People with a sweet tooth - help please !

abbyy182

Hi there,

This is my first post. Since being with MFP, it has helped me to realise how much sugar/fat etc I am consuming each day. For about 3 weeks now, my weight is fluctuating between 1-3lbs. I am trying desperately hard, but I do eat some sugary snacks as I have a sweet tooth. I am doing Zumba everyday at home for 45 minutes, and am on Day3 Level1 of the 30 Day Shred.

I really would like some advice what other sugary (substitute) foods I can have, because I think thats why my weight isn't moving. I use an artificial sweetener, it's got absolutely no calories or anything in it.

I really would like to lose some weight by 16th July as I have a party to go to and I want to look and feel my best thank you for reading, please be nice !

Emma1903

Tell us what sugary foods you are sting and we might be ble to come up with a substitute

joanneeee

fruuiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiit especially dried fruit. smoothies - milk/yoghurt + fruit.
or go cold turkey and retrain your taste buds (this includes artificial sweeteners).

abbyy182

Well I eat WeightWatcher cookies, only one pack of 2, and I eat these Kellogg's cereal lunch bars i.e Frosties or Rice Krispies ones. And sometimes some other biscuits, I think these are the real killers. And yes, I don't eat a lot of fruit my bad, would smoothies help if I got a blender and had like a banana and milk (1% fat milk) ? I think I have just answered my own post now ! :blushing:

docturtle

Murray's sugar-free cookies are not bad.

g_warne

I find hot tea with plenty of splenda helps me in the middle of the day, but I definitely want dessert! I try and make healthy options for dessert with an emphasis on fruits/low fat/reduced sugar and make sure I save some calories for it at the end of the day. That way I still satisfy the craving so that I don't binge on something much worse!

Cdcaldwe

90 Calorie Special K bars.

joanneeee

well i think the only thing that would help would be to slowly cut down on your sugar intake. smoothies, to me, are a good substitute and i find it very sweet. one serving of milk as 14g sugar. one banana has about 16g sugar. 30g sugar... i would hope that's enough for you as a snack or part of breakfast haha. .

abbyy182

Oohh that sounds a good idea. I'm from the UK so I will have a shop about and get a blender today, too. Thank you for the responses !

LizV32

if you are craving ice cream type sweets, I really enjoy skinny cow products. Also, the hungry Girl website and cookbooks have many sweet treat recipes!

stella77

I find it that if I have a little bit of exact thing I am craving - I don't get as much craving as when I try to substitute with fruit for example.

I just eat the very chocolate I want (but instead having the whole thing, I have just a square or two)

I used to substitute with energy bars and crap like that, but I don't really like them, so I may as well have what I want.

EmBlazes

Smoothies are great to stave off hunger as well and you can always add a touch of honey if you want them a bit sweeter. I definitely recommend them and it's an "easier" way of eating fruit if you aren't a big fan. I particularly like canned peaches (in juice, drained) with milk as a smoothie - it's yummy!!!

tkb1985

I realised pretty quickly that giving up chocolate would mean giving up my new healthy lifestyle - I'd never be able to stick to it.

Just eat in moderation. I allow myself 1 treat sized chock a day, or 2 squares of dark chocolate - that way I don't feel like I'm giving up what I love, but I'm (dramatically!) cutting down.

I also have tried to cut out unplanned snacking all together, it's too much of a temptation. Try having a planned snack in the afternoon, I tend to have a cereal bar (Tescos light choices choc & orange are lovely!) or some grapes as I need the sugar - I don't have much in my meals etc.

Good luck, and feet free to add me

clioandboy

Well, I have done better since giving up...... articial sweetners!!! bizarre I know but I now have honey and I do not crave sweetness like I did at all.

Naomi_84

Sugar is very addictive and it's going to take a while to wean yourself off it. I think you should stop buying cereal bars and cereals and biscuits which are full of sugar, stop buying them completely and swap them for dried and fresh fruits, wholegrain low sugar cereals, rice cakes, crackers with low fat soft cheese and nuts. Your body will eventually get used to your new way of eating and hopefully your sugar cravings will become more manageable. Good luck

lucywhatford

I have muller light yoghurts. I get the ones with chocolate bits in, they give you that sweet fix but are only between 85-100 calories for a pot and you get quite a lot! I got the "Inspired by..." ones the other day. New York cheesecake and strawberry cheesecake flavour, reeeeally nice!

tristanathan

Jell-o makes sugar free pudding and gelatin snacks that are sugar free, fat free, low calorie and good. The Jell-o gelatin usually has only 10 calories and it's delicious. The pudding snacks are around 60 calories each and are also delicious. My favorite way to eat them is to add some fat free Reddi Whip on top so it feels like I'm having a fancy parfait. And, everything tastes better with Reddi Whip on top and it makes it feel more special and like you're not depriving yourself so much while only adding 5 calories per serving.

ryandylan

Jello sugar-free pudding & Skinny Cow ice cream sandwiches have now replaced all of the sugary crap that I used to eat!

abbyy182

Wow thank you for all the suggestions ! Naomi you are right, I should swap for what you have suggested. I do need to buy much more fruit, I will try and swap with what I have now, and stop buying the cereal bars and biscuits, use fruit instead for a snack, and Skinny cow and smoothies sound delicious !

abbyy182

Oh and the Muller light yoghurts, yes I have eaten them, I have just totally forgotten to add them to my shopping list again ! They are so tasty

missy_1975

I used to have a really sweet tooth, and I used to use artifical sweeteners and "diet" crap, which just made me fatter. Although there are fewer or even no calories in these products, the chemicals are manufactured and may have an effect on insulin resistance. Some people believe that the body cannot differentiate between low/no cal sweeteners and sugar, and therefore the body releases insulin the way it would when eating sugar/high carb foods, hense pushing any of the glucose in the blood stream into storage in the fat cells, rather than being used immediately for energy.

My advice would be to cut out the sweeteners, look at limiting the likes of high carb/sugar bars and to think about a suppliment with chomium in it. Many of us who crave sweet things are deficient in this mineral, and supplimenting with it may also help regulate blood sugars in the body.

I personally find that eating the low GI ( glycemic index - ie how quickly the body can break down foods into simple sugars) to be the best thing ever for controlling sugar cravings. I no longer crave sweet things and products using artificial sweeteners now taste foul! A good rule of thumb is to eat foods that don't have more (or better any!) than a few ingredients on the label, and if you can't pronounce an ingredient don't eat it! Hope this helps.