I looovvve sweets! Help!

[Brandi]

I have been the same wieght for years. I bike alot and I am always moving. Drives my dh crazy cause i can barely sit for two minutes (a bit of ADD I think). I would love to loose some weight. I am 5'3 144 pounds and I am 38. I eat fairly healthy. I don't eat alot of prossesed foods or junk food. But I lovvvvvvve cookies and some chocolate. I know that is the reason I can never loose anything, because of my sugar intake. I don't pig out, but I eat to many I am sure. What can I do to curb my sugar habit? Besides not buying any. What can I eat that won't make me crave it so much? I used to smoke so i know how addictions can go and I think this sugar thing is one of those addictions.

[CyclChyk]

As much as I wish I could offer you some magical words that would allow you to "have your cake (cookies) and eat them too" I can't. When I gave up smoking everything went downhill....

The only thing I have found that helps me is my state of mind. No diet; no "I'll allow myself one miniture snickers or two cookies a day" works for me. The only thing that worked is when I accepted in my mind that I was tired of being fat was I able to control my habits and not waiver. Before, I wasn't ready so I made all kinds of excuses for just one more cookie; or a scoop of ice cream. Stayed fat for 6 years......

Its a mindset. Plain and simple. When you REALLY want to stop the bad stuff, it will happen. Until then, you will find a dozen reasons why it won't....

At least that's how it is for me. And not buying it at all is probably the best way to start. You opting not to "not buy it" makes me think you aren't ready to stop. But thats just my 2cents.

[Veronica]

Have you considered that maybe you are the weight you should be?

Weight is just a number on the scale.

V.

PS There is no magic. Change comes from within. If you feel you need to stop eating sweets, you have to make it happen.

[Bikingmomof3]

I was going to post something very similar to what V posted. She did a much better job.

[Grog]

I agree with V and BMo3.

With regards to chocolate: keep buying it, but try the 85% stuff (potent!!) and one truffle here and there. At $1 a piece, you won't eat so many, but they'll be even more satisfying than the other stuff.

I'm not sure how it happened, but I used to be a cookie-monster and generally I love sweet too, but the more I exercise (especially running) the less I feel like it. I'll still fall for a half-baked dark chocolate cake, but I might be tired of it after 5-8 bites. That works especially well if I also increase my vedgetable intake. Go figure...

[BleeckerSt_Girl]

Definitely get some "medicinal chocolate"- the strong kind they sell in gourmet bars nowadays that says it is at least 75% cacao. This stuff is STRONG. If you eat one or two little squares, you will feel like your sweets cravings are suddenly totally satisfied. Try it instead of a bunch of fatty cookies!

[chickwhorips]

i am fighting with the same problem. since i moved up here i've put on a couple of pounds and my body looks completely different (yes part of that has to do with the fact that i now own a mtb and i run) but i have that same sweet tooth.

i also have to fight with a bf that can eat anything. i sometimes (most of the time) see it as unfair that he can eat anything he wants including 2 twix a day and not gain anything.

i am coming to the conclusion that my body is happy at the weight that it is, i haven't gone far away from this weight in a long long time. also, i've been trying to enjoy a small sweet now and again, not again now. its helping, but its that first week you have to get though that tough time. its not easy. i'm here for ya if you need someone to work though it with.

[Dogmama]

I've been told over & over that if you quit entirely, eventually you will not have a craving for sugar. I did quit awhile back and found it to be true. But, then the afternoon slump at work - somebody p*ssed me off - I'll "just have one" - and I was off to the races again.

I really feel like crap when I'm eating sugar. So, I'll be interested in seeing what others have done. I suppose I'm looking at cold turkey again...sigh...

[mlove]

If it is any consolation, I eat chocolate every day. I am 5'2" and weigh 140 pounds. That said, I wear sizes 6 and 8, down from size 16 (I used to be much heavier). Even though my weight is higher than the chart recommends, all the exercise--biking, running, gym workouts--have made all the difference and I feel good and am much healthier. I do eat really good, expensive chocolate, which is much more satisfying. My DH is happy eating generic semi-Oreo type cookies and other sweet stuff that I don't like. So there is no extra temptation. If you stay fit, your weight shouldn't be a problem.

[DeniseGoldberg]

Have you tried buying a sweet where one piece satisfies you? I'm with Grog & Lisa on this one - I find that a small piece of good quality dark chocolate is enough to give me my chocolate fix. If I have a lesser quality chocolate I could eat the whole box - but quality stops me at one piece. My current favorite is Hershey's Extra Dark (which I discovered after finding that the Cadbury Premium Dark Burnt Almond that I fell in love with in Canada isn't available in the states), with Dove a second choice. (Oh, and I do mean one piece not a whole bar! The Hershey's & Dove chocolates that I both mentioned come in bite-sized bars / pieces).

If I find that there is something (in the sweet family) that I can't stop eating - I don't buy it.

--- Denise

[RoadRaven]

To satisfy the sugar craving - how about dried fruit and fresh fruit??

Still sugary, but more filling and satisfying (both physically and psychologically)

[Offthegrid]

Sorry I'm coming in on this one kinda late. I got serious last month about trying to lose weight again. I track every single calorie that goes into my mouth.

I used to binge on cookies -- and not just 3 or 4 but the entire box at once, so you know I had it bad. But I haven't had a single cookie or donut since sometime in September, I think. My cravings for them are MUCH, MUCH less. I do have Ghiradelli squares (one) once in a while, but they aren't as sweet, so it's much tougher to binge on them. Oh, and I drink chocolate soy milk pretty often, too.

I'm not swearing off sweets forever. In fact I don't even tell myself I can't have them. But if I know for the 200 calories in ONE cookie I could have an entire bowl of oatmeal; or a chicken breast; or a small baked potato, it makes me think really hard about my food choices.

If you can get through 3-4 weeks without, I think you'll find your cravings much less.

[rocknrollgirl]

It took one week for my craving to stop. I made a cup of herb tea after dinner and had an orange instead of cookies, and it took one week for that to become the new routine.

Ruth

[Brandi]

Soooo many good suggestions! Thank you! I am going to try thr rich chocolate idea. Fruit has never done it for me
I like fruit for breakfast and a snack but to satisfy that deeo urge for the rich smooth..... ahhhhhhhh!

[uk elephant]

I am very much a sugar addict too. Mmmm.....chocolate, candy, cake. And most of those suggestions have never worked for me. Dark chocolate is yummy, but I still crave more chocolate 5 minutes later. Fruit is tasty, but unfortunately goes very well with chocolate or as part of a cake. And cutting cold turkey only lasts for a few hours max. I guess I just don't want to quit enough to really try. The only thing that has almost worked for me is excercise. I find that when I get home from a good work-out I crave something healthy like fruit or salad or other real food. Doesn't last long, but it's a start.