Post dinner sweet tooth

Ryan_Elifritz18

I’m struggling with a sweet tooth after a dinner. I have protein bars but I’m afraid that will cause the scale to remained stagnant. I’m under my calories by 300. But I’m inpatient. Any advice?

kshama2001

Well, if your logging is perfect, your calories at the end of the day should be close to 0, not minus 300. But low calorie desserts could be fruit, sweetened tea or coffee, small amounts of chocolate, etc.

I regularly eat 80 calories worth of dark chocolate chips super slowly - rather than chewing, I let them dissolve in my mouth, one at a time. My chocolate urge is completely satisfied by the time I am done.

herringboxes

I have struggled with the same. This is what I did, and it worked great for me.

I ate as much damn fruit as I wanted.

No, I didn’t crave the fruit. Didn’t want the fruit. Ate it anyway. I was surprised at how satisfied I felt after I ate it, despite not exactly wanting an apple or an orange.

After a few days, the cravings passed and I didn’t need to eat fruit to deal with it anymore.

I still eat fruit with my breakfast, because I like to and I think it’s good for me, but not as a crutch.

Retroguy2000

Costco/Sams Healthy Choice fudge bars, 90 cals each, delicious. They're my go to evening snack if I have something.

FuzzyGunna

For me, it's hot tea. Usually a fruit flavor of some kind. But honestly, just waiting for about 20 minutes helps a lot.

AnnPT77

So you're undereating your calorie goal by 300 calories, which is a big margin. Because you're (as you say) impatient, I wouldn't be surprised if you're shooting for the fastest possible loss rate in the first place.

And you're surprised that you're struggling with cravings for sweets at the end of the day?

By the end of the day, we're at our most fatigued, and cravings are part of a body's energy-seeking behavior. Craving sweets is particularly common. Sugars are quick energy, after all. On top of that, it sounds like you're under-eating, which potentially saps energy further, and possibly makes cravings of some kind even more likely.

Eat the 300 calories. Protein bars would be fine. If your nutrition for the day is in pretty good shape, even less nutrient-dense treat foods may be OK, as long as they don't further spike your appetite.

MsCzar

I too crave a sweet something after every meal - even breakfast. I keep a big bag of Medjool dates in the fridge and have one or two after a meal.

reener1987

I swear by options hot chocolate drink. I have one every evening 40 cals per cup. Seems to work for me, I really look forward to it and over a year on, 90lbs down, I've convinced myself it's like I'm having real chocolate 😂

yirara

TO, this one below! Don't undereat because you're setting yourself up for failure. Eat, be happy, enjoy what you eat and lose at a reasonable pace. Also eat that bar if you like, or anything else. If you still have 300 calories and logging is good then eat them. Seriously, no need to be miserable, give up, binge.

AnnPT77 wrote: »

So you're undereating your calorie goal by 300 calories, which is a big margin. Because you're (as you say) impatient, I wouldn't be surprised if you're shooting for the fastest possible loss rate in the first place.

And you're surprised that you're struggling with cravings for sweets at the end of the day?

By the end of the day, we're at our most fatigued, and cravings are part of a body's energy-seeking behavior. Craving sweets is particularly common. Sugars are quick energy, after all. On top of that, it sounds like you're under-eating, which potentially saps energy further, and possibly makes cravings of some kind even more likely.

Eat the 300 calories. Protein bars would be fine. If your nutrition for the day is in pretty good shape, even less nutrient-dense treat foods may be OK, as long as they don't further spike your appetite.

ReReNotMe

Honestly I would say incorporate a small sweet after your dinner into your daily calories. My favourite is low calorie ice cream instead of the chocolate bars I used to binge. I don't feel guilty as I've already accounted for it and I'm not miserable cutting out all the foods I love.

Also I make sure to eat enough so that I'm not really hungry and less likely to snack on anything too sweet. Another big thing is brushing teeth after meals which helps reduce snacking a lot, especially after dinner moving forward your evening routine can reduce snacking and improve sleep quality.

zebasschick

light & fit yogurt - both the vanilla and the cherry are yum, and they're 80 calories per cup.

there's a 37 calorie brownie recipe here somewhere, and you can eat a lot of merengues, especially if they're not sweetened with sugar.

i also make my own low calorie fudgecicles and popsicles. using diet soda can make the popsicles truly calorie free and i really like 'em. i use a calorie-free syrup (chocolate or vanilla, trying marshmellow this weekend) with non-fat milk for the fudgecicle style ones. or there are xylitol sweetened lollipops (dr. john's) that are 15 calories each and i like the chocolate ones a lot, but if you're not used to xylitol, start with just one.

you can make your own sugar-free pudding or use jello's cook and serve chocolate pudding. or juicy gels cups (strawberry and orange) and tasty.

quest bars are tasty, and the ones i eat are 170 calories and 200 calories, each with 20 grams of protein.

AlexandraFindsHerself1971

Make sure you are having protein and fat with your dinner, to increase satiety, and finish with some sort of dessert. I found that worked much better for me than any evening snacks, because apparently in the evening if I eat I'm going to eat ALL OF IT. (sigh) I do better with eliminating snacks in the evening altogether. At least at this point in my journey.

jessieknh

I keep frozen banana slices dipped in dark chocolate in my freezer and just grab two or three little slices when I need something sweet. If you make them yourself you can add a little peanut butter drizzle or nuts. You can also get these premade in the ice cream section of your store. Three bite size pieces is 80 calories.

ninerbuff

I you have 300 calories left over, then eat something sweet that won't exceed it.
My go to low calorie per one piece is Jolly Ranchers. Cherry and Green Apple for the win.

A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
IDEA Fitness member
Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness for 35+ years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition

springlering62

Get a popsicle mold and let your imagination go wild.

I’m fixing to make popsicles with low fat yogurt and sugar free lemon pudding mix. They’ll be about 25 calories apiece for a normal popsicle.

Experiment with crushed fruit, coconut water or milk, yogurt, cottage cheese, powdered chocolate, skinny syrup,fresh or frozen fruit.

xrj22

If you are under on your calories, then no wonder you are hungry at the end of the day. However, sweet snacks are not a good habit to get into. It is up to you whether a snack at night seems like a good idea, or whether you would be better off confining eating to 3 meals. Either way, get a plan that seems healthy and sustainable and then stick to it. Try to change the snack/remaining calories to something healthy -- maybe fruit to satisfy the sweet tooth, or hummus and vegies, or whatever sounds good and healthy to you.

springlering62

xrj22 wrote: »

If you are under on your calories, then no wonder you are hungry at the end of the day. However, sweet snacks are not a good habit to get into. It is up to you whether a snack at night seems like a good idea, or whether you would be better off confining eating to 3 meals. Either way, get a plan that seems healthy and sustainable and then stick to it. Try to change the snack/remaining calories to something healthy -- maybe fruit to satisfy the sweet tooth, or hummus and vegies, or whatever sounds good and healthy to you.

Do what you need to do to satisfy you.

For me, my evening isn’t complete without something sweet.

Tonight is homemade vanilla ice cream diet root beer float. Under a hundred calories for a huge foamy insulated mug of sweet deliciousness.

I admire people who can cut out all sweets. But no way would that ever work for me, nor does it have to for you, if sweets are your jam. Just find a creative way to work sweets in.

My chaser is usually three crunchy meringues.

TinaMarie4793

I have the same problem especially on evenings I stay up later. I have planned into my daily menu a late night treat. I have a half a cup of sugar-free jello topped with 2 T. of Cool whip. So far it is working for me.

raenright

I usually crave something a little extra at the end of a meal and find having a cup of decaf coffee is enough to let the craving fade away. But definitely treat yourself to something sweet when you have 300 calories to spare.

If I'm on a plan where I always have to say no to nice things then I'll just quit very quickly. I find it better to factor treats into your calorie budget regularly than feel too restricted.

ahoy_m8

Gonna chime in with others saying undereating is a recipe for failure. Get an appropriate amount of nutrition for an appropriate rate of loss (and be patient about it.) An unrealistic plan will not be sustainable long enough to get the result you want.

Maybe we're all misunderstanding your post, and what you're saying is you have 300 calories left to have something sweet. If you have hit all your macronutrient minimums (enough protein, fat and fiber), then spend the calories on whatever brings you the most enjoyment.

I am not an after dinner snacker and do not save any calories for that, but I do enjoy a citrus-y soda with artificial sweetener after dinner.