Self control-- help!

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emdoyvol
emdoyvol Posts: 2 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
Hi everyone!

Shred ten pounds?! Shouldn't be too difficult, right? I am 145 and 5'6", so I'm not hoping for any drastic weight loss. I would just like to shed a few inches. I am having the hardest time, however, finding the strength to avoid eating sweets.

After every meal, I just get this awful SUGAR craving. The recommended glass of water, the sweet piece of fruit, a piece of hard candy-- nothing can stave off that drive for sugar. It's like a drug!

Have you found any secrets to help you deal with that intense need for something sweet? I feel like once I can get through a week without having any, I will be able to kick the habit. Any advice?

Thanks!

Replies

  • jakecan4sure
    jakecan4sure Posts: 36
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    I eat two table spoons of all natural creamy no sodium almond butter with my breakfast and with my second lunch
  • kayemme
    kayemme Posts: 1,782 Member
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    that's because it is a drug!

    i suggest weening yourself off of it. one away i go about it (and i'm not cured) is to make my own desserts and cut the sugar in at least half. you'll find that your palate will become far more sensitive to sweet over time and you just won't need much at all.

    i replace a lot of sugar with natural sugars (not processed) like apple or carrots that are blended into a pulp and then add that to cookies or muffins. also just eating them whole.. these are very sweet items, but we don't think of them that way. also beets. in fact, sugar is often made from beets.

    if you're not much of a baker, then try buying sweets at local ethnic bakeries. you'll find that american bakeries use far more sugar than necessary (because it's a drug and because our tastes are accumulative - so american sweets are almost pure sugar, and worse still, made with high fructose corn syrup which is even sweeter than sugar)

    you're not alone, but you can still have sweets that are less sweet and just a little here and there until you can kick it on the regular.
  • Jormit3
    Jormit3 Posts: 5
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    I getting yourself out of the kitchen until that craving goes away. Read a book, take a walk. Or if that doesn't even help drink tea with a little bit of sweetner. That always gets my craving gone.
  • judkinsjenny
    judkinsjenny Posts: 220
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    hmmm thats my problem too. usually i find im thirsty. you may have some hypoglycemia going on. thats when your sugar is too low and so you have a wild eyes desperation for it. maybe check that out.
  • Acg67
    Acg67 Posts: 12,142 Member
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    fit sweet things that you like into your daily cals, problem solved

    studies have shown the more rigid the diet the less adherence they have and adherence is the most important thing in any diet
  • davidpm
    davidpm Posts: 208 Member
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    I make fruit smoothies. A banana, some strawberries and a chocolate protein powder with some soy milk. Tastes like a chocolate smoothie.

    You could also try yogurt.

    One other thing that I've found is chocolate flavored almond milk. The milk itself is only 35 calories per cup so when they add some chocolate to it, it ends up being around 100 calories a cup... about the same as a cup of regular soy milk.

    I also just picked up some breyers carb smart ice cream that's only 120 calories per cup. I think sugar free fudgcicles are around 40 calories.

    LOTS of choices :)
  • 8one6
    8one6 Posts: 7
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    I'm a bored eater, so I've had to distract myself to keep from mindlessly snacking. I recommend taking a short walk if possible.

    If that doesn't work then don't try and go cold turkey. Let yourself have the sugary snack, but work the calories into what you expect to eat for the day. Slowly work yourself off the snacking. It's a process, one we're all still working on.
  • george_ie_girl
    george_ie_girl Posts: 120 Member
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    It's your mind! You know you can do it - so do it!

    Remember that feeling healthy is so much better than any sugary foods!
  • engineman312
    engineman312 Posts: 3,450 Member
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    try some decaf tea with a little low fat half and half and some honey or a little sugar. better then a soda or cookie, and the hot drink is supposed to help you digest a little.

    ps, i like the skinny cow ice cream sandwiches when i can't help myself ;-)
  • ItsMeBlue
    ItsMeBlue Posts: 25 Member
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    i was informed that using a diet coke instead of eggs and all the other trash in a cake mix would rock when you bake it. and it is sweet...might be worth trying?
  • amorgan101187
    amorgan101187 Posts: 129
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    If you like key lime pie go to kraftrecipe.com and look up key lime parfait. There's only like 140 xcal and 1 g of fat it's basically kiwi, banana, key lime yogurt cereal on top.
  • dreamgurl2324
    dreamgurl2324 Posts: 191 Member
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    maybe try a sugar free low call jello pudding desert? what i try to do is wait an hour and if i'm still craving what every sweet thing it happens to be then i will have some..i feel if i deny myself everything i wont stick with it. good luck!
  • xxrouguexx
    xxrouguexx Posts: 12 Member
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    I have a major sweet tooth myself and like you am not looking to lose a drastic amount of weight, just 15-20 pounds to feel better about myself. I've been dieting on and off for years, and the first week is always the hardest to fight off the craving. It helps to have a lot of fruit in the house, my favorite sweet tooth fruit is bananas, with the exception of when i'm craving chocolate, bananas always satisfy my sweet tooth - a banana thats 5-7 inches long is about 60 calories, one thats between 7 & 9 is 90. When craving chocolate, a teaspoon of nutella spread on light whole wheat toast usually does the trick or a fiber one brownie which is only 90 calories. I recommend trying to fight off the sweet tooth until an appropriate snack time like for example if you eat breakfast at 7am, 10:30 would be appropriate, or for nightly dessert. Just remember the first week is a killer, but if you can make it thru the first week, you'll do just fine the rest of the way to your goal!
  • natika33
    natika33 Posts: 154 Member
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    I'm not sure how much sugar you feel you need to be satisfied, but why not eat a little? Diets that take out everything you love to eat are too difficult to sustain, I think. You could incorporate sweets into your diet somehow I'm pretty sure.

    One teaspoon of sugar is only 8 cal. Why don't you very literally eat sugar? Take one teaspoon and eat it slowly after your meal. Or one small square of chocolate (a bit more calories, but still low if you stick with only one square).

    Whatever you crave, just eat a little bit of it. Eat it slowly and savor it, drawing the experience out as long a possible. It will give your brain time to realise you are full.

    I used to pop a few Smarties (like M&Ms but sweeter) after dinner or a few Gummy Bears and I still lost weight.

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