struggle with sweets

BleuTree

i have always referred to myself as a junk food junkie. growing up i was given everything UNhealthy and still remained slim. fast forward 3 kids and upteen years with all the baby weight. i didn't lose any of it, so here i am as heavy as i was when i gave birth x3. i'm struggling. i don't know how to stop the urge for the sweets. when i have the urge, i eventually say eff it and indulge...and then some...and then some more. why?! boredom. plain & simple...and the sweets are a foot away. how do i stop?!

camelid2

I would love to know as well. Started off today right, then somebody brought in apple pie at work, there goes two pieces and ice cream too. We'll see how tomorrow goes I guess.

bjf232

I have a HUGE sweet tooth too, but I've found that if I allow myself have a bit of sweets (for example 40 grams of chocolate or so) my craving is satisfied and I haven't undone my day. That is, the chocolate is around 200 calories so I can enjoy it while still having a lot of room for my main meals. Maybe this would help? Being on a diet doesn't mean we have to rid ourselves of all sweets...just moderation

Anna800

Get low calorie sweets like protein bars, Arctic zero ice cream, chocolate protein shakes. Fruit is sweet as well.

mollyW2012

I have a HUGE sweet tooth too, but I've found that if I allow myself have a bit of sweets (for example 40 grams of chocolate or so) my craving is satisfied and I haven't undone my day. That is, the chocolate is around 200 calories so I can enjoy it while still having a lot of room for my main meals. Maybe this would help? Being on a diet doesn't mean we have to rid ourselves of all sweets...just moderation

Agreed. My calorie allotment for the day is 1390. And, today, I allowed myself a nice sweet cinnamon roll! Super sweet and delicious, under 200 calories, and I felt like I got a treat! Definitely don't want to restrict yourself too heavily, because it's really hard to maintain and not binge.

mollyW2012

Get low calorie sweets like protein bars, Arctic zero ice cream, chocolate protein shakes. Fruit is sweet as well.

I LOVE artic zero. You can literally eat the entire tub ( not that you should) and its still minimal calories.

12kat17

Try werthers originals sugar free. They are 40cals per 5 sweets. They keep my sweet tooth under control as l tend to suck on them. Take them to the office with you for when your tempted x

stonerdude

It's called ghrelin! If you don't control it, it will control you!

Mhaney

I go over my sugar every day even after I have completely cut off soda. I am working on it but it is hard. I am a serious chocolate addict, haven't had any today, and STILL have already gone over.

Every day is a learning experience.

If you have to have chocolate, try those "fun sized" ones. Buy a bag of them and put the bag high up somewhere and only take down one or two a day.

alexis831

I would get rid of everything in your house so you are not tempted! I would go buy fat free or low calorie treats. Yogurt is good and popsicles are usually really low like 25-50 calories! I got ice cream sandwiches for only 100 calories at walmart the other day. Get some good healthy snacks too like graham crackers or pretzels. Make sure you are eating 6 meals a day and be ridged when you do so, so you aren't too hungry and want to binge. Do reward yourself however make sure you don’t bindge! You can do this it just takes will power! If you shouldn't eat it don't buy it! It will also help your kids learn this at a younger age too!

outspan87

i have always referred to myself as a junk food junkie.

Well, there's your problem... you need to stop identifying yourself as that person. Humans have an innate urge to behave in a way that is consistent with their own identities. If your identity is of someone eating unhealthy food, it will be excruciatingly hard to change your habits just by trying to resist temptation.

Work on yourself on a deeper level and start telling yourself that you are a person who eats healthy. Repetition is the mother of learning, and soon you'll catch yourself doing things you'd never have done before. And keep in mind that every little thing that you do counts. The problem with unhealthy food is that it gives us long-term reward (for a few seconds), and long-term negative consequences, but we often care more about the short term than the long term.

To keep the long-term in mind, try this: if you feel like eating junk, try to visualize yourself eating that kind of food for the next three months, and imagine you're looking at yourself in the mirror then. What will you look feel like? What about your energy, vitality, and general mood? Try to project that further into the future and do the same thing for 6 months, a year, five years, 20 years.

Then, do the same thing, imagining how your life will be like in 3 months, 6 months, all the way up to 20 years into the future, if you adopt a healthy lifestyle. See the difference?

That technique helps me a lot with making small decisions... they ALL matter, and they compound, with time.

munny_p

I really like Larabars for this. They are decent and some of them are so sweet that I cannot finish a whole bar. They hold my sweet tooth over.

Lidenbrock

As long as you can account for the sweet things in your calorie count don't stop them. I tend to buy a large block of chocolate and limit myself to what I can eat re calories. The more you exercise the easier it is to account for the little treats. Been on site since Jan and lost 42lb and that includes chocolate, cakes and wine :-)

AmyM713

I have this exact problem, I love to bake and I love to eat what I bake and the frosting I cover the yummy things I bake with. Its frustrating, my main goal when I started this site was abs and I feel like I will never accomplish that goal since abs our 80% made in the kitchen and 20% workout. I need to beat the sweets but not sure how.

runlaugheatpie

what do you want more? Junk food/ sweets?
Or would you rather be someone who doesn't just give in because it's there?

I'm not saying it's easy but you really need to think long and hard about what it is that you really want in the long run. You are never going to lose weight and become a healthy and fit person by wishing and hoping and giving in to everything that is available all of the time.

Find something else to do if you are bored. I don't always manage it but I will literally walk away from the situation if I feel like I'm going to give in. At work I sometimes walk up and down the stairs instead of having sweets that are brought in.

Only you can decide. You can find excuses to eat junk or you can just not be that person.

Juanna15

I have always had that same issue with sweets - it was like no matter what I did I couldn't control the urge to eat them. About three weeks ago I started working with a nutritionist and he asked me whether I had sweet and or salty cravings and I answered with a resounding YES!! He suggested that I started taking a teaspoon of liquid omega 3 in the morning and another teaspoon in the afternoon. He explained to me that omega 3's boost seratonin and block the negative effects of cortisol which as a result stops cravings and burns belly fat at the same time. I am happy to say that I have not felt the uncontrollable urge to eat sweets since I started taking the omega 3's. I used to feel a need to have dessert EVERY day - now I treat myself with something sweet once a week and I am satisfied.

TanzaMarie

I have the same problem. But I realized that I am not good at moderation and I can always rationalize it as a special something. Six months ago I realized that the reason I've had so many health issues is because I am dairy intolerant. For me, I have to go extreme and I basically went vegan - for my health, not the animals (but don't worry, while I love it, I certainly don't think it is for everyone). I'm not really sure how far my intolerance goes (if I can eat baked goods/eggs), but I was able to convince myself that I will get sick if I eat that cake or pie, what have you. I will sometimes allow myself a bite or two and then remind myself that any more I could get sick. Maybe I won't get sick, but it helps me. Tremendously. And when I do find vegan/dairy free desserts I allow myself to eat it without guilt since that happens very rarely.

kfitzpa

The less sweets you eat the less you crave them. Cut them out completely. It'll be hard but it worked for me.

lolamwest

I love sweets too!! her are a couple of foods that help with the sweet cravings without feeling guilty:

Plain or vanilla yogurt with fresh cut fruit

a skinny cow ice cram sandwich or low sugar fudge bar

a piece of wheat toast with jam (if you have enough calories left, you can do a teaspoon of nutella instead)

a cup of natural hot cocoa with a tablesppon or two of light cool whip

home made juice pops blend berries and a diet 7 up, fruit juice (you can also make frozen yogurt bars with the blended berries as well)

frozen pineapple slices or rings served over cooled cottage cheese, or yogurt

A baked apple or peach with vanilla yogurt (simple cut apple in half, core apple, bake at 350 for ten mins, sprinkle with cinamon or pumpkin pie spice, and serve with yogurt,or one serving of light ice cream)

Cream cheese bars topped with 100% fruit jam. (basically lowfat cram cheese, organic graham crackers, and 100% fruit jam)You can look up a recipie online, I have one, so if you are desperate, messgae me.

feemer

stop buying sweets, find some entertainment, every time you get an urge to binge eat, go for a walk, or drink some water and leave the room. I struggled with this for years, every day after school i would eat probably 1500 calories of ANYTHING, all of it very fatty or sugary or full of carbs, then eat dinner on top of it. one day i measured my weight and i was 225 lbs and 14 years old... so i targeted that that the time i got home (3:00-6:00) was my main problem. so, although not the smartest choice, i starved myself. that time after school of eating was my way of relaxing while i watched TV or played on the computer. it was a mental addiction. if i tried to eat a small celery stick, it lead to 1000 calories of doritos, cookies, buttered nmoddles, etc. so didn't eat anything when i got home from school. after a while i finally got over the "food addiction" and gradually exercised more and ate healthier. I went from 225 lbs to 155 lbs in about 5 months, im 16 right now, unfortunately i gained back 10 lbs and have relapsed into the after school binge eating, but am fighting it now.

TanzaMarie

Juanna - I haven't heard of this before. Do you just take it plain or do you mix it in stuff? How does it taste? Do you have to get it from specialty health stories or will most well stocked pharmacies have it? And last question - have you noticed any change to bellyfat since you started to take it?

cburnett2698

here are a few recipes for your sweet cravings. . .sugar substitute is stevia, truvia, or liquid vanilla creme stevia (organic aisle of grocery store)-0 calories 0fat in sugar

Make as much as you like and freeze it. . .When u have that craving it's already prepared for you! If you add these ingredients in your calorie calendar, each dessert is less than 100

"Strawberry Sorbet"
You can also add banana or fresh pineapple, but it’s just as good without. The kids love this one, too!
- Strawberries
- Juice of 1 lemon - sugar substitute (as needed)
- water (if needed)
1. Freeze fresh strawberries about 1 hour.
2. Blend fresh frozen strawberries, lemon juice & sugar substitute in blender until very well blended.
3. You can serve immediately or place in freezer to allow it to firm up even further.


"Orange Julius"
- 1 orange - ice
- 5-10 drops vanilla creme liquid stevia (to taste)
- water (as needed)
1. Peel orange and place orange sections in blender.
2. Add about a handful of ice.
3. Blend.
4. Add vanilla creme stevia.
5. Blend to desired consistency. Add water as needed.


"Iced Fruity Green Tea-"
- Boil 1 cup of water
- Soak 5 green tea bags for 3-5 minutes (3 pomegranate-raspberry and 2 mangosteen or mix and match)
- Pour into 2 quart pitcher and fill with water
- Add juice of 2 lemons (about 1/3 to ½ cup)
- Add 4-5 droppers full of stevia (plain or flavored, we like apricot nectar, Valencia orange, and lemon)
Serve Cold**

Strawberry/orange smoothie- FAVORITE"
- 1 cup of frozen or fresh strawberries
- ½ orange or 1/3 cup of real orange juice (not from concentrate)
- ¾ cup of crushed ice
- Stevia flavor of choice (1/2 dropper full or 1 packet)
- (optional) 1 handful of frozen spinach leaves (you won’t even be able to taste these)
*Blend in blender till smooth

"Strawberry shortcake-"
- plain melba toast
- add 1 drop of stevia (vanilla crème flavor)
- top with sliced strawberry
- add another drop of stevia (vanilla crème flavor)

"Candied Apples"
-4 apples - 4 packets of truvia or stevia
- 1 tsp. of cinnamon - 2 cups of water
- 1 tsp of vanilla
Place 4 apples in a baking dish. Pour the water over top. Sprinkle sweetener and cinnamon over apples. Bake at 350 degrees for an hour. Take out of oven and add vanilla to the liquid and stir. Take apples out and pour sweetened water mixture over apple and enjoy!

"Hot Apple Cider"
4 apples
5 C water
4 packets Stevia
1 tsp cinnamon
(opt) can add cloves or pumpkin spices too
Place 4 sliced apples in a sauce pan and cover with water. Put sweetener, cinnamon, vanilla and any other spices you like. Simmer over mediumheat for 30-40 minutes, or until apples are soft. Remove apples and divide into 4 baggies to use as a fruit snack. Serve the cider in small mug. Store remaining cider in fridge and drink up to 1 cup a day.

k8blujay2

I have this same struggle... so what I do and it seems to work for me... when I'm out and want a dessert, I only get one if they come in those shot glass sizes... If I want candy, I get three small sizes... I devour the first one without thinking about it, then the next two I savor and eat very slowly... that way my brain registers what I am treating myself to.... this helps me from going back for more or eating more than I should but still getting a treat.

crudd123

Try a Tootsie pop! It takes awhile to eat it!

Juanna15

I just take it plain - because it is only a teaspoon and I rather just down it and get it over with but you could mix it in yogurt or put it on top of a salad if you cant tolerate the taste. It really just tastes like a teaspoon of oil - the kind that I have is called lemon flavor but still just tastes like oil. I get mine from a health store but most well stocked pharmacies should have it. All it is is the liquid form of the fish oil tablets that they sell everywhere. The nutritionist advised against the tablets though because he said that the liquid form is more concentrated. I have definitely noticed a change in my belly fat. I had been working out like crazy and coming down everywhere BUT my belly and now I can see it starting to flattening out and I am even starting to see some of the muscle that was hiding under all the fat before!

BleuTree

thank you everybody for your ideas and accountability! i've got some butt to kick

HoneyRiot

I have a struggle with sugar too. There is a lot of good advice in this thread...thanks for contributing!

glamsam8

How I deal with sweets is a bit strange, I bake. I know you'd think "Oh, if you bake, then you must eat them more." This isn't true at all for me. I know exactly what I put in my sweets, and how long it took me to make them, it makes me think before having some of them. I put more effort into making them, so it wasn't nearly as easy as going to the store and picking some up, so they're more of a special occasion thing for me.