So, lately, I've been having really bad sugar cravings. I think maybe it has to do with withdrawal, and the fact that I don't eat horrible stuff like I used to (I.E. Fast Food, Pastries, Candy). And it's not because I'm hungry. I eat regularly, just food that is healthy/good for my body. I think it's mostly because I just want to eat for the sake of eating. When the cravings get really bad I tried to eat sweet fruits like strawberries and kiwi's to combat it, but it doesn't work as well as I'd like.

Does anyone have any tips for staving off cravings or finding creative ways to distracts yourself??

For me, as long as I'm having none of it, I don't want it. The minute I have one cookie, I want 12. One bite of ice cream, I want the whole pint. While I wish so badly I could be one of those 'all things in moderation' people, I'm learning (the hard way) that I'm just not. If I'm not eating any sugar or simple carbs, I don't crave them at all, but just the tiniest bit makes me crazy. Hopefully you're not this bad though and you'll find something that works. I wish I had actual advice to offer you!

By the way, if that's you in your avi, you're freaking gorgeous!

Oh man, I am JUST like this. I just can't have a taste or I go CRAZY! And yeah, I totally get wishing that I was a person of moderation, but I honestly don't see it ever happening (for me). I am just addicted to sweet things and it's the hard truth I've had to face. It's just too tempting! I have to tell people no when they offer me stuff like cupcakes, etc, and they always tell me: "One won't kill you." They just don't understand.

And yes, my avi is me--I'm really into make up and wigs, haha. Thank you for your compliment!!

Agree 1000% with AriRuns

I'd like to add do what you can to aviod craving triggers. I know that being alone in a house with leftover pie in the fridge will drive me nuts and I'll end up eating some most of the time. Therefore I try and stay out of the house when trigger foods are present.

Don't walk by the sweet smelling bakery. Don't look at the desert menu or pasta section. Take a slightly longer route to work (that doesn't pass 5 of your favorite comfort food joints). Do what you can to keep anything that reminds you of that stuff at arms length.

I think the best way to fight sugar cravings is not to give in. The more you give in the longer you are prolonging the period where you have cravings. Better to just exert a little willpower now to get past it rather than fighting on and on indefinitely because of giving in periodically. (I wouldn't even eat strawberries or other semi-sweet items if they will put you over you daily sugar limit.)

Does anyone substitute a similar-tasting but healthier food for a food they might be having a craving for?

On my last go-round (sigh) I bought the Hungry Girl cookbook. In that, and on her website, she has many tasty substitutions for my favorite crappy foods.

For example: two nights ago, I made cornbread. Ordinary recipe: 450 calories a square. Hungry Girl substitutions: 200 a square. BAM.

She does recommend using 1/2 Splenda, 1/2 sugar for many recipes, or using an egg substitute--but I try to use whole foods whenever possible, so I just used regular sugar and eggs for my cornbread and then calculated the difference. HG's recipe would have clocked in at 155/square; mine was 200. It wasn't that big a caloric price to pay for whole foods.

There are a number of things that I've done over time to help with this:

1. When I first started I dropped sweets cold (even fruit for a week). I basically let myself detox and then slowly introduced fruit again. Eventually (maybe a couple of months later) I started letting myself make desserts using blue agave/honey/maple syrup once a week but I always cut the amount of sweetener in the recipe in half (at least). I've gotten used to things not being too sweet and just can't stand desserts (or even meals) that are too sweet. I also now drink my coffee without any sweetener and can'T stand to drink it even with the slightest bit inside.

2. Increase your protein intake. I need to eat meat (and beef especially helps me) regularly and and I eat eggs+bacon+veggies every morning for breakfast. I know most dieters don't think of steak when they think of diets but it's helped me so much and I just have this desperate I NEED SUGAR feeling anymore (and now I can actually have sugar and be rational about it, although I still cook with natural sweeteners).

Yup, this is me too! I read this whole thing the other day about how our brains release pleasure neurotransmitters when we eat sugar- it was bananas! At least I know I'm not just crazy- my brain just knows what it likes! Like the OP mentioned, it's not physical hunger that's making me want it it's just that overwhelming desire to eat!

When I first started learning about food, I would force myself to read the ingredients of anything "off plan" before I would eat it and this would usually keep me from eating the complete garbage that I was used to. Am I about to poison my body with hydrogenated oils and HFCS for this? Really? I almost always answered 'no'. This worked for me for a while, but I'm kind of 'in my head' like that. Now that I know better, that same trick doesn't really work very well when I'm trying to talk myself out of organic dark chocolate or something. What's not to love (besides the calories of course )?

I don't really have an answer, I don't know that there is an answer, except to keep fighting to make good choices, however hard that becomes. I try to remind myself that when I'm making good choices about food, I'm choosing to achieve everything I want for myself.

ETA: I do a lot of the agave nectar/honey too. I mean, not a lot, but that's what I'll use to sweeten something if I'm going to sweeten it. I've started to enjoy the natural sweetness of foods- and actually be able to tase them- once I cut refined sugar, which tastes WAY too sweet now. I did the same thing with salt and almost gaged on some tortilla chips the other day because all I could taste was salt! Who knew?!

Wrigleys desert gum does it for me! epecially the key lime pie! Deeeelicious! i have an allergy to artificial sweetener though, so I can only have the gum in small doses...

I started taking cinnamon and chromium supplements to naturally help my insulin resistance/pcos. Not sure which one is responsible, but when I started taking the supplements the cravings are GONE. I never realized how much I was craving them (all day, everyday) until the cravings were just literally gone.