Sugar Craving help.

There is nothing wrong with having sugar in moderation. Just fit it in your calories (pending you don't have a medical condition. Overall, a diet high in fats and protein will increase satiety. And fruit can help give you the sugar you need to stay away from candy or other treats if you prefer.


But since you are new, and if you don't have a medical condition, I would slowly work to increase proteins and fats and still incorporate sweets until you get to a point where the majority of your food is nutrient dense and add in a little treats on occasion.

Eat honey. Or fruit. One or the other. On the side porridge with milk and honey

For me, eating high carb / high GI foods makes me crave sugar like crazy. Before paying attention to my diet, I would have overwhelming cravings every night without fail. It's something to do with insulin - lots of those books you see about GI and sugar explain it.

Perhaps you could try eating lower GI foods and adding a bit of protein to each meal. It helped me. No sugar cravings anymore.

Diet soda will make it worse, the aspartame will only spike your blood sugar and make the cravings worse. Try fruit, fresh in season if you can get it, or super dark chocolate.

There is nothing wrong with diet soda. Many of us use it daily and consistently lose weight. In fact, cyber ed (another mod) drinks 2-3 diet cokes a day and lost 302 lbs. It's a great option if you dont want to drink calories.

If you stop eating added sugars you'll get past the craving after a while. It's like getting past any addiction.

I wouldn't try to trick your brain by giving it fake sugar (sugarless), that's going to send a signal that sugar is coming and when your brain doesn't get actual sugar it'll only make the cravings worse.

Fruit is a good option, sugar is sugar but at least you'd be getting other nutrients. Apples are my go too... sweet, hydrating, fiber, delicious.

If you eat more healthy fats, lean protein and a lot of veggies with each meal or snack, it may not get rid of your sugar cravings but you will most certainly be full which might help to fight off the cravings.

I don't eat added sugars or grains but I used too. What I realized is that eating added sugars, grains, carbohydrates (aside from those found in vegetables and fruits), only served to make me want more sugar. It was a never ending cycle of: Sugar craving - eat sugar - yum - crash - hunger - sugar craving - eat sugar - yum - crash - hunger - eat sugar...

You get the idea.

I used to be addicted to sugarless gum, thinking that would help to get rid of my cravings. It only made me crave "Real" sugar and after getting up to around a pack of gum a day I knew I had to get off. Too many chemicals.

Please note that the statements I made above are only things that worked for me, and taken from my personal experience.

I hope this helped...
Good luck.

try dark chocolate or a bit of peanut butter with fruit. that usually does the trick for me. sugar isn't the enemy if it fits in your calories

New study on diet soda - though granted I am sure there is a study that proves just the opposite as well, there is a study for everything.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/09/18/artificial-sweeteners-gut-bacteria_n_5837646.html

I weened out additive sugars by trying to stay with whole fruits or naturally sweet items like honey. I will say the first few weeks sucked, but after that my tastes have adjusted and a little sweetness goes a long way now. I still have sweets, but I don't go off the deep end looking for them like I used too, now I just enjoy them on occasion.

Satisfy your craving. If want something sweet, I have it. Sugar isn't the problem. Going over your calories is the problem (unless you have a medical condition).

What I hear from a lot of people is they can't just have a "little" to satisfy a craving. Once the person has a taste they're off the deep end and end up in a sugar binge. Unfortunately for a lot of people it's all or nothing. It's difficult not to have it yet even more difficult to just have a taste. With that said, if you are of the "all or nothing" mentality I would suggest giving it up entirely for a while until you get past the addiction part. Then go to fresh fruit. Many will also say that sugar is not the enemy and while I wouldn't call it an enemy I will point out that sugar addiction is on the same level as a heroin addiction and obesity due to sugar kills more people in my country than smoking. Again, sugar in fruit is still sugar but at least you're getting added nutrients plus fiber so your body is not just processing straight sugar... and more importantly, storing it. Our bodies were not built to process, processed foods.

And yes I have to agree with the other poster. Once you are off of sugar for a while a very small amount goes a very long way. These days when I want something sweet I automatically go for the baby carrots without giving it a second thought. To me they are sweeter and more satisfying than chocolate. Raw honey is also a great alternative. In fact, here's a great sugar fix (dessert), that is healthy, very sweet and satisfying and 100% Paleo:

Apple / Blueberry Crisp
4 apples sliced into bite size pieces
1 cup of blueberries
1 tbsp of cinnamon
1 tbsp of nutmeg
Mix.

In another bowl:
1/2 cup of coconut oil (melted)
1/2 cup of raw honey (melted)
1/2 cup of grass fed butter (melted)
2 tbsp of fresh lemon
1 cup of pure coconut flour
Mix until it gets crumbly

Pour apple mixture into a pie plate, spread crumble on top, heat in oven at 350 for about 45 minutes. Cover it for the first 30 so the coconut doesn't burn.

Eat warm.

Repeat after me... YUM!

When I crave sugar I just go for an apple.. as opposed to like a whole pack of oreos which is 900+ calories haha. Or I just take a short 20 min nap until it goes away. Or I wait it out by distracting myself with a book or work. Generally I just let it pass.. drink some green tea to keep me full

Diet soda will make it worse, the aspartame will only spike your blood sugar and make the cravings worse. Try fruit, fresh in season if you can get it, or super dark chocolate.

Please cite your sources indicating that a sugar-free beverage will spike blood sugar.

Fruit helps me. If I want crunchy, it's an apple or pomegranate seeds, which I consider nature's candy; gooey, I go for apple sauce.. Good luck to you! :drinker:

Sugar cravings are real, as in addictive. I agree with several of the posts...try to eliminate as much sugar as possible for a couple of weeks, natural or otherwise. Then you should be able to slowly introduce it back to see how much you can handle without having a major craving again. Unfortunately, artificial sweeteners are still sweet - some more so than natural sugar - so they don't take away the sugar cravings. Best of luck to you.

I eat fruit or chew on some gum. I would love to eat candy, ice cream, cake, or cookies, but there is no such thing as moderation for me when it comes to these things. If I know I will go overboard on it or just can't say no I will not eat it. This is just me though. If you are well in your cals and consistant with your exercise regimen I would say go ahead and have it :-)

The other thing that no one likes to mention or admit is sugar cravings have nothing to do with hunger for the most part. The hard core sugar junkies will agree. You could eat healthy and clean until your hearts content and be truly full, and still crave sugar.

Agree.

That's how I ended up at 255lbs before. "A little bit" to a person addicted to sugar ends up turning into a lot. And then more.Until you've gained 90lbs. And finally realize what is keeping you from being able to succeed on a calorie-deficit plan.

Apples never delivered the high that chocolates did. Ever. I could feel it hit my system. I called Hershey Kisses "antidepressants." And sugar is attached to calories. So if you work yourself up to eating a bag of chocolates everyday, and can't stop, you gain weight. It happens. People do have this problem. The only thing that worked for me was cutting carbs. After a short time, the cravings that drove me to kill myself with sugar went away. I make cookies and other delicious sweets all the time for other people, and I haven't even once licked the spoon. That was unheard of before. I licked the whole damn bowl before. Then ate half the cookies myself. Pathetic.

Yeah I know. CICO, calorie deficit, blah blah. Well, for some people, it's more complicated than that. Sugar/carb addiction is real. I've lost count of the times I started and stopped plain calorie-deficit and fell off the wagon because I tried to just "have a little" because it did fit in my calorie deficit. A little turned into "I can't keep my hand out of the bag. I need another hit." Not because I didn't want to lose weight bad enough. But because I didn't realize why I was so stupid and couldn't stay away from that stuff. (That's how I felt about myself. Stupid and weak.)

Many people who haven't ever had as strong cravings just don't understand. People with such strong cravings want to succeed as bad as anyone else and hate themselves because they can't ignore the cravings. Sometimes it's biology. And you have to figure out how to circumvent the issue. For me the solution was carb restriction. That crap has no hold on me any more. I can smell it, unwrap it for the kids, and etc and it doesn't phase me. I can say, "just don't touch it." And easily not eat it. Before, my hubby had to get the kids' candy and hide it when we got home so mommy wouldn't eat it all.