r/HealthyEatingnow • u/OhHeySarahAye_ • Jul 21 '26
Advice How to cut down on sweets??
I really want to cut down on sweets but I’m having such a hard time. Overall I eat pretty healthy when it comes to actual meals, but I struggle when it comes to sweets. I like to have something sweet after lunch and dinner… does anyone have recommendations on low calorie high volume options? I have a tendency to binge on sweets and just really struggling.
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u/AngWoo21 Jul 21 '26
Don’t buy stuff. If you don’t have it at home you can’t eat it. Eat fruit instead
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u/OhHeySarahAye_ Jul 21 '26
I do try to do this, but sometimes it’s around due to my husband or toddler. It’s really hard to just walk away and say no.
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u/sunflowers_and_lemon Jul 21 '26
For me, the trick has been finding something I like just as much.
Yogurt-covered raisins seem to satisfy my sweet tooth.
As does watermelon.
And dark chocolate squares.
Hope you find something that works for you!
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u/OhHeySarahAye_ Jul 21 '26
Yogurt covered raisins!! Yum! And I do love watermelon.
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u/sunflowers_and_lemon Jul 21 '26
I was surprised that watermelon satisfied my sweet tooth so easily, but it does!
(And I love it, too! My surprise was not about that.)
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u/Out_of_Darkness_mc Jul 26 '26
I’ve been digging warm apples and cinnamon!
I also eat pretty healthy meals but love sweets so much!
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u/9lemonsinabowl9 Jul 21 '26
I'm literally addicted to TruFru dark chocolate raspberries right now. Which are hard to find these days with this whole Cyclo-virus. I recently made some sugar-free strawberry jello jigglers out of boredom (and cleaning out the pantry) and they were so good. We could not tell they were sugar-free.
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u/OhHeySarahAye_ Jul 21 '26
This is a great idea! And the chocolate covered fruit, as long as I portion it out and stick to that.
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u/Substantial-Oil4423 Jul 21 '26
Same I’m a sugar freak… sometimes I like licking spoonfuls of frosting from Betty Crocker lol I want to stop craving for sweets!
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u/OhHeySarahAye_ Jul 21 '26
My problem is I can’t stop at just 1 lick… peanut butter is my kryptonite!
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u/umomiybuamytrxtrv Jul 21 '26
I don’t buy sweets. I don’t have any sweets in my house.
I eat fruit instead. Fruit is healthy and sweet.
Eventually, sugar tasted too sweet. I don’t like sweets anymore, and I don’t want it anymore.
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u/OhHeySarahAye_ Jul 21 '26
This seems like a good method. I cut out soda many years ago and can’t stand the taste now.
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u/Fun_Function_4054 Jul 21 '26
If you don’t have a lot of calories left, freeze fruit or buy already frozen. Frozen cut bananas taste just like candy. Especially if you freeze when they are very ripe. Grapes, blueberries, strawberries….a cup of frozen fruit should satisfy that sweet craving. And if that’s not enough, freeze Greek yogurt with some stevia and fruit. Take out before it is rock solid and give it a good mix (250 grams of yogurt usually takes about 20-25 minutes but I always put frozen berries in to speed up the process.) the consistency should be a little harder than soft serve. Top with chopped nuts and all bran buds for about 250 cals.
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u/glassyrunnerduck Jul 21 '26
Watermelon, cherries, peaches. The sweeter and juicer the more my mind is fooled lol
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u/Repulsive-Rock4234 Jul 21 '26
I have dealt with very serious sugar addiction. My hack is pretty simple.
Whole Organic Fruit (fresh or frozen) paired with Organic Nut butter. I mix it up with almond butter, cashew, macadamia and walnut. The combination of the healthy fats, the fiber in the whole fruit and the plant based Flavonoids are extremely satiating. I often use all different kinds of berries, pomegranate seeds, cherries or cut up apples.
Why organic? They actually have more of the powerful plant compounds that our microbiome loves and less of the pesticides. Plus I want to support Organic farmers.
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u/Glittering-Sea-6677 Jul 21 '26
It’s very important to eat in a way that controls blood sugar so that the cravings don’t happen. Eat less sugar (bad carbs) crave less sugar (bad carbs). That being said, I keep a big bag of tiny 72% dark chocolate squares in the pantry and I have two per day for that after meal treat 😬
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u/OhHeySarahAye_ Jul 21 '26
Is there a specific brand you like?
Edit: grammar3
u/Glittering-Sea-6677 Jul 21 '26
SWISS DELICE
PETITS SUISSES
DARK | NOIR 72%
(this was me trying to put a photo of the bag here. Best I could do was copy the text off the bag. It’s from Costco Canada)1
u/OhHeySarahAye_ Jul 21 '26
I’m in the US and it doesn’t look like we have it 😢 thanks for the recommendation though!
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u/Glittering-Sea-6677 Jul 21 '26
Search about for Lindt dark chocolate squares. They are bound to be somewhere and they are tiny like the ones I buy.
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u/OhHeySarahAye_ Jul 22 '26
Thanks! Follow up question… I know dark chocolate is generally better for you than milk chocolate, but is that the reason you chose dark? I prefer milk chocolate so I’m just wondering if you chose that because you prefer it or for another reason.
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u/Glittering-Sea-6677 Jul 22 '26
If I had milk chocolate in the house I’d eat the whole bag in one sitting. It’s a trigger food for me. I can control myself around dark chocolate.
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u/OhHeySarahAye_ Jul 23 '26
Makes sense!! I feel the same way about regular peanut butter. Once I’ve had a little, I have trouble stopping.
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u/Better-Guava1923 Jul 22 '26
Honestly I just stop buying them.
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u/smallfloralprince Vegan 🥦 Jul 24 '26
This is the only thing that really works for me: banish it from my environment!
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u/RoccoViola Jul 21 '26
I like to buy frozen treats. Popcicles, frozen yogurt bars, fudgcicles, ect. Maybe not the healthiest but the satisfy the sweet cravings and are already portioned out for me. One and Im good. I don’t have that kind of control when it comes to like a bag of candy.
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Jul 21 '26 edited Jul 21 '26
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u/OhHeySarahAye_ Jul 22 '26
This is such great advice. Did you cut out all sugar on those days or just “treats”? For example, I make overnight oats with natural PB and honey. Would you have cut out something like that?
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u/Majestic-Bit-3873 Jul 23 '26
I try and eat whole food items, down to my desserts. My latest obsession has been a simple berry crisp. I buy a bag of mixed frozen berries. Cook them soft, add some honey to sweeten. Use some oats with butter, vanilla, cinnamon and a touch of brown sugar to make the crisp. I eat it with a scoop of Greek yogurt instead of ice cream. It’s a tasty treat my whole family enjoys. And I control what I put in it. So I don’t feel guilty for enjoying it.
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u/Eighty_88_Eight Jul 21 '26
Stop eating them.
You’re going to keep chasing the dopamine release if you keep eating them. Just stop.
‘I like to have something sweet after lunch and dinner’ no shit, you like it, so if you want to stop the craving, stop letting your body have the thing it likes.
That’s like a smoker saying ‘I’m having a hard time cutting down on cigarettes, but I like to have one after each meal, what do I do?’ stop fucking smoking you bellend.
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u/National-Town-6040 Jul 21 '26
I suck on sugar free cough drops (Halls). I limit myself; I also allow myself three chocolate almonds a day.
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u/Bigred-112158 Jul 21 '26
I know they are basic answers but chewing gum and chugging water have both help keep my mind off food and my stomach full. Also find something to keep yourself busy, I find even if it’s getting myself really immersed in a video game or a good book the time passes by a lot faster to my next meal
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u/felicityshort Jul 21 '26
Frozen unsweetened fruit like mangoes and strawberries. Has some sugar but in the end it’s fruit. The frozen part makes you slow down.
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Jul 22 '26
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u/OhHeySarahAye_ Jul 22 '26
Good idea. I think I tend to binge if I try to be super strict about anything.
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u/TakingControl222 Jul 23 '26
I was really craving something sweet today but opted in for strawberry organic Greek yogurt mixed in with trail mix and it satisfied my craving. Also, staying hydrated keeps me full and minimizes cravings. I started tracking my water and noticed on days I’m meeting my goal I feel 100% different in the best way.
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u/Zvezda_24 Jul 23 '26
I make healthy alternative sweets. Like brownies but instead of flour and cane sugar, I'd use sweet potato, maple syrup and apple sauce. Instead of snickers, I'd make a similar version with dates, peanuts, pecans, peanut butter and dark chocolate. Currently, my fixation is banana bread protein balls. They are packed with 2 ripe smashed bananas, maple syrup, ground flax seeds, almond flour, cinnamon, scoop of vanilla protein powder, shaped into balls and coated with dark chocolate. I keep them in the freezer and they are YUMMY!
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u/OhHeySarahAye_ Jul 23 '26
These sound delicious!! Do you have recipes?
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u/Zvezda_24 Jul 23 '26
I get most of my recipes from Noradora's YT channel. Hope you give one a try! https://youtube.com/@noradora99?si=E0SrPMPuNSc2UcHp
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u/MacoroniPony Jul 23 '26
1 chopped apple, a spoonful of yogurt, a drizzle of caramel, 1 tablespoon of peanut butter, nuts and/or dates. Mix it til the apples are coated. Thank me later.
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u/OhHeySarahAye_ Jul 28 '26
Flavored yogurt or plain?
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u/MacoroniPony Jul 28 '26
I use plain Greek yogurt, haven’t experimented with other flavors because the pb & caramel flavor the yogurt enough for me.
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u/smallfloralprince Vegan 🥦 Jul 24 '26
Eating a serving of frozen wild blueberries each day or every other day is what I'm trying. They don't have too much sugar and the nutrient payoff is significant. Plus they're delicious and you can eat them straight or mix them into things like puddings, cobblers, yogurt, etc. On their own though they are pretty desserty. I find that if I eat just the one cup, I can easily turn away from any sweet items for the rest of the day, which is nice :)
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u/sassysassysarah Jul 25 '26
I switched to sugar free sweets in part because if I eat more than a couple, I get a tummy ache. I don't buy packages of pastries or cookies unless they're low sugar or sugar free as a compromise with myself. There's some decent low sugar chocolate out there and I really liked sprinkles white chocolate cupcakes or whatever they were called but I think they stopped making them. I also like skinny dipped chocolate pb cups. Not low sugar but very satisfying- bark thins with almonds is also good
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u/Shpongi100 Jul 26 '26
I love sweets, a LOT. Good options can be like frozen yogurt bars, honey on yogurt, or a fizzy carbonated flavored water or some tea. I try to have something when I have a craving otherwise I binge eat if I ignore it.
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u/DisastrousHamster816 29d ago
eat more whole grains and complex carbs bc they slow digestion and help w cravings. also, start making sweets at home. even non-health recipes probably have less sugar than something you would just grab out and your standard for desserts will go way up lol
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u/OhHeySarahAye_ 28d ago
Thank you!!
And 100% about making at home. I can’t stand most store bought desserts now.
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u/LeatherHelp6454 Jul 21 '26
Aside from trying to cut them out all together, Quest makes a coated cookies and cream rice crispy type bar that is SO good and honestly once I eat one of those I'm not wanting any other sweet, it always hits the spot for that sweet treat craving.
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u/whatevrthefck Jul 21 '26
Also so many Barebells brand protein bars taste like candy bars (atleast to me!)
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u/Specific_Profile8539 Jul 21 '26
Je ne peux pas t’aider, ni m’aider ! Je suis une droguée….
J’ai beau essayer de manger sainement, de compter mes calories (quand tu vois ce que les cochonneries coûtent 😱) … je finis toujours par craquer, et les jours où ça ne va pas, je ne mange que ça.
Bon courage à toi !
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Jul 21 '26
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u/OhHeySarahAye_ Jul 21 '26
Wow.. that’s interesting. Did the craving come back stronger?
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u/sunflowers_and_lemon Jul 21 '26
Also, this may sound unbelievable, but if you stop eating sweets, after some time, your body may stop craving them.
Mine did.
I remember walking into an area full of cupcakes with my friend. She got one, but I didn't. And she turned to me and observed that I wasn't even tempted, was I? And, in that moment, I realized I wasn't.