[bpcyclist]

Really struggling controlling my intake of sweets/carbs. Weight is not the problem because I exercise quite a bit and my Hb A1C is fine. Lipids are fine, too. But I just cannot control my endless craving for sweets. Does anyone have any suggestions of what to do about this? It just cannot be good for me.

[BadNews4321]

This sounds exactly like me after a cardio workout! Except I will eat the last quarter and look for a second pie!

This is why I keep a lot of vegetables around and ram them down my mouth until I'm stuffed. I try to get into the same mindset as when I really don't want to go to the gym, I do..... Turn a negative into a positive. I do my best to trick myself into thinking a sweets craving is a call to fresh vegetables. It isn't always successful, but it does work some of the time.

[Moose72]

I wouldn't worry unless youre eating it every day.

[Blue_Bird]

I'm terrible about sweets too, obsessed with them and always go overboard. The main thing that helps me is drinking black coffee or lots of water whenever I get cravings. For me black coffee works because I enjoy it so it's like a treat every time without all the extra calories. That's just something that's helped me, of course everyone is different though. The vegetable suggestion is a good one, can eat lots of those for wayyyy less calories and it's obviously more nutritious than sweets.

[~Christina]

Well you are on quite a few psych meds that can cause intense cravings for food , carbs and sugar certainly , well of course you know that your a Doctor after all. lol

Maybe stock up with lots of fruit so when you are feeling hungry you can have some good options to just grab.

[Sometimes psychotic]

I recommend getting smaller higher quality sweets.....visit a French pastry shop or a gourmet chocolatier....they are expensive and small you will eat less because of that. Other than that don’t let them in the house....if you’re baking they do have smaller portion cookbooks now...like just for two stuff.

[bpcyclist]

Originally Posted by BadNews4321

This sounds exactly like me after a cardio workout! Except I will eat the last quarter and look for a second pie!

This is why I keep a lot of vegetables around and ram them down my mouth until I'm stuffed. I try to get into the same mindset as when I really don't want to go to the gym, I do..... Turn a negative into a positive. I do my best to trick myself into thinking a sweets craving is a call to fresh vegetables. It isn't always successful, but it does work some of the time.

Ugh. I do love some veggies, but man, that pie is just a lot better.

That said, I can do this. I can stock more healthy options in the fridge. I'll try it and see what happens. Thanks very much for the tip!!!!

[bpcyclist]

Originally Posted by Blue_Bird

I'm terrible about sweets too, obsessed with them and always go overboard. The main thing that helps me is drinking black coffee or lots of water whenever I get cravings. For me black coffee works because I enjoy it so it's like a treat every time without all the extra calories. That's just something that's helped me, of course everyone is different though. The vegetable suggestion is a good one, can eat lots of those for wayyyy less calories and it's obviously more nutritious than sweets.

Thanks, Blue_Bird. I'll try to add more coffee to the mix.

[bpcyclist]

Originally Posted by ~Christina

Well you are on quite a few psych meds that can cause intense cravings for food , carbs and sugar certainly , well of course you know that your a Doctor after all. lol

Maybe stock up with lots of fruit so when you are feeling hungry you can have some good options to just grab.

Yeah, I know, and I just do not see myself getting off any of them any time real soon, sadly. I just love fruit, but it is kind of expensive, honestly, on my budget. I usually have a few oranges, and bananas are still cheap, so that's easy. I love fresh whole pineapple, mangos, and papaya, but the latter are just stupid spendy here now. Could try to keep more of it around.

Good idea, though. I probably just need to budget better.

[bpcyclist]

Originally Posted by Sometimes psychotic

I recommend getting smaller higher quality sweets.....visit a French pastry shop or a gourmet chocolatier....they are expensive and small you will eat less because of that. Other than that don’t let them in the house....if you’re baking they do have smaller portion cookbooks now...like just for two stuff.

Good idea, thanks, Sometimes.

[TunedOut]

I have learned I cannot keep large quantities of junk food in the house. I agree with the suggestion to only buy or cook single sized servings of sweets (other than fruit). Also, it helps to have meals at a regular time everyday because if I wait until I am really hungry then I am more likely to eat less healthy. We eat lots of vegtables too. Cabbage is both delicious and inexpensive sauted with salt and pepper. It is also good braised with onions, salt, pepper, a tablespoon of sugar and a couple of tablespoons of apple cider vinegar (for the liquid, I like to add low sodium bone broth because it is nutritious and Walmart has a very inexpensive one). Also, proteins like chicken keep the hunger away for me.

[unaluna]

I will definitely overeat sweets if i let myself get too hungry. So i find that eating regularly timed meals with sufficient amounts of animal or vegetable protein, fats and carbs keeps my sweet-eating to a more reasonable amount, usually. If for some reason i skip a meal, watch out.

[*Beth*]

Ugh. The med-induced sugar cravings are vicious. I don't keep anything in my house that is sugary. I mean nothing, ever. Of course, I will go out and buy a single portion of whatever and eat that. But it's not that often because it's a hassle to leave the house just for some sweet stuff.

I agree with the single servings at home only. No full pies, full cakes, or multi pack cookies. I also agree with the idea about drinking lots of beverages. And if you need more sweet, another idea is to have tea or coffee with plenty of milk and sugar. Or hot cocoa or chocolate milk. Also, things like yogurt can be good choices, rather than ice cream. I find dairy products very filling and satisfying, and rarely eat/drink THAT much, with the exception of ice cream.

Add on: Another idea if you buy large portions of a dessert or cakey thing is to freeze a lot of it, in smaller portions. Bluebicycle's idea below works with this. I don't know if the chocolate pie would work well (if it is pudding or custard-like, or fruit pies), but many things do, especially anything cake-like. Quite a while back I made blueberry muffins. Twelve is a lot to have around for just two people. So I froze 9 or 10 of them. I take two (only) out when I want one to defrost. The effort of defrosting deters me from having many.

I like the idea of single servings, but if you're insistent on buying something with multiple servings, you can do what I do: I put things in plastic baggies or wrap pieces up in plastic wrap. For example, if I buy cookies, I will open the entire package and place the cookies in separate baggies. Like, if I have Oreos, I put 3-4 per baggie and shove the baggies in a container. (I think you're only supposed to eat 2-3 Oreos at a time depending if they're classic or double stuf, though.) Then when you're hungry, you grab a baggie of Oreos and eat them. You may try to go for a second baggie after you finish the first, but if you go for a second baggie, it makes you think, "damn, I just ate a whole bag... which is one serving... I'm not supposed to eat another one." But if you open an entire package of Oreos and start eating them from the package, you don't necessarily realize how much you've eaten until you've eaten the whole thing in one sitting. The idea is to break up the cookies into suggested serving sizes so that you can see how many servings you're actually having. e.g., 3 bags are 3 servings. Sure, using all those baggies is a bit wasteful, but it puts it in perspective for you because you are physically counting the servings with baggies. Most people don't count servings when eating out of the box -- or in your case, the pie tin.

The other thing: sweets are addictive. I've found that the more I avoid sweets, the less I crave them. I'm not saying cut out all sweets from your diet, but you kinda don't wanna touch them after a while of not eating them.

Forgot to say... if you use the baggies or plastic wrap approach, you can always use a sharpie to write down the number of calories on the baggie itself. Just get those Ziploc ones that have the white label that's intended for writing down expiration dates.

for example,

[bpcyclist]

Originally Posted by TunedOut

I have learned I cannot keep large quantities of junk food in the house. I agree with the suggestion to only buy or cook single sized servings of sweets (other than fruit). Also, it helps to have meals at a regular time everyday because if I wait until I am really hungry then I am more likely to eat less healthy. We eat lots of vegtables too. Cabbage is both delicious and inexpensive sauted with salt and pepper. It is also good braised with onions, salt, pepper, a tablespoon of sugar and a couple of tablespoons of apple cider vinegar (for the liquid, I like to add low sodium bone broth because it is nutritious and Walmart has a very inexpensive one). Also, proteins like chicken keep the hunger away for me.

Huh, didn't know that. Will have to try the cabbage thing. Thanks!!

[bpcyclist]

Originally Posted by BirdDancer

I agree with the single servings at home only. No full pies, full cakes, or multi pack cookies. I also agree with the idea about drinking lots of beverages. And if you need more sweet, another idea is to have tea or coffee with plenty of milk and sugar. Or hot cocoa or chocolate milk. Also, things like yogurt can be good choices, rather than ice cream. I find dairy products very filling and satisfying, and rarely eat/drink THAT much, with the exception of ice cream.

Add on: Another idea if you buy large portions of a dessert or cakey thing is to freeze a lot of it, in smaller portions. Bluebicycle's idea below works with this. I don't know if the chocolate pie would work well (if it is pudding or custard-like, or fruit pies), but many things do, especially anything cake-like. Quite a while back I made blueberry muffins. Twelve is a lot to have around for just two people. So I froze 9 or 10 of them. I take two (only) out when I want one to defrost. The effort of defrosting deters me from having many.

Thanks, BirdDancer. I will try those things.

[bpcyclist]

Originally Posted by bluebicycle

I like the idea of single servings, but if you're insistent on buying something with multiple servings, you can do what I do: I put things in plastic baggies or wrap pieces up in plastic wrap. For example, if I buy cookies, I will open the entire package and place the cookies in separate baggies. Like, if I have Oreos, I put 3-4 per baggie and shove the baggies in a container. (I think you're only supposed to eat 2-3 Oreos at a time depending if they're classic or double stuf, though.) Then when you're hungry, you grab a baggie of Oreos and eat them. You may try to go for a second baggie after you finish the first, but if you go for a second baggie, it makes you think, "damn, I just ate a whole bag... which is one serving... I'm not supposed to eat another one." But if you open an entire package of Oreos and start eating them from the package, you don't necessarily realize how much you've eaten until you've eaten the whole thing in one sitting. The idea is to break up the cookies into suggested serving sizes so that you can see how many servings you're actually having. e.g., 3 bags are 3 servings. Sure, using all those baggies is a bit wasteful, but it puts it in perspective for you because you are physically counting the servings with baggies. Most people don't count servings when eating out of the box -- or in your case, the pie tin.

The other thing: sweets are addictive. I've found that the more I avoid sweets, the less I crave them. I'm not saying cut out all sweets from your diet, but you kinda don't wanna touch them after a while of not eating them.

I certianly do not think in terms of servings, ever. Maybe that would help me out. And they are clearly an addiction thing for me. Maybe I just need to apporach it like it is...

[fern46]

I know you bake from time to time, so maybe bake things that freeze well. So for example you can make cookie dough and put it on a tray and freeze the dough balls and then put them in a bag to store and pull a few out at a time to bake when you want a treat. I know you're on a budget so this also works great when you can buy things in season or in bulk or on sale and make a bunch at once.

Also, you can hide ingredients like flax seed or something of the like to boost the health factor. You can use coconut oil in place of vegetable oil. On that note, there are tons of wonderful sweet treats made with honey, agave or other natural sweeteners that aren't so high in processed sugar. Also, you can do things like Zuchinni or pumpkin bread to up the nutrition. Bananas and applesauce can also be used to sweeten and take the place of binders like eggs. People put black beans in brownies... Just a few ideas.

I wouldn't throw away a hobby... I'd maybe take a new spin on the hobby and challenge yourself to see where it can go. Your brain craves the sugar. It needs it for fuel, but natural glucose is best. Get creative and see what you can do!

ETA: if you want to make a multiple serving dessert like a pie, you can always challenge yourself to find a gathering of sorts to take it to so you can share it or invite someone over. I know that may be uncomfortable, but people are great and especially when you feed them awesome treats!

[fern46]

One more thought... If you can eat something with a bit of sweetness that is filling you can get more out of the experience. For example, I make these about once a month. I do an entire box at a time and I make waffles. My kids like them a bit sweeter so I usually add 2Tbsp of powdered sugar to the mix. I also add walnuts and a couple of eggs for more protein and the eggs help the consistency of the waffles. You can use coconut oil.

https://www.walmart.com/ip/Kodiak-Ca...8-Oz/247590164

At any rate, these are choclately, a bit sweet amd very filling. They offer the carbs and protein you need for a bike ride. If you want to keep the sugar even lower you can just eat them with a few berries and some cool whip.

They freeze well once they cool and heat up great in a toaster oven.

They are a tad pricey as far as mixes go, but they offer a lot more benefit than standard waffle mix I eat them for a dessert when I'm feeling like a bottomless pit.

[bpcyclist]

Originally Posted by fern46

One more thought... If you can eat something with a bit of sweetness that is filling you can get more out of the experience. For example, I make these about once a month. I do an entire box at a time and I make waffles. My kids like them a bit sweeter so I usually add 2Tbsp of powdered sugar to the mix. I also add walnuts and a couple of eggs for more protein and the eggs help the consistency of the waffles. You can use coconut oil.

https://www.walmart.com/ip/Kodiak-Ca...8-Oz/247590164

At any rate, these are choclately, a bit sweet amd very filling. They offer the carbs and protein you need for a bike ride. If you want to keep the sugar even lower you can just eat them with a few berries and some cool whip.

They freeze well once they cool and heat up great in a toaster oven.

They are a tad pricey as far as mixes go, but they offer a lot more benefit than standard waffle mix I eat them for a dessert when I'm feeling like a bottomless pit.

Thanks, fern. I think I tried the buttrmilk ones once but they were kind of expensive. I just make my own now.

But the chocolate ones, they sound good. I will give them a go. Thanks!!

[yellow_fleurs]

Maybe try eating more small meals throughout the day, and including some protein and maybe something a little sweet like fruit or trail mix that has a little chocolate. This might not be the case for you, but for me if I let my blood sugar go up and down or get too hungry I start craving sweets. I also find staying hydrated helps. Practicing mindfulness around eating might help, too. You could make sure you are paying attention to when you are going to eat something (sweet or not), and sit down and make a little event of it. For example, you could grab some tea or coffee with something sweet, take out just a piece and put back the rest, and really sit down and enjoy it and pay attention to what you are eating. If you slow down like this you might be less likely to eat as much of it.

[bpcyclist]

Originally Posted by yellow_fleurs

Maybe try eating more small meals throughout the day, and including some protein and maybe something a little sweet like fruit or trail mix that has a little chocolate. This might not be the case for you, but for me if I let my blood sugar go up and down or get too hungry I start craving sweets. I also find staying hydrated helps. Practicing mindfulness around eating might help, too. You could make sure you are paying attention to when you are going to eat something (sweet or not), and sit down and make a little event of it. For example, you could grab some tea or coffee with something sweet, take out just a piece and put back the rest, and really sit down and enjoy it and pay attention to what you are eating. If you slow down like this you might be less likely to eat as much of it.

Yeah, I am definitely not very mindful when I am downing a whole pie!!!!

[Jmayfair]

These cravings are not helped with psych meds. I often wish I could eat like that and not suffer from some stomach ailment soon after. I can only eat in small portions and I am not happy about it.