sugar cravings

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Is there anyone else who is always craving sugar and can never get enough?
If yes, have you found a way to reduce that craving or do you also "just" live with it and obsess over how much that <insertDeliciousSweetSnackHere> sounds and you really want it but can't have it?

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  • JaydedMiss
    JaydedMiss Posts: 4,286 Member
    edited December 2017
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    I had got to the point i was losing complete control. I lost 110 pounds and was putting it back on. I panicked for weeks/months there. I was putting good healthy foods off to make more room for the sweets i knew id eat anyway. Even when i tried upping protein and healthy fats and all that...nothing worked. No control. I wont say im fully over it yet but as much as this isnt what you want to hear, The moment i put my focus on adding more vegetables and less sugar the more i felt under control.

    I think my body had switched out of running off proper nutrients to running off high sugar. I had literally been eating pounds of fruit daily and baked goods and icecream. I put my focus on potatoes and vegetables last week or so and now they are actually what im craving. I was simply trying to be good for a week so i can minimize christmas damage, But it had an awesome benefit. I dont feel starving all the time now. And iv had a big box of my weakness (chocolate chip cookies) in my house for 3 days now i havent opened. Granted i did have to wrap ti like a present and am planning to give it away to keep self away from them lol. Im still only human.
  • zanyterp
    zanyterp Posts: 291 Member
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    LOL: thank you for confirming that I am not alone
    I had lost about 130 lbs or so 2 years ago; but have gained most of it back after I stopped logging last year (i thought i had been ok to try it without logging and oops)…but life happened and it is time to lose it all again. The first time around the urge and need for sugar didn't go away; so I thought I'd ask if others have felt the same now that I am getting to do it again :'(

    i will have to see if i can figure out how to eat the other stuff :D (especially with it being such a drastic change to what i normally eat, not sure if i can figure out how to do this unnoticed). but the idea of not feeling hungry all the time is amazing...good to know it is possible.

    thanks!
  • zanyterp
    zanyterp Posts: 291 Member
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    I log my meals. I allow enough spare calories so I can have a dessert after dinner. Problem solved.

    thanks!
    i am hoping i can reach the point that i either have enough calories to eat OR i feel sated by the little bit of sugar i can eat; last time i did this i wasn't able to reach the point where the cravings went away. which is probably, at least in part, why i gained most of the weight back i had originally lost.
  • Momepro
    Momepro Posts: 1,509 Member
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    I make sure I have some extra calories for some sweet. As long as I only have access to a single serving, I'm ok. But if there is a whole cake or package of cookies I hsve ALOT of trouble not overeating them.
  • kommodevaran
    kommodevaran Posts: 17,890 Member
    edited December 2017
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    Is it sugar you crave or is it just something nice? Are you eating nice food, and enough? If so, you just have to tolerate some cravings, give in to some, but not all. If you aren't eating enough, or if the food you eat isn't nice, start there.

    If you are eating something that doesn't provide you with what you need, you'll never get enough. If you can have something you desire anytime, and you tell yourself you can't, you'll obsess over it.
  • zanyterp
    zanyterp Posts: 291 Member
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    @kommodevaran: what do you mean by "nice" food? it is sugar (and it is something i have always wanted to eat and can never get enough of as far as i can remember).
  • kommodevaran
    kommodevaran Posts: 17,890 Member
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    zanyterp wrote: »
    @kommodevaran: what do you mean by "nice" food? it is sugar (and it is something i have always wanted to eat and can never get enough of as far as i can remember).

    I mean "food you like". I'm almost sure you don't crave white sugar right out of the bag (or at least that you desire a chocolate bar or some gummy bears more). I'm also almost sure you like other things than what you can get from the candy store.
  • Sweatwpat
    Sweatwpat Posts: 2 Member
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    I feel you, that is my struggle every day. If they aren't around I crave them 24/7 but do ok to not give into my cravings, but the second I walk into work there is a plate of cookies, oreo truffles, and what have you and it's so hard to say no. According to my diet guru boyfriend, he says if you can stay away from them completely for 7 days you don't miss them anymore, but this means nothing sweet no fruit, baked goods, candy etc...anything with added sugar...even no calorie sweeteners...if you continue to eat the aforementioned in all likelihood the cravings never go away.
  • 81Katz
    81Katz Posts: 7,074 Member
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    As weird or (as dumb) as it sounds. If I stick to sweet things like fruit or yogurt (which is nowhere close to a cookie or candy bar) BUT I don't ever lose control with those things.

    Other sweets like cookies, cake, donuts, candy, etc. Once I start I just want more. It's pretty crazy. Sometimes I just abstain from certain foods which can work, but sometimes I just crave it more (deprivation) and then I go off the rails entirely. That suckkkks!

    I also have episodes of binge eating/emotional eating so that always works against me. I get stuck in cycles.

    Somehow you just have to find ways or habits that work. I'm working on that myself
  • lucerorojo
    lucerorojo Posts: 790 Member
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    The more delicious meals I can have during the day, the less I have cravings for sugar (treats). I always thought I had a sweet tooth and sugar cravings, but in my case I think that it is actually hunger driving it. If I have a choice between a good meal I'd rather eat it than a baked good. I really relate to the comment about eating "nice" food. The more delicious whole food I eat (not sugar) the less I have a desire for sugar.

    I was craving a cake that I made last year all this week. I kept eating a different treat each day to make up for it, until finally I decided I would make it, eat a piece or two, and then freeze the rest. I bought the ingredients on Wednesday. Did not have time so I decided I'd make it on Thursday. Thursday I concentrated on making dinner and didn't feel like I wanted to spend time making cake that evening and also was full from a good dinner. Yesterday, Friday I cooked another great meal and definitely had no time to bake a cake and no desire to eat one. Today I go away for the holidays, and I decided I'd make the cake when I return... I'm amazed myself how the craving just disappeared.
  • EWallss
    EWallss Posts: 19 Member
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    Sometimes when fruit doesn't cut it, I treat myself to a piece of dark chocolate, which I love! Other days I make almond butter quinoa balls, they are so good and help me with my cravings!
  • evilpoptart63
    evilpoptart63 Posts: 397 Member
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    I usually leave room in my diary for treats but I have to keep a really close eye on it. Once I get in the habit of eating a certain food and feel like I need it, start craving it hardcore, or overindulge to the point that it messes up my macros, I just stop buying them. The cravings will hit for a few days then Im fine. I stopped buying gummy bears a while ago and I ate my last Twix last night and I'm not buying more. Sweets have always been my biggest temptation but I have found that allowing small amounts in my diary keeps me satisfied but once I start eating too much I just end up craving more and have to back off a bit. I'm not sure about other people but that has always calmed my cravings. Sorry I wrote ao much. I hope it made sense lol. Good luck
  • TrueGrit1906
    TrueGrit1906 Posts: 54 Member
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    Pistachios
  • Fflpnari
    Fflpnari Posts: 975 Member
    edited December 2017
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    I leave 560 calories for a giant bowl of ice cream every day! I am a total sugar addict and this actually keeps me sane. I eat low carb and high protein throughout the day just so this will fit in my macros :)

    If I know I get the ice cream at night it helps me to say no to the cookies and candy available at work
  • zanyterp
    zanyterp Posts: 291 Member
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    Thank you for all of your help and comments (apologies for being slow to login again to check for replies)
    I would eat sugar straight; and do (mostly brown rather than white…those solidified chunks are SOOOOO good! but i will eat white sugar straight from the canister as well)

    for those that mentioned protein as a support option, thank you. i will try to figure out how to spread protein throughout my day