STYLETHREAD -- LET'S TALK SHOP!

small fry · Chanel

craving sweets

pollyjean23 · Marc Jacobs

Whenever I try to quit eating sweets cold turkey, without adjusting other food choices, the cravings overwhelm me. I remember driving down the highway on my lunch one day, gnawing on the Toll House Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough BAR (not log) that I purchased at the grocery store. I went in to purchase that bar and bought nothing else. That was a low point.

Fast-forward a few years later...

I have been trying the Zone program for the past few weeks, and I really love it. If you follow the general rule of the Zone, you'll find that your cravings die off in like 2 days. In addition, you'll have a ton more energy and increased mental clarity. That is what I have found so far, and those two things are huge for me.

Before I got into the Zone, I stopped eating sweets for breakfast. I had become fully addicted to high-carb sweet things in the morning (muffins, cinnamon rolls, etc.). I replaced that with moderate protein, lots of fruit, some nuts, and tea that I like. Doing that helped tremendously.

Desserty/Sweets that I have been eating are (and these don't all exactly follow the Zone, but I make them work).

Apple Dessert

1/2 of a Red Delicious Apple, cut into thinnish slices (not paper thin or anything).
A liberal dosing of cinnamon (maybe splurge on some extra nice stuff - - you'll have it for a good while)
1/4 c of vanilla 0% Fat yogurt
Sprinkle sliced almonds, crushed pecans, or crushed walnuts on top if you'd like.

Dark - Darker - Darkest Chocolate

Keep a chocolate bar around, and break off a piece here and there. Start with moderately dark chocolate, and work your way up. Let each piece melt in your mouth. Lindt Chocolates offer bars in the following percentages:

50%
70%
85% <-- This is where I am right now
90%
99%

(at the 85% level, Green & Blacks chocolate bar is richer and more decadent, but they don't offer the 90 & 99% levels).

Salty-Sweet Snack

This one is Zone compatible, and I find it to be a very satisfying snack.

1 oz. string cheese (low fat mozzarella)
1/3 cup natural, unsweetened applesauce
1 Tablespoon sliced almonds
A liberal sprinkling of cinnamon (optional)

Wine Time

1 oz. low fat cheese
4 oz. glass of wine (red or white)

T&J

1/2 slice of nice, hearty, 100% whole grain bread
Tahini (creamy, unsalted) (I like to slather it on)
Jam (apricot, blackberry, cherry, strawberry, or raspberry)

Homemade smoothies are also good for sweets replacements

When the weather gets warm, I really enjoy frozen green grapes. They're so refreshing and sweet.

A cup of soy milk or 2% milk can be a decent, quick snack that can take care of a sweet tooth.

If you are interested in the Zone, I highly recommend that you use the book called, A Week in the Zone: A Quick Course in the Healthiest Diet for You. Don't bother with the original Zone book. It's long-winded and complicated.

small fry · Chanel

Wow Thanks pollyjean23 for all the great info....I will check into it

Suasoria · Chanel

It seems like there's two schools of thought that both make sense depending on your psychological makeup - allow yourself a little of the forbidden stuff so you don't ultimately binge and regret it (like the chocolate suggestion above), or remove the temptation entirely and substitute with healthy alternatives. Most of the time I don't allow the crap to come into my house, so avoiding it is no trouble.

My all-time favorite is probably Coconut Bliss - a non-dairy ice cream with a coconut milk base (but it doesn't taste coconutty) that has really simple, high quality ingredients. 2-3 spoonfuls is satisfying. Coconut milk is rather rich, but it's the "good kind" of fat, medium-chain triglycerides.

Most Whole Foods stores have these fruity gummy bears (vegan, no gelatin) in the bulk section and when I want something sweet after a meal, 3 or 4 of those do the trick.

If you can't control your portions, and can scarf a whole package of candy or pint of ice cream in one sitting, this probably wouldn't work...I don't have much of a sweet tooth so if I don't have any in the house, I don't often miss it.

Kelly · Hermes

My worst sweets cravings come in the afternoon, so I keep a bag of lollipops at my desk. Lollipops have around 25 calories and little to no fat (at least the ones I have, which are just classic Dum Dums), so it would be hard to ruin a diet with them. It takes as long to finish a lollipop as it does to finish a candy bar and usually having that much flavor for that much time is enough to satiate me.

Oh! and Kool-aid. We make kool-aid with Stevia and you'd never know it wasn't sugar. That really helps calm down my sweet tooth after dinner. I use NuStevia White Stevia Extract (http://www.iherb.com/NuNaturals-NuStevia-Pure-White-Stevia-Extract-1-oz-28-g/4231?at=0 and I've seen it at Whole Foods too. I haven't tried any other kinds, I've always just stuck with this brand because I heard other ones can have bitter after-taste). It doesn't look like you get very much but it lasts a long time because you only use the tiniest bit. I make a huge pitcher all at once (with two kool-aid packets) and only use less than 1/8 tsp of stevia for the whole thing.

Hope that helps! To be honest my sugar tooth is a daily battle. It's one of my biggest vices/weaknesses!

Boots · Gucci

I agree with Su. Success depends on what your personality is like. I definitely fall into the "it's better to have a little than deny myself entirely" category. Since I know I crave something sweet in the evening with a cup of coffee or tea, I build my eating plan around that. This means that I don't snack during the day or eat sweets until I have my evening mug. This way, if I have a cookie or two, it's OK because I didn't indulge during the rest of the day.

I don't go for most of the processed low cal/low fat diet products. Since I'm letting myself have a treat, it's going to have to be worth the calories for me. That means homemade and tasty. If I don't have any in the house, then I don't have anything. I don't buy packaged cookies or baked goods so there's no fall back plan for me if I don't make anything that week. I will admit that I do enjoy a Quaker Chewy Granola bar once in a while. I like that they take me a while to eat (I pick at it as opposed to biting it like a candy bar) and that they have a built in calorie count (1 bar = 90 or 100 calories.)

small fry · Chanel

Kelly thanks for the info on dum dums I have wondering about those. Those will work too. Right now a snickers sounds great...got to be good or at least till the weekend. I allow my self to have some goodies on the weekend