Suggestions for a candy bar addict?

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  • cloud2011
    cloud2011 Posts: 898 Member
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    I work chocolate into my day sometimes.

    You can buy snack bags (half the size of sandwich bags) and pre-make snacks for yourself.

    One thing that I find very satisfying instead of a candy bar is 1/4 c. of almonds and 1 Tbsp of semi-sweet chocolate chips. I get the crunch that I seek, along with the chocolate.

    I measure it out ahead of time and bring it to work for late afternoon snack sometimes.

    The other thing is, if you're studying, your brain works on glucose, so you do need fuel. It's just a matter of choosing the right fuel.

    Also, if I have to eat real candy, sometimes I'll choose a peppermint patty instead of something higher calorie.
  • microwoman999
    microwoman999 Posts: 545 Member
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    If I can't control myself and I just eat it all in one sitting I do not allow myself to buy it. Just don't buy it walk away and tell yourself you are strong and that is why you walked away!
  • kdeaux1959
    kdeaux1959 Posts: 2,675 Member
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    Snack bars ... south beach. Pretty good. Smaller than a candy bar to to me are more filling. The biggest problem with candy (other than being in the neighborhood of 240 calories each) is that they are empty calories. These south beach treats do have some nutritional value AND are only a 100 calories each. Personally, I find I am more satisfied after eating one than if I had eaten a candy bar. Remember many snack foods you find in stores contain appetite enhancers which make them addictive and wanting more. I don't think I have bought a candy bar per se (except for my daughter on occasion) for maybe 2-3 months. I don't eat the other things that often any more since I have pretty much come off of them... I do eat a meal bar in the morning since I am not that much of a breakfast person and they contain protein and are pretty filling. Avoid empty calories when possible... that is what will get you...
  • Jamee_J
    Jamee_J Posts: 63
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    I bought a reg. sized York peppermint pattie about a week ago, and I broke it into six pieces. I have eaten 1 little piece a day, just finished it up today:) perfect for a sweet little treat, but it doesn't break the bank of your calories:)
  • theteaprincess
    theteaprincess Posts: 3
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    I too, am a candy bar addict, and Ii have learned to eat chocolate very slowly. Reeses peanut butter cups are my favourite. Now I buy the unwrapped minis, and I keep them in the freezer. I take out a few tiny cups, and I savour each one and wait between cups. It really does help to satisfy my cravings. I know that if I completely deprive myself, I will fail. I am losing weight at a nice pace, and I enjoy the foods I like, along with the healthier options. Taking your time with a food you crave really does help to enjoy it more. I used to pop miniature pb cups three, four, five at a time. And now I am satisfied with the tiny bit of chocolate I get. I have lost 22 lbs and I do not feel deprived.
  • kburgess247
    kburgess247 Posts: 43 Member
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    I am studying for the bar exam as well. I am not a candy bar addict but I am a serious cookie addict -- I have been known to leave my house at 11pm when I finish an outline and walk to Insomnia Cookies to reward myself with a warm fresh baked 300 calorie chocolate chip cookie.

    Here is what I have done that has drastically cut my cravings:

    1. Start the day with a good meal with so-called "slow carbs" and keep it up all day. That is, foods with carbohydrates that break down and burn much more slowly (e.g. beans, whole grains, veggies)

    2. Eat super dark chocolate (70% or higher) as a snack in the afternoon when I start feeling that slump (the recommended serving size or LESS). It takes getting used to but it is just bitter enough that you won't want to eat an entire bar. It has far less sugar so over time it will help with your fight against sugar cravings. And it is a billion times healthier than milk chocolate since it takes much less fat and sugar to make and you actually get some benefit from the antioxidants in the cocoa -- in milk chocolate they are washed down to nothing.

    3. Eat more fruit and veggies generally. If you fill up on the good stuff you will crowd out the bad. I found that a lot of the time I was eating junk food because my brain was starving of what it really needed. Compare your fruit veggie intake with the USDA recommendations. If you're below that, step your game up! It will fuel your brain and reduce crashes.

    Generally, I have also found that working out helped motivate me to cut the bad sugar. It isn't a high enough quality fuel to give me the energy to work out like I want to. To be your best on the bar you have to give your brain the best. It's time to cut the crap. :-)

    I personally strongly discourage most of the processed snack bars, etc (not because I think that they are bad, just because they can become addicting themselves). I think more good whole foods are almost always the answer. Over time, if you're committed, your tastes adapt.
  • littlecesar
    littlecesar Posts: 33
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    If you fail to plan, then plan to fail! You have to be ready for those cravings, and be prepared. Have a small cooler or lunch bag filled with almonds, walnuts, fruit, and to fill that chocolate need, try the Atkins bars. They are almost no carbs, and they taste good. I found one that is just like a Payday bar, with some kind of nuget and peanuts!!! Another is like a Mounds, and there are many, may more flavors to fulfill your cravings. Yummy!!
  • LilynEdensmom
    LilynEdensmom Posts: 612 Member
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    For me I work them into my calories, even if it means an extra workout.Not an every day treat, usually every 3-4 days..I don't eat the regular size either. I get a bag of fun size divide them up into baggies and freeze them take one out in the morning of my treat day (I have super sensitive teeth so the cold is a deterrent for me) ... Planning the candy makes it easier for me to get past the craving if I"m like only 2 more days then I can have some.
  • supplemama
    supplemama Posts: 1,956 Member
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    You just have to STOP buying them! I know it's hard, but you can do it!

    I used to love Reese's peanut butter cups, Snickers, and Kit Kat bars. I stopped first with the Reese's because I had to go cold turkey on peanut butter for a while, I simply could not eat it without pigging out. After a while, maybe 2 months, I no longer craved any peanut butter product including Reese's. Then I stopped with the Snickers and other candy bars. I teach, and often would forget to bring my lunch so I'd grab something from the machine. I learned the hard way, PREPARE and bring healthy food! Then I'd have no excuse or reason to buy junk. By the end of this past school year I'd broken my craving for candy bars. Now I can look at them in stores and what not and not feel even the slightest urge to get them.

    Start your day with breakfast. If you do not normally eat breakfast this can be hard but it really helps. Eat something high in protein, like a cup of yogurt or a couple of eggs. Drink a cup of water. That will get you to at least mid-morning. Mid-morning have a healthy snack. and so on.

    But most importantly, just walk away. The candy bars do not control you. You control you, and you can beat this.
  • Lolli1986
    Lolli1986 Posts: 500 Member
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    I wouldn't even call myself a sugar addict because I don't like straight 'sweet' things, but chocolate is the perfect combination of bitter and sweet.

    I have never yet succeeded in including chocolate in my diet in a way that is controlled and reasonable and fits with my goals. I honestly have to cut it out completely. Substituting with things like chocolatey protein bars or shakes didn't help, but drinking a somewhat bitter hot chocolate (teaspoon baking cocoa, half teaspoon sugar) did help me to keep my mind off chocolate for the first few days of cutting it out.

    When I bring it back in, I will be only buying the really dark chocolate. Will see how that goes.

    Good luck to you.
  • ladyraven68
    ladyraven68 Posts: 2,003 Member
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    For years I never ever allowed myself to indulge in these wonderful chocolate treats, but now I eat one sometimes two a day!

    I am spending loong days preparing for the Florida bar exam and whenever I get hungry, tired, bored, etc. I hit up the vending machine. Now I crave them. I caught my self buying one at the gas station and then another at the grocery store.

    I am watching my waist line expand. They are undoing all the hard work I have put in to lose weight and get healthy, but that doesn't seem to be enough to stop me from over indulging.

    I need help! Has anyone else had an issue with crazy strong sugar cravings?? IF so, How did you over come them??

    if you can fit one into your calorie goal, them have it.

    Plan your day better, log the chocolate bar in the morning so you know you have something to look forward to, and work out the rest of your meals with the rest of your calories.

    You are not going to live the rest of your life never having a candy bar, so you just have to try to fit it in to your otherwise healthy diet. If the rest of your day is good nutritious food, your chocolate is not going to ruin your day.
  • PhiMuHoney
    PhiMuHoney Posts: 127 Member
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    I totally know how you feel. I would, like others have said, carry some healthier choice with you for when sugar cravings attack. I always have a serving of Blue Diamond's Dark Chocolate Roasted Almonds with me.. as well as really strong and minty gum.. if I just HAVE to have a candy bar of some kind, I get a skinny cow bar. I know that it's tough to break the habit of eating that much chocolate, but know that you can do it! The first step is knowing and acknowledging that it's something you need to do. :)
  • bethagon
    bethagon Posts: 18
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    Not sure if you get them in america, but 2 finger KitKats are only about 100 cals
    If you can, get candy bars rather than actual chocolate bars, because chocolate itself has the most calories. :)
  • Sdo121
    Sdo121 Posts: 1 Member
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    Fibre One cereal bars are better tasting than candy bars and very filling.
  • kassandracat
    kassandracat Posts: 30 Member
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    Skinny cow chocolate peanutbutter bars. They're so good. They taste like peanut butter kit kat bars but they're bigger! Love them, I eat one every other day :)

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