AIBU to tell you I’ve found the miracle cure for excessive sugar consumption

[Thewildthingsarewithme]

I am being unreasonable to post it here but I feel like it’s a public service announcement and should therefore be shared as widely as possible!
I have a really healthy diet with little to no processed food in my meals but I have a really terrible sugar addiction. Daily I would probably eat three or four chocolate bars, biscuits and a pudding and probably ice cream or a pastry as well. Because I’m naturally slim and eat well outside of this I’ve been kidding myself it’s ok but it’s really not.
I saw an instagram recipe for peanut butter stuffed dates. I bought some organic ones, filled them with 100% PB and rolled them in melted 80% dark chocolate. I know there is sugar in dates but it’s natural and the fibre in the dates means that your blood sugars don’t shoot up, the dark chocolate is also very low sugar. This has honestly been a miracle cure for me! I’m eating three a day. This has completely cured me of the urge for anything else with sugar in, they are so stodgy that I can’t actually eat more than three and they feel completely decadent. For the first time probably in my adult life I’m not craving sugar all day, I’ve had nothing but these dates for three weeks now and it’s actually feeing like a permanent change!
Just wanted to share because I thought I would never be able to kick the habit but I feel so much healthier!

@Mary28 i saw them on an instagram reel so no recipe to link but I did
200g Medjool dates (Sainsbury’s do some organic ones that are lovely)
meridian crunchy peanut butter
100g 80% (or more) dark chocolate

Take the stones out of the dates, fill with peanut butter according to your preference, melt the dark chocolate, roll the dates in it and put onto a tray lined with parchment paper. Freeze for thirty mins then decant into an airtight container. Keep for 3-5 days in the fridge 😊

Frozen grapes.

my go to evening nibble when dieting

@LadyDancealot I have actually lost four pounds in three weeks but I’m eating way less calories, I’ve probably replaced about a 1000 calories worth of pure junk with about 300 cals of something that’s very dense and fibrous so I’m full for way longer. I know people say oh it’s so rich I couldn’t eat much but that is not me, I would usually just keep going but I am actually finding I can’t eat more than three a day.
I’ve also noticed I’ve got a lot more energy which is miraculous considering I have a toddler and a newborn. Most worryingly though there were a lot of symptoms I had that I didn’t realise were sugar related which have now stopped like mid afternoon headaches and irritability, heart palpitations and stomach cramps

How are you restricting yourself to 3 a day?

I am the same, super healthy meals but easily binge sugar - I tried making the 'bark' - halved dates squashed down, covered in peanut butter and then dark chocolate, then frozen - incredibly delicious but I just ate the whole tub of these instead...

Bollocks! If I eat healthy fats like avocados and nuts etc I don’t need your fake dietary knowledge and I can enjoy a protein-filled zero-fat Greek yogurt . Don’t generalise to make yourself feel better.

You've forgotten the most important part - sprinkle with flakey sea salt!! Makes such a difference.

I don't roll mine completely in choc - just dip the tops in.

I did something similar after struggling to eat plain dates while pregnant. I ate SO MANY dates at the end of the pregnancy that I am put off for life. Cut date in half, peanut butter and few chocolate chips - tasted just like a snickers bar!

My Grandparents used to make peanut butter stuffed dates rolled in sugar for the holidays. Loved them.

M&S have medjool dates that are not from Israel. ----

That’s great that it’s helped you Oo, but you can’t say this in the same breath!

have a really healthy diet with little to no processed food in my meals but I have a really terrible sugar addiction. Daily I would probably eat three or four chocolate bars, biscuits and a pudding and probably ice cream or a pastry as well

You don’t have a healthy diet with no processed foods if you’re eating 4chocolate bars biscuits and a pudding. Heads up they’re all UPF

I've been doing this for years (but with vegan choc) it's been a well known thing in vegan circles for a long time so I assumed it was common knowledge.

Glad it's working for you!

It's great but people sensitive or overloaded with oxalate should avoid dates and dark chocolate.

I cried when I realised medjool dates were so high in oxalate.

No, but I wondered if WOW butter would work just as well. It's my go-to substitute

Try these OP:

200g ground almonds
100g dates
2 tbsp of cacao nibs ground to powder (or just cacao powder)
1 tbsp coconut oil
1 tbsp peanut butter

Blitz altogether in a blender then roll into balls and refrigerate.

You can add fresh grated ginger or orange zest too.

@FlowerDot ’little to no processed sugar in my meals’ my meals are great, all home made inc sauces, no sugars, single ingredient etc it’s outside of my meals that is problematic and that is when the UPFs creep on. I clarified this in my first post because it is important to differentiate, having a poor diet in general is different to having healthy meals and a sugar addiction, it requires a different approach and also can help advise others who really struggle to regulate their sugar intake but otherwise have a good understanding of what healthy food looks like

Yabu any kind of nut butter but especially peanut butter can get in the sea

Sorry, how do you fill them?

do you remove the flesh inside of them and then replace with peanut butter?

Thank you, OP! Will definitely try this. Can I ask at what time of the day you are having these? I have very similar eating patterns to yours - eat healthily, avoid carbs and UPFs mostly, stay slim... Until the evening when I hit the chocolate. Sometimes I manage to consume it relatively reasonably, sometimes I binge. It's the one thing I can't control.

I will try but I am a binge eater so there are good chances I will have nth number of choc bars after the healthy home made meal and the choc nut dates.

Has anyone tried hypnosis? Or acupuncture? I am pretty sure my food/sugar addiction may be trauma but I can’t afford nth years of therapy.

Along similar lines I tried some Manilife cocoa dusted peanuts recently - a nice little reasonably natural satisfying sweet treat that doesn’t have me chomping through the biscuit tin afterwards!

😂

That sounds amazing! Still very calorific I imagine but wonderful.

@SpttyMaldoon just take out the stone and fill the space where it was then press them back together, the PB acts as a glue!
@Karmaisagod exactly the same, it’s always the evenings. I am currently having one after lunch when I’m usually fairly good anyway and might have previously had a couple of biscuits or a pastry then in the evening I’m having two. This is when previously I would binge on chocolate and seemingly have no off button, I actually feel a bit sick after two, the large Medjool ones are so stodgy and so sweet that I actually don’t want anymore, it’s amazing!

Dates are disgusting and cause me a mild irritation in my throat.

My tuppence' worth:

The Sugar Solution by Dr Mark Hyman

Dr Becky Gillaspy's short talks on YouTube.

It definitely IS possible to wean yourself off sugar.
So worth it.