How to beat sugar cravings?

[Canuck1979]

It seems that I need to eat something sweet right after supper. My bf likes to keep sweets in the house. However, he's naturally blessed with a slim and toned physique whereas I have to exercise daily to just stay in semi good shape. I would like to lose inches and I think the only way I can do it is cut down on the sugar.

 

Any tips on how to beat those sugar cravings?

[Meaplus3]

Drinking lot's of water and daily excercise should help.

 

Mea:)

[D-Lish]

Hey- if sugar is in my house, I will eat it. The first half of the battle is to rid your house of temptation. Maybe ask your bf to help you out with this and either hide it or try and go without along with you. Support helps.

[Art_Critic]

Go to books.google.com and type in potatoes not prozac

 

Great book on sugar...

[Canuck1979]

I do drink a lot of water and exercise at least four times per week. It's just these crazy sugar craving. I think a cheat day would work well for me. Maybe Friday nights could be my night to have some sweets. Otherwise, I would have to stick to a piece of fruit.

 

The weather up here is getting cold and the snow is here. It's times like this where I like to curl up on the couch and have some chocolate.

[D-Lish]

I do drink a lot of water and exercise at least four times per week. It's just these crazy sugar craving. I think a cheat day would work well for me. Maybe Friday nights could be my night to have some sweets. Otherwise, I would have to stick to a piece of fruit.

 

The weather up here is getting cold and the snow is here. It's times like this where I like to curl up on the couch and have some chocolate.

 

I could eat chocolate all day everyday.

 

I calorie count- so if I eat chocolate, I will cut out lunch, lol.

[quankanne]

double-mint gum or another tasty chewing gum is my main craving-buster when I want sugar. If it's chocolate, then it's Dove Dark, which isn't as bitter as other dark chocolates but is just sweet enough to take off the edge.

 

if I'm in the mood for liquids, it's definitely iced tea with lemon and artificial sweetner (pink stuff is my favorite).

 

if none of that appeals to you, start snacking on fruit when you crave sugary stuff. You'd be amazed how, after about a week, processed sugar tastes – it's almost too much when you bite into a cookie or candy bar.

[Boundary Problem]

I agree with most of what is posted.

 

One of my rules of thumb is don't eat it if it comes in a crinkly package.

[Jaytb]

if none of that appeals to you, start snacking on fruit when you crave sugary stuff. You'd be amazed how, after about a week, processed sugar tastes – it's almost too much when you bite into a cookie or candy bar.

 

yes this is quite true. Also try to cut out soda if you drink that too. If you cut out most sugar in your diet, you'll become more sensitive to it, and you'll crave less sugar and get that "high" faster. I've found that I get a craving of one glass of soda a week, and that's all I need. I normally drink water where I used to drink soda.

[freestyle]

I switched to using a raw cane sugar ,rather than refined white sugar,

in my daily coffee....................

 

I've noticed that I seem to be feeling better.

 

 

I've heard that eating lots of bread can increase cravings for sugar.

[TheLoneSock]

It seems that I need to eat something sweet right after supper. My bf likes to keep sweets in the house. However, he's naturally blessed with a slim and toned physique whereas I have to exercise daily to just stay in semi good shape. I would like to lose inches and I think the only way I can do it is cut down on the sugar.

 

Any tips on how to beat those sugar cravings?

 

Find a few fruits that you absolutely love, and stock up on them. Fruits are naturally sweet and the natural sugar is converted into carbs instead of empty calories.

 

An example; my personal favorites are kiwis (drool), strawberries, and plumbs. All very sweet when ripe. I am not someone that has to watch what I eat, but I have learned to prefer these things over a twinkie or anything made by little-debbie.

 

And there's nothing saying you can't eat them with a little chocolate syrup or fudge, if you need that extra kick to kill the craving.

[TheWooWooKid]

Find a few fruits that you absolutely love, and stock up on them. Fruits are naturally sweet and the natural sugar is converted into carbs instead of empty calories.

 

Fructose, the sugar found in fruit, is a simple carbohydrate. Simple carbohydrates are absorbed more quickly than complex carbohydrates. The carbohydrates are converted to glucose, but the excess is converted to fat. There is more likely to be excess when there is quick absorption of the simple carbohydrates and too much sugary fruit can be bad.

 

The reason why fruit is not full of empty calories despite being a simple carbohydrate is because it has vitamins, minerals, and fiber.

[Kamille]

I periodically have to ween myself off sugar (like after a visit at Mom's). The thing about sugar is: the less you eat it, the less you crave it. What I usually do is switch from 'richer' sweets like cakes and chocolate to lighter sweets like yogurt and fruit, until I'm no longer even really craving the yogurt or fruit.

 

Also, I find that eating whole grains (instead of white bread and pasta) helps me stave off sugar cravings - or cravings of any kinds.

[TheLoneSock]

Fructose, the sugar found in fruit, is a simple carbohydrate. Simple carbohydrates are absorbed more quickly than complex carbohydrates. The carbohydrates are converted to glucose, but the excess is converted to fat. There is more likely to be excess when there is quick absorption of the simple carbohydrates and too much sugary fruit can be bad.

 

The reason why fruit is not full of empty calories despite being a simple carbohydrate is because it has vitamins, minerals, and fiber.

 

Thanks Atkins. I was too lazy to put the effort into the correct details. Good clarification.

[New Again]

I'll probably be reiterating what other people said, so apologies if that's the case; I only read the OP.

 

The less crap you eat, the less you'll crave it. General rule of thumb is it takes a couple/few weeks (everyone's different), but once you stop eating it, you'll stop craving it.

 

Talk to your bf about not keeping junk food in the house, or see if there's some compromise you can reach there (even if he's thin, he shouldn't be eating it either...)

 

Start replacing junk food with real sugar, like fruits. Once you up your fruit/veggie/bran intake I think you'll be amazed at quickly your tummy starts to shape up (more so if you're always bloated as opposed to actual fat). Also, try sugar free Jell-O...it's cheaper than fruit and I don't think it's as bad for you as other sugary foods...but it still tastes like fake sugar.

 

Eat sweeter tasting veggies, like sweet potatoes - which is actually one of the best veggies you can eat. After you bake them, you can add unsweetened applesauce or crushed pineapple if you are craving something sweeter tasting.

 

If you take your coffee/tea with sugar, replace that with honey.

 

I'm pretty lucky in that I've never really craved sugar and junk, with the exception of soda. But I've always preferred a bowl of berries for desert, rather than chocolate or candy or anything. Once I stopped drinking soda (drank lots of water, and self control) I felt much better about myself, and actually it's been a couple years and I don't even want it anymore. I stopped wanting it after maybe 4 weeks.

 

I think the reason I've never particularly wanted those things is because of how I was raised - very balanced diet and the junk we were allowed to eat was heavily restricted by my parents. So I think it's a combination of things: learned self-control early and saw my parents' attitude toward junk food; I never learned to associate sugar with feeling good or as comfort food when I was down; eating a healthy, balanced diet means you're getting all the nutrients your body needs, which I think helps cut down cravings.

 

I get cravings for things like sushi.

[GrayClouds]

The thing with sweets the more you eat the more you crave. If you drink diet soda try to get off it, I found it too encourage more desire for the something sweet.

[Art_Critic]

The thing with sweets the more you eat the more you crave.

 

I always beat my sugar cravings by giving in to them..

 

Here have a Dove Dark

[Satisfaction]

I find that eating tons of veggies cuts down my sugar cravings. Also, bizarrely cutting down on the amount of fruit I eat also helps.

[LucreziaBorgia]

Stick with things with a low GI (glycemic index), avoid any and all 'fake' sweeteners, avoid HFCS, and avoid refined sugar in any form.

[xpaperxcutx]

Don't go cold turkey. You'll crave it so bad it'll lead to a binge.

 

First of all get support. Tell your boyfriend about your cravings and see how you guys can work around getting the sugared stuff thrown out, removed, or just simply replace them with better alternatives.

 

Go either low fat, low cal, or sugar free.

 

IF you have to indulge, I always advocate to have a cheat day once a week to have something that you normally won't want to eat. But keep the portion small enough to satisfy.

 

For better healthier alternatives, snack on raw nuts like almonds, walnuts or cashews ( I would generally avoid peanuts) or fruits like strawberries, blueberries, pears, bananas, etc. You can even snack on celery and peanut butter. Normally they are very filling.

 

If you get cravings, try drinking a glass of water before AND after dinner. Water, along with dinner, will fill you up enough so you'd feel full to not want dessert.

 

In case all else fails, always brush your teeth immediately after a meal and remove yourself from the kitchen.

[josie54]

I'm incredibly sugar sensitive--it makes me depressed, overweight, and downright ill. When I have too much, I go on sugar binges. So, I've have had to cut most sugar out of my diet--but I'm also a sugar ADDICT which makes this hard to do.

 

I've coped by finding substitutes for desserts--fruit smoothies made from plain yogurt, banana, and frozen fruit works well. I add a few drops of Stevia, a natural no-cal sweetener, to sweeten it up. I even make chocolate-cherry-banana smoothies and chocolate milk using milk, cocoa powder, and Stevia for sweetness. (Use frozen banana and cherries for the smoothie).

 

I sweeten plain yogurt and cottage cheese with banana and applesauce, which tastes quite good. I also make baked apples--I core one, stuff it with pecans, dried raisins & apricots, and cinnamon (4-5 minutes in the microwave, or 45-60 minutes in the oven at 350 or so, or until soft).

 

Like everyone has said, keep fruit in the house. My favorites are cantaloupe, watermelon, kiwi, apples, grapes, strawberries, and bananas. Dried apricots, dried plums dipped in cocoa powder, and raisins are also good for a sweet snack.

 

Stay away from most cereals--Cheerios and Shredded wheat are among the very, very few with no added sugar. Add bananas, grapes, blueberries, and/or strawberries to them for sweetness. Oatmeal is also great with raisins, cinnamon, and mashed banana.

 

I also experiment with baking--I've found that applesauce and banana can be used in recipes for cookies and cakes to add a bit of sweetness. A teaspoon of Stevia also can help. But it does take some experimentation to find the right combination so that the baked goods taste good. Every once in a while I'll use honey or agave nectar in recipes which DO taste good, but they're not that much different from sugar for me, in terms of their effects, so I only use them rarely.

 

Exercising regularly can also help suppress my appetite for sugar.

 

And I do have a rule so I don't go completely crazy--I can have dessert at parties, on Thanksgiving and Christmas, and at restaurants. I just can't have it in the house. That means that I'll get a REAL dessert 2-3 times a month, which is just enough so that I don't feel deprived.

 

Hope that helps....it's tough to cut out the sugar, but as people have said, the less you have of it, the less you crave it. Eventually, I think I'll have to stop allowing myself the holiday/restaurant sweets, because it's difficult to get "back on the program" afterward. But it's all working for me for now.