How to Stop Sugar Cravings

Pull Your Sweet Tooth with These Tips

-- By Holly Little, Certified Personal Trainer

SparkPeople advertisers help keep the site free! Learn more

Do you feel like you're constantly giving in to your sweet tooth? Are your cravings so constant that they're hard to ignore? Like any other habit, turning to sugar can be a tough one to kick. It seems like the more sweets and desserts you have, the more you are waiting for the next hit. Where does the battle end?

There isn't a single cure-all to this problem, but in general, the less sweets you eat, the less you'll crave them. So how do you get to that point? Here are a few tips that just might help you pull your own sweet tooth once and for all.

Try to find a substitute. Generally, people tend to crave sweets after a meal or as a pick-me-up in the late afternoon. It might be helpful to have something else there and ready to fight off those cravings. For example, peppermint tea might work in the evening, a box of raisins in the afternoon, a piece of fruit, or anything else that you can think of that would be somewhat nutritious and easy to keep with you. If you must have "sweet," go with something that's naturally sweet, such as dried fruit or even 100% fruit juice.
Wait out the craving. Most nutrition experts say that the cravings you experience will only last a couple of minutes. So if you can wait it out, they will pass and you will be better for it. Try to occupy yourself for a good 10 minutes when you get a craving. Call a friend, take a short walk or do something to distract yourself.
Set daily goals and reward yourself for meeting them. To a sugar addict, nothing is tougher than getting through the day without a sugary treat. The longer you can hold out, the easier it will become, so try to find a reward that would be worth holding out for. I did this about a year ago and gave myself a dollar for every day that I did not indulge in sweets, and at the end of the month, I would go get a manicure or buy myself something nice.
Recruit someone to do it with you. If you are married or have a family, this would be a healthy habit for everyone to adopt. Clean out the cupboards and refrigerator of unhealthy foods and tempting treats. Make it a team effort. Hold each other accountable and support one another through the tough times.
Put yourself in good situations. If you are one who loves to use the vending machines at work or will drive through the local gas station to fill up on snacks, then try to do things in a new way to prevent yourself from falling into old habits. Clean out all of the change and single dollar bills in your wallet so you aren't able to feed the vending machine. Make sure you fill up on gas when someone is with you. Go grocery shopping after a meal, so you don’t load up on unhealthy foods.

As hard as it might be to believe, you CAN quit the sugar habit. Not only will you probably lose some weight, but you will feel better and more energetic. Good luck!

Need more information on where hidden sugar may be lurking in your food? Check
out this helpful resource from the USDA.

Click here to to redeem your SparkPoints

You will earn 3 SparkPoints

Page 1 of 1 Return to main nutrition page »

Stay in Touch With SparkPeople

About The Author

Holly Little
A former Division I basketball player, Holly is a certified in Spinning and personal training.

View All Comments (124) Leave a Comment ›

Member Comments

KLUTZY68

A lot of people with Binge Eating Disorder had severe sweets (and other) restrictions as children, resulting in a "When I grow up I'll eat whatever I want!" mentality. If you must remove all sweets from the house for your own progress, be sure to allow your kids to have some now and then. - 5/17/2013 1:15:28 PM
Report Inappropriate Comment
PAPA55MPH

Tomorrow is day one of my journey without sugar
I know I can do this every thing is out of the house
now all I need is someone to do the food shopping for the next few weeks or years
that is the hard part I can go for weeks and be good and than I always break at the store I'll say it's for the kids but....really it's not I just found this support page so wish me luck thanks - 3/13/2013 9:30:19 PM
Report Inappropriate Comment
MAMACHAE74

I don't think that the quiz outcome for me is indicative of how I am. I avoid sweets at the office. I crave sweets around that time of the month and maybe once or twice a week. What I have started doing is eating fruit, snap peas and broccoli instead. The little bit of sweetness in these items seem to be enough to satisfy my cravings, however Friday nights seem to be the hardest for me to get through without eating sweets. I used to have froyo every Friday night with my daughter, and I broke that habit a month ago, but I still have cravings for the stuff something terrible. This is going to be difficult, but I want to kick the habit because I don't like the idea of being addicted to something that is not healthy for me. Thank you to everyone who commented because the comments were helpful to me. Let's kick sugar's bootay y'all:) - 3/1/2013 8:45:02 PM
Report Inappropriate Comment
TUNISIAN_PURL

I eat 1/4 cup of trail mix with large dried fruit mixed in. By the time I'm finished chewing part of the fruit I usually am full and don't want anything else. I use mental tricks too. I have a picture of me at my heaviest that I can't stand, I mentally think of this picture when I think I want to snack. That's usually enough to stop me cold turkey.

After making rules and sticking with them I no longer have cravings, but this took me several weeks and the first few days were murder. I promise, give it a few weeks and your consistency will pay off. - 2/26/2013 9:57:47 PM
Report Inappropriate Comment
BABE471

Idont eat salt so i dont have that issue. My problem was with suger i eat yogart or popcorn i try to look for something that is sweet thats healthy if those dont work an that does it for me. Ihave found sense i have been tracking an counting caories i am doing very good on my diet an i dont crave sweets has much as i did before. that was my issue in the past craving the sweets. - 1/11/2013 1:18:02 PM
Report Inappropriate Comment
BLUECRABLOVER

I am going to keep a stash of Jolly Rancher hard candies handy. Each piece is about 23 calories and they take a while to dissolve. I hope this helps. - 12/6/2012 4:45:53 PM
Report Inappropriate Comment
AUGGIE1DOGGIE

MELAYAHM - Thank you for that encouragement. If I give this time it will subside! - 10/10/2012 3:39:50 PM
Report Inappropriate Comment
AUGGIE1DOGGIE

It is so hard. I also live with someone who is a terrible sweets addict - Ben & Jerry's is his favorite. Ugh! Frustrating but I know I can do it. Thanks for the suggestion of a $1 for every day I am able to resist. I am sick of my clothes not fitting and the ugly muffin top. - 10/10/2012 3:38:03 PM
Report Inappropriate Comment
TRUCKERWIFE2

I was sugar free for 10 years many years ago. Lately prunes or popcorn are doing it for me. - 10/4/2012 12:42:29 AM
Report Inappropriate Comment
DDESERTDDAWN

These are some good suggestions-- some i knew before but sure did need the reminder.

Pepermint Tea for me!
- 9/18/2012 1:09:54 AM
Report Inappropriate Comment
STARWARSFAN2

Interesting that dried fruit is on the substitute for sugary snacks list. I thought it was one of the high sugar offenders. - 8/23/2012 6:48:58 PM
Report Inappropriate Comment
MELAYAHM

Well, I never, ever thought it would happen, but after weeks and weeks of brute will power, plus staying strong only when I'm out food shopping and not buying sweets, biscuits etc, the craving has diminished drastically! I still have a yogurt at lunch time, which I know has a ton of sugar in it, and I still have some sort of desert at dinner time, and after those, the craving raises its ugly head a while, but now it seems to know it's not going to get fed and subsides quickly. Another thing that's helped,, (although it's not really healthy!) is playing computer games in the evening, when the craving usually gets to its worst. Having my hands, eyes and mind occupied means that I get to bed time and realise I haven't nibbled anything! - 7/22/2012 3:30:00 AM
Report Inappropriate Comment
MARZELLAB

So, Im going to go out on a limb and guess that the consumption of cookies and donuts is not the approriate way to stop the sugar cravings. I guess I have been living in some kind of fantasy world. Off to read the articile I go... - 6/19/2012 10:41:42 AM
Report Inappropriate Comment
CANUCKSFAN2

If I do have a sugar craving, I have to sometimes just give into it. - 6/13/2012 12:02:12 PM
Report Inappropriate Comment
THENEWLIZG

One month ago I gave up artificial sweeteners (diet soda, sugar-free coffee syrups... really sugar-free anything) and I also started watching my sodium and stopped salting my food, period. I couldn't say which one is responsible, but my sweet cravings went away almost immediately. In one month, to the date today, I have gone from being a 350lb woman with a serious, serious sugar problem to a 327lb woman with cautious optimism and the ability to, for the first time in her adult life (I'm 31), say "nope I'm actual not in the mood". Literally even thinking about desserts doesn't do anything for me. The smell of sweets doesn't make my mouth water. I even made myself stare at that picture of a piece of dense cake, and I could see myself pushing it away. It has NEVER been this easy. It's gotta be cutting out one or both of those two from my diet! - 5/23/2012 9:04:53 PM
Report Inappropriate Comment