I decided to try to stay away from sweets for a week so, I could gain some possible control on my food intake. I will honestly admit it didn't work. As soon as I seen there where Little Debbie cakes in the house I snatched them up and binged like a crazy woman. I ate 3 of the 6 packs that were in the box and I found we had some cookies too and oh boy I felt like I couldn't stop! I had to make myself put them down and walk away. So, after that I decided that I will allow myself only 2 sweets a day only if I eat more healthier throught the day. This works better but, it doesn't always help. Some days I may not want someting sweet and other days I crave it like it's the last thing I will get to eat in my life and usualy end up binging.

Any advice?

~Jennelle

I had to completely cut them out. It was pretty radical, I never thought I would be able to give up the "foods I loved." I would say nearly 95% of the terrible bingy thoughts that had tormented me for years went away. It was pretty miraculous for me.

Now that I'm maintaining, I have re-introduced some sweets back into my life, in controlled, manageable servings. I will never be able to have a box of LIttle Debbie snackcakes in the house, but that doesn't mean I can't enjoy a scoop of ice cream in an ice cream parlor or split molten lava cake in a restaurant.

I have found that on days that I get a good workout in then I don't want sweet things. I do keep them in the house because I have found that if I do tell myself no then my sweet tooth is very bad and I can't get enough. This is what seems to be working for me but everyone is different.

Im trying to give up these things too, ive found that when i dont eat starchy or refined foods (pasta, bread, white sugar etc) i dont crave sweet foods or chocolate at all, and im much less hingry in general

Hi! I'm w/ Glory on this. I've had to completely cut out sugar/refined carbs and this has really cut the urge to binge. It's only been 2 weeks for me so far, but once I got past 3-4 days it really became quite manageable and I do have s/f treats when the sweet tooth hits me. I really fought against cutting sugar, I kept telling myself moderation, moderation, moderation!!! But I'm coming to the conclusion that moderation doesn't exist for me where sugar is concerned. Once I have it, a switch just flips and I can't stop myself. I guess for me, I think of it as my alcholic drink of choice and I'm getting sober Others can "drink" it and have no problems (like my DH!) but I have one sip and I'm staggering around, falling down drunk! Maybe one day that will change...but for now this is where I am...

Hope you can find what works best for you! ~Jenny

I've found that I can have a really good dessert (not diet/reduced stuff), in a reasonable portion, about once a week, without starting to want more and more. I can also have a small square of dark chocolate any evening I want (it's only about 1/2 ounce, and I never seem to want it more than 2-3 times a week), and a little agave syrup in my coffee if I want (I'm sensitive to only about 1/2 tsp now).

It's surprised me, but I don't miss having dessert everyday now that I'm used to it. I enjoy my treat more because it's, well, a treat now. It's really enjoyable not feeling controlled by food - what I mean is that I'm not eating better because I'm white-knuckling it, but because what I enjoy different things. Fruit starts to taste like dessert.

But if I eat sweets more often, or have junky processed stuff or Diet Coke, my eating starts to go downhill.

It does seem that eating lots of vegetables also helps with keeping my sweet/junk tooth tamed

I play this game with myself constantly when I am in the grocery store.I buy junk, tell myself I wont eat any.I can go days without touching it, then literally wake up in the middle of the night and go eat and eat and eat.I need to stop buying any.If I have it in the house, I WILL EAT IT.Why is this so hard to get through my head???

I'm the same way with those Little Debbies. MINIMUM of two will get eaten if I reach for that box, so they don't get purchased anymore.

Interestingly, if I buy the diet treats, like those South Beach cookies or something, the ones that are all packaged individually, those I can eat one of and put the box back.

I had the strongest craving for some chocolate a couple minutes ago. I briefly considered baking brownies, but we all know what would happen with that. I'm having some grapes instead.

I have a wicked sweet tooth too and am still trying to resolve this myself. I've tried using Splenda but found myself using quite a lot. Then I tried treating myself in small ways, such as with a bag of sugar-free Life Savers or a container of Tic Tacs. But inevitably I eat the whole thing right away -- pretty stupid to chow an entire multi-pack of Tic Tacs. I might be one of those people who just can't buy the stuff ... ever. Sometimes I will go down the candy aisle at the grocery store, peruse all the goodies and make a conscious point of telling myself I don't need it and will not buy it. Then I hit the produce section and treat myself to a unique fruit or get the ingredients for homemade salsa.

I try to keep FiberOne and Nature Valley bars in the house to have as a snack at the end of the night. Also Skinny Cow or Weight Watcher ice creams keep me in check. They satsifiy my sweet teeth that has slowly gotten better.

I've also had periods where I try to cut out sweets, but it doesn't work for me . What I did notice is that since I've cut out chocolate (5 weeks now), for the most part, I can eat a little sweet stuff (like a tsp of maple syrup in my oatmeal or some apple butter on toast) and be fine with it. I do have chocolate once in a while, but not every single day like I used to. It's weird how chocolate and sugar seem to cause cravings for me but non-chocolate sweets do not.

I also found that cutting out artificial sweeteners (except for a little xylitol in my tea) has really helped to curb my sweet tooth. Not sure why the "real stuff" doesn't cause me as much cravings, but I'm starting to believe what nutritionalists say about how eating "real" food fulfills the requirements of the body so that you're not looking for the nutrients like you do with processed fake foods.

Tam

oh yeah, I am a sugaraholic too...at my heaviest I was drinking sweet tea everyday and we only use 2/3 cup sugar to a pitcher...however, I was constantly plagued with sweet cravings....

I dropped the sugary tea, then I dropped the need to have a sprite everyday...I also nixed milk chocolate...I used to have to have something for dessert and would "factor in" stuff like "mini ic dove bars" into my diet...

well, I'm at the point now...the most sweet I eat..are my fiber one bars, which I love wormwood...especially dark chocolate and oats...and I make my own green tea with 1/4 cup honey to a gallon. Occasionally I want some tapioca pudding, but tend to go more for diced peaches now...

however, I am aware of the things that will cause me to binge on sweets...and I JUST DON'T BUY them...because I know if I open it..it will be gone.

for pms..I eat dark chocolate bits...and I can just eat a few and be ok...

I want to add that one cycle after I ovulated...which during pms is when I crave the most sweets...I took shisandra...and this really CUT my cravings for sweets completely.

I really think people who crave sweets have stressed adrenals...you need sugary/fatty food to make stress hormones which are manufactured in the adrenal glands and they consist of cholesterol.