How to control my sweet tooth?

[peace-love-couture]

The hardest part of my current diet is how big of a sweet tooth I have. Right now, I'm eating Pocky (Almond Crush). I only ate one packet of 3, but it just reminded me of how good chocolate & pastries are. My problem with sugar can get pretty bad though. Literally, when I'm not in the right state of mind, like when I'm bored or emotional, I can binge eat thousands of calories worth of sweets within 5 minutes or so, only to terribly guilty to the point of going back to purging.

Is there some sort of trick for this?

[madmisskelly]

I know how you feel!

However, I notice when I'm not eating it, I crave it less and less. When I give in on a regular basis, I crave it more.

The best way to think about it is to psychoanalyze yourself.

Whenever you reach for sweets ask yourself "do I REALLY want/need this right now?" "do I really want to waste X amount of calories on THIS?"

Also, reexamine what you classify as "good" food. Take snickers for example. Many say that it is "so good." But why? Why is snickers good? Its crap- fake caramel, processed chocolate, crap crap crap. Why is THAT good compared to say, a gourmet dessert- handcrafted chocolate, caramel etc?

That is good food. If you are going to eat sweets, really savor it. Eat really healthy the majority of the time, and then every couple weeks really splurge on NICE dessert,

[curiouschica]

Don't buy that stuff. If you don't have it for awhile, your craving for it should disappear (works for me). Try having fruits plain or with cinnamon or things like sweet potatoes for example...healthier, more nutritious...

[peace-love-couture]

ohmygosh, I forgot about sweet potatoes. I could steam a sweet potato, put a little cinnamon and eat it.

[curiouschica]

Yep! :)

[WeaponZero]

In my experience the sweet tooth is the easiest of cravings to deal with when trying to monitor caloric intake, because it seems like every single supplement and every single meal substitute/healthy snack out there such as low calorie protein bars are made to cater towards people who have that issue.

Try purchasing good whey protein shake mixes or low calorie protein bars. They come in a variety of flavors. The one I get is very low calorie and comes in some REALLY nice flavors. Stuff like Cinnamon Bun flavor (which tastes like the cereal Cinnamon Toast Crunch), Cake Batter, and Iced Cream Sandwich.

It's those of us whose vice is greasy, melty, cheesy foods who have it rough. There is no healthy substitute for us =(

[WeaponZero]

I didn't get fat off chocolate or candy. I got fat off of pizza, nachos, and macaroni and cheese =P lol

[peace-love-couture]

nah, throw some pizza or nachos in front of me and I'm game lol it's easier to fight those urges though

[WeaponZero]

Look for any protein shake mix that's pure whey isolate, not whey concentrate. They have no fat, no carbs, and extremely low calories (about 120 calories for 30 grams of protein) and most brands come in a ton of good tasting flavors. You can satisfy your sweet tooth with that. My breakfast every morning lately is a bowl of oatmeal with a scoop of that thrown in for flavor and protein. Cinnamon Bun goodness in my oatmeal.

[WeaponZero]

link this is my brand.

Jamie Eason bakes with hers. She uses it to bake brownies and homemade cake and protein bars.

[kairon156]

I try to keep sweets out of the house or more importantly out of my bedroom. I'm like you I won't stop once I start eating, least to me if they are in the kitchen they are "hands off " at least when it comes down to finishing off a box of cookies by my self.

I only buy sweets when it's been a few days/weeks than I can buy a bunch of sweets and finish them off. Now that it's summer I think I"m going to try a different tact where every 5 lbs I loose I can buy something to tame my sweet tooth and once I get to my goal I'll go back to my original plan.

[peace-love-couture]

See, I've thought about that, like, treating myself. I feel like it could work, but I don't want to take forever to lose 2 lbs only to go overboard when I do treat myself.

[kairon156]

yeah that could be hard to do if it takes a while to loose the weight you want. perhaps you can just cut back instead of buying a can of nuts buy an oh-Henry bar (it's a chocolate bar with nuts in it) just make sure you eat it when your sweet tooth is yelling at you and not when you are bored.

[kheserthorpe]

Planned cheat meals. You would probably lose weight faster if you shocked your metabolism with carbs every week to 10 days. So plan a weekly carb binge. Seriously, 1500 + calories of carbs. Its not out of control, its not unplanned. Its part of your overall diet.

When you get cravings, figure out exactly what you're gonna have on your carb binge.

Figure out a different way to deal with emotional needs.

[lucky24]

buy fruits

they are delicious and low in calories

berries are the best >_>

[peace-love-couture]

berries are indeed the best

[kairon156]

I like seedless grapes myself.

[paigems]

When I feel like sweet stuff I eat lots of jello which is super low in calories or a bowl of strawberries with whip cream on it which is also super low in calories :)

[Longshot]

Don't have sweets around, but keep fruit. Fruit releases fructose which will help control your appetite. Berries, oranges, grapefruit.