Sweetaholic here

Yup, yup and yup!  I really, really, really wish I could do "moderation".  I've tried for 54 years with ZERO success.  I'm in the abstainer camp too, Kath! 

Does this ever resonate with me.  I think I need to be an abstainee as well.

 I thought I would try Quest protein bars.  Big mistake.  They are like a gateway drug...  I had bought a few different kinds to try... they were all gone in a couple of days.. then I was craving sugary carbs like I was in withdrawal.  Wasn't hungry.. just wanted to eat. 

I was hoping moderation would be in my vocabulary in the future, but I'm not holding my breath.

You said "it's like an addiction" in your post. 

For me, it is an addiction.  I know people use that term casually about their eating, but I do not.  I am a food addict.  I am addicted to particular foods in the same way people are addicted to cocaine, heroin, meth, alcohol, or cigarettes.  I have a compulsion to continue eating certain foods past the point of hunger to a point that it causes me health, physical, emotional and even relationship distress.  My addiction was literally hastening my death.

I cannot express how important it has been for me to learn to view my unhealthy relationship with food in this way: an addiction.

As a food addict, I had to accept that I can't eat even a little of the addictive foods. I had to learn to practice abstinence. I also had to unfortunately deal with the withdrawal symptoms until my brain chemistry became normal again.  I know I say this a lot in my posts, but that is because there is no other way to handle an addiction.  I do not do well with eating substitutes as it fuels my addiction.  I compare it to a heroin addict using methadone.  That just doesn't work for me.

Now that my brain chemistry has returned to a more normal and less compulsive state, it is far easier to refrain from eating my trigger foods.  You can recognize trigger foods -- they are the ones that cause you to want more and more after you've already eaten.  Some can be "healthy" -- for example fruits and some greek yogurts can "trigger" me.  Potato chips, cookies and bread are definite triggers.  I could eat an entire loaf of bread as toast, for example.  When I find something that triggers me, I cut it like a cancer from my life.  You know why?  That addiction is a cancer... it metastasizes and grows -- stealing my life right with it.  So, when I find a food that I am thinking about a bit too much -- I recognize it's not meant to be in my life.

I wish there were some simple way to stop wanting to eat those things.  If nothing else, it has made me far more compassionate towards other people's addictions and struggles.  

Keep posting -- the support here is invaluable.  Giving support back will strengthen your resolve.  

I hope you find what works for you.