Many of us are in the boat we are in with our weight because of our "sweet tooth" - whether it be chocolate, hard candy, or sweet, doughy treats, candies and desserts can pack on the pounds quickly. For many people, getting a handle on this area of diet can mean the difference between failure and success. My vote is for "success".
I will not try to convince you that sugar-free, fat-free alternatives are going to be just as tasty as their "real" counterparts. But there are some things you can do, and some things you can eat, that will help with that craving.
First, understand that it is easier to go from "no sweets" to "sugar-free sweets" than it is to go from "real sweets" to "sugar-free sweets". For some people, the best strategy is to go for a period of time with no sweets at all, and then to re-introduce their sugar-free counterparts. When we began the Augusta's Biggest Loser program, they put us through a four-day period of "detox", where all we ate was fruit, vegetables, chicken, and brown rice. Not only did this help cleanse our digestive system and wean it off of the junk food that most of us ate, but it also re-aligned our tastes. When we were finally allowed to have some other food items, they tasted MUCH better!
Second, there are some products out there that will help with your sweet tooth when the urge strikes. Jello makes sugar-free, fat-free puddings that are very good. Make sure you get the ones that say they are both sugar- and fat-free, because they make some that are just sugar-free, but loaded with fat, and vice-versa. They also make very good sugar-free jello - you can either make it yourself from the box, or you can pick them up in individual servings in the cold foods area (usually by the cheese products in the grocery store). These servings of jello only have 10 calories each, and you can eat them to your heart's content. For a little variety, you can add a little fat-free whipped cream (I don't particularly care for the taste, but some people do).
Yogurt is another good alternative, but you have to be careful, because the major brands (Dannon, Yoplait) tend to be very high in sugar and in total carbohydrates. The yogurt that our nutritionists recommend to us is only found at Kroger stores, because it is a Kroger brand called "Carbmaster". It has far less carbs than the main brands, and is a much better choice. If you absolutely have to have the big-name yogurts, go for the simpler varieties like plain fruit. Don't get the ones with Oreo crumbs or M&Ms that you stir in and think you are eating healthy!
There is a wide assortment of snack bars out there that can be used to satisfy the desire for sweets. Use these sparingly, and compare different brands by reading the labels. Many of them are labeled as diet aids, but in fact, many of them contain large amounts of sugar and carbohydrates. So be careful.
Finally, you have to make some changes in your thinking to deal effectively with your sweet tooth. One of my teammates has a slogan that she has come to use whenever she is confronted with a temptation: "It's not worth the sweat!" Eat it if you want, but understand that you are going to have to do some serious work to burn those calories. A chocolate creme-filled donut from Krispy Kreme is 350 calories, and most of us would not stop at just one. Let's assume you eat three (because everyone knows you ate one of them in the car on the way home, and you tell yourself those calories don't count!). Three of those donuts is a typical Saturday morning breakfast for those of us here in the south. That is a total of 1050 calories, 117 carbohydrates, and 69 grams of sugar. To work off those 3 donuts, you would have to walk at a brisk pace (4 miles per hour) for 12 miles! And you would have to do it immediately after eating them, because certain types of carbohydrates are turned into stored fat almost instantaneously.
Do not ever forget that there is a spiritual component to the discipline of weight management, as well. Ask God for help in overcoming the temptations that come your way every day.
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