Sugar, chocolate & crisps alternatives

LucyIrish06

Hey folks!

Just looking for a bit of help in regards to the above subject.

I have an extreme sweet tooth and cant seem to shake it off, its getting to the point where its effecting my weight. I workout intensely for 90 minutes twice a week (I know its not much but its all I can do as I work) but i always cycle to and from work every morning.

I have a two week holiday coming up in September and I need to get that summer bod!

I just cant seem to shake off all the rubbish im eating! Ive started making smoothies which have my 5 a day added into them which are amazing but im still craving sweets, chocolate and crisps!

Would anyone know of any alternatives i can try to knock my sweet tooth ?

Ive heard dark chocolate is a good alternative to normal chocolate as it has 70%+ cocoa powder which i will start trying. Is there any Jellies or something along them lines to help me stop adding to my tire around my waist!

The main goal would be eating healthy during the week and have one cheat day on the weekends where i can smother myself in all my favorite foods and sweets and bury myself on the couch!

Thank you so much in advance!

Dizzyblonde

Mod note:I've moved this into the Nutrition & Diet forum because you're bound to get helpful replies in here - the Food forum is more about enjoyment of all food, healthy or not. I'll be interested to see if there's a way of killing the crisp craving though - it's my main downfall

Dial Hard

Will power and just not having them in the house. I know that sounds facetious but it really is the only way to stop yourself eating crap.

bee06

The only way to knock your sweetheart tooth in my opinion is to cut sugar out completely for a couple of months. That means all sugar not just added sugar so fruit filled smoothies as well as the obvious stuff. After a month or so your palate will reset and things that weren’t sweet enough before will be too sweet. For example I can’t eat parsnips because I just find them horribly sweet. Then you can start introducing “treats” back in within reason. A couple of squares of dark chocolate every now and again not a bar.

Completely agree with Dial Hard as well on the willpower and not having them in the house. Cheat days are just setting you back when it comes to sugar.

bladespin

Substitute nuts for the crisps is one option though bear in mind while they're better nutrition wise they can be high fat and calorie dense too, that said crisps are ok if you're tracking properly, being conscious and living like a monk are different things.

Personally I have not forgone either crisps, chocolate or even the dreaded McDonalds but I do understand what I'm eating and adjust accordingly.

Macy0161

Dark chocolate will only work short term until your tastebuds adjust.

I'd try switching to fruit salad with yogurt rather than a smoothie. There's something more satisfying in my experience about eating rather than downing a smoothie/ shake. I mix a flavoured whey protein powder with natural greek yogurt to have with fruit salad (or berries this time of year, as they're readily available from localish sources!).

Regarding snacks, I've tried (and still do) make a few recipes, which are less processed and marginally "healthier" but still ultimately quite high in sugar. In recent months I've switched to having a ready supply of apples (mainly) and funsize bananas. Still relatively high in sugar, but unrefined and other benefits such as fibre, vitamins and minerals. It's one of those cliches, but if you're not hungry enough to eat an apple, you're not really hungry...

Savory snacks - you can try popcorn. Per 100g probably not that different from crisps, but say 30g goes further/ lasts longer than crisps. If you make your own from kernals not many ingredients and you can flavour it yourself. Again, only marginally better than crisps, but aldi and lidl do lentil crisps and baked crisp alternatives. They're a bit less per 100g/ per bag - iirc the aldi lentil crisps are around 90 calories a bag, their snack a jack things less again.

But really, it is just willpower and getting yourself off the junk.

bladespin wrote: »

Substitute nuts for the crisps is one option though bear in mind while they're better nutrition wise they can be high fat and calorie dense too, that said crisps are ok if you're tracking properly, being conscious and living like a monk are different things.

Personally I have not forgone either crisps, chocolate or even the dreaded McDonalds but I do understand what I'm eating and adjust accordingly.

I would also subscribe to this. I personally found gradual changes made for sustainable changes for me, after a few attempts at an immediate wholesale change of diet. Portion control on the things you do like might work, at least initially (e.g. a multipack 25g bag of crisps v a 50g forecourt bag)

silverharp

I'd review the rest of your diet, reduce fast carb food if you are eating a lot and switch to slow release carbs with a decent fat & protein mix.
If you tend to be clock watching your next meal all the time will power will only get you so far, may the odds be ever in your favour and all that

_Godot_

Snack a jacks are nice.

mopi

About 18 months ago I tried the 'eat all you like' very low carb diet in an effort to lose some weight and boost fitness for the ski season. Worked well, one side effect was my sweet tooth, much to Mr Cadbury's and Mr Tayto's dismay, went into hibernation.
Check it out, you need to get under 20g of carbohydrates a day for at least 2 weeks before effects kick in.
As usual I am not a doctor etc

PS drinking food is not a good idea

theblacknight

Instead of crisps try roasted chickpeas - you can make them without oil too if you like. High fibre, low fat and a decent source of protein!

Here's an example recipe.

pinkypinky

Fresh strawberries or raspberries with natural yogurt as an occasional dessert.
The other one I find very useful is medjool dates. They're not cheap (M&S is your best place to get them consistently) but 2 of them really satisfy a craving for sweet - almost like a toffee.

Macy0161

pinkypinky wrote: »

The other one I find very useful is medjool dates. They're not cheap (M&S is your best place to get them consistently) but 2 of them really satisfy a craving for sweet - almost like a toffee.

I actually forgot about dates. To be honest, I still struggled with portion control, but they are even more like "sweets" if you freeze them (just throw the bag in the freezer). I got mine in Aldi (never found the lidl ones as nice for some reason).

They're not a whole lot different from other dried fruit calorie wise, but I found them more sweet like than raisins or sultanas.

bladespin

Worth a read -skip down to the 'replacing cravings part' could bne an insight into 'why' some foods are tempting.

Cravings

LushiousLips

pinkypinky wrote: »

Fresh strawberries or raspberries with natural yogurt as an occasional dessert.
The other one I find very useful is medjool dates. They're not cheap (M&S is your best place to get them consistently) but 2 of them really satisfy a craving for sweet - almost like a toffee.

Strawberries and natural yogurt only on occasion.....why only occasionally, I didn't think they were bad, are they? :eek:

bladespin

LushiousLips wrote: »

Strawberries and natural yogurt only on occasion.....why only occasionally, I didn't think they were bad, are they? :eek:

They're not but everything has caliries and sugars etc, once you're aware of what you're eating you can budget accordingly, I make a point of having fresh fruit every day (a good helping).

TBH when I an cutting I don't count calories if fruit or veg.

wakka12

Some fruits are quite high in sugar and shouldn't be over indulged like grapes but berries are really among the healthiest things you could eat and are very low GL but still sweet and tasty

silverharp

wakka12 wrote: »

Some fruits are quite high in sugar and shouldn't be over indulged like grapes but berries are really among the healthiest things you could eat and are very low GL but still sweet and tasty

I remember someone saying to not eat so much of the tropical fruits because they tend to have higher sugar. Apparently even something like a golden delicious apple is much higher in sugar than a more traditional variety and only has a fraction of the nutrients.
I always have frozen berries to sweeten up yogurt, we have a rake of Rhubarb (yes its a veg) at the moment and add the berries to make a compot.

Tar.Aldarion

Macy0161 wrote: »

pinkypinky wrote: »

The other one I find very useful is medjool dates. They're not cheap (M&S is your best place to get them consistently) but 2 of them really satisfy a craving for sweet - almost like a toffee.

I actually forgot about dates. To be honest, I still struggled with portion control, but they are even more like "sweets" if you freeze them (just throw the bag in the freezer). I got mine in Aldi (never found the lidl ones as nice for some reason).

They're not a whole lot different from other dried fruit calorie wise, but I found them more sweet like than raisins or sultanas.

Mazafati dates are amazing, can get them cheap in ethnic shops.