How do I control my "sweet tooth"

janety88

I have been using myfitnesspal for a while now. I lost 56 pounds but have gained 25 back which is frustrating. I love sweets and am having trouble avoiding them. I do not keep them in the house. I want to get back to the original 56 and then lose more. Thanks for any advice.

MsCzar

When I crave sugar, I often turn to organic Smyrna figs and Medjool dates. Eaten slowly, 2-3 usually satisfies my sweet tooth. You could also make sugar-free Jello and add fruit and/or plain yogurt for a creamier texture. You wouldn't want to overdo it - but sometimes a simple cough lozenge quells a sweet craving. I sometimes pop one before entering a grocery or entering a snack-filled break room.

Summerof1972

From someone who also loves sweets, I've been able to enjoy sweets and lose weight still by eating foods with lower glycemic sugar alternatives like stevia, monk fruit, coconut sugar ect since they are lower calorie but you still need to enjoy them in moderation since they are still sugars. Avoid artificial sweeteners though because they can overstimulate the pancreas. Another method I did is to find foods that I really like without sugar in them for example I found carbonated water that I really like and some protein snack packs that are good so i'll snack on those instead of the sugary foods I used to snack on. I'm still working on completely cutting out sugars : )

AnnPT77

For me, making it a point to eat whole fruit every day led to a reduction in cravings for more calorie-dense sweets like baked goods and candy. This doesn't work for everyone, but I've seen others here say it helped them similarly, so it could be a thing to try.

At first, it took a little willpower to eat the fruits and avoid the other stuff. At the start, I made it a point to eat 3 whole fruit servings every day. After a while - small number of weeks, maybe? - my cravings for the other things subsided, and later I could be more flexible with fruit servings and still keep the effect. (I still like fruit, usually do eat 2-3 servings or more, but not always.)

In the longer run, for me, many baked goods and candies started tasting way too sweet, too simple, just not interesting or satisfying - not worth their calories, for sure. I still like the occasional rich or special dessert, but don't constantly crave high-calorie sweets in the way I used to. YMMV.

88olds

I’ve lost 100 lbs and have kept it off for years largely because I’ve managed to fight my sweet tooth to a draw. I have a variety of strategies.

First, I’ve quit telling myself I love sweets. Actually I’ve quit telling myself that I love any kind of food or eating. It’s simply not true. I have a conditioned response to a lot of food but that’s not love. Calling it love is an exaggeration and unhelpful. I love my family. Not ice cream. Similarly I don’t tell myself I’m starving anymore either. And as much as I like it, I’m not addicted to sugar. My eating habits, of which I have many, are not addictions.

Before I got into weight loss I ate very little fruit. Now I generally eat 3 servings per day. More when I was in losing mode. Apples are a particularly good choice. Strawberries too.

At one point I did this exercise “I can do this if _________.” One of my answers was get a treat everyday. So I set about trying to find a treat that I could fit in my plan. What works for me is some sort of diet friendly ice cream. I found I got more with frozen treats. I can scarf down 100 cals in cookies in 30 seconds. Not good. If its a plan friendly frozen treat I’ve likely tried it. Right now I’m into frozen yogurt bars. I have 1 every evening. I know this doesn’t work for some folks because they will knock off the whole box. But if I were to do that, I’d lose my treat for good so I stick to my guidelines.

I became a germaphobe at work one day after taking a good look at folks poking around in the office donuts. Some went for candy that was sitting out at work. One year at Halloween I did a taste test with some of the stuff my kids brought home. I found that some of my old favorites actually tasted awful. I do sometimes eat dark chocolate but I don’t keep it around the house and I try to find the smallest available portion when I buy it. This makes candy inconvenient and expensive. It helps me avoid it.

I try to avoid cookies and baked goods. My deal on those is if I give into something like that during the day it eliminates my ice cream treat later. Btw I budget about 8% of my calories for treats. I’ve switched to diet soda when I absolutely have to have one. I drink unsweet iced tea in restaurants. I put Splenda on my morning oatmeal. I’m just not very good at the just say no approach to anything in my plan. But Ive been maintaining since 2006. I look on what we are doing as mostly problem solving. I hope something here helps you. Keep looking of what works for you. Good luck.

ninerbuff

Diet soda for me.

A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
IDEA Fitness member
Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition

ratchet2

Portion control. I still have a cookie. I finally figured out to not have a selection of different kinds, but only 1 kind available so that i can have 1 or 2, not 1 of each kind.
Chocolate is broken down and kept in the freezer. A couple of small pieces end my day.

Chips are my downfall, the bag must be comsumed in one sitting so they are not in the house.