How To Control Sweet Cravings

Nothing is worse than when you start to change your eating habits and you crave, what seems like, everything in sight. 

When you think of your health, you need to think long term. You don't want to make too many, or unrealistic, alterations to your diet at once. The key is to make small, obtainable changes to ensure they become a habit. 

Sit down and think about what is a realistic goal for YOUR lifestyle. Identify barriers you will encounter, and think how you will overcome them. Doing this will allow you to successfully overcome them, should they arise. 

Your level of readiness, to make a change, will determine how you will go about these nutritional changes. Be honest with yourself. 

Below are a few ideas to assist you in starting your journey. 

PB2 with chocolate, is powdered peanut butter with chocolate. The serving in the picture is 2 tablespoons of Chocolate PB2 and 1 tablespoon of water. PB2 has 85% less fat than regular peanut butter. I eat both, PB2 and regular, because I don't have a crazy obsession with it. 

Mini Chocolate Bites are a great option for candy lovers. If you are one of those people who binge on candy bars daily, and you're not ready to quit cold turkey, this may be helpful for you. 

There are rules to this exercise, it's an example of mindful eating. Set aside a time of day, it could be afternoon, after you put the kids to sleep, whatever. ALLOW yourself to enjoy a few sweets. Tell yourself, " I'm only going to eat 5 mini snickers." Plan something to do in advance for when you finish eating your candy. This allows for a distraction from continuing to eat more. Grab your candy, sit down BY YOURSELF. Do not allow any distractions- cell phone, kids, tv, computer, etc. Focus on the different flavors of your candy. It's also important not to feel guilty after eating them. You want to develop a healthy relationship with food. 

Cup of fresh fruit. Yes, this snack is high in sugar, but it's a different form than the sugar found in candy. Don't forget to check out my previous post on the difference between regular and fruit sugars.

The daily recommendation for fruit is 5 servings. 1 handful of fruit is equivalent to 1 serving. 

A few benefits of consuming fruit is as follows: 

  - High in fiber

  - Full of Antioxidants 

  - Protect you from certain types of  cancers

  - Contain lower amounts of calories per cup vs. consuming 1 cup of candy. 

Dark Chocolate

If you are a chocolate lover then this is great news for you. Now this doesn't relate to all forms of chocolate, it's specific to dark only. 

Dark chocolate contains more than 70% cacao, allowing for less fat because it doesn't contain the added sugars and fat from milk chocolate. This form of chocolate is packed with flavonoids, a type of antioxidant, and can help protect you from heart disease. Consumed in MODERATION of course. There are more benefits to dark chocolate, I will write a post soley on dark chocolate in the future :)

Smoothie are a great way to not only kick your sweet tooth goodbye but, consume your daily 5 servings of fruit for the day. 

It's packed with antioxidants and NATURAL sugars. You don't need to add any sugar to this.