Sugar Cravings

MinaRoseLena

Anyone have any suggestions on some good meal replacement shakes that help with weight loss and gives good nutrition. I’m struggling to lose weight and I have the worst sweat tooth.

AnnPT77

A thing that helped me with reducing cravings for calorie-dense sweets like baked goods and candy was to make it a point for several weeks to eat 3 (or more) servings of fruit every day. That doesn't help everyone, but I've seen some others here report similar experiences, so it might be worth a try. That initial effort requires a little will power or discipline to skip the less nutrient-dense high calorie sweets at first, but after that it got easier for me.

I'm not a big fan of meal replacement shakes, personally - I find things I can chew vs. drink more filling. (Maybe it's psychological. I'm sure it's not universal, because nothing about satiation is universal, IMO.) That said, many people find protein filling, and shakes with protein can fill that role for some.

This may not apply to you, but I couldn't see myself continuing with meal replacement shakes permanently, and I was highly motivated after 30+ years of overweight/obesity to find new eating patterns that would not only get me to a healthy weight (which happened in 2015), but also keep me in a healthy weight range longer term (7+ years since, now).

I'm cheering for you to find the approach that works best for you, because IME the results are more than worth it!

tomcustombuilder

Don’t use shakes. They don’t satisfy hunger for long. Just don’t drink calories overall as a rule. Real food of the proper macronutrients will be your best bet.

A protein shake is strictly for when you are falling short of your protein goals. As far as sweet tooth, I’ve found Greek yogurt after dinner to be helpful and an occasional Diet Coke.

You’ll have to forego the ultra processed treats if you’re serious about weightloss. If you can fit some in your calorie allowance that’s ok however they can be difficult to stop eating after just a little bit and boom, whole tray of Oreo’s gone, lol.

Sinisterbarbie1

Add me as a +1 on the meal replacement shakes don’t work, though I have been using protein shakes to try to GAIN weight recently and it is helping with getting in more protein, but even then doesn’t make me feel as full as if I ate a steak for the same calories for instance. Ann’s fruit suggestion is a good one - I often have berries or mango chunks to satisfy sweet cravings. One weird treat I recently discovered is chocolate hummus. Sounds gross but tastes more or less like nutella. You can’t eat more than about 28 g for 80 cal. But added to some strawberries or apple slices or even a couple of pretzels it is a great treat with a bit of nutritional value .

Antiopelle

Great advice above.
I would add to get creative and search the net for no sugary treats. My favorite summer treat is a handful of frozen berries, or mango slices - blitz them with a cup of low/no fat greek yoghurt and a banana. Put back in the freezer for 30 minutes. I would also add some sweetener but that is up to you.

In the wintertime: some oatmeal with fruit or quick cook polenta stewed with apples and raisins gives a taste of a apple pie, without all the cals, nor the sugar.

Fruits - fresh or frozen - are your allies !

LifeChangz

we recently had a nutritionist (for weight loss purposes, not diabetic purposes) suggest the high protein versions. I think her focus was an easy way to add protein regularly and/or to carry when on the go.

fwiw, for me, i find eating regular food more emotionally satisfying and a shift in food types - away from desserts/sweets to other things that break the evening sugar craving that seems to help me is a snack with a square of dark chocolate, tbsp of pb (warm/nuke a bit), swirl, dip in 1/2 a banana. Popcorn with cheese sticks. big pickle with 1/2 a sandwich (slice bread, mustard, a few ounces of lunchmeat.)

aferguson772

It’s an investment, unfortunately, but I just got myself a Ninja Creami and I already love it for sugar cravings. You can use protein shakes as your base, or you can just as easily use yogurt and fruit. It’s been wonderful for those evenings when I can’t stop thinking about all the deserts I’m not having. Chocolate peanut butter has been the best so far!

sarabushby

@aferguson772 I keep being tempted by the ninja creami but try and tell myself it’ll just be a novelty that I use for a bit before it goes the same way as my juicer and soup maker.
I don’t really eat a lot of ice cream as I’m more likely to want a hot, cosy, comforting dessert. Mini pots of ‘lighter’ rice pudding are my go to low ish calorie but filling sweet tooth satisfying dessert.

kshama2001

Another vote for more fruit.

My night time snack these days is Greek yogurt, frozen strawberries, and 20 g of granola. If I'm extra hungry I'll add 15 g pecans.

I used meal replacement drinks in the distant past and didn't find them filling at all, I imagine due to a lack of fat, fiber, and calories. I also used to juice. Got headaches, didn't feel full. I may have been adding protein powder, but don't really recall after all this time.

After watching "Fat, Sick, and Nearly Dead" after much debate about it here on MFP, I decided to give it a try again, but this time made smoothies in my food processor, so kept the fiber. I also added fat and protein powder. I did this for years during the warmer months. I grew kale and swiss chard for my lunch smoothies, which also had banana, strawberry, plain PP, chia seeds, and an egg. Sometimes I had two per day - my breakfast smoothie had coffee, chocolate PP, chia seeds, and coconut shreds. I eventually became unable to tolerate the stevia in my chocolate PP smoothie, and got sick of PP and kale in general, and stopped.

herringboxes

Yet another vote for fruit. Here is my experience with that - having successfully gotten control of my sweet tooth.

When I was having cravings, I’d eat whole fruit instead, as much as I wanted.

Did I want fruit instead of, you know, the other stuff? NO. It sounded UTTERLY DISAPPOINTING to me.

Yet when I just sucked it up and went for the, ugh, fruit, I consistently found myself more satisfied than I expected.

Who wants a boring apple when you can have ___? Pretty quickly, I found that I did!!

By making that switch, I actually feel like I unlocked a ton of benefits. It was so hard to lose weight when I felt weak all the time from blood sugar crashes. Now I eat my calorie deficit and feel steady and strong all day.

Bllood pressure and resting heart rate - down, and I feel better for it.

17 out of goal 25 pounds lost so far while feel great instead of miserable.

Anyway, hope that provides a little inspiration to try it.

history_grrrl

I usually keep a package of Baker’s 70% chocolate on hand. When I have a craving, I’ll melt a square and stir in some fresh strawberries. Alternatively, heat a bit of unsweetened baking chocolate with a small amount of sugar, butter, vanilla, and milk, and do the same. Or 0% Greek yogurt with fresh fruit. I adore desserts but also love summer fruit, so blueberries, peaches, etc., always feel like treats instead of deprivation.

hoodlisa1979

I'm not a fan of meal replacement shakes as others have said they tend not to be great all round and usually lack the satiety, lots of good pointers that folk have posted however occasionally I do grab a shake called Bol I think its cocoa and peanut butter and I must admit it fills me and tides me over till my next meal time, they do different flavours, its a plant based brand, I'm not touting it as a go to but having tried it I can say it did fill me up, good luck

Anniesquats100

For my afternoon meal I make a shake with 1 cup of frozen mango chunks, 1/2 cup spinach, 1 small banana, 1/2 cup almond milk and 1 scoop acacia fiber powder. It tastes sweet. Then I also eat a 100 calorie portion of boiled chicken or fish.

That makes my evening meal, and I am rarely tempted to snack. I find if I meet my protein and fiber goals, I'm full enough. Then I still have to work on habits, but it's doable.

Annie

marshm101

Will depend on what country you are in, for what is available. I have opinion both for and against meal replacements. I've tried all sorts of shakes and meal replacements as I don't find time for proper food prep, have lots of dietary issues (dairy, gluten, tomatoes, onions and lots of others that make me ill) so I've been using HUEL gluten free, for 1 or 2 meal replacements. It's 400 cals per 2 scoop shake, high in protein but a full meal replacement rather than protein only. Salted caramel is lovely and sweet without too much (natural) sugar content. It is filling for a few hours.
However a large chicken salad would come in much less calories, so it would depend on your weight loss goal.

When determined and using 2 shakes, mine helps count calories and I only have to think of a 400-500 dinner to prep to do, for a 1200-1300 calorie per day diet. I get my deficit by going to gym classes. I have in the past lost 2 stone doing this in 4 months for a wedding, but not sustainable for ever as 400-500 eve meals gets a bit boring.