overcoming sweet addiction

mrsbastone

Yup.. I was a sugar junkie. I have read that if you take out your diet for 2 weeks your cravings will go away.. It was very hard especially the first few days.. But it worked. not only did it work for sweets it also just cut my cravings in general. So I just cut it out completely.. (I mean I still have ketchup and stuff like that but cut out all sugar bombs). It's been 39 weeks so far and I don't regret it a bit. I have been introducing other sugars in slowly the last month.. Like honey, agave. but I try to keep that at a minimum too..

robinbarten

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.

I believe it is an addition. I can go a couple days without it. But if I have a bag of candies, or box of donuts in my house, I think "I will just have one". Then something just hits me and I can't get enough. I need more and more until it is gone. If it were just a craving, once that craving was satisfied, I would stop.

smemilypfeif

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.

This is all really excellent advice. Thanks for posting it!

Christi6604

I still have the occassional sweet, but I don't feel addicted anymore. It took FOR-EVER.

First I tried to have the crappy substitutes - low fat, sugar-free, homemade cake recipes with diet coke instead of eggs, etc. ...but that just made me crave the "real" thing.

Next, I tried the "have a little bit everyday" approach. Ummmm...moderation? Didn't really work for me on a daily basis. What HAS worked for about a year now...

I have sweets about 2/3 times a month. I have a free day once a week where I don't go crazy, but I eat something I crave but don't have on a regular basis. I generally have my sweets then. I also have some during my TOM, because I crave it. After I realize that it is a genuine crave I have some. Yesterday for example, I had one serving of a butterfinger square...and that actually satisfied me. I wouldn't have been able to do that a year ago.

I also found that having fewer sugary, processed carbs has reduced by sugar cravings substantially.

ErnestinesMom

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.

Green drinks. I do mine in the vitamix...

spinach, frozen blueberries, pineapple, whole lemon, nubs of fresh ginger, and two frozen wheat grass cubes (buy at whole foods)...

totally blows the desire for sweets out of the water...

Typhanee83

suzzann666

sweets moderation does not work for me. once i get a taste, i will keep eating sweets until i feel sick, which is really gross. i cut them out completely, and after a couple weeks it becomes so much easier, and you will feel better. i do allow myself 1 square of very dark chocolate every night after the kids go to bed as my little treat. i also will eat a little fruit as a sweet snack.

JeSuisPrest

I have learned that by eating enough, I have overcome those types of cravings. I raised my calorie limit according to fat2fitradio.

KatFierce

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.

I have a HUGE sweet tooth. I try and bake some healthy things from scratch ( what I normally would but use banana for oil, egg whites, truvia, things like that).
Also keep frozen cool whip in the fridge ( you cna get an all natural one at whole foods) but I use just good old cool whip lite, its 20 cals per 2 tbsp and frozen tastes like ice cream.
I eat it plain or make a parfait with berries and hersheys syrup or mini chocolate chips.
Warm a fiber one brownie and put cool whip on top
Or make no pudge brownies with greek yogurt layer berries the brownie and remaining ypgurt in a glass and dig in mmmm

ErnestinesMom

I also found that having fewer sugary, processed carbs has reduced by sugar cravings substantially.

Truly eating fresh and less processed is key...totally agree with you!

ShyFeather

Since I already eat a lot of fruit, that has never been a good alternative when I'm craving sweets. I usually keep a bag of Lifesavers hard candy or some other type of hard candy in the house. When I'm craving, I pop one in my mouth and suck on that. It'll give me my sugar craving but only for 3g of sugar ( and 15 cals each).

That said, I'm not entirely against cutting out sweets completely. You can have anything you want as long as it's planned and done in moderation. But that also shouldn't be an excuse to eat doughnuts everyday. I hope the advice you receive will help you and don't be afraid to treat yourself every now and then.

Crochetluvr

When I did it, I had to go cold turkey. But I was so motivated, it wasnt a problem. I went off sweets and all white carbs for an entire month. At the end of the month, I had no cravings at all. But it didnt last. As soon as I thought I could cheat, the feelings came back that was the beginning of the cravings again.....and the weight gain.

I am motivated again and I know I can cut the sweets back. I am allowing myself one sweet a day as long as the rest of my food is appropriate. For me, total abstention is not practical. I want to be thin, but I also want the option of enjoying a treat within reason. I dont deprive myself.....if I do, I get frustrated and start to slide.

temsabi

I found that when I try and cut-back on calories, I crave sweets more. But when I focus on whole foods instead of calories, I really don't find myself going toward sweets.

Try taking a week to eat whole milk yogurt, nuts, whole grain bread, no diet foods/drinks, real butter, etc. Yes these things have more calories but in the end eating these foods makes me feel more satisfied and have truly no cravings. In the end I end up eating fewer calories when I eat this way because when I only eat low-cal foods I end up giving into my sweet tooth cravings and going way over my calorie goal anyway.

peanutbutterfish

This is a bit of an unconventional answer, but it is important to recognize that the sugar cravings are likely the result of some unconscious emotional need that you are trying to fill with food. When working with my own cravings, I notice that the cravings are seeking to cover up some underling emotionally challenging state, e.g. loneliness, anxiety, insecurity, etc. While not taking away from many of the tricks and techniques that others have mentioned, the cravings will never completely go away unless you are able to bring to conscious awareness the unconscious link between the difficult emotion and the cravings and then find some other way to work through or resolve the unconscious feelings without the use of refined carbs. Equally important, we often compound the reactivity by judging ourselves for the feeling of weakness and lack of self control. So a lot of self-compassion is called for here. Meditation, yoga and other mindfulness practices can be good for this level of body-based awareness.

So one small practice I might suggest is, the next time you experience sugar cravings, pause for a second and pay attention to your breath and the sensations in your body. Notice if you can spot any underlying emotions that the cravings might be seeing to cover up, and to the extent you can, allow yourself to feel fully the underlying emotions with plenty of deep breaths. Over time, you many find that you can effectively breathe through the cravings and won't unconsciously just give into the impulse to grab the donut. Again, this process takes time and can be quite challenging, so be patient with yourself.

It is important to recognize that at this point the cravings probably are entrenched in your biology and brain chemistry to the point that it has developed into a rutted pattern and elevated blood sugar levels, which can be difficult to break and allow time for your system to normalize. I'm indifferent to whether you call it an addiction or something else. So, many of the techniques mentioned above can be supportive in this transition. But ultimately the abstinence techniques may prove short-lived if you don't address on the psychological level the emotional triggers leading to the cravings. So the two need to work hand-in-hand.

Hope this helps.

hfzimmerman

I know a lot of mine has to do with emotional eating... If I eat enough sweets I'll feel better, I'll be happier, less stressed etc. I had an extremely difficult childhood and I know my sweets issue comes from that but all my years of therapy has still not been able to help in this area. I'm hoping that like with most things if I set my mind to eating little to no sweets that I'll succeed. I'll admit though there are times something happens where I feel so bad about myself I don't care if I eat myself to sickness. But I need to change this and I want to.

moejo3

I seem to really get the urge 2-3 times a week at that time I go for a little box of raisins. I don't why but it helps the sugar cravings really well. I am a horrible cookie addict if they are around I will binge on them. This is my next addiction to kick. However, if you do break down and eat some sweets don't beat yourself up just get back on the sugar free wagon as soon as you can.

TanyaCurtis

Cut out all the junk food in ur diet, cravings will go away, or at least become easy to handle!! Have healthier alternatives always laying around so when u feel like munching, u can munch on that for me it's Greek yogurt and apples!

nancycw64

I struggle too. Sorry, fruit just doesn't do it for me.
I bought a bar of dark chocolate and planned to eat a couple of squares each evening (when I really crave sweets). I had heard dark chocolate is so rich that you won't want to eat too much. Well, that didn't work for me - I ate the whole thing!

badgeratheart

I struggle too. Sorry, fruit just doesn't do it for me.
I bought a bar of dark chocolate and planned to eat a couple of squares each evening (when I really crave sweets). I had heard dark chocolate is so rich that you won't want to eat too much. Well, that didn't work for me - I ate the whole thing!

Ditto. This is my experience exactly.

finz96

Pure protein bars are low in sugar, but are filling and trick my body into thinking I'm eating something chocolatey!