What do you do to kick sugar cravings

Karosleep

so, for a while, I was doing really well and I went from about 145/150ish lbs to 115 lbs but then thanksgiving and Christmas and stuff I went back to 120 and no matter what I do I can't seem to lose weight and I really crave sugar all the time. I didn't used to have this problem but I do now. What do you do to help with that? I find if I avoid sweets, I end up caving and eating way more than I should. I've tried some healthy recipes like flour less banana brownies (Im not a fan) and avocado pudding which I did like a little.

Expatmommy79

Fruit, gum, dark chocolate.

My protein shake is sweet. I add a banana to it and lots of ice. I blend it together and get a nice chocolate banana milkshake for 250 calories.

I also eat sweets - but am ok with just having a piece of baklava or 1/2 a chocolate bar...I'm no longer a volume consumer.

simmoner4

I have always had a sweet tooth. I love taking plain Greek yogurt and adding to it. You can add fruit, oatmeal, and recently I have found adding just a bit of chocolate powder (cake mix, nesquick, even protein powder) goes a long way, and when chilled it tastes like chocolate ice cream:) just be sure to log it so you know what you're eating, it can get a lot of carbs and sugar added in if you're not careful

djspacecaptain

My sugar tooth craves sour candy, which you cannot eat a lot at a time or your mouth will become raw so on that note I am lucky! I would say try sour candy, as some one mentioned gum, I like low sodium sunflower seeds because i can eat them for hours straight and consume like 100-150 calories and 400 sodium.

Ericaj573

I always find a big bowl of chopped up fruit and fat free yoghurt does the trick for me, it fills you up as well as fights the sugar craving. However, there are times when you just NEED chocolate; nothing else will do, so my trick is to eat a few pieces of fruit (to fill you up first if you're in one of those self sabotage need to gorge moods) then pick a smaller choc bar, one at about 100 cals or so, and savour it with a nice cup of tea or coffee. That way you don't feel deprived but you haven't ruined your hard work either

mrschikin

The only thing I've found that helps is to go cold turkey for 10 days. No sweets of any kind, no foods with a lot of added sugar (like breakfast cereal or flavoured yoghurt), and no soda - diet or regular.

It completely sucks for the first 4-5 days, but after day 10 I find that I don't crave sweets at all any more.

This works for me, because history shows that I'm just not able to eat anything "in moderation," but I'm willing to bust my own proverbial balls to get through the first few days without sugar. It's more of a mental game than a physical one. Distracting yourself helps, as does the very powerful phrase "I am not the type of person who gorges on [insert craved food here]."

YMMV though depending on your personality and history with food.

AmazonMayan

I do better as far as sweet cravings control by sticking to mostly naturally occurring sugars such as fruit or honey. I get wildflower honey that has amazing flavor and weigh out a teaspoon or tablespoon and sometimes eat just that chilled lol. Around 100 calories. You can add the honey and some berries into plain yogurt and it's amazing. Calories depend on quantity.

If I want chocolate then it's either some dark chocolate (which I've always preferred) and it can have nuts or dried fruit in it, or lately I like a smallish to medium sized banana (under 100 calories) topped with some snack pack dark chocolate pudding and maybe a few chunks pineapple (keep a bag of the frozen with no added sugar). It ends up about 200 calories and is delicious.

I also absolutely love dates and they are very sweet so I can have a few and be good. You can make a quick date roll by processing a couple dates with a sprinkle of cocao nib and some unsweetened coconut then just form a roll with it and eat - yum. Calories depend on how much you make.

I keep different types of berries on the freezer. Sometimes I add them to stuff and sometimes I eat 50 or 100 grams of them frozen.

HealthyVitamins

I suck on wine gums, about 15 calories per wine gum and just suck on it until it dissolves. I feel so much sugar in my mouth afterwards that I don't feel like having that many.

allenrt392

Karosleep wrote: »

so, for a while, I was doing really well and I went from about 145/150ish lbs to 115 lbs but then thanksgiving and Christmas and stuff I went back to 120 and no matter what I do I can't seem to lose weight and I really crave sugar all the time. I didn't used to have this problem but I do now. What do you do to help with that? I find if I avoid sweets, I end up caving and eating way more than I should. I've tried some healthy recipes like flour less banana brownies (Im not a fan) and avocado pudding which I did like a little.

I had the same problem over the Holidays. I went from 179 b4 Turkey Day up to 188 after Xmas... I have done a few things to get my weight back and to help with my sweet tooth.. Aldi's has a line of wonderful healthy snacks and it is called Fit Active. I also love Belvita Breakfast Biscuits. I also drink Fruit flavored smoothie with Herbalife Protein shake mix. You would be amazed at what a apple and/or carrots will do for your cravings.. I also have started substituting Stevia and honey for sugar... if you want any other tips and/or information please let me know?

allenrt392

allenrt392 wrote: »

Karosleep wrote: »

so, for a while, I was doing really well and I went from about 145/150ish lbs to 115 lbs but then thanksgiving and Christmas and stuff I went back to 120 and no matter what I do I can't seem to lose weight and I really crave sugar all the time. I didn't used to have this problem but I do now. What do you do to help with that? I find if I avoid sweets, I end up caving and eating way more than I should. I've tried some healthy recipes like flour less banana brownies (Im not a fan) and avocado pudding which I did like a little.

I had the same problem over the Holidays. I went from 179 b4 Turkey Day up to 188 after Xmas... I have done a few things to get my weight back and to help with my sweet tooth.. Aldi's has a line of wonderful healthy snacks and it is called Fit Active. I also love Belvita Breakfast Biscuits. I also drink Fruit flavored smoothie with Herbalife Protein shake mix. You would be amazed at what a apple and/or carrots will do for your cravings.. I also have started substituting Stevia and honey for sugar... If you want any other tips and/or information please let me know? Eating your proper amount of protein per day keeps your metabolism up and helps with cravings as well.

allenrt392

Ericaj573 wrote: »

I always find a big bowl of chopped up fruit and fat free yoghurt does the trick for me, it fills you up as well as fights the sugar craving. However, there are times when you just NEED chocolate; nothing else will do, so my trick is to eat a few pieces of fruit (to fill you up first if you're in one of those self sabotage need to gorge moods) then pick a smaller choc bar, one at about 100 cals or so, and savour it with a nice cup of tea or coffee. That way you don't feel deprived but you haven't ruined your hard work either

Try Fiber One brownie snacks.. 90 calories and they taste great. You may have to have two but they are very low in calories and sugar..

zira91

I love sweet stuff! Usually on the day that i want something sweet ill always have ice cream or choc for the day (choc oatmeal with choc chips, toast or cracker with choc spread etc), ...on some days, even cheesecake (my fav) if it fits into my cals that day..

Personally i think that eating something sweet does makes me satisfy my cravings..with that being said, i adores pastries and cakes and chocs.. I just eat it in moderation..one muffin wont effect your goal. A dozen probably would.

So, if you tend to eat lots of it, keep and divide it into portions. Have some and keep the rest out of sight.

If that didnt work for you, dont buy in bulk.. Dont keep it at home..you will need to go out to the store if you want it..most probably u wont bother going there so many times..

Tatarataa

It depends on how strong the craving is and how my general mood/calories already used etc are....I have different versions:

1) eat exactly what I crave for very mindfully in a small- normal portion -especially if it is things like ben and jerrys ice cream....I might even go for a whole pint sometimes but then 'allow' me to eat that and tune in how full and satisfied I get (there are some days when this is necessary-but as I have binge issues it is probably not everyone who needs that, sf chocolate like the ones from hershey)

2) eat a lower calorie and or better feeling but still treat (many ice creams come in sugar free lower cal versions, eg Halo Top or Arctic Zero, Skinny cow sf sandwiches, ....., protein bars like quest bars, thin slim food brownies...)

3) eat some sweet more nutritionous and filling meal like a nice version of greek yogurt (preferably 2%) with sf chocolate chips mixed in or with vanilla or cinnamon, or something like a bowl of instant oatmeal with mixins, or sthg like a vanilla milk shake made with low fat milk and vanilla and ice cubes )-I try to incorporate these sweet meals in my normal daily routine to prevent general deprivation

So I see it more like a balance-everything is allowed in moderation. But as sometimes one also needs a whole pint of ice cream (or at least some persons) I try to find lower caloric and mainly also lower sugar and higher protein versions for this as I know I can fit them in in terms of calories and also I find that lower sugar and more protein helps not to get in the sugar rush afterwards. I feel like protein can help me with cravings, especially the one in greek yogurt, but there are also time when it is more something that has a lot of carbohydrates that will satisfy more like the oatmeal or even also something with higher sugar content like the halo top or arctic zero ice cream.

I also think it has a lot to do with personal preferences-;lets say you crave apple pie-then you could either just eat any apple pie (store bought or home made) in a reasonable portion, or try to buy or bake a lower caloric and or healthier version or try to find some recipe swaps that are satisfying and will do the trick like eg mix warm apples with cinnamon in plain greek yogurt, add some sweetener and maybe some crumbles from a sf pie crust...or lets say you love chocolate, maybe especially snickers bars-then I guess it helps to have snickes from time to time, maybe even 1 daily (but not 10 daily if possible) and then maybe try out the mini snikcers bars, and then on top of that maybe go for a sugar free chocolate from hersheys with a very small portion of peanuts on the side, and then maybe you could try out arctic zero chocolate peanut ice cream if it is the taste of chocolate with peanuts you like, but if it is more the texture you like some sf marshmallows might do the trick better.......so I guess it hels also to find out whether it is "just" the sweetnes you crave or whether it is a special treat and if so what exactly youb like so much about it (as I said, there are also things lie textures or special taste combinations that play a role in satisfying a craving-eg if you like chocolate and peanut butter together for some a replacement of pb2 with cocoa powder mixed in yogurt will do the trick, other people might need the fatty taste of the penaut butter)....

Hope that helps! I am also trying to keep my cravings satisfied still........

tashatashae

Ignore it. 100 + lbs you have no wiggle room. But when I just can't I get me a fiber one double fudge cookie100 calories
. or 100 calorie apple pie Greek yogurt top with about 7 grams of granola crushed . about 140 calories.. Drink a cup of tea , brush teeth ,scream in shear agony.

KareninCanada

I have a basket of various kinds of sweet-flavored teas - with a bit of PureVia or Splenda, many of them are sweeter than a dessert would be but still at 0 calories an 0 sugar. Over time I find that a lot of the things I used to like for comfort foods start tasting fake to me, and knowing that I'm not going to enjoy it anyway really helps with curbing the desire.

gramarye

I love sweets -- I always have. I like to buy small portions of chocolate (bags of mini-sized candy bars, that sort of thing) and put one on my lunch every day. Depending on the size, these average between 50 - 120 calories and allow me to enjoy candy without going over my calories. Learning not to eat three or four was tricky, but for me it works to simply keep them out of sight in the pantry. I'm not likely to open the pantry to just pluck out a piece of candy, whereas I may do so if they're on the counter/table and I walk past.

I also do a lot of the things mentioned herein; fruit and yogurt is a great way to get something sweet and dessert-like in without as many calories as other traditional desserts, as long as you like fruit and yogurt. I also have just learned to eat single portions of ice cream, or save calories for later in the day so that I can have two. ;D

Kamikazeflutterby

I usually eat/drink one of the following:

Diet coke, Nature Valley protein bar (they're like candy), some form of yogurt ranging from 100 to 230 calories, apples, cereal, or actual candy. Once a week I get ice cream. I have the calories most days to have a little bit of ice cream, but my portion control isn't there yet so each week I decide if I want to get the big thing of ice cream, or a little one for just that night. Who knows? Maybe next week I'll be able to have a gallon in the house.

Lourdesong

I don't fight it. Keeping to reasonable portions of the things I want is what I try to focus on. If I want sugary foods and nothing else, then that's what I'm going to eat. I'm not going to waste my time or calories on foods I don't want, because I'll almost invariably just end up eating what I wanted to eat anyway on top of the foods I didn't want.

Avoiding what I want is pretty much a recipe for me to become infatuated with what I'm trying to avoid.

tomatosoup3

HealthyVitamins wrote: »

I suck on wine gums, about 15 calories per wine gum and just suck on it until it dissolves. I feel so much sugar in my mouth afterwards that I don't feel like having that many.

it may be a good idea to brush your teeth after that. it sounds like a tooth decay party.

ndj1979

Instead of focusing on getting to a certain number, why not focus on body recomp? I would suggest eating in a small deficit and get on a structured lifting program. Oh, and there is nothing wrong with sugar as long as you are getting nutrition, and hitting macros, and staying in your calorie targets.

Lynzdee18

Chobani 0% Greek yogurt. Mrs Butterworths sugar free syrup. Fills my craving for ice cream