Controlling my sweet tooth - I think I've got it!
angiechimpanzee
Posts: 536 Member
My biggest struggle while losing/maintaining weight my whole life has ALWAYS been with sweets. When I was younger I used to frequently sit down with whole boxes of vanilla cream cookies and down the entire thing (dunked in milk of course) in one sitting.
And I still struggle with it now. Every time I fall off the wagon or gain weight, it's never because I stopped doing my 5x a week cardio workouts, or that I had some pizza instead of my usually healthy dinner. It's ALWAYS because I got a hold of some sweets, and went crazy. It's like once I eat a certain amount, whether it be cookies, cake, whatever, that's all I want/can think of and that effect lasts for days. The more I eat the more I want.
I realized that if I want to lose weight and keep it off, I have to find some way to control my sweet intake for the rest of my life! It can't just be black and white, like "When I'm losing weight I don't eat sugary treats. When I'm maintaining I do." I had to find a middle ground level rule that I can practice every single day whether I'm trying to lose weight or not.
My issue with "moderation" was always that I never had a clear image of what my limit actually was. For this reason, it was always so easy for me to convince myself that 15 oreos was "moderate", especially when I was in the moment. So I figured, why not just create that limit for myself in a form I'm already used to - calories? If I allot a certain threshold of calories worth of sweets I can eat every day, it'll give me the freedom of still enjoying my sweets in healthy amounts, while forcing me to be aware of exactly how many calories of it I'm having. It'll keep me within a reasonable limit so that I can never get to the point where I feel like I've binged. And it's a rule that I can put into practice on any given day, not just "diet days", so even if I'm ever just maintaining, I won't have to worry about losing control.
This might be no big deal to you guys lol, but for me it's like a lightbulb just went off in my head. I feel like if I practice this for long enough it could potentially become automatic. "Oh I already had that small packet of M & M's this morning, no more sweets for today". And it won't feel like deprivation, instead I'll feel in control because I'm finally learning to eat sweets sensibly. I hope I can stick with it.
And I still struggle with it now. Every time I fall off the wagon or gain weight, it's never because I stopped doing my 5x a week cardio workouts, or that I had some pizza instead of my usually healthy dinner. It's ALWAYS because I got a hold of some sweets, and went crazy. It's like once I eat a certain amount, whether it be cookies, cake, whatever, that's all I want/can think of and that effect lasts for days. The more I eat the more I want.
I realized that if I want to lose weight and keep it off, I have to find some way to control my sweet intake for the rest of my life! It can't just be black and white, like "When I'm losing weight I don't eat sugary treats. When I'm maintaining I do." I had to find a middle ground level rule that I can practice every single day whether I'm trying to lose weight or not.
My issue with "moderation" was always that I never had a clear image of what my limit actually was. For this reason, it was always so easy for me to convince myself that 15 oreos was "moderate", especially when I was in the moment. So I figured, why not just create that limit for myself in a form I'm already used to - calories? If I allot a certain threshold of calories worth of sweets I can eat every day, it'll give me the freedom of still enjoying my sweets in healthy amounts, while forcing me to be aware of exactly how many calories of it I'm having. It'll keep me within a reasonable limit so that I can never get to the point where I feel like I've binged. And it's a rule that I can put into practice on any given day, not just "diet days", so even if I'm ever just maintaining, I won't have to worry about losing control.
This might be no big deal to you guys lol, but for me it's like a lightbulb just went off in my head. I feel like if I practice this for long enough it could potentially become automatic. "Oh I already had that small packet of M & M's this morning, no more sweets for today". And it won't feel like deprivation, instead I'll feel in control because I'm finally learning to eat sweets sensibly. I hope I can stick with it.
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Replies
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It sounds like you have a very sensible plan. Good for you for figuring it all out!0
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Works for me. I have a couple of Hershey's Kisses or Hershey's Bliss Milk Chocolates every day. Keeps me from eating every sweet and/or salty crunchy thing in sight, while trying to fix a craving. I just allow it, and track it. It really does work for me.
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I think I'll try this. I usually do well without sweets for a week or two, and actually this past stretch was for at least a month..but yesterday I couldn't help it. I went out & bought cookies & Ice cream, and ate them both in one setting. :blushing: So maybe I as should also buy a package of m&ms & eat around it. The one problem I might have is to not keep it in the house. If I know its there then it might be a bad idea =/ but thanks for sharing. I know the struggle with sweets is not easy!
What kills me even more is the fact that my bf really does not/cannot uh understand. If he couldn't eat sweets for the rest of his life he'd be fine... So I look Luke some sort of addict :-P :noway:0 -
I struggle with the exact same thing!!! I really think this is a solution. I usually do eat in moderation, but whenever i fall off the wagon i go back to binging. So I am definitly goin to do this!!0
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This is my BIGGEST struggle! Everything else is fine.. it's just the sweets that kill me! I'm also trying to do the same as you! Only allow a certain amount of calories to sweets/or only one sweet treat a day. Definitely couldn't go without it everyday. I've already had a fun size butterfinger today lol, hopefully that's the only sweet today :P0
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Lol guys never understand! & I'm also a little bit anxious about keeping true to this practice even when there are sweets in the house. I'm hoping that once I get used to it though and really good at keeping things within limit, that won't be an issue.I think I'll try this. I usually do well without sweets for a week or two, and actually this past stretch was for at least a month..but yesterday I couldn't help it. I went out & bought cookies & Ice cream, and ate them both in one setting. :blushing: So maybe I as should also buy a package of m&ms & eat around it. The one problem I might have is to not keep it in the house. If I know its there then it might be a bad idea =/ but thanks for sharing. I know the struggle with sweets is not easy!
What kills me even more is the fact that my bf really does not/cannot uh understand. If he couldn't eat sweets for the rest of his life he'd be fine... So I look Luke some sort of addict :-P :noway:
Exactly, it's almost like we forget that one day we won't be "dieting" anymore, but we'll still have to maintain certain healthy habits in order to keep the weight off. Keeping our sweet intake at a certain level is definitely one of those habits. I want to get to the point that even if I fall off - start getting too lazy to work out, start eating fast food again - at LEAST I won't have to put myself through full out binge fests on cookies & such cos in my mind I've already ingrained that "sweets limit" into my brain.I struggle with the exact same thing!!! I really think this is a solution. I usually do eat in moderation, but whenever i fall off the wagon i go back to binging. So I am definitly goin to do this!!0 -
My weaknesses: sweets and pasta. I am with you that I can go crazy when I have them! I think you have a good plan to allocate a certain number of sweets in your daily calories. One thing that works for me is eating healthy sweets with the bad. For instance, I had a cheesecake that I made for a dinner I was invited to..I still had a half of cake left after dinner, which was a recipe for disaster! So, while I had the cake I knew I wanted a sliver of it each day. But I would also have something very low cal and sweet with it so that I felt like I got my fill. I paired it with raw blueberries and blackberries- which not only tasted delicious, but helped me feel "satisfied." And it helped me stay on track with my cals.
Good luck to you!0 -
Healthy eating guidelines are no more than 10% of daily calories as sugary/ fatty/ processed/ refined junk so you are spot on with setting a calorie limit. Hope it works for you.0
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