What do you do if you are a sugar craver?

I haven't read all of the responses so may be repeating but! I too have a crazy sweet tooth.

I stopped drinking pop - except occasionally as a treat - but never at home. This alone caused a bunch of weight to just fall off.

I rarely have any sweets in the house because I will devour them in the evening. If I'm desperate for sweetness I'll have yogurt or fruit at home.

I can't go cold turkey so I do allow myself treats most days, but I factor them into my calories. Sometimes in the afternoon at work I will go to the cafeteria and get a cookie, or have a couple of dark chocolate squares. If someone at work has a birthday and someone brings in cake (or more recently, cheesecake, yummm) I will have a small slice. I know I won't stick with it if I feel deprived especially when everyone else is partaking. But again, I try to keep within my calories.

I used to eat gummy candies all the time, but I've pretty much cut those out except occasionally as a treat a few times a year - like if I go on a road trip or something. It is way too easy to eat the whole bag, and they really have no nutritional value and are pretty much just sugar and chemicals. They still call to me from the aisles at the store but it gets easier and easier to walk on by as time goes on.

I also found eating dinner later helped control my dessert urge.

I hope some of this helps!

Eat sugar in moderation.

A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
IDEA Fitness member
Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition

My trouble has always been my sweet tooth. I love healthy food--whole grains, veggies, fruit, lean meat, milk, etc., and I am not as tempted by salty or fried foods or even fast food, but I do LOVE sweets--chocolate, gummy candy, hard candy, etc. I really feel this is a molecular issue for some people of foods you can be addicted to.

When i was growing up, my mom did not allow sugary cereal, desserts, or anything else, but when I was little, I found her to be a closet sugar eater, and I became one as well.

I've found a few things that help--eating well and not feeling hungry, planning ahead, eating dark chocolate dusted almonds, eating fruit or yogurt after a meal, etc. But I still crave sweets.

Any ideas?

just one that comes to mind...is there a history of Diabetes in your family or do you have any other markers?
If so, I would have my blood sugar checked.

if this is not your issue, it's a matter of replacing old habits with new ones...it takes time and baby steps help to make it easier.

ETA: people who eat low carb diets also report a decrease in sugar cravings, that may help too

I would agree with msf74 - I had to go cold turkey for a few weeks in order to break my addiction to sugar.

Now, I will splurge with a piece of (really) dark chocolate every once in awhile. I also keep 15 calorie sugar-free popsicles in my freezer and I'll have one/day. The fake sugar is terrible, but I'd rather have a tiny bit of fake sugar than binge on something worse. You can also try stevia in hot tea - blueberry tea with a dash of stevia tastes like blueberry pie to me. The Tazo apple cinnamon is also delicious with a little stevia. Good luck!

I would agree with msf74 - I had to go cold turkey for a few weeks in order to break my addiction to sugar.

Now, I will splurge with a piece of (really) dark chocolate every once in awhile. I also keep 15 calorie sugar-free popsicles in my freezer and I'll have one/day. The fake sugar is terrible, but I'd rather have a tiny bit of fake sugar than binge on something worse. You can also try stevia in hot tea - blueberry tea with a dash of stevia tastes like blueberry pie to me. The Tazo apple cinnamon is also delicious with a little stevia. Good luck!

What kind of sugar free popsicles?
I've been looking for additional SF treats, the jello is getting old :laugh:

Fasting aside, I do also limit my sugar to only so many times a week. I find that helps immensley. Delaying gratification just makes whatever it is taste that much better.

IF does break the addiction, though, and quickly. Only took a week for me, of 2 fasts. No more cravings.

Plan ahead to have ice cream every single night of your life, like I do (with some exceptions to make room for other stuff).

+1

People ask me how much I have lost, I say around 50 lbs. They ask, how did you do it, I tell them, eating ice cream every night. I usually get a blank stare.

I am also a sugarholic/chocaholic :happy:

But a few things that seem to help me are:
1. Including good fats at every meal - increases the satiety factor, so I don;t get those cravings
2. Having some organic 85% cocoa bars (Green & Black) everyday, so that i don;t feel deprived and binge later on.
3. Have one splurge dessert (for me its more chocolate - Chocolate Therapy by Ben&Jerry with a warm brownie,oohhh) on weekend.

I have/had the same problem also. This is what I did to break the habit. I went 30 days (1 month) with no sugar (not all sugar). The only sugar I could have is natural sugars (fruits, honey, etc...). After the 30 days I was kind of scared to go back to eating sugar, so I eat it in moderation now. So every year I go 30 days of no sugar in the month of July. Works for me could work for you.