Sweets Addict...

EquestrianLark135

Hi, my name is Emma and I'm addicted to chocolate.

I've always been addicted to sweets and specifically chocolate... so I decided to cut it down to a small sweet on Tuesdays and Thursdays and a "big" (bakery) sweet on Sundays. Well that's not working out.

On days where I'm not supposed to have sweets, that is my mindset. "YOU CAN NOT HAVE SWEETS" Well then I want it and crave it more. so I end up giving in and then hating myself for giving in.

So... If I eat well all day, and have calories leftover... Is it OK to have a cookie or candy bar or something like that as long as I don't go over my calories? I'd like to not eat sweets every day but seriously... I can't give up sweets. There's no way.

Any suggestions or tips are appreciated, though. Getting frustrated and stressed.

CooCooPuff

Definitely! I enjoy something sweet almost everyday.

If you hit your micros and macros on a regular basis, a little "junk" food won't ruin your health.

queenliz99

I make them fit.

EquestrianLark135

Do I just go off the micros and macros that mfp gives me? I don't know much about that...

Alyssa_Is_LosingIt

EquestrianLark135 wrote: »

Do I just go off the micros and macros that mfp gives me? I don't know much about that...

That's a good place to start. Eat your vegetables, and you can adjust protein and fat up if you need to in order to make you feel more satisfied.

Once you find your sweet spot, it's pretty easy to meet all your goals and have something sweet if you want. I fit sweets in pretty much every day.

ClosetBayesian

EquestrianLark135 wrote: »

Hi, my name is Emma and I'm addicted to chocolate.

I've always been addicted to sweets and specifically chocolate... so I decided to cut it down to a small sweet on Tuesdays and Thursdays and a "big" (bakery) sweet on Sundays. Well that's not working out.

On days where I'm not supposed to have sweets, that is my mindset. "YOU CAN NOT HAVE SWEETS" Well then I want it and crave it more. so I end up giving in and then hating myself for giving in.

So... If I eat well all day, and have calories leftover... Is it OK to have a cookie or candy bar or something like that as long as I don't go over my calories? I'd like to not eat sweets every day but seriously... I can't give up sweets. There's no way.

Any suggestions or tips are appreciated, though. Getting frustrated and stressed.

What would your mindset be like if you told yourself every day that you could, in fact, have chocolate? Fit it into your calories, enjoy it, and enjoy it knowing that you can have some more again tomorrow if you want some. Rather than thinking you cannot have sweets, try thinking I can have some more tomorrow!!You may find, after a while, that you want it less, because you know you can have some if you want.

You could actually try that, if you wanted to (and only if you can eat chocolate without it triggering a binge). Try eating a small piece of chocolate (buy an individually-wrapped Dove square or something similar, something portioned out, so you don't have deal with cutting a Snickers bar in half or some silliness like that) every day for a month (fit it into your calories, don't max out on calories and then add chocolate on top of that). By the end of the month, that daily piece of chocolate becomes a non-event. You get used to it. You might actually forget it on some days!

paradi3s

A little bit of something a day won't ruin it so long as it fits your macros and calorie goal. I guess wen you don't allow yourself sweets and wait for anoter day for it, your body wants it more? Same goes for me!
Which is why I treat myself to a cookie from subway for lunch almost everyday haha, or I have fruit! Since you're addicted to chocolate, why not get those fun size portions of m&m's or snickers bars and have it for dessert after dinner? That's what I used to do!

Ws2016

You can fit it in your daily calories. But pardon me if I'm wrong but it seems there's something else you're concerned about and that's not being in control of you eating habit. When I face that dilemma, I think "Why am I fighting myself? This is my plan, my creation and I'm going to honor what I built." Maybe stop looking at your sweet tooth as an addiction and start looking at it as a decision. can do anything you set you mind to!

Dekayla13

Try to make healthier sweets. There are tons of recipes out there. I like to cut up strawberries and throw in a few chocolate chips so I still get my chocolate fix but it's not as calorie heavy as a whole king sized candy bar. Having sweets sometimes is ok, too.

cityruss

You like them. You aren't addicted.

Eat them within the realms of your calorie and macronutritional goals.

No drama.

BoxerBrawler

I was the same way and I would always leave some room for sweets (chocolate) at the end of the day. But then I thought about it and realized it was more of a habit, comfort thing, a way to close my day, a reward... for what I didn't know. Habits can be broken. I mean there's a big difference between being hungry and just having a craving. Anyway.. I hear what you're saying. Just try to find a way to make it fit. I recently went to a 100% (whole) plant based diet and have to say after a couple of days not only don't I crave sweets, or anything for that matter, but the mere though of it kind of turns my stomach. I tried to have a sweet last night and it just tasted like chemicals.

MommyL2015

I would not be able to be successful if I were not "allowed" to eat goodies. I try and fit something in every day, especially chocolate or ice cream or whatever I might have available. I love to bake, but unfortunately, I could eat a week's worth of calories in one day, so I save baking for special occasions and indulge. If I felt like I could never do that again, I would say screw it and quickly get right back to where I started.

sylkates

Since chocolate is my favorite type of sweet, I've switched to large bars of very dark chocolate. I find out how many calories are in each square of the bar and I fit it into my day by only eating a square or 2 a day. I can fulfill that craving on less than 100 calories of a bar, and a bar lasts me for many days.

Since it's super dark chocolate (56%, 70%), it also has all those antioxidants everybody loves talking about. And surprisingly - fiber! Who would have thought that cocoa beans have fiber in them?

6pkdreamer

GorgeousNightmare01 wrote: »

Try to make healthier sweets. There are tons of recipes out there. I like to cut up strawberries and throw in a few chocolate chips so I still get my chocolate fix but it's not as calorie heavy as a whole king sized candy bar. Having sweets sometimes is ok, too.

Try and change gradually the underlying desire for very sweet things as it could become your Achilles heel. For exsmple move from white chocolate to milk to small quantities of low sugar dark chocolate. Transistion from ice cream to yogurt. Sugar was once a luxury item at the begining of the 18th century and only 4lbs/year was consumed. We on average consume approx 160lb/year. Whats nomal has really changed unfortunately!

LivingtheLeanDream

CooCooPuff wrote: »

Definitely! I enjoy something sweet almost everyday.

If you hit your micros and macros on a regular basis, a little "junk" food won't ruin your health.

+1

kommodevaran

I couldn't eat chocolate several days a week (or even once a week) without going overboard. But if you can, and it's the restriction that makes you crave and binge, make room for some. There isn't anything magical about the calories in chocolate. (Where does the idea come from, why does this question arise every day?)

Bluepegasus

I love sweets and chocolate, so I factor that into my daily calories. I have 4 squares of dark chocolate most evenings at 125 calories.

callsitlikeiseeit

i make them fit.

for various reasons, im in a pretty strict cut right now, so im not having it as much as i normally would, but generally speaking I have something sweet every day ....

quiksylver296

I leave approximately 300 calories at the end of my day to fit in chocolate or ice cream. If I hadn't done this, I would have freaked out and quit long ago.

hludwig980

Yes, it is absolutely okay to have some chocolate or something sweet if it fits into your goals for the day. The more you tell yourself that you cannot have something they more you are going to think about it and want it. I always try to save a few calories for something sweet at night. Lately it has been 2 dove dark chocolate hearts that I have frozen. It it around 75 calories for those 2 pieces of chocolate and it is all I need. Just the little taste and I am good for the night.

LivLovLrn

Emma, you can eat your sweet treats no problem. You might try finding some sweet treats that don't have any sugar cane in them, though; I suspect that is your real problem. Sugar cane can be addicting...not for everyone, but it sounds like it is for you. There are lots of yummy alternatives, and I have found many treats and recipes that use other sweeteners so I can satisfy my sweet tooth without eating sugar cane. Just something to think about

Serah87

Reese's Peanut Butter Cups are my favorite, I have one almost every single day, lost 120 pounds doing so and maintained now for 18 months now.

senecarr

EquestrianLark135 wrote: »

Hi, my name is Emma and I'm addicted to chocolate.

I've always been addicted to sweets and specifically chocolate... so I decided to cut it down to a small sweet on Tuesdays and Thursdays and a "big" (bakery) sweet on Sundays. Well that's not working out.

On days where I'm not supposed to have sweets, that is my mindset. "YOU CAN NOT HAVE SWEETS" Well then I want it and crave it more. so I end up giving in and then hating myself for giving in.

So... If I eat well all day, and have calories leftover... Is it OK to have a cookie or candy bar or something like that as long as I don't go over my calories? I'd like to not eat sweets every day but seriously... I can't give up sweets. There's no way.

Any suggestions or tips are appreciated, though. Getting frustrated and stressed.

For once I have very good news for someone who started a thread titled addicted - you can totally fit them.
In fact, there is some studies and a lot of anecdotes that affirm the issue you were having: restricting a food completely leads to obsession over the banned food, which leads to cravings and over consumption later.
At the end of the day, your body turns most of a candy bar or a piece of fruit into a lot of the same stuff: molecules of glucose to use for energy. What your body really responds to is the number of calories - the difference between how many you ate and how many you used throughout the day has to come out of it the body's fat stores.

And just for completeness - this doesn't mean nutrition and eating whole foods has no place - even though you could lose weight eating nothing but candy if calories are under control, it would not likely be the healthiest way to live one's life.

asilmegan34

My story.

I restrict and start out my day eating perfectly by the book. Then when I get home, I binge eat. Or maybe on the way home I get some food and binge. Of course, I wasn't losing weight but was treating myself to a full serving of restriction obsession and then shame on binge eating. I changed.

I took a chance and started eating A LOT. I eat all the time, a lot of fruits and vegetables. I used to eat light in the morning and lunch so I would have more food for dinner, but that led to binge eating. Me eating all the time decreases my need to binge, decreases my cravings for sweets. I tell myself everyday that I WILL have sweets everyday. Doing this has not only helped me lose weight, but I am in a MUCH better place emotionally. My idea of sweets used to be a cupcake, or maybe a sleeve or girl scout cookies. Now, it is a fun size kitkat or two.

I no longer feel like a weak minded person for caving in to my sweet cravings.

Afura

Chocolate and me...oh the love affair (I need to get out more). If I have enough calories, I'll have some, if not, then I won't. If I'm really craving it, I'll have a little bit to curb the craving regardless, because I know I'll crack and binge. Try and cut back, not cut out, that's where you often see people having problems and they start binging as soon as they 'allow' themselves a little. Some people can, some can't.

I found buying individually wrapped squares, or breaking the bars into serving sizes and packaging them, works best so that I'm not tempted to just keep dipping my hand into a bag. Also the darkest chocolate I can stand (around the low 60' at the moment) because for me that is a really strong chocolate and I don't want as much of it. If it's too dark, it's just too bitter and I don't WANT to eat it.

JmeJinxx

I pre-log my meals and make something sweet fit in my calories and macros every day. I get to eat a bar of dark chocolate every night and still see a loss weekly. You may need to make healthier swaps during the day to do it but for me it's worth it.

extra_medium

JmeJinxx wrote: »

I pre-log my meals and make something sweet fit in my calories and macros every day. I get to eat a bar of dark chocolate every night and still see a loss weekly. You may need to make healthier swaps during the day to do it but for me it's worth it.

Exactly

katekc22

I hear ya there, i am a MAJOR chocolate addict. I have to have some every day. I work in a chocolate cafe so it would be impossible for me not to have it. I always work it in my calories and just as long as I'm not over I'm good.

CrabNebula

I learned how to just kill two birds with one stone using non-fat plain Greek yogurt. Take some non-fat plain Greek yogurt and add in some artificial sweetener. I like Truvia best. Then you can mix in some kind of flavoring. My gotos are lemon extract, almond extract, peppermint extract, or vanilla extract. You can also add in things like instant coffee or light chocolate syrup for the base. Then you can throw in measured amounts of fresh or frozen fruit, chocolate chips, nuts, etc. It makes a great and filling dessert that can also help you meet your protein macro for the day if you struggle otherwise to do so.

I also love using nf Greek yogurt instead of whipped cream for strawberries and cream. I toss the fresh strawberries in Truvia and then in another bowl, mix non-fat Greek yogurt with vanilla extract or bean and Truvia. I then put the mixture on top of the berries and it is so good and low cal and high protein. Sometimes, some light chocolate syrup for good measure. I'm so stuffed after eating it, ugh, don't want anything else.

WinoGelato

Well, looks like the good advice crew has this covered already. I'm going to go have a square of Ghiradelli DarkChocolate Sea Salt Caramel and celebrate moderation...

kshama2001

senecarr wrote: »

EquestrianLark135 wrote: »

Hi, my name is Emma and I'm addicted to chocolate.

I've always been addicted to sweets and specifically chocolate... so I decided to cut it down to a small sweet on Tuesdays and Thursdays and a "big" (bakery) sweet on Sundays. Well that's not working out.

On days where I'm not supposed to have sweets, that is my mindset. "YOU CAN NOT HAVE SWEETS" Well then I want it and crave it more. so I end up giving in and then hating myself for giving in.

So... If I eat well all day, and have calories leftover... Is it OK to have a cookie or candy bar or something like that as long as I don't go over my calories? I'd like to not eat sweets every day but seriously... I can't give up sweets. There's no way.

Any suggestions or tips are appreciated, though. Getting frustrated and stressed.

For once I have very good news for someone who started a thread titled addicted - you can totally fit them.
In fact, there is some studies and a lot of anecdotes that affirm the issue you were having: restricting a food completely leads to obsession over the banned food, which leads to cravings and over consumption later.
At the end of the day, your body turns most of a candy bar or a piece of fruit into a lot of the same stuff: molecules of glucose to use for energy. What your body really responds to is the number of calories - the difference between how many you ate and how many you used throughout the day has to come out of it the body's fat stores.

And just for completeness - this doesn't mean nutrition and eating whole foods has no place - even though you could lose weight eating nothing but candy if calories are under control, it would not likely be the healthiest way to live one's life.

@senecarr I've seen the anecdotes here and am interested in seeing the studies. (Not giving you a hard time; genuinely curious.)