If you find out how to do this I’d love to know! The only thing I can think of is to eat more protein so that you aren’t as inclined to dash into a sweet!

I know this sounds tough, but whats worked best for me is just cutting it out cold turkey. I did this for about a week and then found that when I started adding sweets back into my diet that I was much more controlled. Instead of sweets I find that I eat a lot more nuts, which are definitely more satisfying and healthy!

I’m fairly certain that breastfeeding and sweets cravings go hand in hand. I go to a BFing group and all the women seem to be having a hard time w/sugar. I’ve always had a massive sweet tooth though so I can’t really blame nursing 100%.

I definitely have the 9 p.m. sweet cravings!

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!

And if that doesn’t tame the sweet tooth, you could always go for chocolate almond milk!

I don’t have that many rules when it comes to sugar, but 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. That helps keep that stuff as ‘treats’. I “have” to have something sweet for dessert most days, though, so I make sure it’s only after dinner – no sweet treats during the day – and acts as kind of a “last thing to eat before brushing teeth”. I buy Yummy Earth candy drops, and have six or seven after dinner. If you suck on them, six or seven lasts a good hour and only contains about 100 calories. I think hard candy is general is a good idea, as long as you’re not chewing them.

I have a total sweet tooth that I give in to way more than I should. But I’m working at cutting it out and one of the best alternatives I’ve found is using licorice-y teas. (Yogi brand Egyptian Licorice Mint is my absolute favorite.) They have a natural sweetness that sates my sweet tooth without sugar or calories.

My nightly dessert (dark chocolate and/or berries with tea) is something of a ritual for me. The whole process takes like half an hour if I want it to. And because I look forward to it, it’s easier to pass up more mindless sugar snacking.

I have a HUGE sweet tooth as well. I love eating frozen banana slices straight from the freezer when I want something sweet. The sweetness of the banana totally satisfies my craving. For a little bit at least!

I was the same way toward the end of my pregnancy and for the first few months after having my daughter, I think for the reasons people have said: habit, over-tired, needing calories for breast-feeding, etc. What worked for me was eating bigger meals so I wasn’t as hungry and then trying healthy desserts that “tricked” me, like cookies made with almond butter and honey but no sugar. Once I got it under control I could add real sugar back in more in moderation, but I never gave up “sweets” completely. Good luck, you’ll get there and don’t be too hard on yourself right now – there are a lot more important things to focus on (although obviously your heath is important too!)

I’ve been developing more and more of a sweet tooth lately after having successfully reduced it for awhile. It doesn’t help that it’s my birthday month!!

I don’t really like going cold turkey on anything, because then it feels like something I’m forcing myself to do rather than a choice, but that’s just me! Don’t want to set myself up to rebel.

When I want to cut back, I make sure to have one healthy-ish sweet treat in the house. Either 80% dark chocolate, dates (with almond butter–divine), or I’ll make some maple syrup sweetened or date sweetened cookies or brownies (I’m happy to send you my two go-to recipes if you want). For whatever reason, these more natural sugars in less sweet desserts completely satisfy my sugar tooth without making me want to have more than one, so it’s easy to gradually reduce sugar. I also try to have more protein (greek yogurt with frozen pineapple tidbits is amazing!), more vegetables (especially bitter ones–the comment above about Chinese medicine recommending this is interesting!), and keep some indulgent herbal tea around (Good Earth tastes like dessert to me).

The comment above relating sugar cravings to lack of sleep is pretty spot on, at least in my experience, so be nice to yourself in this low-sleep time!

Liquorice is a great alternative while being much lower in sugar. Also opt for more natural sugars, eg dried figs and dried apricots. So good with a cup of pepermint tea!

Good luck, and congratulations – looks like you’re doing a great job with your wee babe!!

For me it’s helped to be very conscious of the amount of sugar in my meals and snacks and do simple swamps to lower my intake such as switching to unsweetened almond milk, vanilla Greek yogurt to plain Greek with vanilla extract, new cereal with no added sugar etc. Then when it comes time for dessert you end up having less because you built up some sensitivity to the sugar so your satisfied with a smaller portion. 🙂

. Breast feeding takes a lot out of you. Maybe the sugar cravings are your body’s way of telling you that you are deficient in something.

I think going cold turkey works pretty well too! I gave up sugary snacks for Lent this year (I had a pretty bad habit of eating candy at work!). I found that after Lent was over and I went back to the sweet stuff, it tasted almost too sweet. I didn’t seem to want it as much anymore. I also read an article that said it takes 28 days to make something a habit, so maybe it’ll just take 28 days of fewer sweets and then it will become the new normal!

LOTS of protein and healthy fats. Reduce fruit intake to one serving/day, just so you’re not triggering your sweet tooth for about 2 weeks. Have a protein and fat filled breakfast with little to no sugar so that you don’t trigger your sweet tooth for the rest of the day.

Breastfeeding has given me the mist intense sweet tooth! Right after our son was born, we had brownies. Cookies and cakes all the time because people were visiting. Finally my husbamd and I made a “no sweets for one week” challenge. We quit them cold turkey. It was the beat way to get used to not having dessert after every meal. I ate cheerios with blueberries as.my bedtime snack instead of a brownie. I still have a crazy craving for sweets all day long but we don’t keep It around as much and that helps.

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; and if it doesn’t, it fills me up so I don’t eat as much and I set the rule that I’m done eating when my mug is empty.

i will ALWAYS have a sweet tooth. but, i try to satisfy it with healthy sweets 90% of the time. like a sweet apple with nut butter or greek yogurt and honey. and then splurge the other 10%

I had advice! and had the same situation!

One month before I gave birth (March 2012), I gave up sweets until birth because I was living off them- a month suspension was something I could handle and I have done once a year for the most recent past half decade for lent.

After birth, with the restriction done, meals scattered here and there, and the need for calories for breastfeeding- I was eating a lot of sweets- cookies for breakfast is one example. Plus my non-healthy mom came for a after birth visit, and she kept being desserts into the house.

My solution was to switch to sweets only two days a week. One day a week was too restrictive, and the two days are great for random schedules dependent on baby a lot. The days change around most weeks based on what we are doing and when something sounds good. Example- One week it is a froyo date with chocolate almonds throughout the day and the other day a bit of fun sugar items here and there. It is always a toss up BUT the flexibility helps me stick with it.

Please, please, please have her post the stuffed sweet potato recipe! And let us all know when she does!

Every year or so (when I get too sugary), I do what a jokingly call a “sugar cleanse.” I go cold turkey for 3 days – no cheating – and after that I feel “reset” and can moderate myself better.

I have a MAJOR sweet tooth. Where I work there are sweets (cookies, cupcakes, pies, sweet bread, etc.) available all hours of the day and I was getting out of control (3 cookies/day after lunch is a bit much for me!).

I weaned myself from the sweet stuff by drinking a tall glass of chocolate milk instead, then slowly making a smaller glass each day. I still have some chocolate milk every day after lunch, but it’s a much more nutritious choice and I still get that sweet taste. 🙂

I had a super ridiculous sweet tooth after I had my son too. I found a few things that got me through that time…it really did go away once I got back into a routine and starting eating tons of fruits, veggies and smoothies. Pieces of dark chocolate or even the cocoa almonds which are very low in sugar helped me out. 🙂

i’m sorry (kinda ;)) for contributing to your sweet tooth troubles! i have a major, major sweet tooth and definitely get in the habit of having to have something sweet every day.

honestly, i have to agree with the others. when it gets particularly out of control i usually have to go cold turkey for a week or so to kinda reset. one thing i have discovered that i LOVE are trader joe’s ginger chews (they GF too!). they’re still technically a treat/candy but not nearly as bad as cookies/cake kind of stuff.

in general though i like to still allow myself sweets but with some balance.

i loved meeting baby henry and happy 2 weeks to him! sorry i’m such a baby holding wuss. i’m glad i did though! 🙂

have a great day! it’s beautiful!

I had the same problem, and I think it was my body’s way of telling me to take in for calories for breastfeeding. I really struggled with supply and think that in the beginning I really wasn’t eating enough. That being said, the sugar crashes aren’t good either! Try satisfying the sweet tooth with things that aren’t totally empty calories- chocolate milk, ice cream or frozen yogurt, dark chocolate, lactation cookies (yes these are real! Google it). That’s what worked for me. Everyone’s different, but when I was nursing I literally could not eat enough. I felt like I was eating nonstop, but my calorie needs were incredibly high.

I already had a sweet tooth, but I noticed it doubled with nursing. Perhaps you need to take in more calories in your meals- nursing requires more than pregnancy!
Also, perhaps you could just roll with it for awhile- you don’t seem to do too badly!

I have a terrible sweet tooth. If you find something that calms yours, please post on it!

you mentioned you had antibiotics and Henry has thrust and you have yeast. Sugar feeds yeast. A lot of moms I’ve talked to who have candida think the source of it started during the birthing antibiotics. You really need to avoid sugars–even dates, agave, maple syrup, etc if you want the yeast to die and to keep your gut healthy. One of the main signs of having yeast/candida is having major cravings for sweets. I think keeping to low glycemic fruits such as berries and small portions of stone fruits, and stevia-sweetened things for awhile would really help the yeast and your cravings. For me, with my candida I had to go off all the sugars in order to kill it. Hopefully later after you recover you can add in more sweets safely.

I would just get rid of all the sugary treats in the house, first. Out of sight, out of mind.

My dietitian tells me to enjoy “social sweets only,” IE sugar treats only if I’m with someone else, which I think is a good rule of thumb. Meanwhile, my therapist (who has helped me with BED) suggested that during pregnancy, I limit my sweets to nighttime.

So anyway, if you used one or more of these guidelines, you could still enjoy your sweets but maybe more in the form of a rarer walk to the ice cream shop or Kristien bringing you a single sweet treat from the bakery.

Oh, and always–make sure it’s ‘worth it,’ because nothing makes me feel grosser than eating a sweet that wasn’t really that good.

I had your same exact problem. Except perhaps 10 times worse. I would eat all sorts of sugary things throughout the day, and dessert after lunch AND dinner. It was an awful cycle of highs and lows. To be completely honest, trying to limit sweets is not that effective if you’re already mildly addicted. As long as you get a taste of sugar, you’ll keep thinking about when you can have more. I went cold turkey on all refined sugar and processed food for 28 days. That was the only thing that worked. Now I can enjoy sweets in moderation again. The first week off sugar was awful. I fully relied on stevia, cocoa powder (I love chocolate anything), and tons of fruit. Good luck!

Caitlin – I recommend chewing gum, drinking tea, eating things like dark chocolate that satisfy the sweet tooth instead of making you crave more (milk chocolate makes you want to keep going back!). But also, enjoy the cookies!!

I have a long, long history in Sugar Town myself and have tried to break the habit many times, always to rebound. Recently I spoke with a nutritionist who told me to eliminate grains (?!) and I would stop craving sweets. I didn’t believe him at all, but because I have high blood sugar, and limiting grains is recommended for such folks, I decided to give it a whirl, more for my own reasons than any belief that I would lose my sugar cravings.

Not even 7 days after quitting grains, I completely stopped craving sweets for the first time in my life. Any previous time I went off sweets, I stayed away with willpower only, but I still craved. Now sweets just look like food I can easily pass up, rather than long for. Weird.

I’m not sure how sound eliminating grains is as nutritional advice, (m.d.’s, re my blood sugar, have only told me to limit grains and focus on whole ones). But, maybe cutting back on grains for a few days might help curb the sweets desire enough to get you back to your normal relationship with sweets?

Licorice Root Tea also has a very sweet aftertaste so it is a great thing to drink after dinner to kick the dessert craving.

I have a wicked sweet tooth myself. I fully believe it’s genetic – my grandfather was known to eat a bowl of maple syrup for dessert on occasion! (Not an exaggeration. That happened.) Luckily, over time, I’ve found a few things that help me manage my sweet tooth without making me feel like I’m missing out.

1) as people have mentioned above, eat healthy (or relatively healthy) sweet things when you’re craving sugar. I find mangoes and pineapple especially helpful. Sometimes I get into dried cranberries too – they’re still pretty sugary but at least have more nutritional value than the jellybeans I often crave.

2) a handy addiction motto: don’t let yourself get too ‘hungry, angry, lonely or tired’ (catchy acronym: HALT). Experts feel that with any of these leaves a person vulnerable for relapse. (I would add “stressed” in there, too.) (Also: I 100% get that with a newborn you’re certain to be at least tired most of the time and potentially feeling the others, too, and I’m not trying to be preachy! I just do find it helpful sometimes – on occasions when I realize that what’s going on is one of these things rather than me actually needing sugar, I’m sometimes able to refrain from it.)

3) Sometimes I’ll start feeling like I’ve been eating too much junk and need to detox a little, but I’m hesitant to go cold turkey because a) is a life with no sweets really worth living? and b) I’m afraid that renouncing sugar altogether would lead straight to me bingeing on it and then really loathing myself for it. I’ll make a little mental deal with myself not to buy candy/junk food/sweets/etc. for a specified period of time. If I’m someplace that happens to have a free tray of cupcakes or something, I’ll have one, but only if I had nothing to do with it getting there (does that make sense? It’s not really a budgetary “no buying junk food” issue but more a “don’t lead yourself to junk food” issue). Usually if I do that for a couple of weeks I feel much better, and sometimes I even go longer on this system than I initially intended to. As someone else mentioned above, I truly do feel like the less junk I eat, the less junk I crave.

Sorry if this is an excessively long comment – this just happens to be an area of particular expertise for me!

Thought you might enjoy reading Tina’s advice!

http://carrotsncake.com/2012/06/how-i-beat-my-sugar-addiction.html

I find that the more I have sweets, the more I crave them. Like once you start you can’t stop! I guess that doesn’t help much right now, but when I get in a pattern of not having them for a while, I find I don’t miss it all that much.

Dark chocolate squares are great because they’re rich enough that I’m usually good with just one or two.