Sugar Sugar Sugar!!

[tevangelos]

Ok I have a SERIOUS sweet tooth. I know all about foods you should eat in place of junk food, candy, etc, but especially around the holiday seasons when I see sugar (candy especially!) I can't NOT eat it. I try not to buy food like that and keep it out of my house, but if I see some, all of a sudden a craving hits and I've suddenly consumed probably hundreds of calories of sugar. I also have an auto-immune disease (multiple sclerosis) so I know eating poorly like that doesn't help. I need some real advice from people with this problem. How do I cut the sugar out for good?!?! Help!

[andrerox80]

Ok I have a SERIOUS sweet tooth. I know all about foods you should eat in place of junk food, candy, etc, but especially around the holiday seasons when I see sugar (candy especially!) I can't NOT eat it. I try not to buy food like that and keep it out of my house, but if I see some, all of a sudden a craving hits and I've suddenly consumed probably hundreds of calories of sugar. I also have an auto-immune disease (multiple sclerosis) so I know eating poorly like that doesn't help. I need some real advice from people with this problem. How do I cut the sugar out for good?!?! Help!

the thread above - http://forum.bodybuilding.com/showth...hp?t=125673313 - doesn't help at all?

[bethtwenty4]

<-- Eats hundreds of calories of chocolate covered raisins daily. And sees nothing wrong with it.

[alexisevonne]

I feel your pain! I have the same problem... put sweets in front of my face and all of a sudden the cookie monster within wants to play. I've toned it down quite a bit by asking myself what I want more... this cookie that I can have any time or the body I want now? I'd say it's mostly will-power and if you wean yourself off you'll crave less. I find that when I do indulge I actually crave more so I don't indulge unless it's planned. However, I'm not a robot and life happens sometimes, but don't let "life" happen everyday.

[foresail]

I haven’t craved any sweets after increasing daily veggie intake.

My body can’t handle premade sweets (cookies, cakes, candy, pastries, etc) sold in stores. They trigger an addictive response. So, I only serve/eat home-made sweets (with a lower sugar content and no artificial sweeteners) and view store-sold ones as poison. In the old days when the country was much leaner, people regularly ate desserts and/or snacks in moderation.

[phix95]

I'm the same way. I love dark chocolate. I eat a couple squares with every meal. Might be bad but I think if you deprive yourself totally, you'll go mentally insane (or at least may have a breakdown) and end up breaking down and binging. Sure you may offset your goal but I think, for your mental health, it's worth it. I also allow myself pizza once/month.
I also have panic and depression since age 14 so me being off mentally may be more of an issue than others. I want to keep as calm as I can. Depriving myself is certainly not the answer.

[andrerox80]

Might be bad

how is it bad? first, dark chocolate has health benefits. second, that's irrelevant and you can eat anything that you make fit into your cals and macro's. w/ sugar it can be tricky. more than okay to work in treats, but will that be sufficient or make you want more? most are the former and thus work what they want in and enjoy. deprivation is never the answer.

[HopeJ]

Do you think you could just have some but in moderation? I have a huge sweet tooth always have and always will but can't imagine never having it. Just would like to be more balanced.
I keep reading about the benefits too of dark chocolate. I am not a fan since it is bitter but am going to keep trying. May help the sugar cravings plus get some antioxidants in the body.

[Romina81]

I love sweets too but could never cut it out cold turkey...so I just limit it to one time a day and shoot for about 150-200 calories (usually more when time of month comes around )

also it becomes easier to not overdo it on sugary junky foods with little nutritional value when my body is full on wholesome foods, somehow mentally it becomes more of a 'how is this food benefiting my body?' which in your case is probably very important since you are already dealing with a disease...good luck!

[wakechica]

Dark chocolate...mmm especially the dark choc with ginger. I'm not a craver; when I start eating it though it's sooo hard to stop. Have to eat something savoury to stop me wanting it. Or go use mouth wash. Start with 70% dark choc and work your way up. If it's too bitter, try dark cho with something in such as ginger etc.

[megmo7]

I always have some kind of dessert with my meals As long as it fits into your macros you're fine. Just don't deprive yourself, ever - that's a recipe to set yourself up for some serious cravings. Plus, the way I see it, food should be enjoyed, always! It's a key part of living and muscle growth, may as well make it good. There are plenty of "healthified" recipes out there for desserts and such, but it's important to let yourself have the real stuff too!

[andrerox80]

Dark chocolate...mmm especially the dark choc with ginger. I'm not a craver; when I start eating it though it's sooo hard to stop. Have to eat something savoury to stop me wanting it. Or go use mouth wash. Start with 70% dark choc and work your way up. If it's too bitter, try dark cho with something in such as ginger etc.

where do you find that? dark choc covered ginger is something i would go for. right now my treat is frozen dark choc covered edamame. it's salty and sweet and both have health benefits. but i'm not fooling myself into thinking it's healthy. and it's not even close to my fave thing i eat. i eat it more b/c it's kind of okay and keeps me honest/keeps me from only eating foods w/ serious nutritional value. my attempt at adding in balance. i do like it, don't get me wrong, but i could easily do w/o it.

[PowerChica]

I think that some sugar is fine. Eating SOME of the junk food really is OK, as long as it fits into your total calories and total carbs. But you're right that cutting back a little might not hurt. My best advice would be to make some sort of "rule" where you have to eat a certain percentage of your diet as healthy foods- complex carbs, plenty of protein, and a healthy amount of good fats. Then, once you've reached that, you could reward yourself with a few small treats- a few mini reeses, a small serving of ice cream, a tootsie pop, a fun size candy bar- 2 or 3 little things like that. That's what I try to do! On another note, stuff like fat free sugar free yogurt, fruit sherbet, cereals that don't have too much sugar, some sweetened flavored oatmeal, stuff like that can satisfy your sweet tooth without putting you over the edge!