Readers Respond: Top Ways to Handle Sugar Cravings

Most of us have experiences sugar cravings from time to time and a little sugar now and then is fine. The problem is when frequent sugar cravings cause you to eat too much sugar, which means extra calories that can result in unwanted weight gain.

Do you have sugar cravings? How do you deal with them? Do you eat something else or drink a glass of water hoping the cravings will go away? Or maybe you choose artificial sweeteners to get your sugar fix. Tell us what you do to tame your sweet tooth. Share Your Tip

Beat Sugar Cravings

I have them...bad...all my life a constant battle. Found dark chocolate...70%..stops cravings COLD. I mean absolutely within seconds. You only need 3 squares, not the whole bar. Try it and see.

—Guest Barbara

Carbohydrates are needed

I think the author is forgetting to mention that carbohydrates are needed. Complex carbs don’t lead to that burst of endorphins like pure sugar does, but they are important in the manufacturing of serotonin. How about adding some brown rice to the salmon and salad?

—Guest annabelle

Honey

What works for me: About a tablespoon of plain honey, telling myself that if I really, really need something sweet after a half hour, I'll let myself have cookies or whatever. I take the honey, get busy with other stuff, and the craving disappears by the time the half hour is up.

—Guest DHFabian

Peppermint!

I got some peppermint essential oils, and sniff it for a while whenever I get a craving - it really works for me!

—Guest Charl

Work on scaling down, but if you must...

The more I feed my sweet tooth, the stronger it seems to get. My best approach has been to be very selective and super moderate. If I must give into a craving, thinking about how sick to my stomach I will probably feel if I choose junk helps to steer me clear! Foods that I feel are safe and still curb my craving include: - raisins - healthy (preferably homeade) trail mix - fruit (any kind, also consider cooked apple or banana) - fruit smoothie - bowl of natural cereal - warm vanilla rice milk with cinnamon, yum! - frutie herbal tea - natural dried fruit - figs, Turkish figs are my favorite :) - ...and the strongest of them all (for all your choclate lovers), Silk Dark Choclate Almond Milk! One other trick that I learned while I was pregnate, was to take a tbs of flax seed oil daily to avoid cravings. It totally works! I just never thought about continuing to take it after pregnancy until now.. I used to also just take a spoon of ground flax seed meal to help fight hunger...

—Guest Tiffany

YoCrunch

Our family loves snacking on YoCrunch. The kids think they're getting a dessert since it's topped with a cookie/candy crunch, but they're still getting all the health benefits of yogurt. We eat it when we're craving a sweet treat at night or after school! So many great flavors too!

—brittanystl

Forget it!

Hey, I crave for sugar most of the time. But ya know, I just don't eat it. I usually forget about sugar cravings when I eat healthy food or when I watch a movie, or talk with my friends. Then I forget all about the sugar craving.

—Guest Trying98391381

Thank the sweetness of fruit!

Every time I get a craving I reach for (what I think is the best yogurt) the Honey Greek yogurt and load on the berries, preferable blueberries or blackberries. It curbs the craving of cake and ice cream that I would normally have.

—Guest Momma Nancy

Try This!

Take one pack of instant oatmeal and 1 tablespoon of peanut butter. Sweet, filling and satisfying.. Yum!

—Guest Annie325

Give up sugar

It's hard at the beginning but gets much easier. To give it up you have to make most things from scratch because there is sugar in a lot of processed food. This also means no artificial sweeteners, honey, dried or canned fruit or syrups. No bought sauces, jams, soda or mixes. Your tastebuds change, food tastes really good without sugar and the cravings go away. I dropped a dress size, my cholesterol levels are much improved and my skin looks really good.

—Guest Rosalie McGregor

Herbal Tea

I find that often I just am craving the taste of something sweet, but doesn't have to be anything substantial to satisfy it. What often works for me is a cup of herbal tea like varieties from Republic of Tea such as Cinnamon-Vanilla or Strawberry Chocolate these are both Rooibois based which is red tea and is naturally caffeine-free and calorie-free. I add one packet of Stevia and I have a hot cup of yummyness to drink with 0 calories, no sugar, no fat and I feel good knowing I'm getting healthy antioxidants from the red tea.

—starlanna

frozen is best

I find freezing whatever sweet you crave the best. It seems to taste better, lasts alot longer, slows you down so you savour the flavour and you consume less!

—Guest Richard

A Daily Sweet a Delicious Alternative

Deciding to allow no more than one sweet thing a day helps me a lot. Then, when I've already had a sweet thing and still want more, I eat raisins with a glass of milk. The raisins makes the milk taste so creamy. Also, when I eat my sweet thing of the day, I elongate the life of the treat by making a cup of coffee, finding a special place, and eating the sweet slowly.

—Guest Agentamazing

middle of the night sugar desire(s)

I drink an organic raw egg, before the cravings kick in, so I do not wake up to eat sugar in the middle of the night.

—Guest aidan

How I handle sugar cravings

I reach for something sugary intending to just take a small bite and end up eating way too much of it. However lately I started using raisins so I take about 8 of them in my hand and chew on them. The golden ones are really sweet, so this is a good alternative.

—Guest susan