For the first time in my entire life I am craving sweets. Even as a small child I would turn my nose up at candy in favor of beef jerky or smoked fish, but for the past three months I have been shooting lustful gazes at candy bars and ice cream. I’m not sure what the hell is going on, but until I figure it out, does anyone have any tricks to satiate their sweet cravings? I’ve discovered the wonders of diet colas and Splenda, but I need something else. Normally MD6 would be my go-to product, but I’ve been sleeping horribly lately due to the summer heat and don’t want to risk aggravating my insomnia. I desperately need to get my training and nutrition back on track, as I’m currently a tub o’ lard with terrible work-capacity. Any ideas? Feel free to light a little fire under my ass to get me back in line. Thanks guys.
I always knew you were a closet tub o’ lard. Try sugar free hard candy, Edy’s sugar free ice cream or Michelle. You may reverse the order on non-training days.
As you know, Demo D.: I’m a verifiable, card carrying sweet tooth. I can obliterate a large box of Mike n’ Ikes in seconds flat and move over to a package of Red Vines. When in precontest mode, I go through “withdrawals” from no sweets. How do I deal with it? I don’t drink diet sodas, or eat “sugar-free” candy. I find that that doesn’t help me but still maintains the cravings.
I just go cold turkey and up my protein intake. Protein satiates me and keeps them sweet cravings at bay. I then just post a pic of myself from my last show and just use that as "mental stimulation" to maintain my diet. Demo: You have to take it day by day. Literally. I can now stop eating sweets at the drop of a hat with no problems. But it took awhile. So.....*BOOT* here's your kick in the ass.....( I don't have matches so can't light the fire under your ass...)
D.D., I’m right there with you !!..i did really good with my diet for 16 weeks, then the honeymoon came, and I ate a lot of sweets but I was pretty active during that week off, so it didn’t hurt the looks of my body. Then when I got back, I took a week break from diet and training hard. The past two weeks I did mag-10, and my diet was pretty clean BUT I always ate a desert a day. These next two weeks, (which started this past Sunday) I’m eating a lot better, trying to loose the fat I gained from over-eating the past two weeks (I really fucked up my diet last week while on mag-10… ate too much shit, and not enough good food. I just totally fell off the wagon)… because of the past 4 weeks, I’ve got a hell of a sweet-tooth that I would put up against any tooth Patricia has ! … my new wife, loves chocolate, which now I’m a big chocolate lover. Sugar-free jello with skim milk cures the craving, but I want to eat a ton of it. But I know the milk sugar can kill a diet, so even that I moderate a bit. Hopefully, like before, when I diet, I’ll slowly forget how good bad foods taste and I’ll calm down a little with the cravings. I’m popping MD6 wating for it to kick in and make all better ! (i’m a tob o’ lard stuck in a lean(er) man’s body)
I also have a horrible sweet tooth. I find, that if I cut carbs, the cravings are much less. However, from time to time…most good candy stores have a diabetic selection and there are usually some decent sugar free chocolates, sugar free hot chocolate is pretty good, and they have some sugar free carmels in the diet section of my grocery store. I can’t remember what brand it is but I also get these frozen fudge pops that are about sixty calories each, and some of the weight watchers frozen desserts are okay, just read the label since they tend to emphasise fat free as opposed to sugar free. Oh, one more thing, sugar free jello, and jello pudding.
I share the same love for icecream, when U have cravings, substitute e.g mix some Fat/Suger free puddings with protien powder and levave it in the freezer for a while, not a bad treat, can also freeze skim milk in ice cube trays and blend it with the protein. I also put some light wip cream & fruits on the top sometime. I am sure U will get back into training…good luck
The interesting thing is that you weren’t always a sweet tooth and that leads me to believe that there are hormonal changes in you that are causing you to now be a sweet tooth. So I’m assuming you’ve already looked at your past when you weren’t a sweet tooth and asked what’s different from then and now. Let me advise you that some things that you would thing would make no difference will. In other words, are you using any pre-hormone stuff that you weren’t before? Are you taking any herbals or vitamins that you weren’t before? Has your diet otherwise changed? Are you on any medications? You don’t have to answer any of these, but I figured I’d get you thinking. Also, I notice that what I have for breakfast and what I eat the night before drastically affects my cravings for the next day… if I were having the same problems as you, but at one time I didn’t, I would go back and ask myself what was different. (Don’t just tell me age… that’s possible but… unless you’re going through menopause… I’d be skeptical of massive hormonal changes;)
There is some research saying that glutamine in high doses takes away sweet cravings. I know they use it on alcoholics to cure their urge. Can anyone produce that research?
Dan Fichter
Eatings pickles, brushing your teeth and using mouthwash can help curb a sweet craving.
Thanks everyone. I think I have my solution: teriyaki jerky. It’s “sweet”, kind of, and now that I think about it seems to satiate that particular craving. I hope.
If it doesn't work I'm gonna do like Bill Cosby and makes myself a big ol' tray of Sugar Free Jello.
Oh my god! Demo, you know what I just had as my “treat”? A big packet of Teriyaki Beef Jerky! Woo Hoo!
Glutamine does help some with sugar cravings. I have the research laying around somewhere. Another thing is, for some people, if you suddenly reintroduce a lot of carbohydrates into your diets the sweet and carbohydrate cravings can persist for some time. Usually I eat something like a 45% pro 30% car 25% fat diet with an occassional higher carbohydrate day. During and after the high carb day I get a ravenous appetite for sweets. During the week when I am on my typical diet I usually have very little hunger at all and no carbohydrate or sweet cravings so you might just need to lower the carbs and up the protein and fats for a few days to see if these cravings go away.
I don’t know if it’s because I’m only 20 years old, but I can still give into my sweet tooth and stay lean. But I do it by going the opposite direction of sugar free candy and instead use fat free treats( fat free ice cream, low fat cereal, fat free brownies, etc.) right after I work out as part of my glycogen recompensation and for the insulin spike. This has worked for me pretty well all summer, does anyone else do the same? P.S. Half a cup of Lucerne Fat free light yogurt mixed w/ a scoop of strawberry protein tastes just like cake frosting to me, throw in 1/2 a cup of raw wheat bran and it’s pretty feeling and satisfying. Oatmeal w/ any flavor of protein thrown in is also very good preworkout as well as sugar free pudding mixed w/ cottage cheese and water or sugar free pudding mixed w/ raw wheat bran is good too.
I’ve got one word for you, beans. Try upping your carbs while cutting in the form of highly complex carbs, namely beans. I prefer black beans. Red, pinto or white will do. No baked. You WILL notice a difference the first day. If you use canned, drain and rinse to eliminate the sodium. My nutrient breakdown is 40p 40c 20f (40g carb, 40g protein, 8g fat per meal for me) while cutting/dieting. Eat six times a day. Eat a couple cups of green veggies at all but breakfast and post workout meal. No simple carbs except at post workout meal. Nonfat yogurt, and Mars Bars have almost the same glucose/insulin response. http://venus.nildram.co.uk/ veganmc/insulin.htm For me I stop loosing when I eat more than a few tablespoons of yogurt a day. I do better with an occasional cheat day and more strict regime the rest of the time, rather than being half-assed all the time. Also sticking to real food rather than protein powders is more filling.
I was addicted to Snickers bars, had to have one a day at least. I substitued Promax protein bar, (cookies n’ cream) my favorite. It satisfies my sweet tooth and allows me to increase my protein consumption by 20g a bar with total calories of 290g. Good luck.
sorry, 290 total calories.
I just found the awesomest thing ever… Diet Orange Soda! It’s both caffeine- and sugar-free and IMO is better than regular orange soda. Try it sometime… I’m never drinking Diet Coke again.
I like most of you only break down in the form of the entire gallon of ice cream or whatever, but when I break down the whole container of whatever sugar filled shit I was eating is gone. That being said, as of late (last few years) I have deserved it and could afford it. My diet is insanely high in Glutamine, Animal Protein and I take close to 150 grams of oils everyday. Cravings have never been so controlled. As for my favorite way to indulge guilt free…A few months ago a friend and I were pulling two a day sessions with Renegades in HB and we were having a snickers and a Double espresso coffee during the 1/2 hour between the weight room work and the agility work. When you got your diet on point you can go this route and let me tell you, snickers if used in moderation can definitly help. It must be like letting your alcohol tolerance drop so when you do drink you have way more fun with much less.
Another tremendous treat for post workout is fat free/ no sugar added dreyer’s praline crunch frozen yogurt w/ one crushed up reduced fat oreo on top and mixed w/ a spoon, not a blender or fat free no sugar added vanilla brownie ice cream w/ cinnamon piled on(I’m a huge fan of cinnamon!)
Demo, I’m the same way. I rarely eat sweets or crave them. But for the last month or two, I’ve been craving them like a madman. I’ve been eating Oreo cookies and milk at night, ice cream and fudge like there’s no tomorrow. It didn’t take long, but that stuff added up quick and packed on some fat around my midsection. I decided that I had to curb this right away. I did as others have done and have increased my protein intake (it had faltered while eating the sweets), and I have bumped up my training a bit. If I crave something sweet, I just eat something high in protein to help settle the craving. So far, it’s working. And since I’m on a mission to get leaner now, I am on track!