Sugar lover here... read this and am curious if this has been true in your experiences?

Yep, same seems to go for most simple carbs.

I've heard this but personally I haven't found my craving of sweets abated by not consuming them.

I've found the only effective method is to not have them around. The sight and smell of sweet things makes me crave them.

I gave up sugars several years ago, and fairly soon after cutting them out of my WOE I quit craving them.

My DH still likes his sweets so we have them in the house, but that is not a problem for me. I bake pies and cakes for him, but I stay out of them.

My cravings, which I still have, are for the salty, crunchy foods. I do yearn for things like potato chips.

I used to feel that way, that I craved sweets less by not consuming them. Fairly recently I have decided to add some sweets back into my diet, just a personal decision. I find I don't crave them anymore.

I've found that the longer I go without sugar and other condensed sweets, the less I miss them, and the fewer spontaneous cravings I have.

One bite though and it's all back to square one with a vengeance.

Even overindulging in fruit can cause problems, but most fruits are relatively "safe," (except dried fruits are truly nature's candy... so if I have a bag of craisins I'll open the bag and finish it. I do keep craisins on hand, but I don't eat them out-of-hand, they're meant for use in salads or sprinkled on my tvp "cereal.")

When I buy dried fruit, I buy the smallest bag I can find, so if I do get caught up in the cravings, there's only a small amount of damage that can be done.

This...And it dosen't help that my job entitles me to be around them all day, constantly tasting...

In my experience, yes. A piece of fruit is a delight.

Absolutely. I had a break-in period and it took awhile, but I had to make a batch of cookies and smell my husband making another type yesterday evening, and I can honestly say that I enjoyed the smell without being tempted to eat the product. It's nice, but the flavor vs. the smell are surprisingly similar. I am actually satisfied with just the smell and memory of the cookies and don't have any overwhelming desire to eat them.

I have to watch it, if I don't cut the stuff out completely I DO crave it, but once off the sugar and starch completely (and a fair bit of sweet substitutes), with a good 4-6 weeks of perfect adherence, it breaks the habit and cravings. Even when they do sound 'good', it isn't as must-eat compelling as it was before. I'd say the intensity of the cravings is maybe 20-30% the strength it used to be. That's a pretty dramatic reduction, I'd say. And now everything else tastes sweeter and more complex, as a side benefit

Yes, it is definitely true. I have actually come to the place where I have no problem now eating just a tiny piece of something occasionally or not eating it at all. I honestly really do not crave sweets now. But I've also cut out most chemicals and processed foods, and do not crave junk. It has also helped me to completely break the night eating habit.

Right there with what JohnP said. I'm not craving anything unless it's there for me to get. I could go without sweets for likely a long time, but since I live with three other people who shouldn't have to sacrifice for me, they hang around, and I eat them, albeit sparingly.

It depends where your mind is at.

Sometimes they just need to lose their power with a detox period and break. I'm that way with nuts now, and wasn't before. Taking a break from them I can now introduce them back and control the quantity, but that wasn't always the case

Not always, sometimes it's not so much your mind as your biochemistry. I used to believe it was all "willpower," but after I read the book, "The End of Overeating," by David Kessler, I realized that biochemistry had more to do with it in my case.

Of course it only reiterates what much of the low-carb literature has been arguing for years, but I didn't truly understand how much biochemistry was to blame until I ditched the sweets. My "mind" hasn't made it easier to give up sweets, my biochemistry did that when I started eating cleaner and more paleo - and it remains easy until I try to experiment. My headspace changes when my diet does, which makes it very clear that for me it's not so much mindspace as biochemistry - there's no other explanation for why I feel (and am) healthier, stronger, more confident and in control on low-carb than I am when I include sugar in my diet.

Sugar makes me sick and crazy - literally.

By the way Carissa, how did your pregnancy go? I've missed seeing you around the site