How do i stop craving sugar?

Personally, I will have an individually wrapped square of dark chocolate. I don't particularly care for the bitter of dark chocolate, so I am not tempted to eat the whole bag. But it's sweet enough to kill the craving.

I don’t stock anything sweet in the house besides fruit, and even that is for the lady as my gastrointestinal system often has problems digesting them.

Usually the novelties suck me in like a fly to a zapper. Sometimes, I’ll indulge, and go on a diet soda binge for a week or so, or get some candy.

Our brain loves sweet, it has a special chemical that reacts to us eating sweet foods, so the chemical reaction will always be there in our brain. You will never truly not want sweets, so the only choice is to learn how to cope. Usually that is in the form of will power.

ETA: if you don’t have it on a regular basis, the pull gets less and less effective. Interestingly enough, I am kind of going through the same thing with smoking right now, although the jury is still out on the parallels of those reactions in the body. For me, I quit cold turkey again about 3 weeks ago and although the nicotine has left my system, I still have a desire when the stress is high, but I don’t indulge. My health goals overpower my need for nicotine.

Same mentality can be used for sugary foods...they just aren’t nearly addictive, so it’s okay to indulge every once in a while :-)

Have a nice day!

i learned long ago i just cant keep things like chips cookies or icecream in my house. When i began my weight loss journey i would walk a 50 minute walk each way to buy a chocolate bar from a far dollar store, In my mind it was me getting best of both worlds id get exercise id get my butt outside and id get a snack. When i began thts how i kept sane i needed middle ground i needed it to be okay that i loved those foods. Over time life got more busy and i lost more weight and i learned new things i enjoyed eating and small things like buying a new nail polish instead of a chocolate bar on my dollar store walks (i never painted my nails before but it keeps me busy and unable to eat for like an hour lol)


I guess my point is its a learning curve, Just saying to yourself you dont get sweet treats or your addicted or whatever just makes it harder. Find ways to be on middle ground where you can earn some or have just a little or whatever works for you. Keep a focus on veggies and proteins and fats to keep yourself nourished to make cravings a bit more minimal- physically anyway. Mentally, keep it out of your house if you find you cant control it at all- like me. Simply having the option to earn it if you want s mentally freeing in my opinion. Im stubborn when i am told not to do something or that i cant do something best believe im going to do it lol.


editing for full transparency: yesterday i went to mcdonalds got a caramel sundae (extra caramel omg it was rediculously caramelly ), and tim hortons got a toasted coconut donut, And after work i spent 16$ on chocolate coated pretzels and chocolate coated jubjubes and peanutbutter cups. MY point being even after i lost 110 pounds, Everyone is human. No point in beating myself up and so today im just going to be happy i scratched that itch and carry on. No ones perfect and theres no use in denying yourself always. Eat all foods, Just not all the time.

More simple sugars ((potatoes, rice, pasta)) but ensure calories in < calories out

steph_is_happy wrote: »

ServusChristi wrote: »

That reminds me -- I reject the popular notion that you shouldn't deny yourself. That you should occasionally indulge. Not me! I'm as bad with sugar as the worst drunk is with alcohol. Sugar is my heroin. Sweetener is just methadone. Sweets are simply something I can never have.

After all, if I DO eat a sweet and I enjoy it at all, then I'm right back to enjoying sweets. I'd rather keep looking at them with revulsion.

That’s awesome that sugar abstinence works for you! Sugar can be just as dangerous as a drug, and I agree with the comparison. Everyone’s experience with sugar addiction is different. I allow myself one piece of dark chocolate every single night and it’s enough for me! Some people can’t moderate it like I can, but some people can’t give it up like you can!

Semantically, sugar can't be as dangerous as a drug, because your body literally runs on sugar. The bigger issues are certain foods are hyperpalatable (i.e., bake goods, candy, etc...), which are generally made up of sugar, fats and salt.

^ it’ll take some time, but start to gradually reduce your sugar intake per day. Eventually when you’re consuming less per day, you cravings for it will be eliminated.

But again, plan it and this takes time.

sassywolf2013 wrote: »

I crave sugary things like yogurt covered pretzels, ice cream, etc... How do i stop eating it as much?

When I do the following, I don't have cravings:

1. Get sufficient sleep
2. Exercise regularly - when I get the happy hormones from exercise, I'm not prone to seeking them from food.
3. Get sufficient protein in relationship to carbs. I'm not low carb, but reducing carbs and upping protein worked for cravings for me. See also http://www.nutrition.org.uk/healthyliving/fuller/understanding-satiety-feeling-full-after-a-meal.html
4. Eat moderate amounts of fruit. This makes me less interested in higher calorie sweets.
5. Take a magnesium supplement. This can be especially helpful for women premenstrually.
6. Save foods like chocolate for after dinner, in small amounts
7. Stay hydrated
8. Have a calorie deficit that is appropriate for the amount of weight I need to lose. An overly aggressive goal can definitely lead to cravings.
9. Eat at maintenance when my appetite goes up premenstrually.

I find allowing a daily treat treat...about 100-150 kcal... helps me, as I don't feel deprived then ...its all about balance for me.
If I feel deprived, that's when I cave in and eat all around me, therefore this works for me .
Best of luck!