overcoming sweet addiction

hfzimmerman

Hello,
Has anyone on here had trouble with eating sweets and overcame it? If so how have you been successful? I can't seem to stop eating sweets even though I really really want to! Any advice would be great.

mariaperry

do you use artifical sweetners? they make you crave sugar more. i have cut out alot of carbs, sugar and all artificial sweeteners and this helps stop the sugar cravings also. You should only eat good carbs if your going to carbs, like fruit and vegetables and complex carbs, like whole grain breads, brown rice and wheat pasta. It takes a couple of weeks for your body to adjust but since ive done this i have minimal sugar cravings.

SheepHeavenly

I would love to here from some people who overcame this. Sweets are my absolute weakness. I don't crave the fake stuff, I crave the horrible stuff. Doughnuts, cakes, ice cream, chocolate, candy candy candy.

Letty_c

do you use artifical sweetners? they make you crave sugar more. i have cut out alot of carbs, sugar and all artificial sweeteners and this helps stop the sugar cravings also. You should only eat good carbs if your going to carbs, like fruit and vegetables and complex carbs, like whole grain breads, brown rice and wheat pasta. It takes a couple of weeks for your body to adjust but since ive done this i have minimal sugar cravings.

Exactly what I was going to say it took me about two weeks to get over mine

Jacwhite22

Why do you want to...If you force yourself to cut them out completely IMHO you are just attaining a temporary goal......unless you believe you can cut them out forever.

Jamcnair

Try to keep alternatives around..fruit, small pieces of dark chocolate, sugar free Jello mousse (60 cals), skinny cows

Also..sometimes if I can't get something off my mind, I chew gum or take a walk or something else

rmhand

I gave it up for Lent so I'd have extra support. So I didn't have much for about 6 weeks. Then on Easter I had a lot and felt like crap. Now my cravings are gone and when I do think I want something I think about how crappy I felt after eating it.
If you go cold turkey expect it to take a few weeks.

xaniza

I would love to here from some people who overcame this. Sweets are my absolute weakness. I don't crave the fake stuff, I crave the horrible stuff. Doughnuts, cakes, ice cream, chocolate, candy candy candy.

Same here

Emancipated_Tai

Phase one of the south beach diet. I did this in April. Not only did i lose 12 pounds, I lost a mostly in my belly and cravings are basically non-existent. I have been maintaining since.The first phase is very strict, but its only for 2 weeks. I followed it for 4.

HelloSweetie4

Grab fruit instead, especailly whatever is in season because it's just a little sweeter, yummmm
If you can't pass up the craving for chocolate, have dark chocolate instead of the other kinds.
What also helps me is the vitamins I take are gummies, so that's a nice daily sweet treat :-)

AmyM713

I just started a 30 day no junk food goal, not sure how far I will get but I hear you on not being able to resist sweets. I gave up soda 3 months ago when I finally decided enough is enough so hoping I can do the same with junk food consumption. Good luck and add me as a friend if your looking for support!

FrostyFour

One of my daily foods is half a cup of honey bunches of oats stirred in with 6 oz fat free banana cream pie yogurt. Together they are 167 calories, 2 grams of fat, 6 grams of protein and 165 mg sodium. It fills me up and I looove the taste. And if I want more I can have it!

SPNLuver83

do you use artifical sweetners? they make you crave sugar more. i have cut out alot of carbs, sugar and all artificial sweeteners and this helps stop the sugar cravings also. You should only eat good carbs if your going to carbs, like fruit and vegetables and complex carbs, like whole grain breads, brown rice and wheat pasta. It takes a couple of weeks for your body to adjust but since ive done this i have minimal sugar cravings.

I've replaced all my sugar with the artificial stuff and DO NOT crave sugar more. Maybe this is true for *some* ppl, but it is not universal.

That being said, OP I love sweets too. I have overcame it by baking my own goodies and freezing them in single serve packets for later. My fav are my dark chocolate cupcakes. you take a box of philsbury sugar free moist supreme devil's food cake mix, a can of coke zero and 1/2 bag of hershey's special dark chocolate chips. Preheat oven to 325, mix ingredients, scoop 1/4 cup batter into 24 cupcake tins and bake for 18 minutes. It's like 100 calories or so per cupcake, 4 grams of fat and 5 sugar. AND INCREDIBLY DELICIOUS. will totally get that sweet tooth. and there are many combos for this too!

thriftycupl

I drink more water and when it's really bad, I drink flavored water. It's the only way I can get beyond the want. Otherwise, I try and eat a piece of candy now and then. Don't want to totally deprive myself all the time.

jadedone

I also recommend cutting out the added sugar in your diet. So many "normal" things have sugar added so you end up eating sweet all day. Try to stick to things that are naturally sweet.

Look out for tomato sauce, salad dressing, condiments, breads, yogurt and crackers all have sugar too!

I try to stick to the ones with no added sugar.

I also cut any sugar I add myself in half. I personally use stevia for somethings (some types of tea, some berries sometimes). I used to add about 4 sugars to my coffee. I cut it to 2. Drank that for a few weeks. And then 1. Now I don't sweeten espresso drinks and have 1 in a cup of coffee.

Also you can do a mindful eating exercise to taste the "sweet" in regular foods. Fruit, obviously. Milk is sweet. Carrots are sweet. Roasted veggies. Peas. Onions. Balsamic vinegar. Apple cider vinegar. You'd be surprised how much perceptible sweetness is in your regular food. The more you notice the natural sweetness, the less you need the added sweet.

Last tip, use "sweet" spices to enhance the sweetness of your food without sugar: vanilla, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, all spice, paprika.

sugiravi

I still struggle with this! The thing that really helped was not buying snacks in the first place- never go grocery shopping when you're having cravings, you'll end up with a cart full of stuff you don't need. I think the key is to plan ahead for moments of weakness, so when you do splurge it's not at a cost of an 800 cal sundae but a 200 cal fruity treat. Diet coke is still a crutch for me, haven't been able to kick the habit but it's sort of taken the place of chocolate in my life so I figure it's a step in the right direction. Just try to make better decisions but don't beat yourself up if you fall short. We're only human.

vmessyness

i was a sugar JUNKIE for real. soda everyday, and i always craved sweet things. basically what it has come down to is i've replaced added sugar in my diet with natural sugar. if you crave something sweet have an apple, pear, berries etc. keep only whole intact fruit around, and don't give in to your cravings. it really only took me a couple weeks to really "detox" from the sugar, and i would stop feeling that compulsive need to have soda or candy. i am basically at the point now where i rarely ever crave something other than fruit or water. i seriously have containers of gourmet sorbet, and tart frozen yogurt (one of my favorites) that just sit in my freezer, because i've only had them once or twice in the past couple of months. i also have gone through exactly 2.5 bars of pure, good quality dark chocolate in two months. i can't even remember if i've even had a piece of candy.
the take away point is that IF I CAN DO THIS, YOU CAN DO THIS. it just takes a couple weeks of being strong, and from then on out it is really just inertia.

hfzimmerman

I crave ice cream, donuts, chocolate. I have cut out pop completely for over 2 years now and I don't do artifical sweetners or add duvet to anything. It's just the above three. I've tried stopping completely which lasted a few months then right back into it, I've tried moderation but end up eating the whole thing of whatever it is or going out of my way to get more, I've even tried to hide my sweet obsession from my husband by hiding ice cream way down under everything or throwing away the evidence before he can find out. I've tried multiple things but nothing seems to help.

meg7399

Why would you want too? I love sweets and I just eat them in moderation. Having something sweet everyday or almost everyday helps me from stumbling and binging on them.

Lollops

Have you ever eaten Kaki fruit? It's also called 'Sharon fruit'. They're reeeaallly sweet and taste like sweets to me!

Also, I love eating strawberries and pineapple!

If you don't like fruit, and aren't vegan, try making those egg-white things........ meringue, I think they're called? They're really low in calories

mfpcopine

Why do you want to...If you force yourself to cut them out completely IMHO you are just attaining a temporary goal......unless you believe you can cut them out forever.

For some people, making a complete break for a while helps. They learn to appreciate other, more subtle flavors, and may appreciate a lesser degree of sweetness when they resume eating sweet things.

jcjsjones

I have a major sweet tooth and one thing that has helped me is switching to dark chocolate. It seems to satisfy my craving faster than milk chocolate, so I only eat 1 piece of candy instead of an entire bag of M&M's! I have also stopped drinking sodas. That has helped as well. To help with my ice cream craving, keep frozen fruit bars around the house. They are only 80 calories a bar and taste great!

ethelapple

I was a sugar addict too, still can sometimes struggle, but I've been following a primal diet, protein, fat and carbs from veggies and fruits mostly. I pick up a good bar of dark chocolate when I need it, and have a serving about 3x-4x a week if I have to have something sweet -- that takes care of my sweet tooth. Sometimes I have strawberries sliced thin with a big scoop of full fat fage yogurt and a teeny bit of honey -- that is delish too!

kathleenwiedenfeld

I am one who eats sweets until they are gone, even when they don't taste good anymore! A box of Little Debbie Swiss Rolls, gone! Once I start I cannot seem to stop.
That was until 3 1/2 years ago. 2 days after Christmas, that was it, I was determined to eat no flour, no sugar. I had to take it minute by minute, day by day. I would mark each day off on the calender. Big numbers that showed how many days I had been sugar and flour free! After a few weeks I was marking weeks completed instead of days. Then after a year or so, months. Now I do not ever plan to go back to flour and sugar. I don't know how my body would react.

I have alternatives to be sure!! Blue Bunnie No sugar added ice cream. sugar free chocolate syrup for my milk. ezekiel bread. fresh fruit (including in my oatmeal), 85% cocoa dark chocolate (I know there is some sugar, but I certainly cannot eat massive amounts of this dark chocolate). I have truly been doing this for over 3 years and I am very happy I took the first step!

lkweber21

My doctor told me, if you have a craving you should:

1) Drink a glass of water
2) Eat a piece of fruit
3) If you still want it, eat it

mfpcopine

For starters, I would remove any ultra-sweet things from my house. If there were places I frequented that sell sweets or pastries, I'd avoid them, or I'd go in with a plan to order something healthier. There was a time when I couldn't go into Starbucks without ordering a 400 calorie pastry.

Is there a news stand or vending machine from which you buy candy? Try to get some nuts or health mix instead.

If you drink sugar in your coffee, you could try reducing the amount. I started drinking coffee with skim or 1% milk ages ago. It was surprisingly easy if the coffee was good.

Don't overdo artificially sweetened beverages. They may make you crave sweet things even more, as some people have already said.

Log your food. When you see how much damage a couple of candy bars can do to a diet plan, it may reinforce the idea of healthier eating..

jcohio85

I have started eating sugar free jello and pudding and its great. The jello is 10 cal and the pudding is 60 cal. It gives me the sweet that I am looking for, but keeps the calories low.

Fruit is also a good way of getting sweet. I have been getting watermelon and its been amazing so far this year!

Zerashen

I have the same issue. I LOVED sweet tea. Adored it. Decided to give it up for Lent because some coworkers were giving up foods as well. What I did was drink some flavored water. Honestly it's not the same, and I do get cravings for the sugary goodness, but I'd try to distract myself if the water didn't work.

mfpcopine

Although I sympathize as I have a sweet tooth myself, stop calling it an "addiction." You have cravings. You will not get sick if you stop eating excessive amounts of sugar cold turkey.

Zerashen

If it's in coffees, try flavored (even sugar free) creamers to get the sweetness without added sugar.

Pashen4fit

I am having this problem to. I seem to always crave sweets its driving me nuts