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<p>Yep - that’s why I buy those type of things one at a time. No need to keep them in the house - especially when you know it’s going to tempt you to binge in a moment of weakness.</p>
<p>I find that if I dont eat something that quenches the sweet craving, I keep munching 'til I find what it is that I want.</p>
<p>I usually can have junk food around and eat it in very small quantities. I have a bag of Halloween candy and have been eating one piece after dinner for the past few weeks. I knew the other night, though, that if I started on the candy then, I really might well finish the bag. Usually food is not a trigger but stress and other emotions are. I have always been one to eat when upset in any way. And I am like jym–carrots would definitely not have done. A sugar craving requires something sweet. I was sort of lucky that I had the sugar-free hot chocolate. I have been trying to eliminate the artificial sweeteners, but perhaps I should keep an emergency stash. I am also thinking that some sort of protein shake might be an option–does anyone have one that they would recommend?</p>
<p>[Soy</a> Shakes for a soy protein diet at RevivalSoy.com](<a href=“http://www.revivalsoy.com/products/shakes/index.html]Soy”>http://www.revivalsoy.com/products/shakes/index.html)
Love the Cappuccino. I eat their bars every morning for breakfast.</p>
<p>I can’t even have Halloween candy in the house before Halloween; my husband keeps it at his office. This year I bought popcorn balls. As a snack they are quite satisfying, a little sweet and salty, “bulky”, and not too many kcals. Generally, I feel that if I’m willing to go out and pick up something (a treat) in the evening, I must really want it and give myself permission to enjoy it with no feelings of guilt. That happens about once a year, and usually when my husband will agree to be my partner in crime.</p>
<p>For those who like carrot sticks, try sugar snap peas for a change. They are a little sweet with a nice crunch. I can buy them at Wegmans washed and ready to eat by the pound.</p>
<p>Sugar snaps are great, but I find I wind up eating way too many of them just like with baby carrots. :(</p>
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<p>I got this recipe off of someone here on the forums (plus I tweaked it a little).</p>
<p>1 C of milk (I use soy for its long shelf life)
1 frozen banana (much easier if you peel it and put a bunch in a ziplock prior to freezing)
1 T ovaltine/instant breakfast</p>
<p>Blend. (I use an old glass salsa jar that is the same diameter as my immersion blender, so there’s nothing extra to clean up. Generally the bananas have to sit in the milk for a minute or so before they’re blendable, but that gives you some time to clean the kitchen.)</p>
<p>I also like to throw in a little bit of chunky peanutbutter (maybe a teaspoon or so) for how the little bit of protein makes it more filling. I also occasionally add other frozen fruits such as a strawberry or blueberries.</p>
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<p>See, I think this is where the mantra of “low-fat” gets in the way of effective weight loss. I love them, too, but there is no way, in a shape or fashion, that eating a York Peppermint patty has any redeeming nutritional value as a preferred option to anything. A glass of egg nog or a handful of peanuts, or a hard boiled egg, fat an all, is a better nutritional option. My much beloved red trizzlers have “lo-fat” plastered across the bag. They are the worst imaginable nutrition choice.</p>
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<p>The Halloween candy was killing me. I finally dumped it all in a grocery bag and took it to the voting poll on election day and filled their candy jar. I was going to “just one” myself back into my fatty jeans. </p>
<p>The only way I can have a candy splurge like that is to buy a single serving. Just bite the bullet and eat the 300 calories or whatever and that’s that. I really can’t have the big bags around because then I start doing the 100 calories here, 100 calores there, thing. Pretty soon, you are talking about some real calories over multiple days. Just not worth it. It’s more satisfying to zip up my [thermometer</a> jeans](<a href=“http://www.rachelcosgrove.com/2010/08/what-size-are-your-thermometer-jeans/]thermometer”>http://www.rachelcosgrove.com/2010/08/what-size-are-your-thermometer-jeans/).</p>
<p>[Rachel</a> Cosgrove on the Thermometer Jeans Challenge](<a href=“http://www.fox17online.com/videobeta/cfb0cb34-66f2-49ac-84a1-1c8bc8ce1871/News/Rachel-Cosgrove-Fitness-Expert-6-24-10]Rachel”>http://www.fox17online.com/videobeta/cfb0cb34-66f2-49ac-84a1-1c8bc8ce1871/News/Rachel-Cosgrove-Fitness-Expert-6-24-10)</p>
<p>This week baba ganoush has been my go-to snack. It’s half the calories of hummus and tastes great on a baby carrot.</p>
<p>That said, if you have a sugar craving, I’m not sure that it’s so bad to have a little sugar if you can satisfy it with out pigging out. Maybe something like Pez, Tic-tacs or other hard candy. You can suck on them for a long time.</p>
<p>but if my goal is to take care of a sweet craving, then a few york patties can do the trick. I hopefully can get nutritional needs met in other ways, while keeping daily fat grams between 20-40 grams and calories down. I cant stand eggnog and can only stand the chocolate raspberry whipped yogurt (dont like other yogurts), so they would never be part of my food intake</p>
<p>Sometimes a cup of hot tea or a nonfat latte work. Both unsweetened. 2 squares of dark chocolate. I don’t know why but I am able to stop at two or 3 squares. I love York peppermint patties. I would probably eat half the bag. If it was Twizzlers I would eat the whole bag.</p>
<p>Nothing wrong with a sweet tooth splurge. I indulge in some empty sugar calories from time to time and don’t feel bad about it.</p>
<p>I was more reacting to the notion that “low fat” is a desireable diet goal. Most of the fat loss experts I follow actually recommend a high protein/high fat diet and focus on cutting the processed sugar and the grains. 20-40 grams of fat per day sounds a like a very low number to me. I’ve been typically up around 100 grams a day on my diet.</p>
<p>My MIL swears by frozen grapes when she wants something sweet.</p>
<p>That’s another one I like. They are almost like having a a bite of sorbet.</p>
<p>One good snack - pick some oranges off your tree, juice them and put the juice along with frozen strawberries and some ice cubes in a blender and make a smoothie.</p>
<p>Sure wish I had an orange tree! :)</p>
<p>Reading threads like this one helps me to remember that I’m not the only one with food cravings, and that does help!</p>
<p>Other Ideas:</p>
<p>Hot tea with milk and sugar
A hot bath
Knitting while watching TV</p>
<p>I wish I had better self control. Here are snacks that (sometimes) keep me away from worse foods:</p>
<ul>
<li><p>banana (usually plain, but sometimes with chocolates syrup or peanut butter)… great for preventing leg and foot cramps! </p></li>
<li><p>“cuties” oranges, easy to peel and tasty… also good as a ski snack</p></li>
<li><p>Laughing Cow cheese triange (low fat), healthiest if smeared into a stick of celery </p></li>
<li><p>a good crisp dill pickle </p></li>
<li><p>dry cereal (Life, forsted mini wheats)… yea, high in carbs and sugar, but a little better than cookies and less addicting </p></li>
<li><p>nuts (usually almonds or pistachios) </p></li>
<li><p>cottage cheese, low fat with dried chives mixed in </p></li>
<li><p>real juice fruit pops, especially lemon or raspberry </p></li>
<li><p>pretzel (not as healthy as veggies, but better than potato chips)</p></li>
</ul>
<p>Idad: Just curious, where are your fat grams coming from?</p>
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<p>Some beef and pork.</p>
<p>I sautee with olive oil and make salad dressings with olive oil.</p>
<p>I eat blue cheese or parmeggiano reggianno in my salads.</p>
<p>I use real butter, for example poaching haddock in wite wine and then thickening the sauce with a pat of butter.</p>
<p>And, half n’ half in my coffee.</p>
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<p>One reason that many of the fat-loss nutrition guys are OK with a relatively high fat diet is that it makes an otherwise calorie-restricted diet very filling and satisfying. For example, I can make spinach taste fantastic with a couple of teaspoons of olive oil, some garlic, and hot skillet.</p>
<p>If you’ve really gotta cut calories to the bone, then cutting out fat may be necessary, but the concensus seems to be to cut sugar and grains first. </p>
<p>I do track every bit of butter, olive oil, and cheese in my diet, so I’m conscious of it. I don’t eat cheese beyond using it to make big dinner salads unbelievably good.</p>
<p>This is a very good thread. I think I need to read it every day for the next decade, to keep inspired. </p>
<p>My sweetish indulgence-Quaker Oatmeal squares. High fiber, so filling, and a satisfying crunch. Not for breakfast, but as a snack only. </p>
<p>I can also go though a lot of chewing gum to keep from eating. </p>
<p>To counter the orange trees (which I had as a child) my other indulgence is grazing from my raspberry patch. There was a long period this fall when a handful ripened each day.</p>
<p>He only effective diet that seems to work for me is the low fat/lower cal/higher protein/portion control diets. It is closer to my general eating patterns so there isnt a huge difference between being “on” vs"off" a diet. If I get protein in in the morning rather than fruit I do better. </p>
<p>How much weight have you now lost, ID? I’ve heard its a LOT!!</p>
<p>I’ve lost 20-25# on low protein diets in the past (like the post kid baby fat). I’ve lost 5# so far right now. Ten to go.</p>
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<p>I actually used to use this trick when I studied. I’d always like to constantly be snacking on something, so I’d buy the worst store-brand Cheerios I could find. They always tasted so much like cardboard it would drive away any snacky feeling I had!</p>