[MissK]

Hi all need some advice on my sugar craving. During my recent pregnancy (10 mths ago so maybe not that recent) i had terrible sugar cravings. I ended up gaining one stone plus i had already 2 1/2 stone to lost before that. my diet was very bad before i got pregnant however i changed it when i got pregnant. I cleaned up my act at christmas started watching what i was eating and excercising and lost 20pounds up to April.

However now i am maintaining my weight but have at least another 30 pounds to lost. I am very good all day however come evening i feel i need sugar but once i start picking i am finding it very hard to stop. Has anyone any idea's how i could stop the craving?

[g'em]

Originally Posted by MissK

I am very good all day however come evening i feel i need sugar but once i start picking i am finding it very hard to stop. Has anyone any idea's how i could stop the craving?

Sugar craving is s self-perpetual cycle: the more sugar you eat, the more you crave it. Snacking in the evening isn't necessarily a bad thing, but you just need to make better choices about what you snack. You'll also find that once you cut down sugar levels in your diet, your taste-buds will readjust, and you'll become much more sensitive to natural sugars which will satiate and satisfy your cravings. Red and yellow peppers for example are actually quite sweet naturally, and if you roast them gently they become almost caramelised. The same is true for aubergine and sweet potatoes.

Carrots are also "sweet" vegetables, and eaten with a dollop of creme fraiche they're delicious. Cottage cheese and pineapple is also great or even just have a piece of fruit or two will help.

Just avoid starchy carbohydrates like bowls of cereal or breads, and especially don't indulge in ice-creams or chocolate (although if you like dark chocolate a couple of pieces of good quality 70% or more cocoa is grand).

[Khannie]

Originally Posted by MissK

I cleaned up my act at christmas started watching what i was eating and excercising and lost 20pounds up to April.

Fair play to ye.

Originally Posted by MissK

However now i am maintaining my weight but have at least another 30 pounds to lost. I am very good all day however come evening i feel i need sugar but once i start picking i am finding it very hard to stop. Has anyone any idea's how i could stop the craving?

For the most part I eat well, but I've a bit of a sweet tooth myself. I find if I have something immediately after dinner that can take the edge off. Coffee and a biscuit. Something like that. It's not ideal, but it does get you over that "where's my dessert" feeling. Plus, with a belly fully of healthy food, you wont be getting a fast release of sugar from it.

If you're snacky in the evenings, carrot sticks or celery sticks with salsa are nice. Also that Helmanns "extra light" mayo is good for dipping too.

[Piste]

Probably not the healthiest, but I find a mug of options hot chocolate really nips the sugar craving in the bud, it's only 37 calories per mug (but I cheat and add a dash of milk which makes it more)

I'm sure it's full of all sorts of nasty additives and it does dampen the craving.

[Gurlzie1]

I have a flavoured protein shakes when I feel like sugar, they're good for you and if you get the righ flavour they almost taste like milkshakes especially if you have 1/2 water 1/2 low fat milk with them.

[EileenG]

My fix is really dark chocolate. Anything over 70% is a health food, and if you gradually work up to the 85% and then the 99% stuff, you are getting a chocolate hit without piles of sugar as well.

[Fast_Mover]

I snack on fruit such as raspberries/strawberries..

[ncmc]

I always have a stock of small ice-lollies in the fridge, they only have about 50cals in them, I'm sure they are full of crappy additives, but it stops me reaching for the choccy biscuits. Also, I have tried to cut out my cup of tea in the evening, I was finding it very hard not to indulge in the biccies with my tea.

[DenMan]

I know what you mean OP. Coffee seems to be my vice and I always seem to have a half a spoon of sugar with it. Not a lot I know but I do this several times a day. I must try and cut it out completely. It can be difficult as sugar is in so much foods we take. I am not sure which is better weaning it out gradually or completing cutting it out of your diet.

[EileenG]

Originally Posted by ncmc

I always have a stock of small ice-lollies in the fridge, they only have about 50cals in them, I'm sure they are full of crappy additives, but it stops me reaching for the choccy biscuits. Also, I have tried to cut out my cup of tea in the evening, I was finding it very hard not to indulge in the biccies with my tea.

You could look out for Callipo shots. They are in the freezer in newsagents and sweet shops rather than supermarkets. They have only 25 cals per carton, and you can eat a mouthfood and put the rest back in the freezer. Lollies have to be finished!

[Intothesea]

Hello there. Could your evening hunger be striking because
you're undereating? Also, were you ever checked for gestational
diabetes during your pregnancy? Here's a calculator that works
out how many calories you need to take in every day in order
to maintain your current weight:

http://walking.about.com/cs/calories/l/blcalcalc.htm

If your intake is far short of this figure hunger will be at you.
I think the safest loss per week is 2 pounds or 7000 calories
(or less if you're exercising), which is a maximum of 1000 less
calories a day (with intake never to be lower than 1200 cals daily).

If your weight-loss has stalled it might be an idea to look at the
proportions of the food groups you're eating. The quickest and best
way I know of to diet (and eat on a permanent basis) is to follow a
basic 'insulin resistance' diet. Generally this involves breaking your
meals up into 6 or more units, and balancing each to include protein
and a certain ratio of carbohydrate at the core. The effect of this
is to keep blood-sugar levels from soaring or falling so low that you
want to stalk the cupboards for refined foods

Here are a few available books on this on amazon.uk:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Insulin-Resi...4985096&sr=8-3

Diets like this go against conventional dieting wisdom in that they
recommend standard levels of calories from good (unsaturated) fats,
proteins and carbohydrates -- which creates less wear and tear on
the body (e.g. less cholesterol sources force the body to produce its
own, a job that gives rise to higher levels of artery plaques). A good
insulin resistance diet contains between 10% and 30% of fat (peanut oil,
olive oil etc), and will help stubborn fat reserves to melt away (once the
calories are kept below the status-quo level).

I wouldn't eat any kind of refined sugar when hungry at night, as this is
liable to set off an 'insulin rollercoaster', where insulin levels rise sharply
and cause a sugar-dip, making you crave for more sugar. If you're happy
that you're including all food groups in good proportion (i.e. no over-reliance
on either proteins or carbohydrates) then I'd fill the late-evening gap with
a balanced snack like an apple paired with low-fat cheese (carb and protein)
or brown-bread with low-oil/no-sugar peanut butter (carb, protein and good
fats). If your calories are too high at this point you could always break up
dinner into two portions and eat with a few hours between (you could
proportion themeals so that there's enough food left over to do this).

Exercising gently (walking is good) approx. 45 minutes after eating will bring
down the sugar level just before it reaches its peak. This will help prevent
the production of new fat and stimulate weight-loss. A trip to the doctor to
discuss diet approaches or be referred to a dietitician (if you don't fancy
getting into the fine details) could be a good idea too.

Good luck