How do you curb your cravings for sugar?

[Wifey]

These past few weeks I've had severe cravings for sugar. A few times I've given in to buying a cookie or having a snack pack at work and I've been eating cookies, ice cream and popsicles at home.

I have plain almonds at my desk and have limited myself to 23 = 160 calories. 23 is the magic number according to my dietician, but this doesn't work all the time. I'm trying to get my self-control back in check.

What are you ladies doing to avoid eating sugary crap and keeping yourself in check?

TIA

[luvja]

I'll eat a sweet fruit. Like a peach or pineapple... anything sweet!

[fiberlover]

Protein and fiber. The cravings will subside if you eat clean for a while, but there will be a period of adjustment.

Try some fruit if you want something sweet.

[JayEll]

You'll need to get rid of the foods that you tend to overeat for awhile. Just don't have them around. Find substitutes for now--like fruit. A nice ripe plum is a wonderful thing! Eating more protein and fiber does help. If you're craving something sweet anyway, then sometimes it helps to choose a complex carbohydrate rather than something that's only sugar, such as 1 piece of whole-grain bread. Chew it slowly.

Ice cream doesn't come into my house, even now. I'm sorry to admit that in general, it is stronger than I am. If I have to have ice cream, I have to go out and buy it, and I go somewhere that I can buy "a" cone or "a" dish, so there is none in my freezer singing to me.

Jay

[bargoo]

I have always been a sweet eater, I'm convinced that I'd eat anything with sugar on it .
However since I cut down on desserts, etc to lose weight I find I am not nearly as fond of sweets as I used to be. I can actually eat a half a piece of pie. Unbelievable!

[mandalinn82]

I agree with the others - fruit is good if you want sweet, but nutritionally valuable.

I also have one (ONE) treat, each day - I buy individual, no sugar added ice cream bars sweetened with Splenda. They're 150 calories, and I work them into the plan, every day. Knowing I have my treat coming makes avoiding the junk at work easier, and the fact that it is NSA tends to reduce any sugar cravings that might result from eating something sweet. Your results may vary, but it raelly works for me.

[PhotoChick]

Yeah, eventually you'll find that what you used to be able to eat a ton of is really sickeningly sweet to you ... but that might take a while.

IN general I'm not fond of the all-or-nothing approach, but if you're really having a problem with sweets, maybe trying to go cold turkey for a while would help? I know for me, salty snacks are my downfall and there was a period of time where I just couldn't even begin to nibble on something salty or it would set off a huge craving.

I also like the idea of trying something naturally sweet, rather than trying for a diet or sugar free option. An apple, a peach, an orange ... something that has some nutritional benefit, rather than a popsicle or a piece of candy.

Good luck!!!

.

[KLK]

This might sound harsh or terrible, but the only way I found to lose my sugar cravings was to give up sugar -- in all forms -- for a few weeks. The more sugar you eat (via sweets or via health foods like whole grain rice, bread, juice and even fruit etc.) the more you will crave it.

Take a few days off from eating anything like that and maybe after 2 days, your sugar cravings should disappear, or at least lessen a lot.

[Wifey]

It's crazy cause I usually crave salt and well AF is in town now...so that has proven to be causing a bit of my cravings, but that's no excuse! =)

Thanks for the advice ladies!

I do eat fruit during the day. Usually have a piece of fruit in the morning with breakfast (ie. low fat yogurt) and then have a piece at lunchtime.

Keep the advice coming please!

[bananapancakes]

Cantaloupe is great, I find. Also a chocolate protein shake helps me.

The 'Fiber One' bars are good, the ones with caramel on them.

[Xan]

I'm slowly finding out which sweets I CAN eat and which I can't. One week I was doing Weight Watchers with no processed food, ate one of their 2-point bars and immediately began to wander into the kitchen looking for low-calorie ice cream bars, put jam on the English muffin, etc. Sometimes eating more than two slices of whole wheat bread will cause the same reaction.

When I find the balance, this will all be so much easier! Good luck on finding yours.

[hmtklein]

tic tacs and chewing gum help me...