How do I get rid of my sweet tooth?!

[Thelizzardqueen]

i eat cereal and chocolate every single day. I have tried a lot of times to stop but I can’t seem to manage it. I really really want to be healthier, how can I do it and stick to it? Has anyone managed? A sweet treat is absolutely fine, but I mean I eat SO much of it and I’m worried about my health. I want to be healthier but I am so addicted to sugar and crave it so intensely that I find it too hard to ignore.

Theres chocolate cake at work and I offered someone on my team a piece and she said she would rather eat a crumpet than chocolate. She hates anything sweet. And I feel so jealous, why can’t that be me!

I don’t buy in my food shop. But then I crave it so bad that I just walk to the corner shop every day for my fix

I am the same op and so overweight now. If we don’t have chocolate etc in it’s toast and jam, yoghurt and honey etc. I’ve heard you have to go cold turkey but I can’t face it!

I found educating myself on what glucose spikes do to the body quite useful.

I feel you. I did it once and I more or less managed it for a couple of years. You do feel SO much better for giving it up, I promise. Problem for me is it’s how I cope with life, so it’s very hard to stick to it and I’m back on the sugar again. I just stopped one day - that part wasn’t hard, it was the staying-stopped that I found hard (impossible so far for me).

Good luck to you! I think Dr Gabor Maté’s you tube talks on addiction helped me, and at the moment I’m trying the Allan Carr book. I hope you manage to do it.

Like with any addiction, cold turkey quitting is often ineffective.

Personally I'd start with the cereal, because it's an obvious boredom food but also not something you casually buy when you're out. Either cut it out altogether and replace it with something non-sugary (do you like buttered toast?) or buy a less sugary cereal. Rice krispies or cornflakes, rather than fruit loops or frosties. You're a captive consumer when you're in your pyjamas, or late at night when the shops have closed, so take advantage of it.

I don’t buy in my food shop. But then I crave it so bad that I just walk to the corner shop every day for my fix

Maybe put aside a "sweet tooth" fund and leave the money in a dish by the door? If it's rationed, even if it's as much as 50p or £1 a day, it'll still make you think more about what you're doing than if you bring your whole wallet and pay with card each time.

Don’t restrict treats just change them.

I find a bowl of natural yoghurt with frozen berries and a drizzle of honey works.

i also came across a good recipe for a fake salted Carmel ice cream that was made having blended cottage cheese and dates.

dried fruit like mango is also an alternative.

if you’re going to treat yourself to chocolate have dark, good quality chocolate and allow yourself a few squares a day.

I bought the Glucose Goddess Method book and her ideas really work. For the first week you have a savoury breakfast but can eat sweet stuff anytime after that-but after a few days I found I wasn’t craving it at all because I hadn’t started my day on a sugar spike. For the next few weeks you introduce further slight changes but I failed miserably at the apple cider vinegar week! I’d say it’s well worth a look at.

I started eating dark chocolate instead of milk or white so I'd still get my chocolate fix but would eat less of it. My taste buds adjusted over time but it was definitely helpful initially.

For the ones at work just make it gross. Think someone sneezed on that cake or something.

Read Ultra Processed People. I found understanding the addiction helped. I don't eat much that is sweet at all now, apart from the occasional shortbread biscuit (no ultra processed ingredients in those) or really good quality dark chocolate. I didn't eat much fruit anyway so stopped that and also all artificial sweeteners. I don't have much in the way of white carbs either anymore.

This sounds interesting, I’ll have a look

I stopped with nicotine 2 years ago and since then I started to eat. I now take cottage cheese on bread but since it's disgusting I mix it with a load of cheese spread with sambal and garlic. It fills very good and you don't get that you have to eat a load of sugar and you don't get hungry. I also eat it mixed with artificial sweeteners and a load of cinnamon. Still in the evening I want something sweet, so I take strawberries or blueberries mixed with icecream. Very sweet yet not so many calories.

I was advised to swap milk for dark chocolate by a nurse years ago when I was having palpitations.

14yrs later and milk chocolate (and biscuits and lots of cakes) are far too sweet, but I can eat my body weight in 90% dark chocolate!

The idea of eating a sweet biscuit and the grimy coating it leaves on my teeth makes me feel sick.

I should say I started at 70% and worked my way up.
I don't like honey or maple syrup or similar now either.

Let yourself eat absolutely anything you like as long as it's not sugary for 2-3 weeks while you get through the sugar withdrawal. Don't worry about making it healthy in the beginning, just not sugary. So bacon sandwich, chips, crisps. Lots of protein if possible. Try and keep yourself full of savoury food initially.

Then when you are out of the habit of sugary food and your body starts to crave it less, you can start to make other healthy swaps.

So many helpful tips and advice here, thanks so much!

Have a mint chewing gum or brush your teeth when you are about to succumb.

That does nothing for me. People always suggest that for dieting. Red wine and dark chocolate taste amazing with toothpaste 😁

I did a keto diet years ago, went cold turkey and I rarely eat anything sugary at all now. (Still fat though!).

Don't ignore it, indulge it once a day at the same time each day with something small and recondition yourself to accept this is enough.

This is what I did and it’s the only thing that actually works for me. Definitely not the healthiest method but I’m very weak when it comes to food.

I have done this as well.It has helped.

The less sugar I eat, the less I want. It now tastes awful to me. Just gradually reduce, and the cravings will lessen.

Some gut health imbalances can cause sugar cravings e.g. intestinal yeast infection. You could take oil of oregano capsules to kill off any bad stuff and then follow up with probiotics or kefir to keep the right balance.