Love affair with sweets

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DailyGroomer
DailyGroomer Posts: 93 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
Any tips for breaking my love affair with sweets? I know that fruit is a good option. I seem to do better at work than when I am at home. I don't want to completely give up sweets, but have them in moderation. I'm a believer that deprivation leads to overeating in the end. I have been doing pretty good with exercising at least 3x/week, if not more. I try to eat healthier for my meals but still do eat some of what I want, just smaller quantities of it.

However, I feel like I am always thinking of having something sweet. I really wish that I could just change my thinking. I try to think of how many calories it is and how long it would take to work it off, but that does not seem to help

So, please share with me any tips that you may have or methods that worked for you to get you off of the sweets.

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Replies

  • kkress92
    kkress92 Posts: 118 Member
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    I am a dessert fiend! I have a small dessert after lunch and another after dinner. I just fit it into my calorie budget for the day. I'll have some dried fruit, ice cream or a cookie, same as before, just less.
  • DailyGroomer
    DailyGroomer Posts: 93 Member
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    kkress92 wrote: »
    I am a dessert fiend! I have a small dessert after lunch and another after dinner. I just fit it into my calorie budget for the day. I'll have some dried fruit, ice cream or a cookie, same as before, just less.

    This is what I've been trying to do. Work around the calories to ensure it fits. Today I missed the mark.. but I have been under for most days the last few weeks.
  • DailyGroomer
    DailyGroomer Posts: 93 Member
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    Look_Its_Kriss wrote: »
    I guess that all depends on you.

    There are a lot of recipes for baked goodies that you could make using different ingredients, artifical sweeteners in baked goods often help reduce calories, you can also make an entire betty crocker cake mix with nothing else added to it but a can of diet soda, not exactly calorie free but it tastes very moist and you can still feel like youre having cake with a slight calorie reduction.

    pinterest is a great place to find low calorie baked treats you could make.

    These are good ideas! I will have to take a look!
  • AnnPT77
    AnnPT77 Posts: 32,846 Member
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    For me it helped to try to eat 3 (rational) servings of whole fruit every day, for at least a few weeks. That kept my cravings for less nutrient-dense sweets to a manageable minimum. After a while, I was able to reduce the amount of fruit (if I chose), without the other cravings coming back. Eventually, a lot of sweet foods I'd formerly enjoyed started tasting just too, too sweet and weren't enjoyable any more when I sampled them.

    This doesn't work for everyone, but I've 'talked' to others here for whom it was effective.
  • kommodevaran
    kommodevaran Posts: 17,890 Member
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    I used to think that I loved sweets (and salty snacks, and ice cream, and cookies) - but I was mostly compulsively eating them. I have tried to stop completely a few times (cut it out), but then I couldn't seem to decide what to keep and what to let go - what about jam on toast, or fruit flavored yogurt? Then (around the time I discovered MFP) it dawned on me that nutrition is a range, and that everything can be enjoyed in moderation, and that some things are good to eat frequently and other things are better for special occasions. It makes those foods "special" again, and I like it that way! I also made a promise to myself that I would never again force myself to eat food I didn't like. This attitude and those habits has made it easier for me to wait for, or even forgo, certain foods. So every day I eat meals made up of a wide variety of foods I like. Sometimes I add in "extras" - not very often, just because I prefer my normal food.

    I rarely buy sweets etc "for the house", and only small amounts like one or a few servings. I normally eat hyperpalatable foods out of the house, and that also happens rarely.

    I still think a lot about sweets, but I don't feel deprived by not eating it all the time. That's the big difference.
  • kenyonhaff
    kenyonhaff Posts: 1,377 Member
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    Well you don't have to give up sweets, that's start point #1. So no need to get anxious over that.

    Realize there is also a whole world of yummy food out there that isn't just sweet. One thing that happens with poor eating habits is that there's a tendency to obsess over one type of food...sweets, fried foods, etc. But a BALANCED diet also encompasses all the flavors because it represents a more broad variety of food. For example, a nice baked chicken with green beans and almonds with a side of brown rice. In that is some sweet (probrably from a bbq sauce if it were me, almonds, beans), some slight salty (rice, likely), and so on.

    Even for snacks, consider some flavors that aren't just sweet. There's popcorn and jerky and boiled eggs and more.

  • CMNVA
    CMNVA Posts: 733 Member
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    You may need to face up to the fact that you won't ever break your love affair with sweets. At age 53 and plenty of years trying to do it, I've decided that I can't. This will be a lifelong struggle for me. I do what have to do to control it. When first shedding the pounds, I did have to restrict myself from "true" desserts (brownies, cake, ice cream). Even "diet" ones. I had to stop/break that cycle. I did things like have yogurt with lots of fruit on it, tons of watermelon, pineapple, etc (sweet fruit). It was much easier in the summer. Once I lost some weight and seemed in control of my eating, I gradually added small bits of real dessert in. I eat a LOT of Outshine Grape popsicles (although that does not satisfy my desire for something creamy).

    Over the holidays, I fell of my horse and it only took about 2 weeks for me to become a raving, uncontrolled dessert lunatic again. It has taken me another 3 weeks to get that BACK under control, but I think I'm there now.

    This is just how I'm going to be.
  • snickerscharlie
    snickerscharlie Posts: 8,578 Member
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    DailyGroomer wrote: »
    kkress92 wrote: »
    I am a dessert fiend! I have a small dessert after lunch and another after dinner. I just fit it into my calorie budget for the day. I'll have some dried fruit, ice cream or a cookie, same as before, just less.

    This is what I've been trying to do. Work around the calories to ensure it fits. Today I missed the mark.. but I have been under for most days the last few weeks.

    Then you are doing well.

    When I want something sweet and I'm out of wiggle room for the day, I find sugar free gum really helps. Lots of flavour and it keeps my mouth busy. ;)
  • LivingtheLeanDream
    LivingtheLeanDream Posts: 13,342 Member
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    Totally agree its about moderation and not deprivation....so now you need to find what works for you.
    Save some calories for that daily sweet treat and content yourself when you've had that, that is your lot until the next day :smile: when you get into the habit of that you'll hardly think about it any more - I know that's what happened me.
  • deannalfisher
    deannalfisher Posts: 5,600 Member
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    if I buy sweets, candy, chips etc - I immediately take the bigger bag and divide it up into the individual serving sizes - its reduced my mindless munching
  • Ming1951
    Ming1951 Posts: 514 Member
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    Allow yourself that sweet everyday as a treat, perhaps at the end of the day when all is said and done. You can sit relax and enjoy it. Then go to bed. LOL This actually works for me, and it fits into my calorie adjustment for the day.
  • DailyGroomer
    DailyGroomer Posts: 93 Member
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    You guys all have some great tips! sometimes instead of ice cream I will slice up a banana with some cool whip and add a tbsp of mini chocolate chips. Its very yummy and the potassium can help my sore muscles.
  • RAinWA
    RAinWA Posts: 1,980 Member
    edited January 2017
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    Someone gave me a Yonannas for Christmas - turns bananas and other fruits into the consistency of ice cream. I was really skeptical but surprisingly it really does make some nice desserts. It's not really ice cream (I don't care what it says on the box) but it has been fun playing with recipes for it.

    And yes, I'm really looking forward to summer and using it to make banana daiquiris. :)

    edited because grammar is hard on Mondays.
  • 3rdof7sisters
    3rdof7sisters Posts: 486 Member
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    It has only been 3 weeks for me so far, but I am down 12-1/2 pounds. It has been kind of hard, but seeing the results helps. I have been limiting myself to 1 piece of dark chocolate each evening for staying with in my calorie goal for the day. I savor that little piece of chocolate, and really look forward to it.
  • DailyGroomer
    DailyGroomer Posts: 93 Member
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    3rdof7sisters wrote: »
    It has only been 3 weeks for me so far, but I am down 12-1/2 pounds. It has been kind of hard, but seeing the results helps. I have been limiting myself to 1 piece of dark chocolate each evening for staying with in my calorie goal for the day. I savor that little piece of chocolate, and really look forward to it.

    Wow 12.5 lbs in one week! That's crazy. My weight is barely budging
  • lemurcat12
    lemurcat12 Posts: 30,886 Member
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    For me it is useful to have a consistent schedule of three meals, no snacking (unless I plan one because of a long run or something), and a small (usually, small) dessert after dinner. That way I don't expect food (or in this case, specifically sweets) at other times, but I know I can have one every day if I want.

    I do eat some fruit with meals, and I also don't want to get in the habit of thinking I need something sweet after dinner, so I change it up. Sometimes I have really good cheese, or nuts, or sometimes I have a higher cal dinner and skip it, and sometimes fruit. But sometimes good chocolate or ice cream.
  • 3rdof7sisters
    3rdof7sisters Posts: 486 Member
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    DailyGroomer wrote: »
    3rdof7sisters wrote: »
    It has only been 3 weeks for me so far, but I am down 12-1/2 pounds. It has been kind of hard, but seeing the results helps. I have been limiting myself to 1 piece of dark chocolate each evening for staying with in my calorie goal for the day. I savor that little piece of chocolate, and really look forward to it.

    Wow 12.5 lbs in one week! That's crazy. My weight is barely budging

    No, 3 weeks. I started 1/1/17

  • DailyGroomer
    DailyGroomer Posts: 93 Member
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    3rdof7sisters wrote: »
    DailyGroomer wrote: »
    3rdof7sisters wrote: »
    It has only been 3 weeks for me so far, but I am down 12-1/2 pounds. It has been kind of hard, but seeing the results helps. I have been limiting myself to 1 piece of dark chocolate each evening for staying with in my calorie goal for the day. I savor that little piece of chocolate, and really look forward to it.

    Wow 12.5 lbs in one week! That's crazy. My weight is barely budging

    No, 3 weeks. I started 1/1/17

    That's still incredible weight loss at an average of 4lb/week
  • Goal179
    Goal179 Posts: 314 Member
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    I struggle with this issue as well. I found a few things that are helpful; 1) The less sweets I eat, the less I crave. But once I start eating them again and treating myself to them frequently, I want them more. 2) Magnesium supplements seem to help kill some of the sugar cravings 3) Fruit, even dried fruit seems to help manage the cravings. I use trail mix because it has a combination of good healthy proteins (nuts and seeds) and it has a limited amount of dried fruit (avoid the brands that have candy and sugary chocolates, that's not good trail mix) 4) Up your water intake 5) Eat less salty foods. I have found foods high in salt seem to push me towards sugar 6) Healthy nut butters with fruit are great 7) Lastly, bake your own treats, that way you can cook them however you want =0)

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