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I just ate an entire can of mandarin oranges. Yes, this contained just as much sugar as a candy bar, but it’s fruit, dammit!
Actually, as I mentioned Friday, my taste for sweets has diminished. It hasn’t disappeared, but it’s become very manageable. “How did this happen?” asked Greenman2001 by e-mail. “Many of your readers shared how they fight with sweets. How did you overcome this?”
I haven’t overcome it, really. It’s just become less prominent. Over the past two weeks, I’ve made a huge effort to avoid junk food of all kinds. I haven’t had a candy bar. I haven’t had chips. Except for one notable lapse, I haven’t had cookies. I haven’t had cake.
This was difficult at first, but it helped that I was distracted by other things. I was distracted by my fitness program, and by my transition to full-time writer. I didn’t have dead spaces of time in which to listen to my body’s every whim. When I noticed I was hungry, I made a meal featuring one serving of protein and one serving of carbohydrates. I didn’t snack.
Basically, I didn’t eat much that was sweet, and as a result my cravings for sugar have subsided.
Reader’s Digest recently posted a list of 10 ways to control your cravings, and their advice matches some of what I’ve been doing on my own. A few of their suggestions include:
- Avoid your triggers. “You crave what you eat,” the article says. If you can spend several days without touching your trigger foods, your cravings will subside.
- Detox temptation. If you give in and start eating a trigger food — as when I bought the Girl Scout cookies — destroy the food immediately. Stop eating it and chuck it in the trash. This is a psychological victory, not a defeat.
- Go nuts. The article suggests drinking two glasses of water and eating an ounce of nuts to quell cravings.
- Relax. Meditate. Take a nap. Cravings often come on when we’re stressed or tired. Taking some time to relax can help curb the cravings.
- Distract yourself. The more you focus on your craving, the more difficult it is to ignore it. Do something else. Go for a walk. Read a book. Reply to e-mail. Just stop thinking about your trigger food.
I’ve had great success putting these tips to use. Now when the cravings do surface, I try to substitute something else. I eat a piece of fruit, or I drink some juice, or I have some yogurt. In fact, I’ve come to find that an apple is almost too sweet for me.
I’m under no illusion that I’ve licked my sweet tooth — I just ate an entire can of mandarin oranges, for goodness sake! — I just think I’ve found a way to deal with it. How? By consciously avoiding sweets. The less I have, the less I crave.
Mac
21 responses so far ↓
1 Lauren Muney, wellness + facilitation coach // Mar 17, 2008 at 11:49 am
“Can” of oranges? A can? Any available bowl of oranges?
The good thing is that if you had ‘a can’ (and there was no sugar syrup), you did a great thing for your body by including the fiber in the oranges which help your body do many things, including helping scrub your innards as well as extra carb calories to digest it. Go look up “glycemic load” for more information on the benefits of fibrous carbs.
Glad you are finding solutions to your sugar cravings. I usually tell clients to eat a fat (like some nuts or olives) or a protein (like non-sugared yogurt or a scrambled egg). OR you also may be thirsty, (ie: water) which your body translates as hungry — especially after working out or mid-afternoon.
I’ll keep reading your progress!
2 brad // Mar 17, 2008 at 12:12 pm
This time of year, my weakness is blood oranges, which are in season and indescribably delicious.
As I mentioned in previous comments, when I was involved for a few years with a low-fat cookbook writer I lost my cravings not only for sugar but for fat. It’s amazing how weaning yourself from these things can change your tastes, it just requires a lot of discipline at the beginning. And vigilance thereafter…after I broke up with that girlfriend, my next girlfriend was someone who loved ice cream and other fatty foods, and eventually I drifted back into the habit.
As a side note, does anyone else find it hard to maintain discipline if you break your diet on a Monday? Every week I resolve to cut down on my snacking, but if I give in to temptation on Monday I feel like the whole week is lost and I lose my motivation. Silly, I know, and yet this has always been a big challenge for me. If I stick to my guns on Monday and maintain my discipline, then I’ve set a pattern that motivates me to keep it up on the following days so I have a real sense of accomplishment at the end of the week.
3 J.D. // Mar 17, 2008 at 12:54 pm
Well, yes, I think there were some real oranges nearby. But we also had a can of mandarins, and they were crying out to me. On the positive side, they’re now out of the house, and I don’t intend to replace them.
4 greenman2001 // Mar 17, 2008 at 1:33 pm
JD, this is one of the most valuables posts you’ve written. The practical advice — avoid triggers, don’t let yourself get hungry, address hunger immediately with healthy food — is immediately actionable. These are simple decision-rules. Excellent.
I’ll just second Lauren’s support of the fruit/candy substitution. It’s true that an orange (certainly canned fruit) has as much sugar as candy, but it contains fiber which is unquestionably better for you.
I think this is a case when a major change — cut out all sugar — has more of a benefit than a gradual change. I don’t always support giant steps like that, but in this case it was clearly effective. Are you ready to cut out bread for a month?
5 brianna // Mar 17, 2008 at 3:53 pm
Yup. Throw it out. I can’t tell you the amount of times I have done this when some nefarious (Tostidos!!) foods have somehow entered our house. I find that if I’m looking at it longingly and beating myself up over it every time I go into the kitchen, it goes in the trash. I’ve honestly never regretted it.
The other best advice for me, is to just not buy it with my main grocery order. If I have to make a special trip ( like to Cumbies for ice cream : ) ) 99% of the time, I’ll talk myself out of it.
Ordering my groceries online has been a big help as well. With my online setup, it only shows what I’ve previously ordered. It helps me continue to order the same healthy stuff week after week. Makes me forget stuff now and again since I’m not walking the aisles physically, but I think it’s worth avoiding the impulse buys.
Love the site! It’s great to watch your progress!
6 Cammy // Mar 17, 2008 at 5:01 pm
Great post! I just celebrated with a slice of cake yesterday, and it felt so odd to be eating it. It seems we reach a point where it’s just not *normal* to eat these things. Apples, oranges, grapes, etc. are full of sugary goodness in addition to providing benefits. Good for you for handling your sweet tooth so well!
7 Cammy // Mar 17, 2008 at 5:07 pm
Sorry for the double post, but I forgot to respnd to Brad’s question!
Brad, you might try looking at it this way: if you screw up on Monday, you have ALL week to earn your way back into your own good graces! Make a plan to compensate for the transgression (5 more minutes exercise each day, 1 extra glass of water, 50 fewer calories, etc.), and then predict the date/time you will have crossed over into the Healthy World again. Don’t forget to celebrate when you’ve “earned” your way back!
A silly mind game, I know, but it might work!
8 Mark // Mar 17, 2008 at 5:34 pm
I know for me it is hard to just “going cold turkey” with my sweet tooth. Instead I have substituted fruit for some of the cravings. But, I still eat sweets from time to time. I just make sure that I control the portion size. Over time I have done a good job of moderating my cravings and so far it’s working.
9 AndrewE // Mar 17, 2008 at 6:40 pm
I find I have to avoid sugar or I get massive cravings. I’m fairly convinced that I’m addicted to sugar.
10 Allison // Mar 17, 2008 at 6:51 pm
The last time that I was on a “fad” diet that didn’t allow for any sweets at all I started taking a supplement called Chromium Picolinate. It seemed to work to curb my sweet tooth a bit. I’m also a huge fan of sugar free jello and Dove dark chocolate.
11 monica // Mar 17, 2008 at 10:34 pm
Seems the only way to curb a sweet tooth is to just not eat sweets, then eventually the craving goes away. Great tips to get you by in the meantime. I’ve lost my sugar tooth, but now I have an insatiable fruit tooth! Still, if I have more than 4 fruits a day (especially really ripe and sweet ones), I feel a little sugared out. You’ll get there, JD, and everyone else struggling with a sweet tooth.
Now what about curbing a “salt tooth”? I’m totally addicted to the stuff. I don’t eat processed food, but I do salt everything… even my breakfast oatmeal. Love the stuff.
12 elisabeth // Mar 18, 2008 at 7:35 am
I don’t know — I can’t help but think that control is better than abstinence. Food, as far as I know, for most people isn’t like alcohol, one isn’t really “addicted” to food (except maybe caffiene?). I’m all in favor of limiting foods that are less good for me, but I suspect I’ll be much happier and more likely to keep my weight down if I learn to live within portion guidelines rather than saying “I can never eat X” again.
13 Jonathan // Mar 18, 2008 at 7:41 am
I have a serious sweet tooth…almost legendary. I workout plenty but would seriously like to eat better and cut out all the sugar. I had gotten better recently but feel once I break from routine I go way over. I had a bad meal on Saturday night and then at the gym on Sunday evening I had a craving for Jelly Beans. I told myself to just go home and find something to eat. My sweet tooth won out and I wound up downing two bags of Jelly beans. I wish I could control my sweet tooth. It is a battle I will always have. Maybe one day I will conquer it…or at least eat in moderation.
14 J.D. // Mar 18, 2008 at 7:49 am
15 Jonathan // Mar 18, 2008 at 7:52 am
Thanks. A guy who used to be a weightlifter told me that a glass of orange juice can squelch a sweet tooth after a workout. I didn’t have orange juice on sunday, but that has helped in the past.
I am not a health guru but sunflower seeds have helped me when I am in the car for a long time and get a craving. They might be bad, but they help me pass the time.
16 Gooniette // Mar 18, 2008 at 11:30 am
Brad, here’s something to help you with your setbacks:
“Tomorrow is always fresh with no mistakes in it.”
-Lucy Maude Montgomery.
17 Lib // Mar 18, 2008 at 1:04 pm
“No mistakes in it, yet!”
~ Marilla
18 Cynthia // Mar 18, 2008 at 3:21 pm
Better canned fruit than candy any day. Glad you won’t replace the can though!
Still, too much fruit can slow progress just as surely as too much candy. I have to be careful not to go overboard on fruit.
19 Brooke // Mar 19, 2008 at 4:49 pm
I just ate half a ripe cantaloupe, which is about 8 slices. I don’t feel guilty at all! It satisfied my sweet tooth, and according to FitDay it was only 97 calories. Not bad considering it was pretty filling and high in vitamins A and C.
I’ve been finding lately that sugary snacks are too sweet too (something I never thought would happen). I had a “fun size” milky way bar yesterday and it didn’t even taste good.
20 Beth // Mar 20, 2008 at 11:36 am
I’ve found when I eat healthy, I stop craving unhealthy things. I think it’s because my body is getting everything it needs, and doesn’t have to “ask” for anything.
If I don’t eat well, my body starts shouting “Give me sugar! Fat! Twizzlers! ANYTHING!!”
21 Cynthia // Mar 20, 2008 at 4:54 pm
Beth has a really good point. I have to admit, when I am eating healthy and exercising I just don’t crave the less healthy foods to the same degree. I might think of them, when shopping, but then I just tell myself I don’t eat that anymore or that eating it is not consistent with my goals and then I can generally pass on by.
I do allow myself the occasional 85% dark chocolate bar… that’s minimal sugar and I can usually control myself enough to eat it a square or two at a time. Keeps me from jones-ing for my chocolate and gets me some good antioxidants.
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