How to beat sugar cravings

shaun_mossy

Hi. Does anybody have any advice on how to beat sugar cravings?

I eat healthy most of the time and exercise quite a bit, but my sweet tooth is sabotaging my progress!

Any help would be greatly appreciated!

L1zardQueen

Stay away from anything sweet for 30 days. See if this helps with your sweet tooth.

Fruit will taste amazing.

WholeFoods4Lyfe

I cut sugar out of my diet completely for 30 days. Now I don't even miss it and only rarely do I want or crave a sweet treat. I was also diagnosed with Metabolic Syndrome so it was important to me to get my blood sugars under control. I will let myself have a sweet treat now if I crave it, but those cravings are few and far between.

stanmann571

Just make space in your daily log for something you want. Use single size prepacked snack size portions for convenience and ease of logging.

emmamcgarity

Fruit

ChangeIsGood29

I keep a supply of fun size candy bars. As long as I track them in my calories, I don't feel at all bad indulging in one or two per day. They range in calories from 70 to 100 generally so I just keep a variety on hand and have one when I really want something sweet. As long as I know I can stop at only having one, it works well for me.

CarvedTones

Echoing some others, IMO learning to stop is better than avoiding. I eat fun size candy bars and minis. I eat one cake square out of a 2 square serving pack of Little Debbie's (a guilty pleasure of mine) and save the second one for another day. I also eat a lot of fruit. Eating lean high protein like chicken and fish with little or no bread or starches at meals helps a lot by leaving room. I eat veggies and protein for my health (need to step up on veggies) but it doesn't make a lot of difference if some of the remaining calories are potatoes or candy, assuming you don't have medical reasons to limit sugar.

DX2JX2

Banana sushi.

kshama2001

When I do the following, I don't have cravings:

1. Get sufficient sleep
2. Exercise regularly - when I get the happy hormones from exercise, I'm not prone to seeking them from food.
3. Get sufficient protein in relationship to carbs. I'm not low carb, but reducing carbs and upping protein worked for cravings for me. See also http://www.nutrition.org.uk/healthyliving/fuller/understanding-satiety-feeling-full-after-a-meal.html
4. Eat moderate amounts of fruit. This makes me less interested in higher calorie sweets.
5. Take a magnesium supplement. This can be especially helpful for women premenstrually.
6. Save foods like chocolate for after dinner, in small amounts
7. Stay hydrated
8. Have a calorie deficit that is appropriate for the amount of weight I need to lose. An overly aggressive goal can definitely lead to cravings.
9. Eat at maintenance when my appetite goes up premenstrually.

ketobucko

Sugar free jelly is my go to if I’m craving something sweet,I always have a couple made up ready to go,& if I have some calories spare I’ll add 1 or 2 tablespoons of double cream works a treat for me,only 16 cals in jelly

Dee_D33

I give into it but with healthier alternatives. Here are a few things I do to satisfy my sweet tooth...
cut up an apple and microwave it, then coat in cinnamon and stevia and toss. Sometimes I’ll add light margarine or sugar free chocolate syrup if my daily calories allow it. I also keep sugar free pudding on hand and will dip strawberries and bananas in it. I mix pb2 and water to make low calorie peanut butter and will spread that on a chocolate or caramel rice cake. I also don’t know what I’d do without the Nabisco 100 calorie Oreo and chips ahoy packs. I have found it easier to look for alternatives to sweets rather than try and get the craving to go away.

FibroHiker

I have been doing sugar free for a few weeks now and can say that fresh vegetables and fruits do taste better to me now.

One thing I do to avoid the sugar but still get a fix is consume small amounts of Lily's Chocolate Chips that are Stevia sweetened and available at Whole foods. The taste is rich so I don't go overboard and can feel good about not consuming sugar.

Tonight when I get home I plan to make some chocolate/nut/fruit clusters to hel crage sugar cravings when they hit.

BlessedMom70

Chocorite chocolate pecan clusters and peanut butter patties. They are soooo good, but also contain a lot of fiber (and some sugar alcohols). I am able to stop at one package (and it gives me my sugar fix), because if I eat any more than that, I will be doubled over with tummy cramps. Portion control at its finest!

chandraminick

Boiled eggs with the creamy fatty yoke kills my cravings when I eat them the same time every day.

kalynrm

I agree with some of the others...I’ll probably always want something sweet from time to time and I have just found some healthier, lower calorie alternatives. It just takes some creativity and lots of google searching for recipes and ideas 🙂

cheryldumais

I allow myself 1 square of sugarfree chocolate a night. I get something sweet and it has no sugar so doesn't seem to set me off. I used to eat bags of candy daily. I don't miss it. Also like others have said I find often when I feel like I want something sweet a piece of fruit satisfies me. It does have natural sugar in it if you think about it but I think the fibre in fresh fruit tends to make it digest slower.

missysippy930

I have a square of dark chocolate (40-50 calories) as a treat for staying within my calories for the day.
A lot of foods are calorie dense, not just sweets, raw nuts for example. I have just had to learn moderation and serving size for all foods and to make better choices for all my calories. Most of the time, when I am tempted, I just say to myself, "is it worth a few seconds enjoyment", the answer is usually NO.

skelterhelter

There's a lot of recipes floating around for skinny donuts, cakes, muffins, even gummy bears! A lot of them are Weight Watchers, but since they follow a low calorie type plan I will often use them myself. I made a batch of donuts recently using 1 cup of Dark Chocolate Kodiak Pancake and Waffle Mix with 1 cup water. I didn't have a donut mould, so I just used a muffin tin and made six little cakes. It makes 6 servings at around 60 calories a piece! I would definitely add sweetener next time (it needs it), and I plan to use a teaspoon of chocolate frosting and some sprinkles once I get the donut mould I had it with a tablespoon of Better Than Peanut Butter while it was still warm and it was great!

quiksylver296

stanmann571 wrote: »

Just make space in your daily log for something you want. Use single size prepacked snack size portions for convenience and ease of logging.

Dang it! You got three woo's for this, @stanmann571?!? I'm losing, aren't I? 469 currently.

stanmann571

quiksylver296 wrote: »

stanmann571 wrote: »

Just make space in your daily log for something you want. Use single size prepacked snack size portions for convenience and ease of logging.

Dang it! You got three woo's for this, @stanmann571?!? I'm losing, aren't I? 469 currently.

You are. I am at 490. And only 6 days to go.

quiksylver296

stanmann571 wrote: »

quiksylver296 wrote: »

stanmann571 wrote: »

Just make space in your daily log for something you want. Use single size prepacked snack size portions for convenience and ease of logging.

Dang it! You got three woo's for this, @stanmann571?!? I'm losing, aren't I? 469 currently.

You are. I am at 490. And only 6 days to go.

*Kitten*

BusyRaeNOTBusty

shaun_mossy wrote: »

Hi. Does anybody have any advice on how to beat sugar cravings?

I eat healthy most of the time and exercise quite a bit, but my sweet tooth is sabotaging my progress!

Any help would be greatly appreciated!

Is your "sweet tooth" causing you to go over your calorie goals?

CarvedTones

I know how to beat sugar cravings. Look a few days back in my log. I had 1000 calories of fruit a few days ago. I have some mini or fun size chocolates pretty much every day. I made goal about 4 months ago and have stayed under. I generally get enough protein, usually enough fat. In both cases, "enough" means well over minimum, not necessarily the number the percentages come up with now that I am eating more again. Why do I need more protein in maintenance than I did when I was 500 under losing a pound a week? (hint - I don't)