How do you deal with your out of control sweet tooth?

Patttience

I wanted to call this thread how do you deal with your sugar addiction but i didn't want to start a debate about sugar addiction. It's a waste of everyone's time! So if anyone's interested in that conversation, perhaps they can start another topic. :-) I just mention it because many of us have the feeling we are addicted to sugar and to such people this thread is addressed.

So back to the original question - What is your strategy? How well does it work for you? If you have cravings, i suggest it's possibly not working that well or could use some tweaking.

In my experience, the best way and first aspect to eliminate cravings is to abstain from all sweet foods using refined or artificial sweeteners in your regular diet including honey and any syrups be they natural or manufactured BECAUSE THESE FOODS ARE TOO SWEET. (But eat plenty of fruit both stewed and fresh and only minimal dried fruit when you get settled in). It is sweetness that is the key here, not the fundamental nutritional elements of glucose, lactose, sucrose, galactose and fructose. If you can cure yourself of your desire for intense sweetness experiences, then you can eradicate sugar cravings from your life and you will find it easier to lose weight and maintain it.

The second element is emotional for many of us crucial to grasp as well. We are at our weakest with regards to sugar and any form of temptation problem we may have, when our mood is down or stress is high. Low seratonin levels cause a desire for sweet foods. The longer the low mood lasts or the stress continues, the weaker we will become, the stronger our appetite grows. And the risk of reverting to bad old habits with sugary foods rises.

I recently had a low mood that lasted for a few weeks. It started gradually and from past experience, i could see where this was going. I was definitely eating more and finding it difficult to maintain my low calorie days (around 1200 on average) and note i was almost at goal. So i took action. From the beginning of the year, when i started my abstention from sugar, I had a second strategy which was to find a councillor when emotional problems or stress showed up. I had a few stress issues earlier in the year and each time as soon as i trotted off to the councillor, my stress would quickly resolve and my appetite settle. (It may take a little longer for people who have less therapy or counselling in their past). Just recently i had this low mood and because my food consumption was now really low, the increase in appetite was pushing me to the brink. I started to binge and doing some other risky eating things. That said, i wasn't binging on my traditional binge foods. I was not tempted to go shopping for ice-cream, chocolate, cake and sweets but had i not gone to my councillor, who knows i might have thrown in the towel on my sugar free life and if so i would be fat again in no time.

But as it was and i was not yet returning to sugar for support, my binges on savoury foods were shorter and i was not eating quite so much. Also I could bounce back from a binge to eating normal healthy foods straight away and did not stuff myself so much. Whereas in the past eating sweet foods led me away from healthy foods altogether and quickly. This time, although i was concerned about the amount of food i was eating, i was not so concerned about what i was eating. I was binging on nuts, and other rich (high fat) but savoury foods but continuing to eat fruit and vegetables as well.

The day i phoned to make an appointment with my psychologist, i went out and bought 2 deep fried vegetable samosas, followed straight away at another eatery with 3 plates of sushi, and then not long after, a serve of hot chips or fries. When that was all over, i felt satiated and was good. Compare that with my past of a binge on 2 litres of ice-cream, a family sized block of chocolate and whatever else i could fit in before bed that night. But all of it would have been sugary. After my savoury binge, i still ate dinner in the evening if i recall but it wasn't much. Next day i was able to see my psychologist and from that point i started to recover quite quickly. I continued to eat a bit more than i needed and did continue putting on weight. But now, less than 2 weeks later, i'm losing it again without a struggle. Its been easier for me to choose the right foods and reduce or abstain from higher calorie foods.

I had stopped counting calories around the time of my low mood because i was sick of it and so on. Now a few weeks later, my mood has fully recovered, my eating has fully recovered and my weight is starting to drop again without unpleasant calorie restriction and no calorie counting. As it was, i gained about 6 pounds from my lowest low but i still feel slim and now I'm only 4 pounds higher than my lowest low. Setbacks like this are probably unavoidable over the long term but we have to have strategies which can help is keep them short and keep us from falling off the wagon completely.

I do eat highly sweet food on certain low risk occasions but these foods are not a regular or planned part of my life. Each time i eat them, i have to give myself a pep talk. and recommit to my over all strategy of living a sugar free life. Over the nearly 10 months i've been doing this, my commitment to this style of eating has only grown. Each time i pull threw a bad period without having succumbed to my bad old sugar binging habits, i feel stronger and better about what i'm doing. I don't miss sugar. In the same as i don't miss cigarettes which i gave up 18 years ago. I've used my quit cigarettes mindset in my personal campaign to quit sugar. Replace unhealthy things with healthy ones and abstain.

Francl27

Nope. I tried the 'cold turkey' thing for a few months... it worked for a while, but the cravings never went away. The only difference is that I had much more determination when I started, so it was easier to say no. But it got worse and worse. Probably why people gain the weight back when they totally cut some food out of their diet, because for a lot of people, it's just not sustainable.

So I try to eat sweets in moderation, although lately I've started to stay away from things that tend to make me binge (ie, baked goods, ice cream and fancy chocolates) - but I'll reintroduce them soon. My life is much easier if I can have a couple squares of dark chocolate or some flavored Greek yogurt.

zeal26

This is something I've only just began to tackle (my chocolate/sweets binges were becoming frequent and ridiculous) so I have no idea what works. However this week, I've cut out diet soda (I was drinking maybe 1 litre a day, 500ml on a good day) and switched to only allowing myself dark chocolate when I'm craving sweets.

I feel a little more in control already and the binge cravings are subsiding slightly. I also allow myself a big helping of fruit every night after dinner (usually a bowl of chopped apple/banana, grapes and blueberries with a spoon of muesli and a yoghurt) and that helps me stay away from the crap.

I've come to realize I cannot do moderation with most junk food. I seem to be managing moderation with dark chocolate but put a 200g milk chocolate bar in front of me and it will be gone within 15 minutes, even if I try to put away in the fridge. I have a lot of trigger foods and I need to stay away from them entirely. I can't do little amounts!

IvyLuci

I plan a square of dark chocolate into my day from time to time. I don't allow myself to have it every day because I have noticed that if I do, soon it becomes a square for breakfast, and a square for lunch... and I need to keep my sugar low for medical reasons.

The same is with fruit, I only eat it occasionally.

What I have noticed is, if I take a square of chocolate with a larger amount of sugar (so, a milk chocolate, or a chocolate with cream of some sort), I will not feel as satisfied with it, and I will tend to go back for more. Therefore I try to avoid those and stick to chocolates with 60-70% cocoa (or more).

I rarely get cravings for pastries and such, and I do have to avoid those as much as possible, so I try to wait it out or have a square of chocolate instead.

Patttience

Ivy its the sugar that's causes the desire for more not the chocolate, though i think the health benefits of dark chocolate are highly overrated. And i'm not a huge fan of the taste either. I find it easy to stay away from.

On the other hand not being allowed to eat as much fruit as i wanted was one of the things that threw me off my low carb attempt. Low carb was a fun experience i suppose its good for diabetics but i don't think anyone needs to commit to long term very low carb to be honest. That would be torture for me.

I read a great article a few months ago in which the new idea is that a maximum of 6tsp of sugar (and i mean sweets) is controllable for most people. So i guess if you were going for moderation, this would be a good rule of thumb to try to follow. But then you have to be aware of where the sugar is hidden if you are eating lots of processed foods. I don't eat much processed foods. The idea of the 6tsp is mainly about being able to control your intake because as you know, the more you sugar you eat the more you want.

Francis i suspect when you re-introduce them you may find yourself being tempted to overeat them more and more often. That's what i found when i tried to do moderation. Its like a thin end of the wedge situation.

To keep cravings away, i maximise the healthy deliciousness of my other food. Its only if my mood dips that my thoughts about food start to go off.

jessicapk

I deal with sugar cravings by having a small serving of something that it decadently sweet and it usually kills it off for me. I figure I'll do better off with a spoonful of cake icing than eating a whole carton of ice cream.

missdibs1

Strawberries with sugar free whipped heavy cream. Delicious

GiveMeCoffee

The best thing I did this time, is not eliminating any food, nothing was off limits. Once I realized elimination was not necessary, the cravings weren't there. Because I knew after dinner I would have a dessert, or I could eat the cookie and just fit it into my day.

All my previous attempts at weight loss, I went overly restrictive and eliminated food groups... they worked short term but nothing I could do for more than a month or so.

So this time about 22 months in 119 lbs lost, it's all about moderation & portion control

Lorleee

I know my limitations so I don't keep sweet treats in the house. If I'm going to treat myself I do it outside of the home, so it's dessert in a restaurant or going out for ice cream. That way it's done, enjoyed and I can move on. If there is a carton of ice cream in the freezer then it's going to be gone pretty quickly.

BaranVonCoop

I have also realized that nothing is off limits and just be careful when I satisfy a craving. Mini Halloween chocolate bars are amazing for this and I pack one in my lunch daily. And while I can't not keep treats in the house (gotta be fair to the hubby who can basically eat what he wants), if I want to indulge, I have a spoonful or two of cake and no more.

lemurcat12

I don't really have an "out of control sweet tooth," but mostly if I want anything to eat, including a sweet thing, at a time I'm not planning to eat I ignore it. I eat three times a day, so I don't see any reason I wouldn't be able to wait for a meal time.

If I really want chocolate or some such, I consider whether I can include it as part of (at the end of) my next meal. Usually I end dinner with a little ice cream, so if I want something else earlier in the day, that's my tradeoff.

I haven't found that having a diet soda or the like (say, a quest bar, which I sometimes have before a morning workout, as I can't run after a full breakfast) makes me more likely to crave things.

undulyinterest

Sugar does not control me...now salty........YES. I do love a little sweet and sour. Here is a quick and yummy recipe to try.


For all my sweet/sour lovers! I found a recipe and made it the other night that my family LOVED. Green grapes, sugar free lemon lime Jell-O powder, and watermelon Jell-O powder. 1) Mix the 2 powders together in a zip lock 2) Rinse the grapes ( so they are damp but not soaking wet) 3) Place grapes in bag a little at a time and shake 4) After all are coated place in the refrigerator for 2 hours 5) Eat, they taste just like sour patch kids

Basilin

1. Cut out stuff that reliably pushes me over the edge. Never buy those sweets thinking "oh I can moderate this" because I never will. Examples are Milano cookies, ice cream, skittles, some kinds of chocolates.

2. If I'm going to have sweets with added sugars, I make them myself as much as possible so they are healthier and use less, or look for ones that don't have white sugar or corn syrup. I use honey, turbinado sugar, brown sugar, molasses, real maple syrup, sugars made from sources other than sugar cane (there is a coconut sugar I have that is only vaguely sweet). But I stay away from 0 cal sweeteners because they just creep me out and I often don't like the taste.

3. Be strong and say no to myself once in a while.

I don't think I could ever go cold turkey. That's just being mean to myself. My mother did when she was younger and my sister was about 2 years old. Apparently, my sister held a lifelong grudge about never having sweets as a kid! I was lucky to be born after my mom was over that phase.

astronomicals

Your post makes it sound like the intervention of counselors and a psychologist were what helped, but, you didnt say anything about what they said to you. I believe in psychological food addictions and emotional eating patterns. Your savory binges support that notion. I dont believe that sugar (of any source) itself is addictive.

The first step to resolving sugar addiction is admitting that its a psycosocial habit rather than an addiction. If you believe you're addicted you'll probably fail to resolve the problem. You're creating a nocebo effect when you say sugar is addictive. You're also giving yourself a scapegoat to be irresponsible with accountability. In other words, you've found a loophole in a system where only you can lose.

Wheelhouse15

I have had both a sweet and salty attraction but when I decided to get more active and eat less processed foods it just seemed to subside on it's own. Today's heavily processed foods are actually made for a "bliss point" in things such as salt, fat and sugar. I guess this makes them somewhat addictive but once I started eating foods that are less processed I lost my cravings for sugary and salty foods within about 2 or 3 weeks.

alereck

I'll keep my daily serving of ice cream, chocolate flavored protein shake, sugary cereal and still have a rockin healthy body. Thank you

Runcakes

I have a huge sweet tooth and I love baking...so I started experimenting with "raw" vegan baking. A lot of the recipes use dates (naturally sweet) and maple syrup instead of added sugars. The treats satisfy my sweet tooth and are made from ingredients that are actually good for you, so it's a win-win. Here's a really good blog that I get my recipes off of: thisrawsomeveganlife.com

libbydoodle11

I deal with my sweet tooth by indulging. Cookies and ice cream are my favorites. I don't consider myself having out of control cravings.

Patttience

astronomicals wrote: »

Your post makes it sound like the intervention of counselors and a psychologist were what helped, but, you didnt say anything about what they said to you. I believe in psychological food addictions and emotional eating patterns. Your savory binges support that notion. I dont believe that sugar (of any source) itself is addictive.

The first step to resolving sugar addiction is admitting that its a psycosocial habit rather than an addiction. If you believe you're addicted you'll probably fail to resolve the problem. You're creating a nocebo effect when you say sugar is addictive. You're also giving yourself a scapegoat to be irresponsible with accountability. In other words, you've found a loophole in a system where only you can lose.

No its not the interventions of councillors etc that helped me. Its my going to them to vent and talk my emotional stuff over and clear it all. Having someone listen and be supportive is very healing. But with stress, to get it all out and start to work on solutions is such a powerful thing. Most of the conversation we have is not about food. My psychologist is very overweight herself but she's a lovely person. I am open about bingeing when i do it. If you hide stuff, i think the fear of being caught out and of hiding adds tremendous pressure on one. IT was the same when i was overweight. I was the one who said, i'm fat. I've got all this flab going on. I was the biggest judge of myself and didn't worry about the judgements of other people on my weight. It was my self judgement that got me into a mode to start losing it.

No my use of the word sugar addiction came long after the fact of years of binging. I never thought of myself as an addict but on forums its a more concise way of saying things. I have a book by a psychiatrist on weightless who says that our relationship with food for some of us is like an addiction. His opinion is derived from wide research on the matter. This was a satisfactory way to think about it for me too. It is know that what goes on in our brains is similar to what goes on in the minds of addicts. But i know that a lot of my sugar eating was habit and habits can be very difficult to change. But there is another physiological aspect. If you look into insulin and blood sugar stuff and well anyway its complicated and i m not able to regurgitate all the stuff i've read by reliable sources so i'm not going to bother.

Anyway, I probably have a hyper sweet food about once every month or two. I have it only when someone else offers it to me and i have only one serving. Leaving the intake of strong sugar up to others to initiate has been very helpful to me.

But i think i can't overstate the importance of making all your other food yummy. If you get bored with your food, its not hard to slip back into bad old ways. I'm no longer even particularly scared about it as i was at the beginning because i just feel so ok without sugar. If you try to eliminate lots of foods groups well, yes maybe that's setting yourself up for trouble. The success i've had with eliminating sugar is totally due to abstaining. There are a lot of other factors going into my success. I believe that making weightloss easy is important. When you make it tough on yourself or if it starts to become tough then you will start to find weakness seeping in. The psychiatrist i mentioned put it another way. He says its not about willpower. And although i came up with my own formula on these matters, it turns out that we are agreed on so many factors. There were other things he said that i found weren't true of me but then that' probably because we are all at different stages on the path.

AlabasterVerve

I eat a low carb diet and that took care of the cravings and my sweet tooth.

Well, I still love sweets but fruit and even vegetables are deliciously sweet now and fruit tastes like a real indulgence. I save desserts and sweets for special occasions.