Struggling with eating … too many sweets

[ericjameswolverton]

@messagesoflove I have the same cravings for chocolate at night
, I found sucking a werther's original satisfies the craving. Alot less calories and lasts longer

 

[kekinean]

@messagesoflove You’re doing your best. Keep at it. Alcohol is difficult enough. Sugar is probably just as hard in its own way.

The best thing I did was simply not buy the stuff and have it in my house. Past that, buy high protein chocolate bars. They’re not that delicious and you’ll find yourself becoming less interested in chocolate. And if you don’t, well at least it’s a better option.

 

[catb]

@messagesoflove Eating an entire tub of ice cream a night is an addiction. It’s not just some skill you can be taught and instantly stop. It’s pretty clear you swapped your alcohol addiction for sweets. (I swapped my benzo and opioid addiction for sweets and nicotine originally-got it under control a while back.

I’ve tried everything. I still treat myself every few weeks. It used to be every day, then every other day. I stayed committed and just like sobriety, it gets WAY easier with time.

What’s worked best for me is eating good satiating food that I enjoy, eating fruit (good sugar), and giving myself some lenience with an unhealthy snack/treat as long as it fits into my caloric budget.

Protein shakes are a great alternative if you feel like you need something exceptionally sweet.

Buy 2% milk, cocoa powder, some stevia, powdered peanut butter, and some vanilla whey protein. That way you can make chocolate, vanilla, and or chocolate peanut butter flavored shakes.

Another super sweet protein shake I’ve used is just regular vanilla whey, 2 cups of frozen berries/strawberries/mangos (whatever frozen fruit you want) microwaved for 40 seconds to thaw, a cup of raw spinach (can’t taste it, makes it more filling) and some orange juice.

A side note: addiction will follow you in some form if you don’t address the root cause. A therapist could potentially help you more than any food tips.

 

[jesusislord143]

@messagesoflove I was the same, smashing full tubs of ice cream, family size chocolate bars, sweets, all that shit. I wasn’t satisfied if that wasn’t going down after dinner. I don’t do any of it now. The only thing that got me to drop those cravings seemed to be eating huge amounts of protein, I was always so satisfied I didn’t want any sweet food. I’ve always eaten around 160-180g but still wanted the sweets, now I eat around 230g a day and it’s crushed my cravings. For reference I’m around 200lb BW

 

[rdalvi]

@messagesoflove I like to pre make smoothies and freeze them. That’s what I eat as my nightly dessert. I add protein powder to help get the extra protein. I’ll set it out about 20 minutes before I’m ready to eat it so it can thaw a little. That helps with my cravings.

 

[steve109]

@messagesoflove I buy boring sweets that don’t overtempt me. 85% dark chocolate + a date. Nothing thrilling but I look forward to it and don’t find myself wanting to over consume because again: boring. I never use to be a sweets person but now if we have cookies, cake, etc in the house I can’t control myself. So I don’t keep that stuff in the house.

 

[brotherinchrist215]

@messagesoflove Alcohol has a lot of sugar. It makes sense that your body/brain is still craving it and the associated dopamine hit. You could wean yourself off with healthy swaps or portion control. Or if you’re ballsy go cold turkey for a bit to reset your taste buds and brain.

 

[luciano123]

@messagesoflove Very difficult to eliminate entirely, I've struggled with this as well.
Some sweet alternatives include:
Fruit
Sugar free jello or pudding
Fat free Yogurt fage with mio plus fruit
Zero or sugar free pop

I treat myself every couple of weeks with a chocolate bar for me the cravings never go best I've done is 4 months.

 

[cglil]

@messagesoflove Stop buying them.

 

[mikedelmar]

@messagesoflove Fruit is helping me with this. I been slamming sweets like crazy since I quit drinking. Didn't care at first at all. Now slowly tapering it back with fruit as a replacement

 

[radiantjedichica]

@messagesoflove If you ever talk with someone who's had a drug addiction, you hear them talk about removing the triggers. Sometimes, it's not only the thing itself, but whatever rituals you've got around them.

It's easy to say to go cold turkey and simply never consume them again, but if you keep doing thing that you would "reward" yourself with sweets, your body will go nuts about it. Let's say you always eat a sweet after taking a shower at night, you are fully applying a Pavlov's dog on yourself. Have a tea, shower at another time, whatever. You gotta break the habits.

 

[habakk]

@messagesoflove I have suffered from binge eating in the past . The only thing that worked for me is to eat a balanced meal like carbs fats and proteins . Most importantly protien keeps u full and satiated . Once a week or so give ur self a small treat.

 

[carriekpali]

@messagesoflove I gained 15 + pounds after I quit drinking and the sweet tooth kicked in. My motivation to quit sugar was to avoid pain. The sugar brought out the gout and it is very painful. I now don’t eat anything that has “added sugar” on the label. Especially anything that contains High Fructose Corn Syrup. The first month was tough with the cravings. Seedless grapes and clementine oranges were my go to when the craves hit. I overdid it with fruit at first but now it’s just two servings a day. I guarantee if you quit added sugar the fat will melt off.

 

[feltonodel]

@messagesoflove I use MacroFactor and I still have sweets in small portions. I drink sugar free creamer in my coffee in the evening which helps. I try to limit my servings of sweet to no more than 1, sometimes half of a serving. For me, if I remove everything, I fail.

 

[bubba777]

@messagesoflove I am a sugar demon - sugar for me = happy feelings.

What I do, (and I dont know if it is healthy or not!) Is have a pint of low cal chocolate ice cream on an evening instead of proper ice cream. And it works in my calorie budget. I may also have a hot chocolate if I want to feel comfort.

I also have an allocated chocolate night, where I get all cuddled in with my little bags of chocolate (I use buttons or M&Ms and eat them one by one so it takes time) and watch something nice once or twice a week. This also works in my calorie budget.

If you want to keep the chocolate, you may need to find a work around to keep within your budget. Or, you could cut it out... the way is up to you, calories are just calories at the end of the day.

Also - if it's really bad, maybe check with a doctor to make sure you arent deficient in anything. Dark chocolate cravings can mean low magnesium etc

 

[endsdawn]

@bubba777 great answer

 

[steve126]

@messagesoflove The sweets is from the alcohol. Alcohol has so much sugar that your body is still craving it. Just try to stop having them in your house and it will get easier over time.

 

[charles15]

@messagesoflove If you’re going to have a hard time not eating them, do not buy them/allow them to come into your house. Or force yourself to eat ONE serving so you don’t have to go cold turkey. Get a food scale if you don’t have one and measure out a portion of your treat so you can enjoy it

 

[rholste]

@messagesoflove Is it possible to not keep sweets in the house?

Here's a book I can't recommend enough. It's called the 4 hour body by Tim Ferriss. He actually recommends putting in a solid cheat day once a week. It's worked wonders for me when I've been on it.

Admittedly it's a bit dated. However, there's still a solid support system with several FB groups around meal recipes for it.

 

[montexss]

@messagesoflove Learn to love dark chocolate- 85 or 90% dark chocolate has very low sugar- ~1-3 or 4 grams per serving depending on the brand. Dark chocolate has become my goto as a low carb eater I can still get my chocolate fix. Plus it comes with alot of iron, fiber, polyphenols and good fats/mcts if you pick the right chocolate.

Dark chocolate eating is much more about quality over quantity- letting it melt slowly to appreciate the different flavors, like tasting wine vs. drinking a cheap lager.

I find a couple squares of dark chocolate to be more satisfying than scarfing down an entire milk chocolate bar in 20 seconds like I used to. It seems very bitter at first but over time you get to appreciate the subtle sweetness and complexity.

If I get a real sugar craving or bumping calories to bulk ill do keto ice cream though I try to avoid sugar alcohols and sweeteners.

Since going low carb and cutting out all refined grain products I appreciate natural sweetness much more- caramelized onions, roasted sweet potatos, natural plant sugars, etc.. all taste way more sweet to me now that I dont bombard my body with sugar. A roasted Japanese sweet potato is ridiculously good if cooked right. If you get your insulin sensitivity really high and keep your blood sugar low natural foods will automatically start tasting sweeter and sweeter to you.