Guys,

I need some help w stopping sweets. I seem to never have any issues with getting desserts down. I still eat candy, ice-cream, cookies, brownies and cake. Since my band won't allow me to emotionally eat the carbs, I feel like I have been eating more sweets that ever to fulfill that emotional hunger. For me, emotional hunger is about feeling nurtured. I know my weight loss would be much more if I could let go of the sweets. I especially need to get it under control now with the holidays coming. We all know how many desserts will be around for the next 6 weeks. Perhaps, I could give myself permission to eat one form of sweets only and just ween myself off them. I know I crave them bc I eat them everyday and craving would reduce if I cut way down. Thoughts? Tips?

Thanks!

hi

I have the same problem - I LOVE sweets. try cutting back little by little and if you are going to have the sweets try and be smart about it. have a bite size piece of candy instead of a normal size bar. get some of those 100 calorie snack packs. I struggle with staying away from candy everyday and some days I fall or nosedive off the wagon but you just have to pick yourself back up and keep on trying. A lot of times I will think about it first and try to talk myself out of it with the thought have having something better another day..."I wont eat this cookie today because Friday is someones birthday and I want to be able to eat some cake"

It is hard but as you are reaching for the sweet think about it for a minute and hopefully that will help you say no...even if you are only able to say no 2 times out of 10 you are still going towards the right direction.

Good luck!!

Thank you so much for your support! I totally agree with your message - I need to be gentle with myself and just try little tricks to make myself do better. I have taken the first step of putting it "out there" w the LBT community that I want to overcome this self-destructive bad habit. I have done it with cigs so I can do it with chocolate/desserts. I could not quit smoking so I cut WAY down so now I only do 1-3 a day v a pack a day. Now my cravings have gone WAY down as well. It does work. Thanks again!

Here are some things that have worked for me:

• Sugar free hard candy -- I keep some on my desk at work and in my purse. When I get a craving, it's just a few calories, and it seems to do the trick for me. My favorites are sugar free jolly ranchers and sugar free werther's .
  
• Sugar free jell-o. Sometimes I slice up a few fresh strawberries or bananas in it and/or add a little bit of cool whip light.
  
• Luigi's sugar free italian ice -- I've only been able to find it at Super Wal-mart. It has 60 calories per serving cup and it comes in a package with lemon and cherry. I love it!
  
• Weight Watcher's chocolate chip cookie dough sundae -- has more calories than the other things, but when I'm really craving something, it does the trick.
  
• Chocolate milk -- made with skim milk and NexQuick no sugar added powder. It's also a great source of protein.
  
• Crushed ice with crystal light
  

Ultimately, we have to work hard on overcoming that emotional eating. That is the real battle for many people. If you aren't already, you might want to think about getting some good counseling to help with that.

Sweets are a beautiful thing. I always have liked them, and ALWAYS will. But I keep my sweet tooth in check by:

A) keeping the sweets out of the house.

If they are in the house, keeping them out of sight. By simply taking them off the counter and out of sight makes a difference.

C) 100 cal packs provide instant portion control. A bite or two is not a bad thing. Half a pack of Cookies is...

D) I love Sara Lee cheesecake bites in the frozen section. I can just eat 1-2 bites (20 cals each) and it is the perfect amount... I get the 'taste' for what I want.

E) The previous person's idea for italian ices is a great idea. I also have the Flavorice freezer pops in my freezer ALL THE TIME. One of those makes my sweet cravings go away...

F) Don't underestimate the power of fruit... Put it on your counter. Eat THAT as your sweet first. It will retrain your brain...

GL!

Hi there,

I was a huge sweet binge eater. My cravings went away after surgery and stayed away for a little over two months. THEN------------------

they came back with a rengence. I really had to fight hard. I ended up having a brownie and several Cookies during the struggle. I'm sure some of it was attributed to that time of the month but that can't be my excuse.

I went for my 2nd fill yesterday and told the dr. about my struggle with the sweets. She summed it up very simple for me.

"Remember why you had this surgery Sandra. You can't afford to have a little of this, a little bite of that, it always leads you back to the addiction and carbs."

Enough said. I know I'm not like other people who can have a small portion, etc. etc.

What helps me? Carnation instant Breakfast warmed up in microwave and fudgesicles.

I have to remind myself to NOT STIR UP THE DEMONS!!!!!

Best wishes.

Sandra

Get something like SF popsicles that are only 10 calories and take a while to eat. If you eat one and still craving, then eat another, still 20 calories and keeps you busy for a while and not eating something bad.

Dr. Atkins would recommend having 1 oz of sharp cheddar cheese when craving something sweet (even though its not the flavor you want). It works..the sweet craving goes away. Might work for you?

everyone here insists that eating carbs makes you crave more carbs. I actually think NOT eating carbs makes you crave them, and I cant go totally without sweet things or I will have a days long binge where all I eat is Cookies and cake. Never affects my weight, I cant eat that much these days but very unhealthy.

I find I need a cookie or two at around 4 pm. My faves are Anrotts shortbread creams - 70 calories each. I have them. As long as I do that, I feel strong enough to resist all the other times during the day when I think "hmmm, I feel like a ......" whatever happens to be around.

That's the way I handle it. All things in moderation kind of thing.

Same as I like my glass of wine at night. That's my daily treats - a cookie or two and a glass of wine. That keeps me on the straight and narrow quite easily with everything else. And sheesh, I run an hour a day, I figure I can afford it.

Works for me.