Getting off the sweets

Christina71877
Christina71877 Posts: 1 Member
edited November 29 in Food and Nutrition
Hello everyone!
I am looking for any tips/tricks to stay away from sweets! Right now this is my biggest issue! I create healthy meals and then crave sweets for snacks. I also work in an office where they’re everywhere and I can’t seem to say no!

Replies

  • AnnPT77
    AnnPT77 Posts: 34,582 Member
    I found that eating fruits reduced my cravings for higher-calorie, less nutrient dense sweet treats. This doesn't work for everyone, but I've seen some others here say the same.

    I started by trying to get 3 fruit servings daily. After a while of that, most low-nutrient sweets (candy, baked goods) started tasting overly sweet and too simplistic, and I could eat less fruit if I chose to, and still not crave the low-nutition over-sweet foods. YMMV.
  • amy19355
    amy19355 Posts: 805 Member
    Christina71877 wrote: »
    Hello everyone!
    I am looking for any tips/tricks to stay away from sweets! Right now this is my biggest issue! I create healthy meals and then crave sweets for snacks. I also work in an office where they’re everywhere and I can’t seem to say no!

    couple ideas for you:
    1. I concur with others here who suggest to allow yourself some sweets in your daily meal planning. It's all about portion control, and , for me - I find eating my allowed sweet treat very slowly helps me feel satisfied when the last crumb has been swallowed.
    2. Think about, and try to accept the difference between capability (can) and intention (will), and choose to be intentional about your will to say no to all the visible office sweets.
    3. I also concur with another poster here who observed about how much sweet there is in natural foods, both fruits and vegetables. It's easier and easier to minimize the sweet cravings after a meal if I include sweet natural foods, such as green peas, sweet potatoes, or sweet red peppers.

    good luck! one day a a time, or one meal at a time, it all adds up in the long run.
  • kshama2001
    kshama2001 Posts: 28,052 Member
    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.
  • maureenkhilde
    maureenkhilde Posts: 849 Member
    For a period of time I did stop all sweets, I knew I needed to carve them out. So I could reintroduce them slowly when I had better control over my eating overall. I did however allow myself fruit, not as many servings as some due to being a diabetic. But oh the things one can do with apples or pears baking them, drizzling a bit of honey and some spices on them, pop in oven or microwave. And a divine treat. And I have introduced other items as well. For me I have recognized the one I seem to have trouble with is chocolate so I just am not eating it, my choice. I think sometimes at the beginning of the journey it does make sense to limit sweets, and slowly bring back. If you know that was one of your downfalls.
  • try2again
    try2again Posts: 3,562 Member
    Christina71877 wrote: »
    Hello everyone!
    I am looking for any tips/tricks to stay away from sweets! Right now this is my biggest issue! I create healthy meals and then crave sweets for snacks. I also work in an office where they’re everywhere and I can’t seem to say no!

    This has always been my biggest issue. My diet/meals have always been pretty decent, but I tend to ruin it with overindulgence in sweets. To the extent possible, control your environment. Don't keep things around the house you know you can't resist, try to avoid the areas at work where you know sweets are readily available, and/or ask yourself if X treat is really worth the calorie hit to the rest of your day. Once you are in the habit of limiting sweets, it really becomes much easier to resist, but it does take some time and the willingness to tell yourself "no" and mean it. Don't tell yourself, "I'm helpless to resist".
  • leanjogreen18
    leanjogreen18 Posts: 2,492 Member
    Sweet stuff just tastes good so naturally we are going to want to eat it. It’s not very satiating so we can eat a lot of it.

    This is what works for me...

    Plenty of sleep, water and nutritious foods. I don’t buy sweets for my home at all in large quantities. It’s either a small individual pack of kisses or similar max 200 ish calories.

    Since you work around sweets I’d not buy any for home and have a small sweet at work.

    Eat a little bit, it log it and enjoy eating sweets while still losing:)

    Others swear by abstaining, still others swear that abstaining causes them to binge. You can play around and see what works for you.
  • try2again
    try2again Posts: 3,562 Member
    DawnOfTheDead_Lift wrote: »
    callmecarina wrote: »
    I see that there are two camps here: one that states that sugar is an addiction and the best way to deal with it is to quit cold turkey. The other states that sugar is not addictive and you should be able to control the urges if you deal with it as you would any other food: in moderation.

    I think both have merits for the two types of people out there. It's really a matter of "choose what works best for you." I'd love to see both strategies being discussed here, and both strategies encouraged when someone decides whatever is best for them. :) Hugs to you all.

    My sugar cravings come the worst at night right before sleep, and right before my cycle. I have read that carbs will do the trick for menstrual/hormonal cravings and my go-to snack is whole wheat flax toast from TJ's and some jam. It does WONDERS for those cravings. :blush:


    For Moderation, I've come to the conclusion I will likely not be successful without an external source like MFP to keep my accountable. I'm okay with that.

    Nice post, and I particularly like this notion- moderation with accountability. Logging goes a long way towards reigning in my worst urges, because I can't pretend "it's not that bad" when I see the numbers in black & white. I know I will have to log for the rest of my life, because it's not realistic to think I'm going to abstain, and it's too easy to push that extra cookie (or 4) out of my mind when I'm not logging.
  • Nova
    Nova Posts: 10,355 MFP Staff
    Hey all,

    Please try to keep the OP's question in mind when replying.

    If you wish to debate the nature of addiction and sweets, you can do so at this link. Please keep the sugar addiction debate out of this topic.
  • mph323
    mph323 Posts: 3,563 Member
    Larkspur94 wrote: »
    I'm on keto, so you know, no sugary foods allowed. Only carbs I get are from veggies and berries and some keto friendly flours and that. I found cutting the carbs and increasing fat got rid of any cravings. It's more the nostalgia of sweet things over a desperate craving. I can pretty much walk by baked goods, milk chocolate and sweets with no desire to have them. Impressive for a previous sugar addict.
    I do like to treat myself to a keto desert every 1-2 weeks. These involve keto flours and 0GI sweetener. So you don't get that continued drive to want sugar after enjoying them. Last one I had was a strawberry cream pie that was heaven. No sugar, didn't go outside my macros, no guilt.
    So even if you aren't on the keto diet, I'd suggest looking at keto desserts and sweet options instead of going for the store brought stuff. You can adjust the fat content if you are trying to keep that low. Just be aware that anything you buy labelled 'low-fat' has a lot of sugar in it and can cause you to crave sugar.

    This is just a catch-phrase that people throw out there without actually looking at the ingredients of food labelled "low-fat". Some low fat food may have more sugar. Some may have less. It makes sense to read the ingredient list before making a purchasing decision based on how much fat or sugar a product has, instead of just avoiding anything labelled low-fat.
  • callmecarina
    callmecarina Posts: 145 Member
    I have sweets cravings right before my cycle. I have read before that your body is craving carbs mainly, but that often translates in the brain to sugar cravings. I saw a suggestion of having whole grain toast with jam or pb (or both). This is my new go-to and helps so much. I will also sometimes make avocado toast or toast with egg and that does wonders for my satiety.

    Basically, toast. Toast is the answer to everything. :blush:
  • kingscrown
    kingscrown Posts: 615 Member
    Man been there. I completely quit artificial sweeteners. Found it drove about 60% of my sweet cravings. Then took me until I did a whole30 to find out that simple carbs and actual sugar drives the rest of my cravings. I’ve never felt so calm in my entire life. I also figured out that my tsp of honey in my morning coffee will drive my whole day with cravings. If I have black coffee I’m fine.
  • yayamom3
    yayamom3 Posts: 939 Member
    Have you tried Quest bars? I have one every day as part of my lunch. It tastes like dessert. Also, I budget for two servings of M&M's that I enjoy as my evening snack. I eat them one at a time, which makes them last awhile. It helps knowing I have that to look forward to every night.
  • wifeoferp
    wifeoferp Posts: 86 Member
    Drinking more water and eating more healthy fats helps curb some of my carb cravings. But the best thing for has been setting rules, so that your brain knows that sweets aren’t off limits, but maybe just certain kinds. For instance, I have a friend who has the “no C’s” rule: no cake, candy, or cookies. Or one rule I like to follow is: I will only eat homemade treats. I have to work for it if I want it, and usually I’m too lazy! :smile:
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