Will it ever get easy?

I have been working out and eating healthy and I have lost about 2 lbs. a week since Oct. down about 24 lbs. I hit Christmas do well. I reward myself for doing with with a little something sweet and I is like a drug. I can't stop. I crave it daily. Anyone have some trick or ideas that might help me get back on track??? Love your help!

Hi tammylynn,
There are days that it is easy and days that it isn't and I guess that is the way one has to look at it, one day at a time. One way I deal with my sweet tooth is plan a sweet snack for the evening. I like to have a lowfat ice cream sandwich or a 100 calorie snack (those that you can buy at the grocery store like Oreo snacks, choc. chip cookie crisps, or shortbread snacks) with a cup of hot tea. I also like the diet hot chocolate mix. Evening is my worst time and these things really seem to help. Don't give up. I know how hard it is. I have thrown in the towel several times myself and would then be even more angry because I had to start all over with even more than I had to deal with earlier. Keep at it. I don't know that it will ever get easier, but it is definitely worth the effort. Hang in there. Sherry

love the nestle hot choc mix . 1 sachet is 25cal. Also Hust do a pudding cup no added sugar. vannilla and choco 12pack and they have 50 cals per cup..:)

It is absolutely and literally true that sugar is like a drug! For some people, a little something might suffice to kill the craving, but I find it better and easier in the long run just to avoid sweets altogether - then I don't have that problem of not being able to stop once I get started. You definitely should be rewarding yourself, but maybe with something that's not food, like a massage or shopping trip?!

if you like pudding you could try the fat free sugar free instant pudding with fat free milk..That is what I use when I am having a sugar craving...another good one is ff cool whip with ff gram crackers with ff sf choc syrp. lol...I have these quite often...:)

I also love sweets, and I think it's imposible to cut it completely out. What I do, is take into account the number of calories and take it out somewhere else. So, if I'm good all day, I eat a reduced cal Klondike bar (ohh man, are they good). It's 140 calories. But, if I'm bad in the day while I'm at work, eat a cookie or two. Then I take away the calories from my lunch or dinner. Mostly, I eat 1500 calories a day and just spread them out. Everything I eat, I eat every day, so it's easy for me. I've lost close to 100 pounds so far, so it's working well for me. Good luck!

food addiction is absolutely real. I have an "addictive" personality and I have given up drinking first years ago, then smoking after I did a lot of damage to my lungs, now it's food and I tell you this is the hardest one. Why? because we can't just stop eating like you can stop drinking and smoking. I think what helps me is I consciously work to retrain my mind, because truly the mind is your most powerful tool in this addiction. Rather than guilt myself out of treats I do substitutes. I will go and purchase something healthy like a "skinny cow" sugar/fat free ice cream. I NEVER "reward" myself for a job well done with food as that just reinforces bad behavior.

I reward myself instead with things like an hour of "me time" and take a bubble bath by candle light, or I go out and do something fun that does not revolve around food. For me I found I had to separate things like "joy" and "comfort" from eating or I would continue to slip back into bad habits. Now I have been retraining my mind to look at food as a tool for health and wellness, which still feels good but takes that association away from the mentality that can lead to excess.

Now instead of getting together with friends to eat at a restaraunt (ie pig out and yap for hours and consume a weeks worth of calories ;) ) I plan other events around get togethers that doesn't associate with food like soap making and candle making is one thing I have enjoyed with others. It's fun, you get to all participate in an activity, but it doesn't sabotage you.

Food for me now is put in a place where I tend to misuse it less. Maybe something like this would help you?

Best Wishes
Christin

I find that "rewarding" myself isn't a good idea. I try to go cold turkey. So if I crave something, I won't have a low calorie equivalent, because it will sort of keep the craving alive. Instead, I think about how useful that food is, what nutrients it has, and what bad things it has. If I find it has no real purpose in making me healthy or in shape, I categorize it as "extra." I avoid anything I consider "extra" as much as possible.

The best way is that I don't buy anything "extra" at the supermarket. I buy boneless skinless chicken, white rice, veggies.... Things that are definitely good for me. Chips, dips, condiments, sauces I avoid. I get some spices for the chicken, and cooking spray, but stay away from oil. I find that if I get a craving, and I don't have what I want in the house, I'm far too lazy to go out and get it. So I use my laziness to my advantage.