controlling sugar cravings?

[ORobs_]

It seems like everytime I get a good two weeks of weight loss going, I start having huge sugar cravings. Sometimes I can fight them off and they go away for a couple days, but other times I find myself giving in... especially when my family and friends are having sweets. 

How do you all find a balance between treating yourself and sticking with your weight loss plan / calore deficit? Any and all ideas appreciated! 🙂

[SunsetRunner]

I love fresh fruit when I'm craving something sweet!

I also make these awesome Almond Butter Banana Bites that are drizzled in semi-sweet chocolate. If you eat two or three bites it'll be about 69 calories which would be similar to eating two or three hershey kisses but in my opinion the bites tastes better and are more satisfying. 

[Trooper]

I got the same problem. When my family is eating sweets like Cake, I eat the Weight Watcher Mini Cakes. That's why I keep several different brands on hand. For days when I want Lemon Cake, I have the Lemon Cake at 90 calories, or for the day I want Red Velvet Cake I eat it at 90 calories. I try to stay from desserts that I can't  keep track of. I  also stay away from homemade desserts because they are just to hard to count. For my Coffee, I use a Sugar Free Salted Caramel Syrup with a packet of Stevia. You can even drink some Low Calorie Hot Chocalate with a tablespoon of No Sugar Syrup, tastes awesome!!!I have lots of ideas that I am always using. If I can be of any further help, please feel free to add me to me your list of friend's. And by they way, I must be doing something right because I have lost 60 pounds since Christmas. Good Luck.

[LCHFmom]

SO, Im not sure if this is what you want to hear or not .....

I have a HUGE sugar craving problem myself.   I give you props for getting 2 weeks along, as I tend to have problems at day 4-5  and then stuff my face with all the sugary items within reach.

My dietician said that the best way to rid of these cravings is to just stay away altogether.  Dont "fake" out your brain or body with sugarfree items , as those also send signals to the brain that mkes it THINK you are eating sugar and still holds onto calories....

I do love berries ... so that is what i use as my go-to ..  small handful of berries; just enough to fit in the palm of my hand.

[BurdsNest]

Hi Trooper, I also keep Weight Watcher snacks or mostly Fiber One 80 calorie snacks in my pantry.  Most of us like sugar....which is why we are all on this forum having this conversation. 🙂  But 80 or 90 calories is better than 230 calories for a donut, and much easier to track.  I don't buy it, so I don't eat all the other goodies.  My husband will from time to time, buy me my favorite donut from 7-11.....usually on a Friday before I weigh in.  Like last night......

Sincerely,

Nice to meet a fellow WW

[Paradise555]

I feel the same way. I load up my fridge with fruit. Which i my opinion tastes just as sweet as the sweets. Although, I do allow myself to cheat a couple times a week but try to limit.

[Jon_P]

Going to agree with LCHMom:  Sugar is more addictive than Crack (Actually proven; at least with mice) You are best trying to stay away from the sugar and foods that mimic the feeling entirely and the cravings will start to subside over time.  After a couple weeks, it should improve.  Fruit (Not fruit juice) is a good choice; carrots, raw veggies.. I know it doesn't sound all that compelling but believe me you will start to look forward to these choices over time.

Much of the recent food research seems to point to diet foods; e.g. diet soda, snack with sweeteners etc. doing more harm than good, as they promote an "exciter" response with your body.  Esentially what happens is your body says "Sweet!  Here's comes the calories."  When the calories don't follow, your body starts to look for them and sends a signal to you (cravings) 

I agree with you about the fruit.  I am a diabetic that turned the corner and now really look forward to fruit as my occasioanl treat.  Best to you!

Sugar is the root of most of the metabolic disease in this country and the food industry holds a lot of the blame here.  Our standard diet is full of bad choices.. Anyway, best of luck.  

[loveabull]

IMHO unless someone has a medical condition and/or a LOT of weight to lose it's better not to divide food into "good" vs "bad". The secret is that to lose weight you have to burn a certain number of calories compared to what you consume. Personally I allow myself cravings quite often. But then it's portion control. I can order my favorite pizza and enjoy every bite...I'm not "cheating", I'm enjoying delicious food. But that means maybe two slices and stretching the rest for several days, plus lots of daily activity.

[HelenaFitbit]

I agree with @loveabull, there's no need to mark food as good or bad. Unless you have a medical condition that doesn't let you eat sugar; if you want to have something sweet, eat it!

Schedule it within your week so it won't take a hit on your caloric budget. 

[Trooper]

You have to be creative with what your eating and try to keep it Low Fat, Low Calorie,  No Sugar or Low Sugar, Low Carb and Non Junk. It takes a lot of work. My wife gets mad at me because I will go to the Grocery store and stare at the food in front of me. I take time to think about what I am going to be eating for the next few days. What I am really  doing is trying to figure how or what I am going to make or prepare. For example- I might have a Lean Cuisine Salisbury Steak in my shopping cart. But what I am doing is, asking myself, "How can I make this food taste better?" So I go to the Kettle Seasoning isle where the Popcorn is and buy the Garlic Parmesan Sprinkles and add them to the Potatoes. So your meal will now be Salisbury Steak with Garlic Flavored Mashed Potatoes with no extra calories. I like buttered bread, but I don't always want butter on my bread. So I go and get the Butter Spray from the Popcorn Section at Krogers, and I spray the Bread- Insant ButteryToasted Bread. No extra calories. I have No Fat Mayo in my Pantry for my sandwiches. I just went to Ross Today and bought a Sugar Free Irish Cream Flavoring that I just added to my Lipton Mixed Berry Diet Tea. Awesome!!!!!

[josephz2va]

Finding alternatives to sugar intake is your better option while maintaining portion control and monitoring calorie intake. Fruits, Egg White Subtitutes, Water, many other low calorie intake foods to fill you up. Versus a Candy Bar, Powerbar, Donuts, Cookies and a few others that are not good for you.

I don't allow anything sweet near me. I tell myself "Nope. That's gonna make me gain weight and bad for my fat percentage." and I'm tempted to eat the box of sweets. Staying away is better for me than to eat just one piece.

[RellyRell]

I try to make fruit smoothies to curb the sugar cravings. I add different things like frozen fruit and kale to it and it's pretty great.