help sugar is my downfall

lostemt

yes I am back to old habits again. About 85% diet is good and I have a very active job. My downside is my addiction to sugary foods mostly in the afternoon and evening. I feel if I could break this addiction to sugar my weight would come off. any help would be greatly appreciated.

MimiFries

I definitely understand. Lately after dinner I am wanting chocolate. I was trying fruit and fat free sherbet. I am now down to fruit. It can be rough so I refuse to keep sweets in the house. (I am not the strongest person 😁) Support is nice when you have it. You can do it!

MrsAER

For me it definitely starts with the shopping. I buy as little sugary treats as possible, when I buy things for the kids I buy things I like least. I also make sure my non sugary snacks are yummy so I will snack on nuts rather than sugar. Good luck xx

avatiach

I too love sugar. In the evening I have found some plain Greek yogurt with (frozen) berries hits the spot. You can even mix and freeze it and then it tastes a bit like ice cream. For right now I am trying not to have any added sugar because when I do I never meet my calorie and macro goals.

AnnPT77

This may not apply to you, but a thing to think about: As the day goes on, we get more fatigued. Fatigue can trigger the body to seek energy, to counteract the fatigue. Sugar is quick energy, so can be a probable craving when energy seeking enters the picture. Howdy there, late in day cravings!

Like I said, may not apply for you. If you think it might, some things to consider:

1. Can you improve the quality or quantity of your sleep?
2. Are you experiencing extra stress in your life? Stress contributes to fatigue. If there's stress in the picture, can you find non-food ways to reduce the effect of that stress? (Common things are mild exercise, prayer or meditation, a comforting warm shower, soothing music, journaling, calming hobbies like needlework or adult coloring books, etc.).
3. Are you losing weight? A calorie deficit is a physical stressor, even if the hoped-for results are good. If losing, is your current loss rate becoming too aggressive for your current body size? If so, that can increase stress, plus contribute to cravings in the obvious ways. If your loss rate is reasonable, but you've been losing for quite a long time, maybe it's time for a "eat at maintenance" break, to reset and re-energize (plus it can be good practice for future maintenance).

On another note, not necessarily fatigue related: For me, making it a point to eat more fruit reduced my cravings for less nutrient-dense sweets like candy and baked goods. This doesn't work for everyone, but I've seen some others here say it worked for them, too.

I first heard the idea from a registered dietitian (RD) who said she thought sometimes people who needed more of certain micronutrients (vitamins/minerals/etc.) would experience cravings for sweets, because of human history where sweets = fruits = micronutrients. Sugary things are sweet, but don't scratch the underlying itch - if it's for micronutrients - so we keep craving more sweets. I have no idea whether it's literally correct, but the strategy helped me.

For a while, it took a little will power. I made it a point to eat 3 servings of fruit every day (that was the amount the RD recommended). After a while, sticking to that and avoiding the sugary things by willpower, my cravings for those non-nutrient-dense fruits were reduced. Some of them eventually started tasting just too sweet, too simple, not satisfying. I still enjoy the occasional dessert or something, but it's not a desperate craving, and the types of things I enjoy aren't the same. YMMV.

AnnPT77

Quoting myself to correct an error, snipped quote down to relevant piece. (Too late to edit.)

In the last paragraph of my post above, the word I've now bolded should be "foods", not "fruits". My cravings for candy, cookies, cakes, and that sort of things were reduced. I kept eating fruits, and they keep tasting good to me.

AnnPT77 wrote: »

For a while, it took a little will power. I made it a point to eat 3 servings of fruit every day (that was the amount the RD recommended). After a while, sticking to that and avoiding the sugary things by willpower, my cravings for those non-nutrient-dense fruits were reduced. Some of them eventually started tasting just too sweet, too simple, not satisfying. I still enjoy the occasional dessert or something, but it's not a desperate craving, and the types of things I enjoy aren't the same. YMMV.

threewins

I've struggled more with stopping sugary food than with any other 'issue' in my life. So in other words, I've failed a huge number of times. I'm still trying to get off sugar though. I think that there's 3 (at least) ways to stop having sugar: total immediate stop, slow reduction in quantity per day, and increasing the number of hours between eating sugary food. I'd suggest that you try one or all of these to see what works and what doesn't.

Berry12473

Phew! It is great to know there are other people like me who crave sugar!
I actually have stop resisting sugary food. Why the torture? What I do now, is make cake (coconut flour) and biscuits (almond flour) with sweetners. These are less calorific and also healthier compared to usual ready made confectionery.
I use sweetners in plain yogurt with frozen natural fruits. So 😋.
Try and see if this helps.