Hope your all having a wonderful day. I was hoping that you would all be able to help me. I need to overcome my sugar cravings. They are absolutely horrible at the moment and I am having a problem dealing with them.
So my questions really are:
How did you overcome your sugar cravings?
How did you eliminate added sugar from your diet? (did you ween yourself off or go cold turkey??)
I had to go cold turkey. If I eat even a little bit of sugar, I'm miserable for the next couple of days, fighting off the cravings. For me, the key is not to give in to those cravings, and to make sure I'm good and full by eating savory foods high in fiber and protein.
For me, cold turkey is actually easier (read: possible). And in my case cold turkey means very strictly limiting grains, starchy veggies, and even fruit as well. It I allow myself to eat "normal" amounts of whole grain starches, I just keep craving more.
Sweets in moderation are part of my eating plan so I don't get cravings. Ate them from the beginning of my weight loss which is still in progress. Slower to get results but I can eat anything I want, just less of the sweet stuff.
If I do want something sweet and sweets are not on the menu at the time, I drink Crystal Light or have artificial sweetener on my cereal.
Get to goal & stay there!
Join Date: Sep 2010
Posts: 849
S/C/G: 235/154.8/150
Height: 5'5"
I don't just have a sweet tooth...I have sweet teeth!
So for me, I can't have just a little. What helps to control my sugar cravings is upping my protein and not eating any processed carbs. After a few days of eating like that, I don't even crave sweets, not even a little bit.
cold turkey. My plan has no sugars, grains or starches other than 2 tbs of oat bran a day. Othere than that, it's lean protein, no/low fat dairy and veggies. I had some cravings for the first couple of weeks but not to bad and now I really don't have them at all.
If I do want something sweet (not the same as a craving), I have a sugar free jello or a cup of hot tea with sweetener and milk.
I went cold turkey. I don't plan on cutting sugar out of my diet permanently (I plan on having a cheat meal from time to time) but I was eating WAY more than any person would ever need! It's been a week and the sugar cravings have been awful. I'm hoping they get better with time.
I've tried cold turkey and I've tried working sweet treats into my calorie count, and the latter seems to work best for me mentally. Physically, I think I would be better off going cold turkey, but I cannot face the thought of life without sweets! (Dramatic, I know, but true). So, I try to work sweets into my calorie count, but most of the time I do this by having a sweet treat for breakfast (a scone, for example). I do have dessert once or twice a week, but overall, I don't like making that a habit as it seems as if it encourages me to crave a sweet after dinner. If I can go a few nights without dessert, then I find that I don't feel deprived (this is probably the same feeling that others get by going cold turkey, but again, the mental part of that is what prevents me from doing it).
here is the simplest way out.....
Replace sweets and sugar with fruits. The sugars in fruits are digested differently than the empty calories of white sugar that are in most candy and processed foods. The fiber in fruit also slows the absorption of the sugars so you don't get as high a sugar rush.
Please, please, PLEASE read about the Glycemic Index of foods and how they effect your blood sugar and sugar cravings! It will change your life if you battle sugar addiction.
Cold turkey. And please carefully consider artificial sweeteners, as they can be just as hard on your system as far as insulin response and trigger some major cravings for the real thing. Cutting out grains may help, too.
Sugar Cravings
