Wanting sweets even when full...

mjsunshine16

I am full and in no need of food but my taste buds want something sweet and hardy candies are not working. DO you have this problem? Do you have any ideas of how to curb this?

RedVelvetCurls

Oh man, do I have this problem. I try to resist the temptation, but it I HAVE to give in, I eat a couple of hard mints. Keeps my sweet tooth at bay!

moe5474

try making these snacks that taste JUST like ice cream sandwiches...

-Take 2 graham crackers and put a nice size dollop of cool whip in between them. Push down to form a "sandwich".
-Freeze at least 1 hour

The frozen cool whip tastes identical to ice cream but has just a fraction of the calories. You can also add sprinkles for a nice crunch

beanser

i go for one of the 40cal hot chocolate drinks, it's not the same as proper sweets but it takes away the cravings for me

RedHotRunner

I do after dinner. I'll usually have one square of dark chocolate. That usually does the trick.

wccafe

Sugar Free Gum!! It's my best friend. Keeps my mouth busy chewing, and my tastebuds busy...tasting.

Liatush

I have this exact problem - I curb it with a cup of coffee, mint tea, fruit

Kudzu

sugar free/fat free pudding!!

6Janelle13

i do have this issue now and then. I buy fun size candy and let myself have some. there are better choices out there but two junior mints won't kill me and the fun size box has only 3 to 5 in it. My only rule is if i give in have have to try and burn it. Usually i will try to drink water and wait it out first but I'm trying to figure out how to create a lasting lifestyle change. giving up too much will just have me binge later so i'd rather control my way which means small bites and portions. if you can't stop at a small box or a piece or two of candy offer the remaining pieces to friends, family or hubby. My hubby scarfs it down and won't let me open another box so my tiny piece of candy is all i get and it soothes the craving with out killing my day.
Hard candies or candies with shells are often higher in calories. I go for simple candies or just a pure piece of chocolate. Yes there are moments I would kill for a starburst or twix (mmmmmm) but reality is i want my hot body more.

nickscutie

I almost always crave sweets after dinner. I would try saving a few calories from dinner (or elsewhere in your day) for yourself so you can still have your sweet without sabotaging you day.

The Lindt Lindor truffle balls are good because they are individually wrapped - forced portion control. They are like 70 calories.
Sometimes I will eat a small banana with some Trader Joe's midnight moo chocolate syrup on it.
A 1/2 cup of Stoneyfield organic frozen yogurt has 100 calories.
I also keep dum dum pops in the house - they are 25 calories each, and it takes a few minutes to eat so it is more satisfying.

If I really don't want to allow myself any more food, I chew gum.

bekah1301

A low-cal hot chocolate drink or some sugar-free jelly is great. Especially the jelly!

sophiajackson99

I like one square of dark chocolate. It's not so sweet that it incites my appetite, but yummy enough that it satisfies me.

I also find, if my sweet tooth is really out of control, that it helps to lay off sweets for a couple days (like two) and then I find that either my craving diminishes, or is not there at all. Sugar is a drug and the more you eat of it, the more your body craves it.

rose1617

I second both the sugar-free pudding and the gum.
I always crave sweets in the afternoon and those are my two go-to treats. Always curb that craving for me.

catriana33

Make sure you are taking a multi-vitamin. Your body is craving the sweets because of lack of a certain nutrient. Each day, I try to take at the least Vit D, Vit C, calcium, and a super B complex vitamin. If you are taking the vitamins and still having the sweet tooth craving, then you are better off to have a little bit to satisfy that sweet tooth so that you don't eat other higher calorie foods. Hope this helps.

sillysos

try sugar free jelly and no fat yogurt.and sugar free boiled sweets help to.

scagneti

I've been known to once or twice covet a sweet when I have no reason at all to be hungry. :laugh:

I've even started to make a joke about it. We'll have a nice, filling dinner and out of nowhere, I won't be able to stop thinking about running over to the donut shop down the street or just eating a pile of 100 calorie cookie bags. I tell myself that I couldn't possibly be hungry and ask myself why it want it so badly. Usually it's just "because it tastes so good!" I convince myself that it's a slippy slope and one cookie might not seem so bad but us eating the box of them is what got us to this stage. I treat myself during the day, so I can't excuse "but it's just this once" in the evening.

I love sweets though. I spent a half hour yesterday talking myself out of cheesecake or chocolate chip cookies at the grocery store yesterday. I caved on a 75% cocao sugar free SMALL treat instead of the dozen chocolate chip cookies the bakery thoughtlessly put on sale for $2.00 because I knew that I'd be the ones eating the majority (and 12 x 150 calories per cookie is just too depressing to think about!)

loushep

I soooo have this problem. I usually have some sugar free jelly and/or a banana but tonight i had some jell-o sugar and fat free pudding (i'd never tried it before, it was ok but tasted too artificially sweet). I know some people who freeze grapes ready for a sweet craving (i haven't tried this).

britneyash

I always have this problem after dinner! I also have a piece of chocolate.

A tradition a friend's family has is that everyone gets a "After 8" chocolate mint after dinner. This was a great way to get a little bit of sweet and refreshing mint!

Good luck! You can fight this temptation!

mam737

Try a serving of sugar free jello - only 10 calories and very sweet

brityn

Every once in a while I have this problem. It's usually when my diet hasn't been as balanced as it should have been for the day and my body is lacking some vital nutrient. Also, if you're not getting enough sleep then your body craves calorie dense food for energy. What i've found thats not only tastey, but also healthy is casein protein shakes. I found gold standard chocolate flavored casein powder on amazon. It's only 120 calories and has a very slow digesting protein that's good to take before bed to keep everything moving all night. It's super super thick. You can't just shake it with water and get a smooth consistency so I use an emersion blender and it's as thick as a fatty shake. It's so creamy and delicious and exactly what I want before bed!

emily859

I'm all too familiar with this scenario, however, I do not have this problem anymore. Have you recently started on MFP, or have you recently re-started (as was my case, after the holidays!!)? I notice when I really start focusing on the nutrition element, things take about 3 weeks to all come together. For me, I do like a "sweet" thing after I eat sometimes even when I'm full. You have to train your body not to want the "bad" sweets (e.g., cookies, cakes, both processed and artificial sweet things that are not found in nature, etc.) in excess and really, it just takes time.

In the mean time, here's what I did to help that process along. I figure that real fruit is probably your best bet for satisfying a sweet craving. A really cheap and easy thing that I do is buy the bags of the small gala apples (a little less than 80 cals if you don't eat all the fruit at the core). Sometimes, I'll slice them thin and put some cinnamon on it. It seems to last longer and the fiber kinda makes you not want more after that. Also, beer (not light beer) is the thing I actually enjoy more than sweets and really had to work on, so instead of beer or 2 after dinner, I'll drink a few cups of hot tea. I find now, when I do drink, or eat sweets, I get satisfied on a lot less and because they aren't "every day" allowances, I really look forward to them now and savor them more. Additionally, my body seems to crave simple fruits, over other options.

For more treat-like things, Clif C bars and larabars are awesome. They are pure fruit and nuts and taste like desserts. Also, I do eat Natures Path strawberry organic granola bars sometimes... b/c they are really tasty. Usually I just eat these things pre-workout or for a convenient snack mid-am or mid-pm.

One other thing, a little dark chocolate after dinner can be awesome (though until I got my sweet-tooth at bay, it was a bit of a challenge to honor my commitment to a smaller portion). That could be more satisfying than hard candies, and the caloric trade off for a small piece probably isn't that big of a difference.

It can be so frustrating! So I really empathize here. Good luck.

mjsunshine16

Started a multiple vitamin today and no side cravings for sweets :-)