I looovvve sweets! Help!

[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!