overcoming sweet addiction

I have a major sweet tooth and one thing that has helped me is switching to dark chocolate. It seems to satisfy my craving faster than milk chocolate, so I only eat 1 piece of candy instead of an entire bag of M&M's! I have also stopped drinking sodas. That has helped as well. To help with my ice cream craving, keep frozen fruit bars around the house. They are only 80 calories a bar and taste great!

I am one who eats sweets until they are gone, even when they don't taste good anymore! A box of Little Debbie Swiss Rolls, gone! Once I start I cannot seem to stop.
That was until 3 1/2 years ago. 2 days after Christmas, that was it, I was determined to eat no flour, no sugar. I had to take it minute by minute, day by day. I would mark each day off on the calender. Big numbers that showed how many days I had been sugar and flour free! After a few weeks I was marking weeks completed instead of days. Then after a year or so, months. Now I do not ever plan to go back to flour and sugar. I don't know how my body would react.

I have alternatives to be sure!! Blue Bunnie No sugar added ice cream. sugar free chocolate syrup for my milk. ezekiel bread. fresh fruit (including in my oatmeal), 85% cocoa dark chocolate (I know there is some sugar, but I certainly cannot eat massive amounts of this dark chocolate). I have truly been doing this for over 3 years and I am very happy I took the first step!

For starters, I would remove any ultra-sweet things from my house. If there were places I frequented that sell sweets or pastries, I'd avoid them, or I'd go in with a plan to order something healthier. There was a time when I couldn't go into Starbucks without ordering a 400 calorie pastry.

Is there a news stand or vending machine from which you buy candy? Try to get some nuts or health mix instead.

If you drink sugar in your coffee, you could try reducing the amount. I started drinking coffee with skim or 1% milk ages ago. It was surprisingly easy if the coffee was good.

Don't overdo artificially sweetened beverages. They may make you crave sweet things even more, as some people have already said.

Log your food. When you see how much damage a couple of candy bars can do to a diet plan, it may reinforce the idea of healthier eating..

I have the same issue. I LOVED sweet tea. Adored it. Decided to give it up for Lent because some coworkers were giving up foods as well. What I did was drink some flavored water. Honestly it's not the same, and I do get cravings for the sugary goodness, but I'd try to distract myself if the water didn't work.

If it's in coffees, try flavored (even sugar free) creamers to get the sweetness without added sugar.

A few things that made a big impact on reducing my desire for sugar/sweets (like donuts, ice cream, candy, etc):

-Allowing myself some sugar. I eat Ghirardelli's dark chocolate squares with sea salt and almonds. I can only eat 1-2 squares otherwise I feel sick.

-Eating more healthy fat and protein seemed to help me feel satiated. Especially healthy fat - avocado, nuts, olive oil

-Cutting out all high fructose corn syrup. This was the biggest culprit I noticed. This drastically reduced the amount of processed food, carbs, and sugar in my diet.

-Lots and lots of water. I drink 125-150 oz of water a day.

-Chew a piece of fruit flavored gum any time I had a craving.

Why do you want to...If you force yourself to cut them out completely IMHO you are just attaining a temporary goal......unless you believe you can cut them out forever.

This!^

I refuse to cut sweets out .... for the rest of my life ..... for a measly 15-20 pounds!

I give myself 1 sugary snack a day .... provided I have eaten well (have calories to spare). Typically it's choclate, or maybe it's chocolate ice cream. I have to learn how to control this "portion" as well as other portions.

Give yourself something that really hits the spot. Ghiradelli semi-sweet chocloate squares, Blue Bunny Mini Swirls ice cream cones, 100 calorie snack packs (Oreo).

i too need/ crave sweets. after my meal in the evening i always feel i need one. i used to need chocolate, i weened myself by having only really dark chocolate to start with then where its not that nice i cut down to one peice after my evening meal.i soon stopped wanting it. but after a while my cravings have come back. i let things slide a bit and let myself have anykind of sweet, but only one. i do keep it within my calorie goals and i don't feel deprived. i also allow myself to have the occasional chocolate bar. only one and kept with-in my calorie goals.

Why do you want to...If you force yourself to cut them out completely IMHO you are just attaining a temporary goal......unless you believe you can cut them out forever.

This!^

I refuse to cut sweets out .... for the rest of my life ..... for a measly 15-20 pounds!

I give myself 1 sugary snack a day .... provided I have eaten well (have calories to spare). Typically it's choclate, or maybe it's chocolate ice cream. I have to learn how to control this "portion" as well as other portions.

Give yourself something that really hits the spot. Ghiradelli semi-sweet chocloate squares, Blue Bunny Mini Swirls ice cream cones, 100 calorie snack packs (Oreo).

That's fine if it it works for you. Some people, including me many days, would not be able to stop with one snack pack. Know Thyself.

I know for me, I can not cut them out forever. If I have a bag of kisses, cookies, chocolate chips or any other candies(chocolate, caramel, peanut butter types) I will eat the whole bag within the day, moderation is not in my vocabulary for these things. Once I start, I can't stop if it is in my house. I try not to have it in my house. If I am at work, I may get a candy bar out of the vending machine a couple times a week. I can't replace the sweet I like with fruit. They are not even close.

I also will keep atkins bars around. The caramel nut chew is kinda like a snickers and has 130 calories. there is also one like a salted nut roll which is pretty good at 140 calories.

In a prior post, she mentioned using the sugar free cake mix for an alternative sweet. I have taken a cake mix and combine the dry mix with a can of pumpkin. They have a consistency of a fudge brownie. It cuts out many calories and adds vitamins and fiber to the cake.

Whatever I do to get my fix it is included in my daily calorie amounts.