Sweets

brandnewneek
brandnewneek Posts: 31 Member
in Food and Nutrition
First of all. hello everyone =) I am new here and wanting to lose quite a bit, but not giving myself a number because it seems so unrealistic, but I know I can do it, anyways, I have a huge problem with sweets, almost could say addicted, it is super hard to not eat them, plus I have a husband and son who also love them, luckily they can eat whatever they want and stay the same size. Lucky them! I am also going to school for baking. So my question is, how much if any ever would you say I could eat. I mean do people normally eat a cookie a day, none a day? One treat a week. It's just not something that I feel I could get rid of forever,

Replies

  • AlabasterVerve
    AlabasterVerve Posts: 3,171 Member
    As much as you need to feel happy and satisfied with your diet. For some people that means as much candy as they can squeeze into their calories each day, others are happy with one small treat a day, still others are happy with having an indulgent dessert once a week.

    For me, I save sweets and the like for holidays, events and special occasions. If I don't eat them, I don't want them which makes it effortless to not have them on a daily basis. Some was never enough for me and led to overeating on the days my willpower was low so ultimately wasn't sustainable. Figure out what you can live with -- and be happy -- and go with that. Best wishes. :)
  • brandnewneek
    brandnewneek Posts: 31 Member
    Right.. I'm one of those, once you pop you can't stop. I've been overfilling my body for years and I have just been feeling constantly hungry with trying to lower my portions. So I think I'll give myself something sweet once a day and somehow train myself to stop!
  • Vune
    Vune Posts: 674 Member
    I just wanted to let you know that you're not alone. My boyfriend just told me that normal people don't eat sweets everyday. I like to have something a couple times a week at least. It makes me happy! But so does a nice hike and fresh fruit, so I can hope it'll balance itself out. You'll find your balance, too.
  • Dalton1720
    Dalton1720 Posts: 104
    Its all about moderation. Although it may take some time to accept limiting your portions its the best way to satisfy your cravings guilt free!
    If you're with a friend or family member, share your desert!
    Buy individually wrapped candies. I love Hershey's bliss dark chocolates. I almost always have two a day!
    Since you're going to baking school Im sure you know a thing or two about food. Try making inventive deserts using fruits!
    After a while your cravings will subside at least some what and you only live once so enjoy those sweet treats, but remember to treat them as such, a treat.
  • FrankDavis86
    FrankDavis86 Posts: 8 Member
    My wife had this very same problem. And there's only a solutions: power of will.

    You have to force yourself not to eat sweets. If you really want to lose weight, you have to do it.

    If you concentrate on "I can't", you will not be able to do it. You have to be positive. Do not allow any room for doubts.

    If your son and husband love to eat sweets, ask them to eat them away from you. Stay away from sweets as much as you possibly can.

    The one thing that will help you the most is to commit. You can live without them.

    And when you reach your weight loss goal, start having 1 sweet every one in a while. Meanwhile, I would suggest to stay away from them. If you eat one, you may not be able to stop there...

    That's from my wife's experience.
  • weird_me2
    weird_me2 Posts: 716 Member
    My wife had this very same problem. And there's only a solutions: power of will.

    You have to force yourself not to eat sweets. If you really want to lose weight, you have to do it.

    If you concentrate on "I can't", you will not be able to do it. You have to be positive. Do not allow any room for doubts.

    If your son and husband love to eat sweets, ask them to eat them away from you. Stay away from sweets as much as you possibly can.

    The one thing that will help you the most is to commit. You can live without them.

    And when you reach your weight loss goal, start having 1 sweet every one in a while. Meanwhile, I would suggest to stay away from them. If you eat one, you may not be able to stop there...

    That's from my wife's experience.

    The only thing I would listen to in this quote is "If you concentrate on "I can't", you will not be able to do it." It seems like giving up sweets forever would not be sustainable for you. Figure out what IS sustainable for you and make it work. Don't think about how hard it is to stick to your limits, think about how much you get to enjoy your favorites.

    I like good food. Sometimes it's sweets, sometimes it's cheese, etc. I plan my meals around getting in my protein (goal is 150 grams) and my fruits and veggies (I am for 10, average more like 8). The rest is fair game. When I make lean protein choices and lower calorie veggie choices (today I had roasted zucchini, mushrooms and carrots and tomatoes at lunch and had 6 servings in one meal), then I have LOTS of room for the stuff I love. We're eating out for dinner tonight and I've already put 1/2 slice of carrot cake in to my diary for the day with a glass of milk. My calorie goal is 2090 without exercise and I would say I have about 500+ calories per day to fill with whatever I want. Sometimes that's cake, sometimes peanut butter, sometimes raisins and shredded mini wheats. Whatever I'm in the mood for makes the cut.
  • GiveMeCoffee
    GiveMeCoffee Posts: 3,556 Member
    Moderation! I always make room for my nightly sweets the serving will depend on what I've eaten the rest of the day. Some days it might just be 1 or 2 cookies, or 1/2 cup of gelato.. other times it's more. Making sure to always include something has been on the biggest keys to my sustaining this because I never feel deprived like I had the 9 million other times I was on a diet.

    Keep it simple
    Weigh your food
    Log your food
    Eat a cookie it's good for the soul and good luck to you
  • seltzermint555
    seltzermint555 Posts: 10,740 Member
    I have something sweet every single day.

    Sometimes it's as "innocent" as plain Greek yogurt & oats mixed with berries or other fruit and/or honey at breakfast.

    Other days, a single square of good dark chocolate at lunchtime is perfect. Or a piece of Easter candy like a Cadbury egg that I purposely walked 2 miles to the drugstore to buy.

    Sometimes on the weekend it's a DQ mini Blizzard or a huge slice of pie or maybe even a cookie I baked.

    I think it's fine to have all of those things. Just not all in the same day and not every day ;-) I do strive to eat healthy food so I'm not 100% of the mindset "eat whatever you want as long as it's at a calorie deficit". But I want a diet that is sustainable for the rest of my life and I really enjoy sweets!

    FTR I am not a salty/crunchy snacker at all, I could be perfectly happy to NEVER eat a bagel, pretzel, cracker, or chip again...I do eat some of those, but not often and definitely not every day.
  • ddino
    ddino Posts: 12 Member
    I had to stop buying stuff I like. I have NO WILLPOWER when it comes to cookies, chips, or cake. So if I get that stuff for the kids, I pick out something I don't like but they do!

    I keep bags of Dove dark chocolate minis in my freezer and usually have 2-4 each evening to get my sweet fix. I generally don't like dark chocolate, but these are very good. And frozen, I have to just keep it in my mouth for awhile which makes them last longer, as opposed to shoving them down my pie hole in huge quantities.
  • seltzermint555
    seltzermint555 Posts: 10,740 Member

    I keep bags of Dove dark chocolate minis in my freezer and usually have 2-4 each evening to get my sweet fix. I generally don't like dark chocolate, but these are very good. And frozen, I have to just keep it in my mouth for awhile which makes them last longer, as opposed to shoving them down my pie hole in huge quantities.

    Dark chocolate mystifies me. I really like it, but I can make a Ghirardelli Intense Dark bar last 2+ weeks. If it was Lindt milk chocolate it would not last 48 hours.
  • ValeriePlz
    ValeriePlz Posts: 517 Member
    seltzermint, I am also a dark chocolate fiend! My favorite lately has been the Vosges Super Dark bars. One square'll do ya.
  • andrea089
    andrea089 Posts: 1 Member
    I have a sweet tooth too. I cut them out completely at first but I have now replaced candy bars and cupcakes for fruit, nonfat/light yogurt, and sugar free options (along with smaller portions).

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  • PJPrimrose
    PJPrimrose Posts: 916 Member
    Portion control works with everything including sweets. Unless you have a sugar addiction/you freak out and binge uncontrollably . Then I would suggest you attend an OA meeting to get recovery from an addiction.
  • CallMeCupcakeDammit
    CallMeCupcakeDammit Posts: 9,377 Member
    This is a great guide for filling out your diary, and still allowing for sweets.

    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/925464-fitting-it-in-giggity
  • AlabasterVerve
    AlabasterVerve Posts: 3,171 Member
    Portion control works with everything including sweets. Unless you have a sugar addiction/you freak out and binge uncontrollably . Then I would suggest you attend an OA meeting to get recovery from an addiction.
    That's probably good advice but if you just want to get on with it and give up the things you know are hurting your health that's fine too. I was able to get over cigarettes and junk (to me) food cold turkey without counseling and I'm sure I'm not alone. If you have a hard time cutting something back to amounts that aren't going to kill you, cutting it out altogether is perfectly ok too. You might even find that it's easier in the long run than trying to moderate and exert willpower every single day.

    The OP wants to try moderation I know -- which is great -- but for others who know that hasn't worked for them this blog post might be helpful:

    Food Addiction – A Serious Problem With a Simple Solution
    http://authoritynutrition.com/how-to-overcome-food-addiction/
  • brandnewneek
    brandnewneek Posts: 31 Member
    I feel like cutting it out completely for me would be bad as I would quickly quit all of the changes that I've already made and quite enjoy, because I miss having cookies or candy. I think I can do moderation, one to two small things a day, and making my other meals/snacks healthy with less calories. I got a cranberry energy bar today, I think it had 130 cal and like 9gram of sugar. It was super good and I didn't feel so bad eating it. I think I've been getting a lot of my energy from eating sweets everyday and that might be the biggest problem. So I need to find other energy giving foods, and not coffee because I will just bury it in sugar and milk. Hate the taste of coffee.

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