A week ago, I asked for your advice on how to tame a sweet tooth.
Here is a selection of the advice that I received:
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Carly said: “We buy the really fancy chocolate bars (Lindt, Ghirardelli, etc), and both my wife and I get two squares for dessert. We have found that a few bites of high quality chocolate satisfies more than a big bowl of crappier desserts.â€
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Emily said: “I know this sounds tough, but what has worked best for me is just cutting it out cold turkey. I did this for about a week and found that when I started adding sweets back into my diet, I was much more controlled.â€
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Many people pointed out that I’m probably craving sugar because I have a newborn and am totally sleep deprived! Lots of mommas also reported that they also experienced sugar cravings while breastfeeding. Interesting!
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Sarah said: “This summer, I’ve loved freezing berries from the farmers’ market and serving them in a bowl with original unsweetened almond milk. It’s cold, sweet, and filling enough that it’s satisfying but not unhealthy at all!â€
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Helena said: “I try to keep stuff like cake for when it’s a birthday dinner or a special meal out, and cookies only when they’re homemade by someone else.â€
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Hillary said: “I’ve realized that I actually enjoy treats more in moderation—otherwise, I feel sick and headache-y and not at all satisfied. So after a few days of high sugar intake, I pull myself back (to a treat a day or less) and take a few minutes to realize how much better I feel!â€
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Janet said: “I also had an intense sugar craving period that lasted for months. I did some Googling and saw an article stating Traditional Chinese Medicine recommends increasing your consumption of bitter foods such as arugula and endive. I went to Trader Joes and bought a couple of bags of organic arugula and had a salad every day… I don’t know if it’s all in my head or not, but my desire for sweets is completely gone.â€
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Megan and Ashley both suggested freezing leftover baked goods so they aren’t as accessible.
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Natalie wrote, “It’s helped to be very conscious of the amount of sugar in my meals and snacks and do simple swaps to lower my intake. For example, switching to unsweetened almond milk, switching from vanilla Greek yogurt to plain Greek with vanilla extract, buying new cereal with no added sugar.â€
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Many people suggested upping the amount of protein and healthy fats in my diet so I’m satisfied by meals for longer.
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Jen said: “Drink tea before you dive into dessert. Most of the time, I find that a cup of tea after dinner satisfies my craving for something sweet.â€
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LMG said: “What worked last time was making sure that I tried a lot of new foods at the same time [I cut out sweets]. Because cutting or substituting using the same foods from before just left a hole where the sugar had been.â€
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Lissa linked to Tina’s blog post on How I Beat My Sugar Addiction.
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Robin recently wrote a blog post on 12 Healthy Ways to Satisfy Your Sweet Tooth.
(Source)
So – how am I doing on my quest to tame my sweet tooth? It’s been rough, but I’m getting better. I decided that I simply couldn’t quit desserts cold turkey, so I decided to tackle my multiple-desserts-a-night issue a few ways: I’m having more protein at dinner; I’m getting up and doing a chore or playing with Henry when the urge to nosh strikes; I made banana soft serve to get my sweet fix in a healthy way; and I’m making it a point to truly savor desserts instead of just piling them in (I didn’t feel the urge to go back for seconds of dessert last night by eating my original piece of apple crumble veeeery slowly – it worked!).
I think my sugar cravings are definitely related to sleep deprivation; knowing the ‘cause’ is helpful in dealing with the cravings. I’ve also been reminding myself of how physically gross I feel when I overdose on sugar; it only makes me feel good for thirty minutes or so, and then I crash, which makes me want even more sugar. This has also stopped me from drinking way too much coffee (Henry doesn’t seem bothered by the caffeine – or by anything I eat, quite frankly). Sometimes, it’s just better to feel a little tired than hopped up on sugar or wired on caffeine.
And yes, it’s true – the less sugar you eat, the less you want. Who would’ve thought. 
Sugar is a nasty little bugger, huh? I really feel like I am quite lucky in that I don’t have a sweet tooth at all. I could probably go months without even thinking to eat a dessert or something sweet. It just doesn’t appeal to me. But I have to seriously keep myself in check when it comes to salt. Now there is my little demon.