My worst diet enemy!! need help!
ericacarter12
Posts: 24 Member
I am severely addicted to sweets. How do you guys keep yourself from that one pint of ice cream or that candy bar at the check out? It is really killing me on losing weight. I have been battling this craving for a long time, causing my weight to fluctuate so much.
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The no sugar added fudgesicles have been my absolute life saver!! seriously!! They're 40 calories each (but 1 serving is 2 Popsicles) and they totally satisfy my sweet tooth. Otherwise, try alternatives like Halo top ice cream that has protein or a bowl of fresh fruit with a dollop of whipped cream. When there is more to your sweets than sugar, it is always better for you and still satisfying!1
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I have had a battle with sugar for my whole life. The only way I have been able to control it is to cut it out all together. If I make an acception I become addicted to it again and over indulge. I binge eat sugar until I am sick to my stomach. That may not be the case for you, and hopefully it isn't as extreme. But I've cut sugar completely out (natural sugars from fruit and stevia are the only sweets I consume) since May 18th. I no longer have cravings or struggle with the urges to throw in a pint of ice cream or grab 3 of my favorite candy bars at the check out stand.
I've also found that if I feel like I deserve (not crave) a dessert I go fruit. Berries are a great option! Also I've taken frozen mango with some water and puréed it in my food processor for additive free natural sorbet. It's also super tasty!!
All of that may seem drastic, but it's the only way (for me) that I've been successful. Cutting out sugar has also helped me drop weight very quickly (along with a overhaul on my entire diet and exercise)!
I wish you luck!3 -
I love sugar I love cake, cookies, ice cream treats, CANDY!! I have always loved a sweet after lunch and/or dinner. One thing I did was to pick my favorite treat (in this case, Jr. Mints) and put them in a jar in my desk. 16 mints are a serving. I allowed myself that, mostly because it sounded like so many! Pretty quickly, I realized that I didn't need all 16 every day, so just out of curiosity, I cut it in half and told myself to just have 8. Eventually, I got down to 4. Now, I don't even think to buy them. I had days when I finished off the jar, for sure. So I logged that as a dietary disaster and moved on. And learned from it.
If you have to cut it out entirely, that's fine. I know that if I do that, eventually (god help me on Halloween...) I will overdo it, which leads to negative thinking and lack of success. For the record, I DO NOT bake an entire cake, batch of cookies, pan of cupcakes, etc, because portion control for me is much harder with those things around. ("I'm going to eat the entire thing over the course of the week, why not eat it all right now???")
Good luck0 -
ericacarter12 wrote: »I am severely addicted to sweets. How do you guys keep yourself from that one pint of ice cream or that candy bar at the check out? It is really killing me on losing weight. I have been battling this craving for a long time, causing my weight to fluctuate so much.
Log it and fit into your calorie goal.1 -
Fruits and berries and nuts are great, especially if you dress them up with a bit of whipped cream or sugar free chocolate syrup. Or add them to sugar free pudding or jello. Some people like the Fiber One brownies & cakes. They don't do much for me. I prefer quality over quantity. One thing I did was keep single servings around. There are quite a few mini cups of ice cream out there now. Even Ben & Jerry's! Try a few things to see if you can find some treats that satisfy you in smaller amounts. Reeses Peanut butter cups used to be my downfall. I could eat a whole bag of the mini ones in one sitting. But now I keep a big jar of Sanders dark chocolate sea salt caramels from Costco around. I enjoy them just as much as PB cups but can stop at a single one for only 70 cals.0
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ericacarter12 wrote: »I am severely addicted to sweets. How do you guys keep yourself from that one pint of ice cream or that candy bar at the check out? It is really killing me on losing weight. I have been battling this craving for a long time, causing my weight to fluctuate so much.
Log it and fit into your calorie goal.
This^
MANAGING my sweets intake is a lifestyle change. I allow myself a treat everyday. I buy single serve ice cream bars, 100 calorie pack cookies (Oreo Crisps....mmm) and Ghiradelli dark chocolate squares.
Elimination of sweets is generally a temporary change for most people. I can't see this as a forever thing for me.2 -
I feel you, I always crave sugar and want it more than anything else, and find it hardest to say no to. I've been working things into my calories which works well for me. I eat 500 calories some days in order to eat 1900 another day that week. Strangely enough, I usually don't spend those extra 700 calories on sweets just because 2 cupcakes just wouldn't be as filling as a burger from five guys would be, but you definitely could! If you don't want to do that or find it hard, diet soda helps me with sugar cravings. Sugar free jello is only 20-40 calories per box, and that helps too (too bad I can't eat it more often because jello gives me headaches for some reason). Yasso frozen Greek yogurt bars are so good for 100 calories, my favorite is chocolate chip cookie dough. Halo Top ice cream in a 10 calorie ice cream cone and light cool whip is low calorie too. Or even an entire pint of Halo Top/Arctic Zero. I made a waffle this morning with PB2, chocolate chips, strawberries and Halo Top chocolate ice cream on top and it only came out to around 140 calories per waffle. Those cinnamon buns that come in cans that you bake (the smaller ones, with icing by pillsbury) are only 145 calories for one and I feel like that could help with sugar cravings because it's really sweet. That's all that comes to mind right now :smile0
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OP, you can go so far as doing total restriction from your favorite things, i.e. sweets, chocolate bars, etc. And after a few days or even 1 day for that matter, you will most likely find that you really do not want restrict and that you can allow and find a way to fit them in your calories.
Trust me the all or nothing deal, never works. You will almost drive your self crazy. Replacing it with fruit is not the same thing. Replacing it with some diet version or diet swap of that chocolate or sweets you like is not the same thing.
You do not have to do this, find a way to save xx calories you need to fit a candy bar in your day, rather that be pre-log it, or see if you have calories left over at the end of the day etc..
edited to add: The above is stated in that there is no disorder such as binging, if sweets cause binging then binging needs to be addressed not at the food level but at the mental and emotional level.0 -
I keep a large container of fruit flavored Tic Tacs next to me. It's 1.9 calories a piece. Sometimes when I'm craving something with more flavor, I just pop a couple in my mouth. Of course at the end of the day I calculate them. I find it easier to just not eat junk altogether, but I see many people on here who allow themselves treats, so long as it fits into their daily calorie allotment. Eventually, you will find a happy medium. Best wishes!0
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Log it before you eat it and determine if it's worth it. I literally just grabbed two VERY SMALL pieces of chocolate. I logged it, saw it was 50cals, and gave them away. It was not worth it to me at that time. You may have to battle yourself for a while but I hope it gets easier for you!0
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When I want a sweet ( which is rarely) , I will buy just 1 of the item. Likes chocolate chip muffin. I can make them and get more but I don't like them after they had been frozen. So I go to a place that sells them that I like and buy just 1. That way I get it and enjoy it without extras in the house. My hubby don't like them and it's just the two of us.
If you neglect yourself from having a sweet that you are craving for too long you will binge and eat more than intended. It's better to buy just 1 and eat it than to allow the treat cravings ruin everything you worked hard for. I doubt one treat from time to time will ruin your daily calorie goal. Just allow it in the login. If you have a candy bar split in in half and have 1/2 on day and 1/2 later in the week. If you are worried about it. It's all about portion control anyways.0 -
Keep it out of the house as much as possible. If you do indulge, check the portion size & just eat that. Cut a piece of cake like you normally would. Then cut it in half again. Only eat the half. Save the other half for tomorrow. Eat your treats very slowly to savor each bite because you only get a very little so make it last.0
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Yep. Sounds like u might be miserable if u cut it out totally. So. Buy stuff with portions like fun size things. Or bake muffins. Freeze them so u can only defrost 1 at a time. I have mnms because u can have quite a few for under 100 cals. I log it in diary for next day so I know I've got them logged in and fit the rest of my food around it. Now I get to the point I don't even eat them so I delete it off diary at end of day@ I think it's psychological because when u know u can have it u end up not needing it.
You obviously gave to have some accountability and self control, but take shopping list to shops so u don't divert to packing trolley full of sugary snacks etc and don't buy the family blocks of choc etc if u can't control yet. Anything u can out in freezer so u can take out over night to defrost next day (even chocolates ) helps cause u can't dig in straight away without breaking a tooth!0 -
Thank you all for all of your support!! If you don't mind, I will keep you updated and if you don't mind you can be my backbone for this issue?
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I drink Shakeology! I used to crave Reese's Pieces and chocolate, buy it has almost stopped my cravings altogether1
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I'm trying to just avoid having them around. It's comparably easy to not pick them up in the store compared to not eat them when they are at home. And if I have some at home, I always put them somewhere where I can't see them. Oh and another thing you might try is to get some sweets that you like but not love. Then you can ease your craving without getting into binch eating.
I hope this is going to help you!0 -
yum, sweets yes! If I want ice cream I don't buy the pint- I buy the wee tiny single serve or, if it's summer, go to a Tasty Treats and get ONE scoop- I always get a funny look when I ask for half a small. Candy wise- you just gotta determine if it's worth the calories. Or eat half the bar- that seems to fit in to my daily amount easier.0
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I eat icecream all the time! yumyumyum. I just make sure its in my calorie goal and I have a small serving instead of the big ol' bowl I used to go for. Adding whipped cream helps too You don't have to give up sugar to lose weight; you don't have to give up any group of foods at all, you just need to eat a little less of them.0
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Couple of options that (largely) worked for me:
1) Check the calories on the sweet item you're about to buy and compare it to the calories you'd have to burn to counteract it - once I realised that (eg) a large Mars bar that I'd eat in about 30 seconds was pretty much exactly the same value as 45 hard minutes on the exercise bike, it became less attractive
2) Look for alternatives that satisfy the sweet craving, but which aren't so calorie loaded - fresh fruit, dried fruit, energy bars etc - just check the calorie values to make sure they're actually less calorie dense than the sweets!
3) Burn enough calories that you can fit the sweets into your calorie limit0 -
In my opinion, the battle against sugar is a pointless effort. It's in almost everything. Natural sugars, added sugars... So many things are loaded with sugar and you wouldn't even know it. The key to successful weight loss and an overall healthy lifestyle is moderation. Allow yourself a treat from time-to-time. There's temptation all around us and the only way to avoid binging or just eventually falling entirely off the healthy lifestyle bandwagon is to treat yourself from time-to-time.0
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you guys are so wonderful, my birthday is the 25th. Do you think I should just let myself have what usually would have then and then start cutting back on sweets? I have been running that question around in my head. Did the tiny ice creams do enough for you RachelElser? Also, has anyone heard of the yummy life smoothies? They have fruit, oats, chia seeds, and optional honey, pb2, cinnamon. If so, what do you think of them?
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I would say to stay away from things you know you can't control yourself around. If I want something sweet or baked I will go for my least favorite, something I know I will enjoy but won't eat myself sick over.0
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ericacarter12 wrote: »How do you guys keep yourself from that one pint of ice cream or that candy bar at the check out?
I'd rather spend my money on something else. I'd rather put it toward new shoes, jewellery, a trip somewhere.
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Can you go a day without sugar? If so, go one day. Then repeat two or three more times. The cravings will disappear.0
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I quit processed sugar 5 months ago because I crave it like a drug! I started doing the "Trim Healthy Mama" plan and havent looked back! No sugar, no unsprouted flours... It was hard at first but I feel amazing now!0
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