a Whole60 followed by a month of pizza bingeing. All that yo-yoing took it's toll on my body. I wish I had read it before my first Whole30 but alas, it wasn't even published at the time.
I see this book as a vital supplement to the Paleo diet, or any healthy diet centered on mostly vegetables and fruits.
The Easyway works wonders for smokers because, for most of them, there was a time when they were non-smokers. And not just any time, but childhood. When it comes to BAD SUGAR, we make strong connection with it since our early childhood. Therefore it's not really "easy" to break free, even if you do see through the illusion. The liberation doesn't happen in a snap as with smoking. After reading it I found myself having to actively practice the new way of thinking to overwrite the wrong thinking that I've been used to my whole life.
Warning: Make sure you have the strength to lead an independent lifestyle with regards to the food you eat and what you drink. The real work begins AFTER reading this book when you start cutting BAD SUGAR out of your life. I sometimes go to the mall to eat and there aren't many options. So I had to learn on my own how to cook, and how to cook healthy food at home.
August 10, 2021
Can't make up my mind. I have 2 close friends who swear by the Allen Carr method as it enabled them to give up smoking...easily. However this book is obviously not written by Allen Carr as he died a number of years ago so is, I guess, his business partner's adaptation of the Allen Carr method applied to sugar rather than cigarettes. There are one or two slightly odd claims such as that humans are meant to exist mainly on fruit, veg & nuts & seeds. So what did mankind do for most of the year till the Autumn when these things are available naturally? There's also the argument that we shouldn't eat much meat - based on the fact that big cats eat meat & then have to spend most of the day sleeping to digest it. Well surely they are at the top of the food chain because they eat such nutrient dense food that it enables them to have an enormous amount of leisure time? (Unlike herbivores who have to spend most of the day grazing). So it's bizarre arguments like this that put me off. I would be interested to know if the method had worked for anyone to help them give up sugar. I guess it's well meaning as we all should give up sugar.
April 18, 2022
This is most definitely not a cure all. Quite repetitive and very optimistic but still some very useful pieces of insight on addiction, nutrition, and discipline. Possibly more of a good source of encouragement for someone already accepting of sugar as an addiction.
May 20, 2019
This book is badly written, repetitive, unscientific and boring. BUT I have now given up added sugar (maybe just to shut him up?). So...
March 29, 2017
OK, to start with, I am a hardcore sugar addict, and have been reading about my drug of choice for years, going back to Sugar Blues in the 80s, then on through Sugar Crush, Sugar Nation, Grain Brain, blah blah blah right up through Pure, White and Deadly. And yes, I admit I wanted someone to tell me how I could be like normal people who enjoy their sweet treats and then live life. Nope, that’s never been me: if I start dancing with sugar, I find myself obsessed, craving sweets, looking for excuses to go to the store for my next fix…in other words, this sounded like something I HAD to read.
Allen Carr is reputed to be a genius at helping people deal with addictions. His Easyway program (oooh, I loved the sound of THAT!) has helped tons of people in the U.K. quit smoking, quit drugs, lose weight, stop gambling, overcome fear of flying, etc. and he claims to have THE answer, a 90% success rate, and requires no willpower.
Sounded way too good to be true, but I felt open to listening to his answers. Seriously, almost every book I have read on the topic has given me SOME valuable insight. Well, no, I take that back…I remember reading Geneen Roth’s books back in the 80s and I loved the idea that my sugar thing was really a problem of me feeling that I would be deprived of sugar, so I did it. I ate everything sweet I wanted, all day long, and made sure my house had plenty of treats so there was no question of scarcity…and I did it for WEEKS. At the end, I had been sick as a dog but the craving never went away. I gained weight (big surprise), felt like crap, and never went to the place where I felt like I was secure in my ability to always find more. But that is how much I wanted to be different in my relationship with sweets. It never happened.
But maybe this Allen Carr guy had a new answer! His website seemed to promise something new: “Our approach focuses on why people continue to smoke, drink, take drugs, struggle with their weight or other addictions and fears, despite the obvious disadvantages. We aim to change how you feel about your issue so that getting free becomes easy, enjoyable and you do not miss anything.” I settled in to read.
I agree with him that “with BAD SUGAR there is no healthy level other than zero,” and that we are brainwashed from a young age to equate sugar and sweet treats with love and “see sugary foods as a treat.” To my dismay, I found that (according to his website) his “method works by unraveling the misconceptions that make people believe that they get some benefit from the very thing that’s harming them.” What, I wondered, did that even MEAN?
His answer to the issue of addiction is to “achieve a frame of mind whereby whenever you think about BAD SUGAR of a BAD SUGAR product you have a sense of freedom and relief that you don’t consume it anymore.” Carr’s own experience was as a smoker who had repeatedly tried to quit. But, as he explains it, “one day, a chance remark opened my eyes to the truth. I had gone to see a hypnotherapist…to find a cure and…a word the hypnotherapist used gave me the key. The word was “addiction.” It was like a lightbulb going off in my brain: I didn’t smoke because I wanted to I smoked because I was hooked. I knew there and then that I was cured.”
And that, my friends, was the point at which I wanted to throw my Kindle through the window. My thought was “Wow, this guy REALLY doesn’t get it!!” My opinion seems reinforced by his claim that the craving is 1 percent physical and 99 percent mental…and that the “actual physical withdrawal pangs from most drugs are actually extremely mild—almost imperceptible.” Seriously???
I dutifully read on, although IMHO, there are people who “get it” and those who don’t, and when it comes to sugar, he doesn’t. I am happy he found a way to quit smoking, and I am happy that so many people have benefitted from his workshops, courses, etc. as they have struggled with their addictions.
So, how many stars to give this book (provided to me by NetGalley and Arcturus in exchange for my honest review)? Good question! It does have wonderful information about the devastating effects of overconsumption of sugar, and it does have a positive tone and upbeat message (sort of “you can do it!!!”) so I figure those alone are worth three stars. But the actual worth of his “answer” to me, as a hardcore sugar addict, was minimal. (BTW, I am fully open to the idea that my own personal experiences are not the same as those of other sugar addicts, and I will be curious to read others’ opinions of the book and program. And I hope it provides five star answers for other people!)
Three reluctant stars.
Allen Carr is reputed to be a genius at helping people deal with addictions. His Easyway program (oooh, I loved the sound of THAT!) has helped tons of people in the U.K. quit smoking, quit drugs, lose weight, stop gambling, overcome fear of flying, etc. and he claims to have THE answer, a 90% success rate, and requires no willpower.
Sounded way too good to be true, but I felt open to listening to his answers. Seriously, almost every book I have read on the topic has given me SOME valuable insight. Well, no, I take that back…I remember reading Geneen Roth’s books back in the 80s and I loved the idea that my sugar thing was really a problem of me feeling that I would be deprived of sugar, so I did it. I ate everything sweet I wanted, all day long, and made sure my house had plenty of treats so there was no question of scarcity…and I did it for WEEKS. At the end, I had been sick as a dog but the craving never went away. I gained weight (big surprise), felt like crap, and never went to the place where I felt like I was secure in my ability to always find more. But that is how much I wanted to be different in my relationship with sweets. It never happened.
But maybe this Allen Carr guy had a new answer! His website seemed to promise something new: “Our approach focuses on why people continue to smoke, drink, take drugs, struggle with their weight or other addictions and fears, despite the obvious disadvantages. We aim to change how you feel about your issue so that getting free becomes easy, enjoyable and you do not miss anything.” I settled in to read.
I agree with him that “with BAD SUGAR there is no healthy level other than zero,” and that we are brainwashed from a young age to equate sugar and sweet treats with love and “see sugary foods as a treat.” To my dismay, I found that (according to his website) his “method works by unraveling the misconceptions that make people believe that they get some benefit from the very thing that’s harming them.” What, I wondered, did that even MEAN?
His answer to the issue of addiction is to “achieve a frame of mind whereby whenever you think about BAD SUGAR of a BAD SUGAR product you have a sense of freedom and relief that you don’t consume it anymore.” Carr’s own experience was as a smoker who had repeatedly tried to quit. But, as he explains it, “one day, a chance remark opened my eyes to the truth. I had gone to see a hypnotherapist…to find a cure and…a word the hypnotherapist used gave me the key. The word was “addiction.” It was like a lightbulb going off in my brain: I didn’t smoke because I wanted to I smoked because I was hooked. I knew there and then that I was cured.”
And that, my friends, was the point at which I wanted to throw my Kindle through the window. My thought was “Wow, this guy REALLY doesn’t get it!!” My opinion seems reinforced by his claim that the craving is 1 percent physical and 99 percent mental…and that the “actual physical withdrawal pangs from most drugs are actually extremely mild—almost imperceptible.” Seriously???
I dutifully read on, although IMHO, there are people who “get it” and those who don’t, and when it comes to sugar, he doesn’t. I am happy he found a way to quit smoking, and I am happy that so many people have benefitted from his workshops, courses, etc. as they have struggled with their addictions.
So, how many stars to give this book (provided to me by NetGalley and Arcturus in exchange for my honest review)? Good question! It does have wonderful information about the devastating effects of overconsumption of sugar, and it does have a positive tone and upbeat message (sort of “you can do it!!!”) so I figure those alone are worth three stars. But the actual worth of his “answer” to me, as a hardcore sugar addict, was minimal. (BTW, I am fully open to the idea that my own personal experiences are not the same as those of other sugar addicts, and I will be curious to read others’ opinions of the book and program. And I hope it provides five star answers for other people!)
Three reluctant stars.
April 11, 2017
An interesting look at how we view sugar in our lives. I'm one of those people who has trouble eating only one piece of chocolate or not eating sweets when I'm not full. This book asks that we introspectively ask ourselves the nature of the pleasure that we supposedly get from sugar. Do we really get that much pleasure from this substance when we separate sugar from its marketing as a treat, a reward, or an indulgence? Sugar on its own doesn't taste very good and most desserts only taste good when they emulate a taste found in nature (there's chocolate cake, lemon cookies, pineapple soda, etc). There's a slight feeling of longing or withdrawal but it's negligible compared to our own illusion that sugar is necessary or even helpful in our lives. BTW, sugar here means white starchy carbs as well as anything with added sugar. Made me think twice about why I grab a second or third square of chocolate. I did realize that I love the nuts on the Ferrero Rocher and that I can't have more than one of those because they are quite sweet. Glad I read it but a tad repetitive.
January 9, 2018
From time to time I used to have compulsive eating with sugary stuffs and never acknowledged this with addiction, was during one of these compulsive periods that I didn't know how to help myself that I found this book. First contact with Allen Carr, the first pages were killing me as was so repetitive but then I got what he intended and kept reading and being open minded as its one of the instructions. Well, from May.17 until Oct I did not have or desire sugar at any moment.
He says that sugar is an addiction and you might take it as it is, so once you are clear of sugar never go back, in a stressful period I tried sugar again and the addiction returned.. so I read the book for the second time and again was gone.
I wish he was alive so I could make a way to personally thank him!
He says that sugar is an addiction and you might take it as it is, so once you are clear of sugar never go back, in a stressful period I tried sugar again and the addiction returned.. so I read the book for the second time and again was gone.
I wish he was alive so I could make a way to personally thank him!
June 7, 2020
At the beginning I had problems reading this book because of its style: it's that kind of self book that I hate, the kind of book that says that it's gonna change your life. BUT! Once you get pass the writing style and you focuse only on the relevant information, you will see that it actually has a lot of pertinent ideas and arguments and it changed the way I think regarding sugar and sweets. 3 stars because I hate the style of the book, but would be a 4 in terms of infos
February 25, 2023
Highly impractical and scientifically inaccurate.
The book is based on the easy way method for quitting smoking which has helped me to quit. However I don't the Method works for alcohol or sugar.
The foods under attack are refined sugars and starchy carbs. Anything that's processed is not okay and he even had a slight disapproval of dairy products.
Your diet should consist of salads, vegetables, nuts , seeds and fruit. Secondary foods such as meat ,fish, dairy etc are permissable on occasion or in small amounts.
I think the main flaw with this is it doesn't really give much alternatives. It tells you want not to eat and the replacement is fruit and salad. Not only is this very expensive, I would imagine unenjoyable, but completely disregards macronutrients required to have a healthy sustainable diet.
Also he completely overuses the "wearing tight shoes just to feel the relief of taking them off again" analogy. Made sense for smoking but not sure it works there
The book is based on the easy way method for quitting smoking which has helped me to quit. However I don't the Method works for alcohol or sugar.
The foods under attack are refined sugars and starchy carbs. Anything that's processed is not okay and he even had a slight disapproval of dairy products.
Your diet should consist of salads, vegetables, nuts , seeds and fruit. Secondary foods such as meat ,fish, dairy etc are permissable on occasion or in small amounts.
I think the main flaw with this is it doesn't really give much alternatives. It tells you want not to eat and the replacement is fruit and salad. Not only is this very expensive, I would imagine unenjoyable, but completely disregards macronutrients required to have a healthy sustainable diet.
Also he completely overuses the "wearing tight shoes just to feel the relief of taking them off again" analogy. Made sense for smoking but not sure it works there
October 25, 2017
I am so glad I found this book. It explains everything I think I always knew but was too afraid to admit to myself. I now view sugar in a totally different light and 10 days in without sugar, I can honestly say I do not miss it, or crave it. I feel so much more lighter, clearer, controlled and alive. I now realise the huge negative impact that sugar has had on me and this book has enabled me to release the grip it had on me. I urge everyone to read this book. If you take Allen's advice it will change your life.
December 17, 2023
Another life changing book for me. I read The Only Way to Stop Smoking Permanently: Quit cigarettes for good with this groundbreaking method and have never desired to smoke again. Just like that. Having finished the sugar book, I feel much the same. It's slightly different but only due to the nature of the products. I no longer desire sugar or starchy carbs, but they can sneak into things accidentally feeding the little monster. Like when I ordered a gin and tonic last night but I forgot that tonic water has sugar or sweetners until after id drunk half. Whereas, it's very easy to avoid never smoking or consuming nicotine again. So though my mind is in the right space, the body might have to work harder.
If you have any addictions, things you wish you could change- smoking, sugar, drugs, alcohol, gambling, gibe the EasyWay a try. You've got nothing to lose.
If you have any addictions, things you wish you could change- smoking, sugar, drugs, alcohol, gambling, gibe the EasyWay a try. You've got nothing to lose.
February 8, 2017
Good Sugar Bad Sugar is a polemic about the dangers of sugar and how it causes chronic and debilitating illness like diabetes and metabolic immune disease. It is a book for people who want to quit eating sugar and/or are thinking about it. Mr. Carr premise is that we have been brainwashed to eat sugar despite the damage it causes. He is very convincing and his ability to show how sugar wrecks our bodies is rock solid. However, the author is quite certain that when we know how bad sugar is for us that we will easily, almost automatically stop. Ultimately he uses an intellectual argument and I see its value but it is hard for me to imagine that just logic and cerebral arguments alone will help people quit. I imagine most people need more support and help to stop eating sugar Despite the author's passionate belief that when we have the information we will stop eating sugar I have rarely seen change happen so quickly and easily. Or maybe this is just true for me. I am smart enough, I totally understand the dangers but it is still very hard to stop. And it is hard for this not to be acknowledged. . Right now it takes my full attention and focus.. So, although this book may be one of my most important tools in my quest to stop eating sugar. I just might need more than this.
Thank you to Netgalley and Arcturus Publishing Limited for giving me the opportunity to review this book for an honest opinion
Thank you to Netgalley and Arcturus Publishing Limited for giving me the opportunity to review this book for an honest opinion
November 27, 2016
I reviewed this book for NetGalley.
This book promotes and explains a useful and different approach to controlling sugar consumption. Mr. Carr likens excessive sugar consumption (bad sugar - sugar, refined grains , pasta, etc.) to addiction and treats it with the method he has developed for addiction treatment.
I found his method to be very approachable and practical for everyday excessive sugar consumption. In fact, a used a variation of his program to stop drinking soft drinks. It does work if you put your mind to it.
Great book if you need some assistance in this area!
This book promotes and explains a useful and different approach to controlling sugar consumption. Mr. Carr likens excessive sugar consumption (bad sugar - sugar, refined grains , pasta, etc.) to addiction and treats it with the method he has developed for addiction treatment.
I found his method to be very approachable and practical for everyday excessive sugar consumption. In fact, a used a variation of his program to stop drinking soft drinks. It does work if you put your mind to it.
Great book if you need some assistance in this area!
December 18, 2016
This book is about how you have been addicted to bad sugar since birth and how you can overcome this addiction by letting go of the false beliefs that are fueling your addiction. The book contains one of the best approaches I have ever heard about facing and letting go of addictive behavior. I have learned a lot and plan to put it to use in my own life. My husband is also going to try Allen Carr's EasyWay book about how to quit smoking.
I received a copy from Arcturus Digital & NetGalley for my honest review,
I received a copy from Arcturus Digital & NetGalley for my honest review,
March 14, 2024
amazing! I finally quit sugar and feel great.
I’ve been horribly addicted to sugar my whole life. It made me tired, fat, mentally foggy, etc. I knew it was poison but could NOT quit. Someone recommended this book and I figured, why not.
Despite absolutely “loving” sugar, this book convinced me that I actually (truly) do not, and that I can HAPPILY quit. And I did. Best $7 spent ever.
I’ve been horribly addicted to sugar my whole life. It made me tired, fat, mentally foggy, etc. I knew it was poison but could NOT quit. Someone recommended this book and I figured, why not.
Despite absolutely “loving” sugar, this book convinced me that I actually (truly) do not, and that I can HAPPILY quit. And I did. Best $7 spent ever.
March 10, 2017
Good brainwashing! If you need to face your sugar demons - this is the book for you. The only thing I had a hard time with was the vegan emphasis. He wants you to eat raw and mostly veggies and fruits. I lean more towards paleo.
March 28, 2022
I was skeptical at first but I decided to have an open mind and give it a sincere go. It works. I'm not going to oversell it, as it might not work for everyone, but it did for me. I want to use this method to quit coffee and mindless internet scrolling next :-)
August 22, 2018
Not as good as I thought
I am very disappointed of this book. Waste of money and time reading it. You do need willpower to quit on anything!
I am very disappointed of this book. Waste of money and time reading it. You do need willpower to quit on anything!
October 4, 2025
one of the best self-help books I've ever read
September 26, 2024
While there were some good points shared, I kept waiting for the big reveal or specific instructions outlining how exactly to give up sugar once and for all.
Carr outlines what he refers to as Good Sugar (derived from fruit) and Bad Sugar (derived from processed food, hidden additives, carbohydrates).
Effectively, Alan Carr tries to reframe our thinking about sugar. He asserts there is no lasting compliance by using willpower to give up sugar. He debunks the notion of the addictive personality, sugar dependence or even addiction claiming how once we realise how sugar is contributing to our illnesses; once we realise how the food companies have duped us into believing sugar makes us feel good and is a better replacement for fat; once we accept responsibility for our own thoughts and realise where those sugar-related beliefs were born, we will be free to abstain from feeding ourselves with poison. He claims we’ve become complicit in the myth of an alien substance being responsible for our happiness, satiety, and feeling of accomplishment and wellbeing. That the usual treats for being good, feeling OK, instant gratification such as: fast food, breads, cakes, cookies, ice cream, chocolate, are mere fillers. That the real dopamine comes from within. He gives examples such as describing the taste of sugar itself as being extreme and sickening for some. He claims our bodies try to expel poisons, stating that it’s no wonder a child who overindulges in sugary treats, hot dogs and fizzy drinks at birthday parties often feels ill afterwards and even vomits up all the sugar/poison. He claims we should trust our first impressions or our intuition because he believes our bodies tell us what is not good for our bodies using examples such as kids not liking the taste of coffee or beer.
The closest thing to a step by step guide to giving up sugar offered in this book is:
1. To read the entire book and to follow all of his instructions.
2. Keep an open mind.
3. Begin with a feeling of elation. Don’t allow yourself to adopt a deprivation mentality. Tell yourself you should be happy to finally be headed in a healthy direction with an educated frame of mind.
4. Ignore any advice that goes against this guide.
5. Free yourself from old thoughts; preconceived notions such as marketing campaigns that dictate that Easter, Christmas, Halloween and Valentines Day must be celebrated with sugar because sugar is a reward, to receive sugar means we are good, sugar is a treat. Scrub this brainwashing.
6. Reject preconceived notions of the ideal weight.
7. Don’t follow social dictates when it comes to meal times. Avoid eating unless you are hungry.
8. Don’t doubt your decision to quit eating bad sugar.
9. Ignore people who tell you they gave up sugar due to willpower. People who use willpower alone generally break. Also, this method suggests you are giving something up. Bad sugars are not good for you. They are poison. Do you require willpower to abstain from eating poison? No. You just need intelligence to know better. As with bad sugar, you just need the knowledge to know better than to eat it.
10. Repeats the need to ignore all advice that goes against his Easyway technique.
11. Carr recommends you eat one last meal of bad sugars to mark your new path towards eating only good sugars then NEVER EAT BAD SUGARS AGAIN.
BAD SUGARS are: refined sugar, sugar substitutes (such as saccharine, aspartame,xylitol) glucose, corn syrop, dried fruit (all of the sugar/ none of the fiber), carbohydrates like bread, pasta, rice, potatoes, milk, ice cream, cheese, apart from Feta, processed foods, canned foods, ready made sauces and meals and anything with a high glycemic load.
Carr outlines what he refers to as Good Sugar (derived from fruit) and Bad Sugar (derived from processed food, hidden additives, carbohydrates).
Effectively, Alan Carr tries to reframe our thinking about sugar. He asserts there is no lasting compliance by using willpower to give up sugar. He debunks the notion of the addictive personality, sugar dependence or even addiction claiming how once we realise how sugar is contributing to our illnesses; once we realise how the food companies have duped us into believing sugar makes us feel good and is a better replacement for fat; once we accept responsibility for our own thoughts and realise where those sugar-related beliefs were born, we will be free to abstain from feeding ourselves with poison. He claims we’ve become complicit in the myth of an alien substance being responsible for our happiness, satiety, and feeling of accomplishment and wellbeing. That the usual treats for being good, feeling OK, instant gratification such as: fast food, breads, cakes, cookies, ice cream, chocolate, are mere fillers. That the real dopamine comes from within. He gives examples such as describing the taste of sugar itself as being extreme and sickening for some. He claims our bodies try to expel poisons, stating that it’s no wonder a child who overindulges in sugary treats, hot dogs and fizzy drinks at birthday parties often feels ill afterwards and even vomits up all the sugar/poison. He claims we should trust our first impressions or our intuition because he believes our bodies tell us what is not good for our bodies using examples such as kids not liking the taste of coffee or beer.
The closest thing to a step by step guide to giving up sugar offered in this book is:
1. To read the entire book and to follow all of his instructions.
2. Keep an open mind.
3. Begin with a feeling of elation. Don’t allow yourself to adopt a deprivation mentality. Tell yourself you should be happy to finally be headed in a healthy direction with an educated frame of mind.
4. Ignore any advice that goes against this guide.
5. Free yourself from old thoughts; preconceived notions such as marketing campaigns that dictate that Easter, Christmas, Halloween and Valentines Day must be celebrated with sugar because sugar is a reward, to receive sugar means we are good, sugar is a treat. Scrub this brainwashing.
6. Reject preconceived notions of the ideal weight.
7. Don’t follow social dictates when it comes to meal times. Avoid eating unless you are hungry.
8. Don’t doubt your decision to quit eating bad sugar.
9. Ignore people who tell you they gave up sugar due to willpower. People who use willpower alone generally break. Also, this method suggests you are giving something up. Bad sugars are not good for you. They are poison. Do you require willpower to abstain from eating poison? No. You just need intelligence to know better. As with bad sugar, you just need the knowledge to know better than to eat it.
10. Repeats the need to ignore all advice that goes against his Easyway technique.
11. Carr recommends you eat one last meal of bad sugars to mark your new path towards eating only good sugars then NEVER EAT BAD SUGARS AGAIN.
BAD SUGARS are: refined sugar, sugar substitutes (such as saccharine, aspartame,xylitol) glucose, corn syrop, dried fruit (all of the sugar/ none of the fiber), carbohydrates like bread, pasta, rice, potatoes, milk, ice cream, cheese, apart from Feta, processed foods, canned foods, ready made sauces and meals and anything with a high glycemic load.
January 5, 2026
I don't usually vibe with self-help books. This was recommended to me by someone I trust who used the same method to kick alcoholism. So I figured, what have I got to lose?
I have tried REPEATEDLY to kick my addiction to chocolate and bad sugar foods. I felt like I tried everything except for drugs like Contrave (which would be my next stop on the train). Will power, substitutions, target weight goals, even chemotherapy (not by choice, but hey, it did allow me to quit chocolate for a few months). But I was never able to change my lifestyle. I always fell back to the addiction, hating myself for it.
This book is potentially life-changing.
Of course, I am still worried that I will fall back into deadly habits, but this really does give me a new perspective and a new lens on the problem.
Here are some of the lessons I want to internalize, because they’re true and they’re important.
Anything that relies on willpower is doomed to fail. Willpower is not infinite. It will break eventually, and it will always leave me feeling like I am making a huge sacrifice and suffering. I’ve already come to this conclusion on my own: dieting doesn’t work because it’s temporary. I need a lifestyle change. I need to become unaddicted.
All the baggage of my failures left me feeling like a prisoner who kept trying the door and finding it locked and then feeling defeated and miserable and giving up. But what if I am pushing on the wrong part of the door, the part with hinges instead of the part that opens? Well, I am exactly that kind of stubborn overachiever.
Which brings me to another truth this book pointed out: Addicts are the opposite of weak-willed. We are probably the strongest willed people out there. I write books that are cross-genre epics, even when they’re hard to sell, because I’m doing new things as an artist and doing it my own way, looking for success on my own terms.
Well, an addict stubbornly does the harmful thing even when the package says “this will kill you.” We are overachievers refusing to let go of certain illusions and harmful concepts or societal brainwashing.
It’s the same way the people who break away from high demand religions were often the most fervent adherents who followed all the stupid/harmful rules.
Not only does the food industry sell sugary foods as easy, necessary, good, rewarding, etc (all lies, of course), but the medical industry does little to push back on this and even upholds it in many cases, because Type II diabetes is a big industry. We’re all addicted as babies and even in the womb. Parents unwittingly push sugar as a reward. The whole of modern society is aggressively selling bad sugar as worthwhile in some way. We know it’s unhealthy, yet it is excused in a trillion different ways.
So what about people who aren’t addicted? The book had a lot to say about that. I’m not convinced there isn’t a genetic component, aka no such thing as an “addictive personality,” but I can sit with the idea that it’s something very different than I imagined. Instead of a weakness of will, it’s the opposite: the type of person who rigidly trusts societal messaging or an internalized belief. People like me hold our beliefs tightly instead of loosely.
A wishy-washy person might have enjoyed cake or ice cream as a child. Then, once they grew up and their peers were into steak and wine, they were like, “okay, this is what we do now.” They go with the flow and don’t think hard about the weird change in their tastes. They are easily influenced. Their wishy-washy approach to life is a problem in terms of doggedly pursuing a goal or sticking with a personal regime. But it is a benefit when it comes to sidestepping or letting go of addictions. They are guided by their animal instincts, which steers them towards health.
A sugar addict, on the other hand, sticks with the deeply instilled belief they got in childhood. They maintain their childhood love of sweets because they're against the whole wishy-washy changing of rules. They are not easily swayed. Once the addiction sinks its teeth into them, and vice versa, it becomes a massive psychological challenge to let go of it. It seems insurmountable.
The book points out that the addiction is 1% physical. That tiny monster is the trigger that leads the huge monster of the psychological aspect, which is 99% of the addiction. This also resonates. I’ve spent my life believing that I have a terrible craving that cannot be defeated by my undeniably weak willpower, and that it’s probably genetic. But what if this book is right? If so, it’s pretty much all a trick of my mind, all psychological, and my long-held belief is 100% false. The craving I feel is actually brainwashing, aka beliefs that I have internalized and hold way too tightly with my ludicrously strong iron will.
Sugar makes me crave sugar. It isn’t actually pleasurable or tasty. At all. It’s a terribly third rate food with zero nutritional value, and I’ve developed a tolerance because the human body has evolved to cope when first rate foods are unavailable. Acquired tastes are a sign that something is bad.
There is a whole elaborate web of excuses and lies that prop up the belief that chocolate is sexy, naughty, delicious, etc.
Addicts take the addictive substance so they can feel normal, not so they can feel good. The book points out that this is true even of heroin addiction. And sugar is very much like heroin, refined in similar ways, glamorized in similar ways, and even more deadly. Heroin just acts faster and so the detrimental effects are more immediate and obvious.
It is undeniably true. I’ve eaten chocolate to feel good—or so I believed—but in actuality, I was eating it to feel the way I should, to get to a baseline of feeling normal, after a blood sugar crash caused by eating sugar. My habit has been to eat chocolate an hour or so after eating a healthy meal. This was partly as a “reward” (societal brainwashing) for eating healthy, and partly because that is when the craving tends to hit the hardest. Why an hour after a meal? Because my sugar addiction has eroded my ability to achieve a baseline of normalcy from healthy foods. Instead of feeling 100%, I feel 90%, and then I feel like I need bad sugar, and it brings me to 95%, and then I end up crashing even before I finish the snack, so I eat more of it. I am constantly chasing that baseline, that craving to feel 100% normal, and the bad sugar ensures that I never get there.
The fact that it is almost all psychological is undeniable, too. I’ve felt physically healthier during the months when I dieted or otherwise had no chocolate (such as 4 months of chemotherapy). The diets made me feel deprived, and did not stop the food noise, but that’s a mental trick, isn’t it? Chocolate is not making me feel physically better or more normal than I am when I exist without it. Objectively, it makes me feel worse. I’m just stubbornly believing that it has a beneficial effect on me, despite all evidence to the contrary.
This book also puts a massive emphasis on optimism and positive thinking about the change in outlook, as opposed to a grueling ordeal. It should be exciting and wonderful to be healthy permanently! And isn’t that true? Of course it is!
I am cautious of optimism. I find the “it’s easy” claims to be the most unbelievable.
Which means this is the part that I really need to work on internalizing and accepting as true.
I do think this book glosses over the “food noise” aspect of the big monster. Yes, I agree that withdrawal from bad sugar is quick. Anyone who has tried to quit and failed repeatedly knows that. But the psychological noise… oh boy, that is nonstop. I’ve gone through the first few days thinking CONSTANTLY: “I want chocolate—NO, it’s evil. It’s heroin. It’s ruining my life.” Again and again. That monster just won’t shut up. I am trying to undo the brainwashing by using another form of brainwashing, aka repeating a mantra again and again. That repetition is exhausting. The book really doesn’t talk about that.
It does talk about how occasional evil thoughts will show up in the future. We all have bad days, and since we spent our lives addicted, we will naturally think of that substance in our worst moments, because we stupidly believed it gave us pleasure (when it really just robbed us of pleasure).
Being forewarned is being forearmed. I want to be the kind of person who swats away those stupid cravings with a feeling of relief and joy that I am no longer enslaved to my addiction.
I am free. Just threw out all the chocolate in the house. Now, I hope I can keep that outlook and new way of viewing it!
I have tried REPEATEDLY to kick my addiction to chocolate and bad sugar foods. I felt like I tried everything except for drugs like Contrave (which would be my next stop on the train). Will power, substitutions, target weight goals, even chemotherapy (not by choice, but hey, it did allow me to quit chocolate for a few months). But I was never able to change my lifestyle. I always fell back to the addiction, hating myself for it.
This book is potentially life-changing.
Of course, I am still worried that I will fall back into deadly habits, but this really does give me a new perspective and a new lens on the problem.
Here are some of the lessons I want to internalize, because they’re true and they’re important.
Anything that relies on willpower is doomed to fail. Willpower is not infinite. It will break eventually, and it will always leave me feeling like I am making a huge sacrifice and suffering. I’ve already come to this conclusion on my own: dieting doesn’t work because it’s temporary. I need a lifestyle change. I need to become unaddicted.
All the baggage of my failures left me feeling like a prisoner who kept trying the door and finding it locked and then feeling defeated and miserable and giving up. But what if I am pushing on the wrong part of the door, the part with hinges instead of the part that opens? Well, I am exactly that kind of stubborn overachiever.
Which brings me to another truth this book pointed out: Addicts are the opposite of weak-willed. We are probably the strongest willed people out there. I write books that are cross-genre epics, even when they’re hard to sell, because I’m doing new things as an artist and doing it my own way, looking for success on my own terms.
Well, an addict stubbornly does the harmful thing even when the package says “this will kill you.” We are overachievers refusing to let go of certain illusions and harmful concepts or societal brainwashing.
It’s the same way the people who break away from high demand religions were often the most fervent adherents who followed all the stupid/harmful rules.
Not only does the food industry sell sugary foods as easy, necessary, good, rewarding, etc (all lies, of course), but the medical industry does little to push back on this and even upholds it in many cases, because Type II diabetes is a big industry. We’re all addicted as babies and even in the womb. Parents unwittingly push sugar as a reward. The whole of modern society is aggressively selling bad sugar as worthwhile in some way. We know it’s unhealthy, yet it is excused in a trillion different ways.
So what about people who aren’t addicted? The book had a lot to say about that. I’m not convinced there isn’t a genetic component, aka no such thing as an “addictive personality,” but I can sit with the idea that it’s something very different than I imagined. Instead of a weakness of will, it’s the opposite: the type of person who rigidly trusts societal messaging or an internalized belief. People like me hold our beliefs tightly instead of loosely.
A wishy-washy person might have enjoyed cake or ice cream as a child. Then, once they grew up and their peers were into steak and wine, they were like, “okay, this is what we do now.” They go with the flow and don’t think hard about the weird change in their tastes. They are easily influenced. Their wishy-washy approach to life is a problem in terms of doggedly pursuing a goal or sticking with a personal regime. But it is a benefit when it comes to sidestepping or letting go of addictions. They are guided by their animal instincts, which steers them towards health.
A sugar addict, on the other hand, sticks with the deeply instilled belief they got in childhood. They maintain their childhood love of sweets because they're against the whole wishy-washy changing of rules. They are not easily swayed. Once the addiction sinks its teeth into them, and vice versa, it becomes a massive psychological challenge to let go of it. It seems insurmountable.
The book points out that the addiction is 1% physical. That tiny monster is the trigger that leads the huge monster of the psychological aspect, which is 99% of the addiction. This also resonates. I’ve spent my life believing that I have a terrible craving that cannot be defeated by my undeniably weak willpower, and that it’s probably genetic. But what if this book is right? If so, it’s pretty much all a trick of my mind, all psychological, and my long-held belief is 100% false. The craving I feel is actually brainwashing, aka beliefs that I have internalized and hold way too tightly with my ludicrously strong iron will.
Sugar makes me crave sugar. It isn’t actually pleasurable or tasty. At all. It’s a terribly third rate food with zero nutritional value, and I’ve developed a tolerance because the human body has evolved to cope when first rate foods are unavailable. Acquired tastes are a sign that something is bad.
There is a whole elaborate web of excuses and lies that prop up the belief that chocolate is sexy, naughty, delicious, etc.
Addicts take the addictive substance so they can feel normal, not so they can feel good. The book points out that this is true even of heroin addiction. And sugar is very much like heroin, refined in similar ways, glamorized in similar ways, and even more deadly. Heroin just acts faster and so the detrimental effects are more immediate and obvious.
It is undeniably true. I’ve eaten chocolate to feel good—or so I believed—but in actuality, I was eating it to feel the way I should, to get to a baseline of feeling normal, after a blood sugar crash caused by eating sugar. My habit has been to eat chocolate an hour or so after eating a healthy meal. This was partly as a “reward” (societal brainwashing) for eating healthy, and partly because that is when the craving tends to hit the hardest. Why an hour after a meal? Because my sugar addiction has eroded my ability to achieve a baseline of normalcy from healthy foods. Instead of feeling 100%, I feel 90%, and then I feel like I need bad sugar, and it brings me to 95%, and then I end up crashing even before I finish the snack, so I eat more of it. I am constantly chasing that baseline, that craving to feel 100% normal, and the bad sugar ensures that I never get there.
The fact that it is almost all psychological is undeniable, too. I’ve felt physically healthier during the months when I dieted or otherwise had no chocolate (such as 4 months of chemotherapy). The diets made me feel deprived, and did not stop the food noise, but that’s a mental trick, isn’t it? Chocolate is not making me feel physically better or more normal than I am when I exist without it. Objectively, it makes me feel worse. I’m just stubbornly believing that it has a beneficial effect on me, despite all evidence to the contrary.
This book also puts a massive emphasis on optimism and positive thinking about the change in outlook, as opposed to a grueling ordeal. It should be exciting and wonderful to be healthy permanently! And isn’t that true? Of course it is!
I am cautious of optimism. I find the “it’s easy” claims to be the most unbelievable.
Which means this is the part that I really need to work on internalizing and accepting as true.
I do think this book glosses over the “food noise” aspect of the big monster. Yes, I agree that withdrawal from bad sugar is quick. Anyone who has tried to quit and failed repeatedly knows that. But the psychological noise… oh boy, that is nonstop. I’ve gone through the first few days thinking CONSTANTLY: “I want chocolate—NO, it’s evil. It’s heroin. It’s ruining my life.” Again and again. That monster just won’t shut up. I am trying to undo the brainwashing by using another form of brainwashing, aka repeating a mantra again and again. That repetition is exhausting. The book really doesn’t talk about that.
It does talk about how occasional evil thoughts will show up in the future. We all have bad days, and since we spent our lives addicted, we will naturally think of that substance in our worst moments, because we stupidly believed it gave us pleasure (when it really just robbed us of pleasure).
Being forewarned is being forearmed. I want to be the kind of person who swats away those stupid cravings with a feeling of relief and joy that I am no longer enslaved to my addiction.
I am free. Just threw out all the chocolate in the house. Now, I hope I can keep that outlook and new way of viewing it!
February 6, 2024
Great book overall and I gave it more stars initially. However, I was concerned about Carr’s decision to lump starches in with sugar so decided to do my own research. Having gone back and read more scientific books, I’m unconvinced of the need to remove all starches from one’s diet. The science simply doesn’t back it up.
November 28, 2023
Cool but I’m still going to eat sugar
January 3, 2025
This is my second Easyway book and the formula is the same. It can work if you truly embrace the method.
Heavily repetitive (this book could have been WAY shorter) but I understand the need to drive the point home. I appreciate the fact that it approaches and attempts to convince that getting over addiction is easy. Sometimes that feeling is all you need to be successful because every other source talks about how hard it is. With that said, some might see the approach as too simplistic. I get that too. I struggle with that feeling as well.
The only part of the book I didn't agree with is making meat secondary. Not that I don't agree with it, I don't agree with it for me. Animal protein is the cornerstone of my diet. Also, while I can see myself giving up the usual suspects, I wouldn't want to give up other starchy carbs. Limit, yes, but not give up 100%. I don't even plan to give up sugar for life. I'm interested in breaking the emotional connection.
Heavily repetitive (this book could have been WAY shorter) but I understand the need to drive the point home. I appreciate the fact that it approaches and attempts to convince that getting over addiction is easy. Sometimes that feeling is all you need to be successful because every other source talks about how hard it is. With that said, some might see the approach as too simplistic. I get that too. I struggle with that feeling as well.
The only part of the book I didn't agree with is making meat secondary. Not that I don't agree with it, I don't agree with it for me. Animal protein is the cornerstone of my diet. Also, while I can see myself giving up the usual suspects, I wouldn't want to give up other starchy carbs. Limit, yes, but not give up 100%. I don't even plan to give up sugar for life. I'm interested in breaking the emotional connection.
May 9, 2020
Allen Carr has been a life save for me. I quit Cigarettes and Alcohol years ago, found it incredily easy to do so and didn't go back to it.
This book tries to apply Easyway to Sugar and Bad Carbs and I am disappointed to say, its not practical to follow this method. I tried.
There is simply so many foods around me that contain bad sugar, I personally found is very difficult to cut everything out.
I wish he had given some kind of a method for moderation. But he didn't and the method really became impractical for me.
I have found tracking food intake and budgeting for carbs, including sugar, much easier to implement and stick to.
I am forever thankful to Easyway, but this book didn't work for me.
This book tries to apply Easyway to Sugar and Bad Carbs and I am disappointed to say, its not practical to follow this method. I tried.
There is simply so many foods around me that contain bad sugar, I personally found is very difficult to cut everything out.
I wish he had given some kind of a method for moderation. But he didn't and the method really became impractical for me.
I have found tracking food intake and budgeting for carbs, including sugar, much easier to implement and stick to.
I am forever thankful to Easyway, but this book didn't work for me.
December 31, 2023
1/3rd of this book has good information & advice about removing sugar from your diet.
1/3rd of this book is just hyping itself up about how good of a book it is.
1/3rd of this book has really questionable nutritional advice. They advocate a primarily high fruit raw vegan diet that is occasionally supplemented with meat and dairy. I disagree - cooked food is healthy, cooking is why we evolved as a species. Rice is listed as a “BAD SUGAR” even though it’s a staple food of many Asian countries with healthy populations. Potatoes are listed as a “BAD SUGAR” even though they’re literally a superfood. Beans and legumes aren’t mentioned at all, even though they provide a lot of nutrients.
I’m going to take the anti-sugar information and discard the rest.
1/3rd of this book is just hyping itself up about how good of a book it is.
1/3rd of this book has really questionable nutritional advice. They advocate a primarily high fruit raw vegan diet that is occasionally supplemented with meat and dairy. I disagree - cooked food is healthy, cooking is why we evolved as a species. Rice is listed as a “BAD SUGAR” even though it’s a staple food of many Asian countries with healthy populations. Potatoes are listed as a “BAD SUGAR” even though they’re literally a superfood. Beans and legumes aren’t mentioned at all, even though they provide a lot of nutrients.
I’m going to take the anti-sugar information and discard the rest.
February 12, 2019
The first book to make me look at carbs and genuinely think that some forms of them are not good for me. I followed his approach while at a family event and afterwards I could go for a run, mainly because I had only eaten fish beans and veg from the buffet. Very impressed after that short experiment! My thinking has changed . Have a slight concern about how to cope when eating at other people’s houses however.
July 26, 2016
A fascinating look at "bad" sugar and how harmful it is to our bodies and health. Very clearly written and full of information on how to rid ourselves of the "bad" sugar addiction.
This was a review copy from NetGalley and the publisher.
This was a review copy from NetGalley and the publisher.
July 29, 2016
As someone who could do with losing a few pounds I read this book with great interest. It certainly makes a lot of sense and I shall be following the advice - definitely food for thought! I was given this ARC by the publisher and Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 111 reviews