How do you conquer sugar cravings?
KathleenSweetie
Posts: 136 Member
Admittedly, I'm a sugar addict. And, the more the day progresses, the more I have to stop myself from grabbing a cookie or eating 3 oranges at once. Sometimes, a soothing cup of peppermint tea or eating almonds between meals will help fend off my craving. What tricks do you use to conquer your sugar cravings?
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I reach for sugar free candy or gum. I have found that the longer I go without sugar (candy, cookies, etc) the easier it has become to fend off the cravings.0
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Plan ahead and put into your daily plan 'treats' that are acceptable. Plan for a banana, one cookie or whatever else it is you would reach out for but in smaller portions. Plan on eating that as a snack at different times of the day. Knowing I will have a cookie after dinner keeps me from reaching out for one before dinner.
After a few weeks you will not crave sugar anymore.0 -
I've found that cutting back on a lot of carbs has helped me the most so far-
I am a total sugar addict, a couple times I've tried to quit cold turkey and it was as hard as quitting smoking was, but just recently I switched to a lower carb diet plan and low and behold, the cravings have gotten substantially less.0 -
OMG I've got a sweet tooth as well and sometimes I feel so desperate for a piece of chocolate. So what I do from now on is reward myself once a week and whenever I was something sweet, I grab a bunch of grapes or some sweet clementine.0
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I'm the opposite. I'd help if I could, but my cravings are for salty, savory meals. Never been a huge fan of sugars, but the biggest of carbs. Thats where I always overlaod.0
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I have a huge sweet tooth myself! I am in week two of my mission and I am so proud of myself for not eating junk food... especially since i cannot pass up a cookie or brownie. I have a hard time stopping... once I have a bite of sweetness, I just can't stop... so I haven't allowed myself to have any because I know I would want more. I had a huge craving yesterday... so I planned to workout longer so I can have my Fiber One 90 calorie cookie... except I didn't crave it after my workout!! I was kind of bummed because I really wanted it, but since I wasn't craving it anymore I didn't feel that it made sense to eat it.
So for me,... i just try to avoid it if i can. But... I know that there are times that I really want it, so I bought the Fiber One 90 calorie cookies, and 100 calorie ice cream bars.. that way I can still have it if i want it without going overboard.0 -
Plan ahead and put into your daily plan 'treats' that are acceptable. Plan for a banana, one cookie or whatever else it is you would reach out for but in smaller portions. Plan on eating that as a snack at different times of the day. Knowing I will have a cookie after dinner keeps me from reaching out for one before dinner.
After a few weeks you will not crave sugar anymore.
I like to save something a little sugary for after dinner too. But I'm finding a lot of my food choices have hidden sugars in them that I didn't expect. For example, I switched from Activia (60 calories) to Dannon Light & Fit (50 calories) and found the latter has more sugar than the first! I switched because I like to have two yogurts in the morning. But this change takes up a good part of my daily allowance. Also, fake sugars tend to leave me craving more sweet things... I like the idea of upping my protein and more frequent eating/snacking. Thanks for the tips!0 -
I have a huge sweet tooth myself! I am in week two of my mission and I am so proud of myself for not eating junk food... especially since i cannot pass up a cookie or brownie. I have a hard time stopping... once I have a bite of sweetness, I just can't stop... so I haven't allowed myself to have any because I know I would want more. I had a huge craving yesterday... so I planned to workout longer so I can have my Fiber One 90 calorie cookie... except I didn't crave it after my workout!! I was kind of bummed because I really wanted it, but since I wasn't craving it anymore I didn't feel that it made sense to eat it.
So for me,... i just try to avoid it if i can. But... I know that there are times that I really want it, so I bought the Fiber One 90 calorie cookies, and 100 calorie ice cream bars.. that way I can still have it if i want it without going overboard.
Way to go! It appears that the cravings lessen as time goes on. I love Skinny Cow Snickerdoodle sandwiches as a special treat. I'm also trying new flavors (seasonings).0 -
OMG I've got a sweet tooth as well and sometimes I feel so desperate for a piece of chocolate. So what I do from now on is reward myself once a week and whenever I was something sweet, I grab a bunch of grapes or some sweet clementine.
I love dark chocolate! And the higher the cacoa %, the more the health benefits...in limited amounts, that is. (http://www.womenshealthmag.com/health/benefits-of-chocolate)0 -
Trader Joe's House Whip (whipped cream) with a bunch of raspberries, strawberries and black berries thrown in usually takes care of it for me! So good!0
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Fiber One 90 calorie Brownies. Although they seems small, I think they are very satisfying. Especially with a cup or half a cup of skim milk.
If I'm craving something, I'd rather indulge (within reason) otherwise I'll obsess on it and eventually binge. Better to have one little something, for me anyway.
Btw, I've been putting my snacks in ramekins at home. I'll measure out whatever I'm going to have (ie 13 tortilla chips with salsa) and they fill up a ramekin. Looking at a little snack in a half empty bowl or plate is depressing, but in a smaller bowl it looks substantial! Games we play with our food ...0 -
Jello Sugar Free Pudding - one snack cup is satisfying, I savor every bite.0
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i either drink a lot of water, or drink straight tea or coffee. That way, I'll just fill up. I guess another way to avoid the craving is to just do a few jumping jacks. The adrenaline should stave off the sugar cravings. Going cold turkey for a month or two should really just take you off of sugary things. Just enduring that much will make you sick about wanting to eat candy or drink soda. Once you can taste the sweetness of water, then you're probably okay.
But if it's just too much of a challenge to go cold turkey, I think it's best if you allow yourself some leeway of about 100 calories or so of sweet stuff. I'm personally suspicious of that sugar-free or sweetener stuff. Apparently they are addictive and detrimental to dieting causes in the long run. Fruits and/or honey is apparently pretty good. Also, brown sugar is better than white sugar.
Personally, I would take real sugar over sweetener any day, but that is my personal belief so I wouldn't impose it on anyone else.
I wish you luck!0 -
Haribo mini packs and chocolate mini bars!0
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i either drink a lot of water, or drink straight tea or coffee. That way, I'll just fill up. I guess another way to avoid the craving is to just do a few jumping jacks. The adrenaline should stave off the sugar cravings. Going cold turkey for a month or two should really just take you off of sugary things. Just enduring that much will make you sick about wanting to eat candy or drink soda. Once you can taste the sweetness of water, then you're probably okay.
But if it's just too much of a challenge to go cold turkey, I think it's best if you allow yourself some leeway of about 100 calories or so of sweet stuff. I'm personally suspicious of that sugar-free or sweetener stuff. Apparently they are addictive and detrimental to dieting causes in the long run. Fruits and/or honey is apparently pretty good. Also, brown sugar is better than white sugar.
Personally, I would take real sugar over sweetener any day, but that is my personal belief so I wouldn't impose it on anyone else.
I wish you luck!
Thanks everyone for the great tips! I feel I now have a lot of options to handle my sugar cravings and ways to incorporate sugar purposely into my diet. :flowerforyou:0 -
As an avid chocolate fan...curbing my sweet tooth has been the most challenging. My solution? Strawberries and Skippy creamy peanut butter. A medium sized strawberry is approximately 5 kcal (calorie) which means you can eat 10 of them and only rack up 50 calories. However, there's also 1 g of sugar per strawberry. So, that means 10 strawberries = 10 g of sugar which isn't that bad. They're a great source of folate, fiber, and Vitamin C too. To really curb your sweet tooth it would be recommended to also add 1 Tbsp of peanut butter! Remember that each tablespoon of peanut butter is equivalent to 1 oz of protein. Most people should consume between 5-7 ounces of protein a day.0
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I will try that! I bought grapes and will try that too - but a 1/2 cup of grapes take up half my daily sugar allowance (15). So I'll just pop one grape at a time to fend the craving.As an avid chocolate fan...curbing my sweet tooth has been the most challenging. My solution? Strawberries and Skippy creamy peanut butter. A medium sized strawberry is approximately 5 kcal (calorie) which means you can eat 10 of them and only rack up 50 calories. However, there's also 1 g of sugar per strawberry. So, that means 10 strawberries = 10 g of sugar which isn't that bad. They're a great source of folate, fiber, and Vitamin C too. To really curb your sweet tooth it would be recommended to also add 1 Tbsp of peanut butter! Remember that each tablespoon of peanut butter is equivalent to 1 oz of protein. Most people should consume between 5-7 ounces of protein a day.0
