How do I overcome sugar craving?

[SquishyBeanBag]

I can deal with hunger but after lunch I crave sugar sooo badly!!

What are you tips for managing it?

At the moment I try to allow self just one sugar thing right after lunch with 90 to 100 calories but on a good day I end up eating two in a row.

Why do they need sweet stuff after their dinner?? Especially if they’ve had pudding after lunch already. They’re now having 2 sweets things a day which is way too much for a child.

Agree.
Sugar begets sugar cravings.

Have small piece of cheese or cream your teeth!

And you think it’s good for them?
Then why do you want to stop eating sugar and lose weight?

no wonder UK is the third largest country in Europe

I just eat more of other things any time I get a sugar craving. I don’t count or restrict calories at all but find it’s much harder to naturally overeat other things. Eg if I have salmon and veg for dinner I could easily eat a load of chocolate afterwards but would never eat a second salmon fillet, so when I get that sugar craving I just eat something else, or more likely look in my fridge and realise I’m not actually hungry.

I agree that not having stuff in the house is the easiest way to help yourself. Your kids do not need it either!

Have a look at this, @SquishyBeanBag

I agree. Full fat with low refined carbs will keep you much fuller for longer. I’ve been trying it lately and definitely crave sweet things less. I’m trying low or no carbs for breakfast and lunch with higher protein and fat and then usual dinner.

I also agree with others that say do you really need chocolate biscuits in the house? I have two children and a chocolate fiend husband but we never just have a supply of biscuits/treats in the house (because I’d just eat them frankly!) after dinner it’s nothing or fruit/yoghurt usually.

I would also try to critically examine the beliefs I have around food. We often have lots of them without realising they don’t serve us or sabotage better choices.

Do you need to have pudding after dinner? Why? Does it work for you, does it make you healthier? No? Do you have it then because it’s a done thing? Why?

Is sugar bad for you, but good for children? Why? And so on…

Dessert after dinner is not a given. I’ve never had one in my life at school or at home, unless with a festive meal of several courses, and even then it’s quite common for me and people around to just have espresso or cheese instead of sweets for dessert. It’s a cultural/learned thing and you can ditch it if it’s not healthy for you and your family.

BTW my children are not allowed to have sweets at school, it’s a blanket ban for all schools in the region where I live. No sweets and no fast food.

@Carrie76 hmm I think you're a bit out of touch to be honest. In school today they had a cake sale so most kids would have had pudding after their lunch plus cake at break. And I'm pretty sure most of them have pudding after their dinner. Also I see most parents collect their kids with a sweet treat for them. So probs a big chuck of the have had 4 sweet treats today.

I'm not saying it's right. But the school is also not full of obese people.

I'm just trying to loose 6 more pounds. I'm already within a healthy BMI, but I have a wobbly tummy which I know is the most unhealthy part of the body to store fat so I just want to get rid of that.
Critically thinking about all this I think I'm not getting enough protein.

Thanks everyone.

Is sugar bad for you, but good for children? Why? And so on…

Well yeah because they are not overweight or trying to loose weight. I'm trying to loose a few pounds.

Sorry if I'm coming across dismissive of people's suggests I just don't think being really restrictive is going to help in the long run as I will just switch back to bad ways after a while.

I'm going to eat more protein.

@SquishyBeanBag but 4 sweet treats in one day is way too much! Surely you don’t think it’s ok just because other people do it and/or because the kids aren’t obese?

Sugar is addictive - the more we have the more we crave it - and it’s bad for our health. So we owe it to our children who aren’t responsible for their own food choices to make good choices for them.

It’s great that you want to reduce it in your own diet and removing it from your house will benefit all of you. Of course they can still have sweets at a party or an ice cream on a hot day, but biscuits and pudding daily is unnecessary.

Wow. Some harsh replies on here. Just because you are looking to lose a bit of weight and tone up, that shouldn't mean that you have to vanish sugar from yours and your kids lives forever!

What works for me is putting a small portion of a 'treat' into a bowl I have. So think like 4 individual quality street sweets. I would put the rest of the box in a bag and away in a cupboard where I don't go into much. Eating my treat is enough to fix the sugar craving but means I'm unlikely to eat half a box and also likely to forget about the rest of them for a while.

It can be hard eating less at first without having to go completely sugar free. Everything in moderation.

Coffee with a sweetner helps me. Or sugar free chewing gum.

I’m a massive chocoholic. Currently I’m calorie counting but finding that filling lunch and dinners have meant I’m not actually craving so much. It’s so weird but I guess it makes sense. Usually when I’m dieting I’m hungry and end up binge eating. If I do have chocolate or similar - tonight I’m having a biscuit because dd made them herself and is really proud of herself (she’s 12), I will include it in my calories I log.

Cold turkey but only when you start adding protein and fiber to all meals. I eat 2 bowls at breakfast. I use a calorie counting app. Breakfast normally is a bowl of 100g 0% Greek yogurt with berries ( or apple if none in) and a bowl of veggies ( often courgette) and egg stir fry.

Lunch is a protein ( meat, fish, sometimes beans and legumes ) with a carb portion and veg ( peas carrots little gem lettuce etc)

Dinner protein, carbon portion, veg ( normally broccoli)

My child has asd . She relies on sugar sadly as eating so restricted. If I don't eat like above... I'm a sugar crazy person ! I know how hard this is.

*carb portion

Oh and... 70% dark chocolate a square after meals. 1 after lunch 1 after dinner does the trick. Oh and after lunch I have a sliced apple with almond butter 1/2 - 1 tbsp . But can use whole almonds weighed out if prefer.

And to all the posters saying sugar is bad,yes. But some kids like autistic ones often need a way of eating their safe foods. My daughter got way too thin too fast before I realised this. She's susceptible to eating disorders due to the autism! She won't eat anything except cereal, cheese sandwiches/ certain rolls or select brand of pizzas for meals. Its brutal. So calories come from snacks ...

And obviously I can't eat that way 100% of life because ... life. But I notice the crazy sugar cravings increase when I don't.