What's your dessert policy?
Replies
-
Dragonwolf wrote: »Christine_72 wrote: »I have dessert every single night after dinner. It's like I HAVE to have something sweet straight after. I'd love to get away from from this habit as it would save me hundreds of calories every day!! My willpower seems to be nonexistent on this one thing
Christine_72 wrote: »lithezebra wrote: »Christine_72 wrote: »I have dessert every single night after dinner. It's like I HAVE to have something sweet straight after. I'd love to get away from from this habit as it would save me hundreds of calories every day!! My willpower seems to be nonexistent on this one thing
Could you cut back to small, low carb sweet things that are 100 calories or less? A square of dark chocolate, or a cookie sized crustless cheesecake won't set you back hundreds of calories.
Cheesecake is my weakness lol I try and stay far away. I have some dark chocolate in the fridge which I haven't opened yet because I don't trust myself to eat just 2-3 squares. But it's mind over matter, I just have to be stronger than that annoying voice in my head!!
It's actually been shown that "willpower" is, at best, a finite resource. Take willpower out of the equation (that is actually a big reason why LCHF works for so many people -- the mechanisms of action take a lot of willpower out of the equation).
In short -- stop keeping trigger foods in the house, and as I said earlier, abstain entirely from all forms of sugar for 4-6 weeks to break the habit and make new ones.
Yes, it's going to suck for a few days, but it's only a few days. You will live through it.
Also, ignore all the haters that say crap like "everything in moderation" or "it's okay in moderation" or whatever. If you are eating hundreds and thousands of calories worth, then you are incapable of "moderation" (which is a pretty meaningless word, anyway) on at least this thing, and at least until you make a drastic change. (In my opinion, the "everything in moderation" is more often a cop-out to justify maintaining old, harmful habits than anything else.)
You're doing this for your health, remember that. And no, not having the sweets all the time is not going to damage you, especially if you make sure to drop the "can't" mindset. Do not say "I can't," to things. Say "I choose not to." Say "I choose health over sugar."
That's some straight talk right there. Totally agree based on my experiences.ChoiceNotChance wrote: »Very wise words, @Dragonwolf. My husband frequently asks me if I can have something on my "diet". I tell him I CAN have anything I want, but I choose not to have it.
My husband and friends always say it like that too. I'm always like, it's not a matter of can i have it... I don't want it.0 -
I am now in the @Dragonwolf camp: "abstain entirely from all forms of sugar for 4-6 weeks to break the habit and make new ones." I keep looking at the liquid stevia in my refrigerator, thinking I should just get rid of it. Anything sweet, artificial or not, sets me off. Again.
0 -
Wise words dragonwolf. I have never had a sweet tooth. Always hated melon, especially water melon (too sweet). Finding out I needed to eat low sugar (no fruit, no startchy veg, no sugar added etc) I now realise how much sugar we get just naturally occuring in food, leave alone the added stuff.
Much easier to say no completely as then there is then no decision and no will power issue. Simple, I can not eat it, so eating it is not an option.0 -
Thank you for the kick up the butt @Dragonwolf
. I will kick this dessert habit!!! 0 -
Love Dragonwolf's reply.
And for me it really does help to focus on the yummy foods I can have (bacon, avocados, cheese, etc.) than what I'm choosing not to have. Sometimes what I really crave is strong flavor of some sort and more and more now my desire for a "treat" is quenched by a dill pickle or something like a cube of pepper jack cheese rather than feeling like I must have sweets.0 -
I'm with @Dragonwolf too! It's not easy for just a few days to break the desire, then, the strength you will gain from it is better than any willpower that people talk about!
My niece made the comment, while cutting herself some birthday cake, "You only live once". I know it was for me to hear, but I made no response or even acknowledged that I heard her. My family really thinks I'm depriving myself, and they can't get it that those foods cause me pain so I avoid them without even an inkling of desire for them! I know they're waiting for me to go back to eating the same carbage that they do, but it's not happening!0 -
My dessert policy just changed, because I'm going to make chocolate cheesecake using no-effective-carb xylitol as a sweetener. From now on, I'm having dessert for breakfast!
0 -
Thinking I really need to go on a sugar fast- as some of you have wisely suggested!
I don't know what set this binging off, but it's really getting the best of me. Maybe it's the holidays coming up, and everyone offering me chocolate and sweets. Maybe it's me thinking I've been good for so long, (and the cravings HAVE reduced very significantly), that I can handle just one of everything and anything....
It's funny how if I can refrain from touching 'insert nutritionally awful and addicting food here, it has no power over me. It may look and even smell amazing, but I don't need it, or even want it. It's just when I get a taste of it, especially when I'm alone that everything falls apart, and I eat until 1. my belly aches, or 2. there's no more left.
I'm so affected by the social pressure to eat unhealthy foods, even if it's just a little pressure.. I know I have to change this and just not care if they think I'm weird, or too conscious about my body. The most important thing is that I make myself happy at the end of the day, and lately, that's just not been happening.
Right now, I hate sugar with all my heart. It's beginning to really negatively affect my daily life. I'm so upset with our society and all the terrible influences it contains.
But enough of my ranting- thank you all for the support and tips! It's good to hear your stories and to know I am not alone 0 -
@Brownilocks, I definitely relate to this part: "It's funny how if I can refrain from touching 'insert nutritionally awful and addicting food here, it has no power over me. It may look and even smell amazing, but I don't need it, or even want it. It's just when I get a taste of it, especially when I'm alone that everything falls apart, and I eat until 1. my belly aches, or 2. there's no more left."
I've struggled with that at times, too. It's gotten easier for me over the past month or so. The other night I managed to bake chocolate chip cookies for DH (previously one of my kryptonites) and not touch them.0 -
I'm with @Dragonwolf too! It's not easy for just a few days to break the desire, then, the strength you will gain from it is better than any willpower that people talk about!
My niece made the comment, while cutting herself some birthday cake, "You only live once". I know it was for me to hear, but I made no response or even acknowledged that I heard her. My family really thinks I'm depriving myself, and they can't get it that those foods cause me pain so I avoid them without even an inkling of desire for them! I know they're waiting for me to go back to eating the same carbage that they do, but it's not happening!
LOL That would be the perfect response back too. "Yes, you only live once."
I've actually said that to people when they ask about my dietary changes. I'll only live in this body once, and I want to enjoy the last 40 or so years in it so I made my changes now before it's too late... Hopefully. 0 -
My policy on dessert is either dont have it, or iifym style. I do sometimes save up carbs for a smidge of pumpkin pie or a cookie.0
-
I've swapped my bullet proof hot chocolate from the morning to the evening after dinner, instead of my usual dessert. Just choc/peanut butter protein powder with mascapone topped off with boiled water, minus the usual butter and coconut oil. This alone shaves off at least 300ish calories everyday.0
-
None normally, but occasional mouthful only of someone elses desert. I cannot face a whole serve and stop at that. But dont feel deprived with only a mouthful so feeling ok. Actually I dont really miss desert now.0
-
In the last month I have had protein shakes at a few breakfasts each week so my carbs went up a bit. I also had cake one day and a few crackers when at friends, so I fit in. I have had my weight flat lined for 3 weeks. Extra carbs and desserts. Not worth it.0
-
Just trying to get through the holiday period! Cakes and desserts everywhere, plan to really buckle down seriously at the start of the new year.0
-
Having a low carb dessert helps me more than it hurts. After having part of a serving of low carb chocolate cheesecake, I forgot all about eating the rest of my dinner yesterday. (Seriously, is there something in chocolate that puts cravings to bed)? I'm not terribly prone to carb and sugar cravings unless I'm not eating enough protein and fat.0
-
TerrierFriend wrote: »I am now in the @Dragonwolf camp: "abstain entirely from all forms of sugar for 4-6 weeks to break the habit and make new ones." I keep looking at the liquid stevia in my refrigerator, thinking I should just get rid of it. Anything sweet, artificial or not, sets me off. Again.
Something else that helps, too, to reset your sweet threshold, is to only sweeten to tolerance, not to taste. For example, if your perfect cup of tea or coffee has 8 splenda in it, try using 7.5. Then seven, and so on. (As a point of reference, I got down from 3-5 heaping tsp of sugar minimum to 1 packet or dropper or Sweet Leaf stevia, just by bumping down every few days...my friend drank the 8 splenda and got down to 1 splenda, 1 stevia using tihs same method...)
I only sweeten hot tea to where it is drinkable, not to where i finish one and want twelve more cups immediately. It's enough to sate that sweet urge (sometimes) without triggering reactions, etc. For me, it's kind of like flying under the radar.
Also, if you use a xylitol toothpaste (most are), try just brushing your teeth. It will leave a "clean feeling" that makes other foods taste not awesome, you get the hint of sweet in your mouth, and then it's gone... Sometimes it helps, as I found out by accident.0 -
KnitOrMiss wrote: »TerrierFriend wrote: »I am now in the @Dragonwolf camp: "abstain entirely from all forms of sugar for 4-6 weeks to break the habit and make new ones." I keep looking at the liquid stevia in my refrigerator, thinking I should just get rid of it. Anything sweet, artificial or not, sets me off. Again.
Something else that helps, too, to reset your sweet threshold, is to only sweeten to tolerance, not to taste. For example, if your perfect cup of tea or coffee has 8 splenda in it, try using 7.5. Then seven, and so on. (As a point of reference, I got down from 3-5 heaping tsp of sugar minimum to 1 packet or dropper or Sweet Leaf stevia, just by bumping down every few days...my friend drank the 8 splenda and got down to 1 splenda, 1 stevia using tihs same method...)
I only sweeten hot tea to where it is drinkable, not to where i finish one and want twelve more cups immediately. It's enough to sate that sweet urge (sometimes) without triggering reactions, etc. For me, it's kind of like flying under the radar.
Also, if you use a xylitol toothpaste (most are), try just brushing your teeth. It will leave a "clean feeling" that makes other foods taste not awesome, you get the hint of sweet in your mouth, and then it's gone... Sometimes it helps, as I found out by accident.
That's amazing advice. I actually got my 17 year old daughter from 8-10 packets of real sugar in iced tea to drinking it unsweetened over about a year by having her cut down little by little and then using a sugar and Splenda mix until there was no more sugar and then no more Splenda either.0 -
Yep, I went from 3tsp of sugar in a cup of tea to zero, now I can't handle the taste of sugar in tea. I was averaging 8-10 cups a day which adds up to a ton of sugar. I was super skinny then too..0
-
Depends on how good I was for the day. If I stuck to around 450 cals/per meal and around 20g carbs/ and I have room, my go to treat is strawberries, blackberries, raspberries with Heavy Whipping cream, whipped with almond extract and/or vanilla extract. I don't use any sweeteners. I may also make an exception for a sugar-free custard pudding, that I 'reward' myself with as long as it doesn't kill my macros for the day. WinterSpice Tea by Twinings, black, no sugar, is also an evening treat.0
-
I have a rather large to-do event to go to in February. They serve a large meal with a decadent dessert. I will pawn mine off on one of the soldiers that sits with us or just leave it. Kind of feels wasteful at $40 a ticket, but oh well.0
-
I'm all about sugar-free jello with whipped cream (I make it with a packet of stevia, because!!)!
I firmly believe that there is absolutely NO such thing as a sugar addiction. There is certainly a human preference for sugar which makes it tough to eat less of it, but to refer to a preference for it as an addiction is misunderstanding what an addiction really is. Not to say it's easy to eat less/cut out added sugar, but it would be better explained by a habit than an addiction.
For me, I can eat a serving of the jello with whipped cream and while I might end up wanting some more later, I just choose not to. Period.0 -
My policy is if I fit them into my macros then I can eat them as long as they don't have craving inducing foods which mean sugar and flour and the like. I don't consider sweetener craving inducing. Soy, maybe. Cause homemade treats I'm fine with but LC bars and shakes make me crave.
Here's why: even with no dessert restrictions I am averaging 1200-1300 calories a day, far below my goal of 2000, and I don't restrict, I just stop eating when satisfied. I'll even have dessert for bfast if I feel like it. But if you saw my recent post on habits, you'll see I didn't.
My position is dieting is hard enough (save the WOL, everyone is on a diet and low carb dieting is harder then eating a bag of chips!) I'm not going to beat myself up over things that don't matter. I'm sure I'd lose weight if I ate nothing but cream cheese and hotdogs, but who wants to do that?! Part of the fun is dessert!
Ps. Plus there are a LOT of very creative and challenging LC dessert recipes out there! I.e.: fun!0 -
I should also add, making them yourself allows you to lower the sweet factor. I routinely skimp on the sweetener because my taste buds have gotten used to less sweet foods and I don't want to ruin that.0
-
Sugar addiction is a definite for real thing. It has been scientifically shown that sugar creates the type of dopamine response in some people that cocaine does. It's not a preference. It's driven by an actual hormonal response that makes your body physically desire it.0
-
I agree somewhat. I don't think it's only sugar. I think it's anything your body sees as sugar. Potato chips and French fries for example.0
-
hsmith0930 wrote: »I firmly believe that there is absolutely NO such thing as a sugar addiction. There is certainly a human preference for sugar which makes it tough to eat less of it, but to refer to a preference for it as an addiction is misunderstanding what an addiction really is. Not to say it's easy to eat less/cut out added sugar, but it would be better explained by a habit than an addiction.
Eating sugar, and as a result more carbs, makes the tendency to eat more carbs and sugar much more prevalent, whether you label it addiction or not. Take away the carbs and sugar, and cravings to eat more sugar virtually disappear. Once that is done, the remaining small percentage of likelihood to eat sugar might be attributed to habit, IMO.
We may all be here together as a result of indulging habits in our pasts, however this WOE, including avoiding sugar, makes this journey to improved health much more possible. In other words, take away the sugar and you take away the desire to eat more sugar.
0
This discussion has been closed.