surferlove007

I've been fortunate enough to have a great metabolism, as a child I was always a fan of sweets and not so much of the healthy foods. My parents did the right things...forcing the vegetables down my throat etc. Still, it did not take. I've always been a picky eater too...I don't like things on my burgers, meat and cheese only please. I don't eat salad or soup...I don't like my food touching. This is how I am, I've tried foods that people have asked me to, of course I did not like them. (as I assume I would not in my mind)
It occurred to me that maybe I have a mental disorder with food but that seems unlikely although possible. I've done a little research.
So here comes my question, for those of you who love sweets such as myself what do you do to fend off the sweets and stick to a healthier appetite as you have gotten older. I find it so hard because I've always been in the habit of eating whatever I want and not caring. I don't care because I exercise and I burn it off later on. As I'm getting older, what happens when my metabolism starts to work against me and I can't work off those pounds as easily. Other than the fear of gaining weight, I concern about the possible habits I might be displaying for my kids in the future. If they need to eat the damn broccoli, that means I have to too right?

A "tasteful" discussion on dealing with a love for sweets and growing into a healthier style of eating while I don't like most of the typical health foods.

Sage

Raisins and prunes are awesome, as are most dried fruit.

Honestly, when it comes to really sweet stuff, it's 90% in your head. When I went on a low carb diet (which I don't recommend) I switched to Splenda in my coffee. I noticed for about the first week and then I didn't notice at all anymore. Getting over eating a bunch of sweets is as simple as not eating them for a week... it cuts the cravings WAY down.

as for healthy stuff... try to find ways to sneak it into everything else. Use the insides of Spaghetti squash in place of real pasta... use whole wheat flour, eat whole wheat pasta, have real oatmeal instead of the instant stuff... "eating healthy" isn't so much about forcing yourself to have a big bowl of flax seeds for breakfast as it is realizing that the healthiest things you can eat are things you make yourself. So if you have a burger and fries, only it's a burger you made yourself with real cheese on top and a whole wheat bun with homemade fries, it's way better for you than McDonalds.

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snowy

I try and eat naturally sweet things--dried fruit (mangoes, apricots, raisins, dates, sweetened cranberries) is wonderful because it's sweet and snacky. I also like apple slices in almond butter or peanut butter, granola bars, cherry pie Larabars, peanut butter and jam sandwiches (whole wheat bread, organic strawberry jam, natural peanut butter). I also like to keep a well-stocked fruit bowl with apples, pears, and bananas that I can grab and go--in the winter I also get mandarin oranges for the fruit bowl. Sometimes I also get red grapes or mangoes, but usually I prefer dried mangoes--less mess. Sure, they're healthy, but I think you'll find they all taste great too. Plus, it seems to me that the more I eat naturally sweet things, the less I like things with refined sugars.

Another thing--yogurt is an awesome sweet snack. Brown Cow is my favorite, especially the Maple Cream Top flavor. It's a little high in fat, but it's so filling I usually only eat half of one and have to save the other half for later.

I do occasionally indulge in ice cream and chocolate, my weaknesses, but I stick to Breyers Light when I do.

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Willravel

I have the metabolism of an elephant. If I'm not very careful what I eat and how often and hard I exercise, I go from Viggo Mortensen to cave troll in about a week. I probably have my paternal genes to thank. Just to give you an idea: I gained nearly 30 pounds in 3 months when I hurt my back. And that was continuing my diet.

What does this all mean for my sweets intake? It focuses it into a laser. I eat sweets VERY rarely an when I do I only have the good stuff. Ghirardelli milk chocolate square. Krispy Kreme donut hole (yes, that's singular). Ferro Rocher.

inBOIL

Ditto. It's also helpful to keep busy. If your mind's occupied, the idea of eating sweets is less likely to present itself.

As for eating healthy things, next time you try something you don't like, scrutinize it for good qualities. Pay attention to the different flavors and textures, and how they play off one another. If you find something you like about a particular food, you learn to look for that, and your brain pays less attention to the unpleasant characteristics.

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surferlove007

I also wonder if maybe my increase in eating sweets during the week may be a way I'm filling the void of being apart from James. This summer should be just wonderful since I'll be home and we'll be apart for 3 months. At least at home I have the bike path and I'll be working my ass off full time lifeguarding.
Also not having a gym I can go to has made this semester a true challenge. At Tech I had the gym everyday and that helped me deal with the semester apart

Daniel_

I know I eat too many (of everything) because I'm fat. The only system that works for me is to not have access.

I've pretty much cut all confectionary out of my day to day life, so I only eat sweets if someone else buys them (e.g. sharing at the office, etc.).

What I do like, and should eat more of, is apples.

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jewels

I can definitely relate. I tend to have a sweet tooth I have to carefully monitor.

I find that I have to stay away completely. Once I'm in a "sweet mode", it becomes difficult to get away from it. So I try to keep my carb intake from fruits and veggies, instead of breads or sweets, so that I don't find myself craving more and/or bingeing.

I eat fruit or Lara bars, trying to keep even those choices higher in fiber. They tend to fill me more and satisfy that craving.

I also keep those smaller packs of popcorn -- read labels to choose the best one for your needs -- when I'm kinda down and feel like stuffing my face. It seems to satisfiy those oral needs without making me feel miserable later.

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vanblah

GG, you sound just like my wife. Loves sweets; doesn't like vegetables; meat and cheese only on her sandwiches etc. She was (and I was too) skinny as a rail. It really didn't matter what we ate; we always stayed thin. That does NOT mean we were healthy.

She just turned 34 this year and it's starting to catch up to her. Recently, she has made a conscious effort to eat salads (which she absolutely detested when we first met 17 years ago), she even uses healthier dressing rather than cream dressings. She is trying different things like fish and pork (instead of red meat). I, on the other hand, will eat anything and usually love it (except for pickled beets).

That fast metabolism of yours will slow down; it's pretty much inevitable. What does this mean for you? Nothing really. Neither my wife, nor I are particularly over-weight. Sure, we could stand to lose 5 pounds or so (the middle-age thing really sucks when it comes to that). I just wanted to let you know that you're probably not much more crazy than my wife when it comes to food weirdness.

Enjoy your sweets. Just don't overdo it.

lotsofmagnets

i´m probably to a lesser extent in the OP´s situation. i love my sweets. chocolate is the fastest way to buy me. i think when i was young my parents did me a big favour. the 1st time i tasted sweets i was 6. i was only allowed healthy food til then which gave me a great start. probably also helps my whole family has great figures. my brother is in the army so is probably fittest and really doesn´t look like someone you´d want to mess with but even when he was a nerd in school he was still lean, like myself and my mum. my dad has the slightest pot because his extremely healthy lifestyle in his 20s-40s has slowed a bit and the odd beer is starting to stay with him. back to me. i hate not having junk food within easy reach and although it has seemed to have no effect on me i´ve still decided to look towards healthier options. on the table next to the computer is a plate of apples. i´ve already burned through the 6 blocks of chocolate i bought a few days ago but that´s just normal. i buy 1000isk worth of candy every few saturdays (laugardagur er nammidagur that translates roughly to a lot of candy....) and it lasts me for nearly a week. i´ve cut down on meat basically because of price (i´ve also been a vegetarian for 2 years back in au) and here all food comes super processed which doesn´t help at all. all in all i´m probably in the worst shape i´ve been all my life, especially coming off the winter hibernation period. what i´m trying to do more of late is eat more raw vegetables. salads are the easiest way to do this. if you don´t like salads then try playing around yourself and seeing if there is soewhere you can start. as i see it you have 2 options. you could use dressings like french dressings to sweeten things up or you can go ultra bland like just lettuce leaves. they have pretty much no flavour so if you start there you can work yourself into healthier food. i´m not saying you´re going to love broccoli (hell i´ve eaten it all my life and still do only because i know it´s good for me.) but you have to put the effort in and do things you may not like at 1st. i´m sure you will find ways to enjoy foods you never thought you would before and look forward rather then dread eating things that are good for you.

i think my final word will go to a story about a friend of mine called chubbs. for his 1st 15 years he refused to eat vegetables and for some reason his parents never forced him to. at a family bbq he refused when his plate had some vegetables and his uncle snarled at him "eat your fucking vegetables!!" and through the crying forced him to. he could have ended up emotinally impaired but instead took to eating vegetables and as we speak he´s one of the most popular, in shape people i know, complete with a gf he´s had for several years that has most of us jealous. obviously your situation isn´t quite the same but if you dive in you won´t find it so bad.

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she shed her mountain turning training wheels, for the convenience of the moving sidewalk, that delivers the magnetic monkey children through the mouth of impossible calendar clock, into the devil's manhole cauldron.
physics of a bicycle, isn't it remarkable?

surferlove007

Thats a really great point LOM, I'll try to go into salads slowly and maybe I'll grow to like them. Funny story about your friend Chubbs. I went camping with a girlfriend, another friend and her dad..her dad served us salad and he was a Colonel in the army, needless to say we all ate the salad no questions.

Bear Cub

I gauge it based on the diameter of the circle of chocolate smeared about my face at any given time. Augustus Gloop style.

Ilow

There is not much good in anything sweet really, but many of us are programmed to love sweets. I would recommend going with something like sugar free popsicles. I go crazy eating the Edy's ones. Also, fruit, etc. If you want, cut up fruit and freeze it, then make smoothies with it. You can use the Lite and Fit Yourt from Dannon, that has little sugar, fat etc. Definitely kills sweet cravings. Also, be conscious of your salt intake, if you eat too much salt, your body automatically wants sugar to "balance" it.

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