want sweets
 

can anyone tell me when all you have ever used is food to make yourself feel better and you are really trying not to I bought carb free food but what i really want is sweets. I am having a really hard time with this.:eek:

What kind of carb free food? I feel the same way a lot, mostly because I am not suppose to have it... Things I never ate before, like donuts and candy are all I can think about sometimes. But, there are really healthy alternatives that can replace those carb heavy foods in a satisfying way.

The other alternative to denying sweets is to actually have some. I have found a few things that don't seem to move bg much. Carrots, and a low-carb ice cream. The key to remember is that this is for life - so find a way to be comfortable with your restrictions! Best of luck and let us know what you figure out .

This might sound really silly but I have found that if I VISIT these foods at the store. Then its a choice to walk away, not that I CANT have it. I seem satisfied with my visit and feel pride when I walk away.

Great post! I like it.

Part of the symptoms of diabetes is that you are always hungry. Of course stress eating is a huge factor-I am constantly battling with weight.I am trying to eat a lot more veggies, and that helps. However I do have a small bar of dark chocolate in the house and it has to last me 3 days. After I have had a few squares of it I feel better and remind myself later when I want something that I already had my treat for the day.

Thank you for the last post. I too feel the need sweets and feel hungry all the time. Diabetes is a constant battle and its hard to stay on top of it all the time. Good luck

diabetes only makes you hungry if your numbers are super high because your cells are starved for energy, but I suppose everyone is different in that regard.

I have T1 and no insulin resistance so I don't have many restrictions, as long as I cover what I eat with the appropriate amount of insulin and don't "stack" high carb, high fat foods, I don't have a problem.

but if you're craving sweets, what about a piece of fruit? I like the suggestion of carrots. If you're craving something junky, I would opt for a square of super dark chocolate - something over 70% cacao - it's so rich, all you really need is one square.

thing is, this disease is chronic - don't get so hung up on the "good" and "bad" foods... do what you can day to day, and experiment as much as possible with what works for YOU. you're not going to go blind for having a piece of cake today, but you want to make habits that foster a healthier lifestyle overall so that means finding healthier options.

a diabetes diet is not about restrictions - it's how EVERYONE should eat - lean proteins, low fat, unprocessed carbs from fruits and vegetables and PLENTY of exercise.

I really crave sugars when I have high blood sugars.

Atkins bars
 

I feel your pain, wife and I went shopping for a low-carb treat for me and found these bars from Atkins, believe they are 14 carbs per bar. Not bad when you REALLY feel like having a sweet treat, just count it towards your daily number of carbs.

good luck, kiddo!
Clinton

In my personal opinion, i would rather have the sweet than the imitation low carb stuff. Maybe have a little less of the "real" stuff. Obviously take insulin to cover it.

Also, I have found that for me, I don't need the whole candy bar. If I'm craving say, a snickers, one of the little fun sized ones usually satisfies me just fine. Now the trouble is just limiting yourself to one ;)

Good luck! I am a big proponent of not excluding things from your diet, but instead just limiting them to "sometimes treats".

Sweets, particularly choc and glazed doughnuts. I crave them all the time. I have tried nuts no help. Not having them in the house no help. Even indulging in one or the other once a week. Using it as a reward but then i was finding to much to reward myself for anything really. I struggle constsntly. Prayer has helped. My family not so much. Daily battle!

One thing I have found that works for the sweets craving is Lara Bars. They are all natural and nothing but fruits and nuts. I have usually about one a day as a snack, plus it will give you natural energy.

Don't deprive yourself.
Get some low-Carb or sugar-free ice cream and he just enough to satisfy that craving
I think most diabetic people struggle w this feeling of deprivation :)
We all go thru it.. Good luck and I hope that you are able to find some healthy alternatives


My mom made me some "diabetic" ice cream sandwiches

Get those chocolate graham crackers and put some lite whipped cream between them and stick those suckers in the freezer.
Be careful, though. THEY ARE DELICIOUS!!! And I think you really can only have like one sandwich bc the crackers are a little high I carbs :(

But totally worth it for that sweet tooth you've got goin on
Hope this helps :)

I plan to try this recipe of your mom's
I love ice cream

Public Sunday Ice Cream cups my weakness....

Hi
My Dr in Boston told me if I really need a sweet once in awhile have it. And add 2units to my insulin.
I don't go to Boston anymore to far. What do you think of her idea.
I will see new Dr next week.

I am on a high protein low carb diet and have cut my insulin from 200 units a day to 70 to 90 a day. My sugars used to be close to 300 and I'm on oral meds as well. My sugars now average 112. I have always had a horrible sweet tooth but have found I am no longer craving like a madwoman. I eat a piece of fruit or one caramel sugar free nip. The diet I am using offers sweeter tasting alternatives and this has helped. Having said that. I reward myself once a week w 8 plain m&ms.

We too use Adkins products, remember to subtract the fiber and sugar alcohols from your total carbs to get your net carbs, ie how many carbs effect you BG . I also discovered when I got away from the artificial sweeteners that most of my carb cravings went away. I do use stevia in my coffee and drink no soda at all, and eat cocoa almonds for a treat... Not to many though.

I've heard that eating foods with fake "sugar" and drinking things like diet drinks can cause you to crave sweets more as well...I had that problem when drinking diet sodas...

Everybody want sweet. I am on of them:).

I buy mini sugar free Werther hard candy at Walmart. I'm careful not to over eat. It does help when I want a sweet. Keep in mind it has sugar alcohol which is a little sugar. Think each piece has 14 sugar alcohols which divided by 2 is 7 sugars. Help this helps.

I didn't know this until recently because no one told me, but most everyone is more insulin resistant in the morning. I have found for myself that I can have a serving of something sweet in the afternoon or evening, and as long as I drink plenty of water, my levels stay pretty low. Hope this helps.

Thanks For The Infor on Sweets
 

I didn't know that about insulin resistance in the morning. I'm going to do a better job of watching my carbs in the morning when I eat my breakfast, so my sugar levels won't be so high at lunch.

It's really hard when your feeling the sweet cravings. I keep small apples, oranges and I might have some carrots if it's before bed time. It took a while to get to this point but the results are rewarding. Juicing is helpful also.

I was diagnosed at 19 as a type 1 diabetic. I grew up eating and baking sweets so the hardest part for me was limiting sweets in my diet. I have recently started baking with stevia instead of sugar so I can have a little more in my diet. Stevia doesn't raise my blood sugar and it's herbal not artificial.

Uh, how about addressing why you're miserable? Maybe I'm wrong here, but I think a lot of us have been tricked, lied to, and encouraged... To hate our bodies and ourselves. Did you know that 90% of all diets fail (with failure being gaining back all the weight in 5 yrs or less) and that of that 90% who gain it back... 85% gain MORE than they lost?!? If we prescribed men Viagra...and it only worked for 10% or less of people, would we shame the other 90% it didn't work for? Tell them it's their fault it didn't work? That they didn't do it right, or weren't trying hard enough? No! That's ridiculous right? So why is it any LESS ridiculous when we do it to a fat person about dieting and weight loss? What would happen, if instead of saying "I've gotta lose weight" you said "I've gotta take my MEDS like I'm supposed to, learn about how my diet choices affect my BGL's... And I'd like to move my body more since that's supposed to not only lower levels, but provide other health benefits as well. What if... You focused on getting the BGL under control... And said, if in doing these changes some weight comes off, that's nice... But if it DOESN'T... That's ok too, I'm still healthier.

I have found many low carb dessert recipes on line that do not spike my sugars. Atkins.com has a bunch too. I alcohol get a bag of very dark chocolate baking chips and when I have to have a sweet or chocolate I just have 4-5 and then I'm ok. I also use mints, gum and breath spray to get my mind off it.

My dr said to stop all carbs for three days to eliminate cravings. This included fruits, juices and artificial sweeteners. This helped tremendously to reduce cravings as sugar is addictive. Now I find a piece of fruit or a diet soda is all that if reach for. Not diet just my way of life now