Breaking the sweet tooth

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Jennicillin
Jennicillin Posts: 11
in Health and Weight Loss
When I was pregnant with my daughter I developed one hell of a sweet tooth. Now she's four months old and I can't seem to break the habit! I practically can't sleep if I don't have something sweet in the evening. I never used to be this way and now I don't know how to break the habit!

I'm a believer in moderation, and I know it's ok to have something sweet every once in a while, but this every night thing really isn't moderation and should probably stop regardless of where I'm at in my calorie count. I should be getting healthy calories more often than empty ones.

How do you effectively kick your perpetual sweet tooth?!

Replies

  • Misha6
    Misha6 Posts: 17 Member
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    Maybe try to switch to a healthier sweet option? Instead of straight up empty calories you could eat a fruit with a little bit of cool whip as a treat. That way you get the sweet but also vitamins and nutrition. Just a thought.
  • Bommy_7
    Bommy_7 Posts: 24 Member
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    Hey I have a daughter that same age :-) Anyways I know this will sound crazy, but one thing that I have tried and it helps is natural Sea Salt. I got the Celtic Sea salt and you take a tea spoon of salt and mix with a little water and drink it down. I normally just add a generous amount of salt to my food during the day. Sea salt is so much better than regular table salt because one of its benefits is to balance your blood sugars. This is just something I've tried and it seems to help me. Hope that helps :-)
  • Princess4Run
    Princess4Run Posts: 135 Member
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    Are you eating enough of wholesome foods throughout your day? Meeting your calorie goals? Are you breastfeeding? If so, your calorie goals are way higher. Number one reason I crave sweets at the end of the day is because my calories are low and my body/metabolism is starving for a quick fix, which is sweets. Second, if I eat too many processed foods earlier in the day I tend to also have more cravings. Sugar and carbs are like an addiction for some people, the more you eat it, the more you crave it. I'm one of those people and moderation is hard for me. I'm also trying to beat my sweet tooth, I'm including more protein and healthy fat in my diet and trying to cut down on sugar/carbs. So, far it's working. I've also had success with drinking lots of water with fresh squeezed lemon whenever a sweet craving hits. Good luck :)
  • kiekie
    kiekie Posts: 289 Member
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    It's both a psychological and physical addiction, so a tough nut to crack, but remember that every time you make a different choice (yes, you DO have the power!) you will be on your way to breaking the habit.

    I have struggled for simply ages to break mine and it only got stronger and made me feel less in control with every failure. In the end I decided to go cold turkey and give up all bad sugary food, chocolate, cake, biscuits etc. for Lent this year. I was just so sick of feeling out of control.

    At first I reached for fruit, water or tea every time I got a craving. It was hard because my mind was so obsessed with it, I was thinking of chocolate every other minute of the day! But I just re-programmed that "ok, just a little bit" with "NO!" and I got stronger every day. After a week and a half I felt confident enough to let others know I was doing it, just in case I got weak, so that there was a bit more incentive to see it through.

    A warning though - I got horrible fatigue, migraine and bad skin in the first week but I'm now 23 days in and finally feel rid of the addiction. And I feel so much more satisfied with healthy food too!

    Cold turkey was the only thing that worked for me, but I've heard of people using sweeteners, gum, flavoured water, starting by reducing the treats to every other day then third day etc.

    I don't intend to deprive myself forever so my next challenge is re-introducing a little bit without falling into a full-blown addiction again.

    Good luck, it's definitely worth it!
  • Confuzzled4ever
    Confuzzled4ever Posts: 2,860 Member
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    Fresh pineapple..

    healthy and it's sweeter then any candy i've ever had!
  • sophieshaped
    sophieshaped Posts: 228 Member
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    As above – fresh fruit. Or maybe some yogurt, a chocolate rice cake, that sort of thing. I wouldn't fight it, just make sure you have healthy choices.

    I found that I got so used to less sugary sweet treats that now I find really sugary things harder to stomach – I still love sweet things but my tastes have changed and the result is a healthier treat, most of the time!
  • Jennicillin
    Jennicillin Posts: 11
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    Thanks for all the suggestions and support!

    I am nursing and I upped my calorie goal manually in the MFP settings by 300calories. If after a week I notice my weight loss is too rapid or the hunger just isn't diminishing I'll bump it up to the 500calorie mark. Everything I've read says 300-500 so I'm just using that as my bench mark.

    Carbs and Sugar are a vicious cycle for me because my PCOS means the more I eat the more I crave. Vicious!

    Definitely going to start keeping more fruit in the house come spring, right now it's so expensive I feel limited. And I can't bring myself to eat the canned stuff. Just. Can't. Do it.
  • Francl27
    Francl27 Posts: 26,371 Member
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    Maybe a high fiber/lower sugar granola bar?
  • Princess4Run
    Princess4Run Posts: 135 Member
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    Definitely going to start keeping more fruit in the house come spring, right now it's so expensive I feel limited. And I can't bring myself to eat the canned stuff. Just. Can't. Do it.

    No to canned fruit. Try frozen fruit medleys. I know Target has good frozen fruit as does Trader Joe's, if you have one around you. They are great in the winter, you defrost as much as you like and there is no waste. The fruit is picked at the peak of ripeness so it's pretty good. You can sprinkle it with some stevia or honey, add a dollop of vanilla or plain yogurt, dust of cinnamon. YUM! Or throw it all in a blender with some almond or regular milk and make a filling smoothie.
  • LindsayLL30
    LindsayLL30 Posts: 154 Member
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    Get rid of tempations, and have yummy, but healthy snacks easily available, like fruit on the counter, or I LOVE individual greek yogurts!
  • dixiewhiskey
    dixiewhiskey Posts: 3,333 Member
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    It's easy - cut out the garbage. Instead of granola bars, sugary treats, opt for fruit, greek yogurt. Try a protein smoothie. Use stevia to sweeten things instead of white/brown sugar.

    I can happily say my body doesn't crave sugar anymore because I don't give it any more than 10g a day.
  • buddsct
    buddsct Posts: 11
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    Freeze ripe bananas, have half when you feel like you need a little pick me up... it feels like you are eating ice cream!!
  • srpm
    srpm Posts: 275 Member
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    Almonds help me since they are slightly sweet, if I need a chocolate fix I go for cocoa roasted ones. One of my coworkers was raised to have dessert after every meal and can't kick the habit so she has 1 Hershey kiss or equivalent amount (yes, 1 kiss, not 1 serving) of something sweet every day after lunch and has had a lot of success that way.
    I've also found that fruit works wonders in any variety-fresh, frozen, canned (in juice), or dried as does a cup of juice. I would imagine that sugar-free jello or pudding would also work?
  • christocentrist
    christocentrist Posts: 38
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    "Healthy replacements" just don't work for me at all. The cravings and habits just don't stop.

    The method I use to battle is by simply not buying sweets at the grocery store. I will lie to myself up and down the aisles saying that I will limit my intake, but in the end I try to make the decision to put the iced cookies BACK. Now, if other people have sweets and they offer, I have not learned to turn that down. Or if there are cookies, etc. at a potluck. But as long as I don't enable myself, I'm happy with that for now.

    The only other thing I will add is that when I started drinking 8+ glasses of water the cravings have really diminished (AUGH but again if the food is in the room, I can't help but think about it)!! And after a really intense workout I have no desire to eat anything except quality proteins/carbohydrates.
  • castorph
    castorph Posts: 3 Member
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    Until I started counting calories, I used to eat chocolate with an after-dinner coffee every day and maybe follow that up with some sweets and a cup of tea later in the evening, so I know what you are going through.

    Like many people suggested, fresh fruit or low-fat yoghurt is a good alternative. Another low-cal dessert you might want to try is sorbet instead of ice cream. But nothing seems to replace the craving for chocolate... or your favourite Haribo...

    To get my hit, I tried various low-cal hot chocolate drinks, and it was a pleasant surprise to discover there were loads of delicious flavours that actually tasted better than the chocolate bar and lasted longer! I particularly recommend "Wicked White" from Options, which is not as powdery as the Cadbury's Highlights (maybe they only exist in the UK anyway).

    During the day, I drink lots of water and maybe some cream soda if I feel I want something sweet.

    After switching to hot chocolate, I lost the craving after about four weeks. They do say things become a habit after 20 days or so!

    Good luck!
  • SherryRueter
    SherryRueter Posts: 2,949 Member
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    Until I started counting calories, I used to eat chocolate with an after-dinner coffee every day and maybe follow that up with some sweets and a cup of tea later in the evening, so I know what you are going through.

    Like many people suggested, fresh fruit or low-fat yoghurt is a good alternative. Another low-cal dessert you might want to try is sorbet instead of ice cream. But nothing seems to replace the craving for chocolate... or your favourite Haribo...

    To get my hit, I tried various low-cal hot chocolate drinks, and it was a pleasant surprise to discover there were loads of delicious flavours that actually tasted better than the chocolate bar and lasted longer! I particularly recommend "Wicked White" from Options, which is not as powdery as the Cadbury's Highlights (maybe they only exist in the UK anyway).

    During the day, I drink lots of water and maybe some cream soda if I feel I want something sweet.

    After switching to hot chocolate, I lost the craving after about four weeks. They do say things become a habit after 20 days or so!

    Good luck!

    I LOVE this idea! I may give it a whirl from Now until Easter!
  • MrsMeisner
    MrsMeisner Posts: 40 Member
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    I've had the exact same problem! I have noticed that when I eat refined sugars an artificial sweeteners I crave all sweets more so I have been trying to limit my intake of those which I think really helps. The other thing I've done is opt for dark chocolate as a post-dinner snack. I'm talking 90% Cacao, which is bitter enough that I don't want more than one piece but sweet and chocolately enough that it satisfies my craving. I know I have something to look forward at the end of the day and I think that helps more than trying to deprive myself of it every day. Good luck!

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