Sugar cravings

Hi Lisa - strangely I find that fat free natural greek yoghurt takes my sugar craving away.
Dried fruit can also be useful, although not too much because it does contain 40-50% sugar... however it's not refined and does come with other micronutrients from the fruit.
There's no substitute for willpower though and it does get easier over time.

I was a sugar freak. I would devour a couple pounds of candy a day, plus cookies, cake, ice cream. If I wasn’t eating it, I was thinking of where to find the next dose.

I initially started on the IFM.org Elimination Diet, recommended by my doctor. I don’t know if it was the combination of foods, or the determination to stick to the available choices, or just having a very simple two page “plan of attack” in writing on the fridge, but it worked for me. After a week or two, sugar cravings were drastically reduced.

As whacko as it sounds, I accidentally created a healthy smoothie that tasted just like a Wendy’s Frostie, which satisfied my craving for sweets. I raced out of bed to have one, and enjoyed a second one as a snack in the afternoon.

I also supplemented with fruit, especially naval oranges and strawberries.

I can’t even remember what it was now, even though I had it every day for a year and a half.

I beleive it was :
1c almond (or cashew/almond) milk
8 or so gr cacao powder OR Ghirardelli sweet ground cocoa
Frozen banana
About 6gr molasses
10-15gr uncooked rolled oats
Few drops vanilla
As much ice as desired (I used a LOT so it felt like I had a huge smoothie)

Blend until the texture of a Frostie.

The other thing that is still carrying me to this day is sweet balsamic vinegars: strawberry, chocolate, fig, blueberry. I use balsamic on fruit and cottage cheese, over (homemade sugar free low cal) ice cream, as salad dressing. Vinegar was a champ for me, and no, we’re not talking gagging down ounces of apple cider vinegar, lol.

Instead of craving sugars, around 2 pm I get itchy for fruit cottage cheese and balsamic. It’s a much happier place to be.

BTW, easy homemade sugar free ice cream is the bomb. Last night it was lemon meringue ice cream. Well under 200 for half a pint + whipped cream+ lemon honey sprinkles + a crumbled graham cracker.

A couple grams of lemon or ginger honey granules go a long way and are another way to keep sugar cravings at bay.

These are a lifesaver for me for snacks…Quest hero chocolate caramel pecan. 1g sugar, 15g protein, 11g fiber

I know a lot of people frown upon protein bars, and it’s a bit pricey but this is way better than a candy bar and is just as good! Also, I ordered a dozen of another brand thinking the were comparable and when I got them I saw they had 20g sugar so now I can’t eat them!!! Teaches me to read more carefully.

https://www.questnutrition.com/products/us-12-hero-bar-chocolate-caramel-pecan-box

Word of advice on things like bars and other sugar free products: don’t go whole hog. Buy enough to sample the product for maybe a week.

I loved One bars, and bought a box of every flavor after my first, only to discover they caused awful tummy trouble after eating them for a few days.

I had to end up leaving the opened boxes in the counter at the gym with a “help yourself” note stuck to them.

Sugar free products have been very helpful to me. Didn’t like the taste at first, and mulishly stubborn that I’d die from them, til I reasoned which would kill me first? Obesity or chemicals?

I have a million and one uses for Skinny Syrup flavors. You can find them at TJ Maxx/Marshall’s/Ross for half what they sell for online.

I’ve also found that drinking something hot and sweet kills snack impulses. A chai latte at 37 calories does the trick once or twice a day.

Increasing my protein and fiber has helped me a lot. I have a package of cookies within easy reach (very bad I know), but I have not had any for a couple days. I’ll probably give it to my kids in a couple more days if I don’t have any, so they don’t go to waste.