TicTacs are they good or bad?

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crmason88
crmason88 Posts: 40
in Food and Nutrition
I stopped smoking about a month ago and have been eating tictacs in place of smokes. I go through an average of 2 boxes a day. I've googled tic tacs to see if they are bad or not but everyone says something different.

What are your thoughts?
Fattening?
Too insignificant to worry about?
Better option?

I just wanna see what everyone here on MFP thinks. Thanks!

Replies

  • Effpcos
    Effpcos Posts: 350 Member
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    Probably bad! But better than cigarettes!
  • obsidianwings
    obsidianwings Posts: 1,237 Member
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    Neither. They definitely have no goodness in them, but like anything else is fine in moderation. I would think 2 packs a day would be to much, if you can fit it in your macros thats great I suppose, but i'm imagining you are probably going quite over on sugar?
  • jkinney08
    jkinney08 Posts: 2
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    I found that there is only 2 calories in a Tic Tac and only .5 grams of sugar, which says to me, not bad. I don't know how many pieces there are in a box of Tic Tacs. It seems that the grams of sugar could really add up fast. My only concern is that sugar does convert to fat. How long ago did you quit smoking? If having Tic Tacs keep you from smoking, I say "good". But, if you continue to eat two boxes daily, I might get concerned about that. Do you drink water? Do you exercise daily? I would want to understand how smoking helped you...did you do it to relieve stress? At the end of the day, you have much to be proud of that you did quit! I congratulate you and encourage you to keep up the good work!
  • crmason88
    crmason88 Posts: 40
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    I found that there is only 2 calories in a Tic Tac and only .5 grams of sugar, which says to me, not bad. I don't know how many pieces there are in a box of Tic Tacs. It seems that the grams of sugar could really add up fast. My only concern is that sugar does convert to fat. How long ago did you quit smoking? If having Tic Tacs keep you from smoking, I say "good". But, if you continue to eat two boxes daily, I might get concerned about that. Do you drink water? Do you exercise daily? I would want to understand how smoking helped you...did you do it to relieve stress? At the end of the day, you have much to be proud of that you did quit! I congratulate you and encourage you to keep up the good work!

    There are about 60 pieces in a box, so you're right, the sugar does add up.
    I quit smoking on August 6th.
    I drink vitamin water and pepsi. I'm working on cutting down the pepsi, but plain water upsets my stomach. I know vitamin water isn't as good but, baby steps.
    I exercise 5-6 times a week.
    I enjoyed a smoke after eating to get rid of the food taste, and when I was bored or stressed. I find I'm eating tic tacs right after eating, and when I'm bored. When I first quit I was taking down about 2-3 boxes of tic tacs a day, but now that I think about it, in the last 2 weeks I've only been eating about 1- 1 1/2 a day. I'm going to pay more attention to how many I'm eating and try to cut down.

    If you have any advice I would love to hear it and thanks.
  • crmason88
    crmason88 Posts: 40
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    Neither. They definitely have no goodness in them, but like anything else is fine in moderation. I would think 2 packs a day would be to much, if you can fit it in your macros thats great I suppose, but i'm imagining you are probably going quite over on sugar?

    I never really thought about it, it IS a LOT of sugar.
  • crmason88
    crmason88 Posts: 40
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    Probably bad! But better than cigarettes!

    lol and cheaper! but I need to cut down. Thanks
  • Mindmovesbody
    Mindmovesbody Posts: 399 Member
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    I can weigh in rather heavily here! I was pregnant all last year with a baby girl and ended up developing gestational diabetes ( meaning I had to check my sugars 5 times a day) and then experienced something called PICA. PICA is when women crave non food items like dirt, clay, ice. This is said to be because of an iron deficiency. I craved mint and after brushing my teeth 10 times a day, chewing sugar free gum and ice, I came across Wintergreen tic tacs. Holy crap....LOOK OUT! I bought the large packs (4 boxes per pack, so 240 tic tacs and ate 2 or 3 of these A DAY. Sometimes MORE! My doc was amazed. It did not disturb my sugars at all. I was neurotic about my sugars being within the normal range because I had to see a specialist every week or a non stress test and they looked at all my reads on my blood glucose monitor. I thought it would go away after I delivered. No suck luck. I delivered last Sept, joined MFP in Feb and didn't kick tic tacs until April/ May! I don't think they are all that bad if the cause is quitting smoking. I used tootsie pops when I quit. They lasted longer than tic tacs and by the time I was done with the sucker I forgot all about the smoke I wanted. After about 2-4 weeks it gets A LOT easier! Good luck!
  • SweetPea120
    SweetPea120 Posts: 16 Member
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    Can you try chewing sugar free gum instead? It will keep your mouth busy, and you won't be obsessively popping tic tacs. I would definitely be concerned about the amount of sugar. BTW....congrats on kicking the smoking! :smokin:
  • kenjancef
    kenjancef Posts: 63 Member
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    Congrats on quitting smoking! I second the sugar free gum. All that sugar will catch up with you sooner or later. My one vice I am trying to kick is Diet Pepsi. My mind keeps saying that it's not so bad because it's diet, but I know it's not much better than regular soda.
  • crmason88
    crmason88 Posts: 40
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    I can weigh in rather heavily here! I was pregnant all last year with a baby girl and ended up developing gestational diabetes ( meaning I had to check my sugars 5 times a day) and then experienced something called PICA. PICA is when women crave non food items like dirt, clay, ice. This is said to be because of an iron deficiency. I craved mint and after brushing my teeth 10 times a day, chewing sugar free gum and ice, I came across Wintergreen tic tacs. Holy crap....LOOK OUT! I bought the large packs (4 boxes per pack, so 240 tic tacs and ate 2 or 3 of these A DAY. Sometimes MORE! My doc was amazed. It did not disturb my sugars at all. I was neurotic about my sugars being within the normal range because I had to see a specialist every week or a non stress test and they looked at all my reads on my blood glucose monitor. I thought it would go away after I delivered. No suck luck. I delivered last Sept, joined MFP in Feb and didn't kick tic tacs until April/ May! I don't think they are all that bad if the cause is quitting smoking. I used tootsie pops when I quit. They lasted longer than tic tacs and by the time I was done with the sucker I forgot all about the smoke I wanted. After about 2-4 weeks it gets A LOT easier! Good luck!

    Now that is interesting. I think I'm going to ask my doctor about tic tacs. (I'm seeing her on the 4th) Thanks for telling me your story!
  • crmason88
    crmason88 Posts: 40
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    Can you try chewing sugar free gum instead? It will keep your mouth busy, and you won't be obsessively popping tic tacs. I would definitely be concerned about the amount of sugar. BTW....congrats on kicking the smoking! :smokin:

    I have a hard time with gum, mainly because they lose flavor so quickly that I'm getting a new piece literally every few minutes. I don't know why I do this, I remember as a kid chewing the same piece of gum for days.

    I hate minty flavors too, so I'd have to find a gum that isn't minty. Not hard, just wanted to throw that out there.
  • trulycrazed
    trulycrazed Posts: 79 Member
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    If you are eating the tic tacs to get the taste of your last meal out of your mouth (as you did with the cigs)... have you tried brushing your teeth more? Not fattening or harmful, you can get lots of yummy flavours AND keeps your smile pretty :-D
  • subcult
    subcult Posts: 262 Member
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    Don't worry about it for a few more weeks then slowly cut back or you might risk smoking again. I just crunched the numbers and smoking is a kabillion times worse.
  • Wendysworld13
    Wendysworld13 Posts: 225 Member
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    If you can handle it, try cinnamon altoids. The minis are good, but I actually use the big pieces. Not only do they help with cravings, but because they are seriously strong they keep me from putting other crap in my mouth. and the flavor stays so I eat maybe half a dozen a day - only when a craving hits! Congrats on quitting smoking. One battle at a time!
  • crmason88
    crmason88 Posts: 40
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    If you can handle it, try cinnamon altoids. The minis are good, but I actually use the big pieces. Not only do they help with cravings, but because they are seriously strong they keep me from putting other crap in my mouth. and the flavor stays so I eat maybe half a dozen a day - only when a craving hits! Congrats on quitting smoking. One battle at a time!


    EEEEEEEEEEEEEeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeewwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww!!! Cinnamon! lol no no can't do it. I'll look into altoids though, thanks
  • crmason88
    crmason88 Posts: 40
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    If you are eating the tic tacs to get the taste of your last meal out of your mouth (as you did with the cigs)... have you tried brushing your teeth more? Not fattening or harmful, you can get lots of yummy flavours AND keeps your smile pretty :-D

    I just thought of that tonight. I know I hate eating after brushing my teeth because then it feels "dirty" again, and it gets the taste out of my mouth. Could work!

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