Often people want to get rid of cravings for sweets when they want to lose weight. However, being overweight is not the only reason: an excess of sweets in the diet is bad for health and can cause a feeling of lethargy and lethargy.

If you have been eating sweets every day all your life but suddenly decided to give them up, you need to be prepared that the body will react with poor health – it will be a response to the lack of glucose. There may be decreased performance, drowsiness, headaches, and a bad mood. If you’re used to drinking Coke while playing Indian table games, you should reconsider the tradition. Getting used to it will take about three days, during which your task is not to break and not to break the promises to yourself and yet endure without sweets. Further, it will be easier; after 21 days, you can learn to do without desserts and not suffer from them. Your taste buds adjust quickly, and your once-favourite Belgian waffles will seem too corny in a couple of months.

During this “transition” period, try to be outdoors more, get enough sleep and do without stress (at least as much as possible). In sports, it is desirable to do just what is necessary – after training, there may be too strong a desire to replenish spent carbohydrates.

We have prepared a few points for those seriously thinking about overcoming cravings for sweets.

Eat sweets only until dinner.

If, at first, you find it challenging to give up sweets altogether, make it a rule to eat them only in the first half of the day.

Sweet pancakes for breakfast are less bad for the body than chocolate cake after dinner. Another helpful trick: switch to higher-quality and, therefore, more expensive desserts – you can afford them less often and in smaller quantities (but what a pleasure you will experience!). So if you’re craving a sweet, opt for a small gourmet pastry from a candy store rather than a bag of gingerbread at the supermarket.

Give up sugary drinks.

We unknowingly consume a significant dose of sugar every day – when we drink sweet tea, cappuccino or latte with syrups, Coca-Cola, fruit juices, etc. Dessert wines and liqueurs can be added to the same list. Try to learn to drink coffee and tea without sugar, replace soft drinks with mineral water with lemon and try switching to dry wine. This simple measure will significantly reduce your sugar intake – after a couple of weeks, you will likely notice changes in how you feel, in your figure, and on your face (swelling will go away).

Give up the rituals which are connected with sweets

Often, one eats sweets for a reason, but, for example, during long family tea parties or sit-ups with girlfriends in coffee houses. Many offices have a tradition of going to the cafeteria in the middle of the work day when everyone is sure to buy a chocolate bar, bun or cake for tea or coffee, and this tradition should be discarded.

Train your willpower

Learn to say no to the question, “Would you like a chocolate croissant?” asked by the barista at the coffee shop where you take your coffee to go.

If the vase with sweets is on your desk or near the chair where you watch movies – get rid of it. Make sure that the apartment is no sweets; everyone can. If you have a conflict with the housemates on this issue (some of them are firmly against the rejection of sweets), try to explain why it is essential to you. Arrange for them to eat sweets outside the house so as not to tease you.

Find a hobby to keep your hands busy.

Long, tedious processes that “drag on” and keep distractions at bay can help fight against excess weight—for example, embroidery, knitting or other hobbies.

Eat cereal for breakfast.

Advice that you have heard from your grandmother is relevant. Most often, cravings for sweets are due to a lack of carbohydrates, which we try to compensate for with chocolate or cake. However, a bowl of oatmeal eaten in the morning will solve this problem and provide the body with “complex” carbohydrates, which will be digested long enough.

Try to avoid stress

Often the craving for sweets has a perfectly understandable physiological reason: the sweet taste causes a release of dopamine, which creates a feeling of happiness in humans (at least for a short time). Accordingly, when we feel lonely, anxious, and sad, we reach for sweets and want to brighten our melancholy with a candy bar. In part, this attitude comes from childhood, when a child is rewarded for good behaviour with candy or cake.

Make sure you eat right.

When you’re giving up sweets, your body will especially need support. Try to get the right balance of nutrients:

• Protein;
• fats;
• and carbohydrates.

Try to include as many healthy fats as possible (red fish, avocados, nuts, olives), and eat something protein at every meal, as well as a solid portion of fresh vegetables and greens. It is better to give up factory-made sauces like ketchup and mayonnaise – they contain a lot of sugar, which can “irritate” the body. Instead, try to eat more often, but in small portions, and enjoy new tastes. For example, for dessert (instead of cakes), you can serve a piece of good cheese with walnuts.

Be careful with fruit.

Eating an apple is much better than eating a gingerbread man or a waffle. Still, you should not abuse fruits and compensate for cravings for sweets with them: they also have a lot of sugar (especially bananas and grapes) to achieve the desired effect. Try to eat 1-2 fresh fruits daily: for breakfast and between lunch and dinner. The same can be said about dried fruits: prunes, apricots, and raisins are healthier than candy but also very caloric. Freshly squeezed juice also cannot be called the best friend of the man who wants to give up sweets: it has a lot of sugar, and when you squeeze the juice, the valuable fibre disappears, and in the glass, there is only sugar.

Designate yourself a material incentive

Tales like “I gave up sweets and managed to save for an apartment” evoke scepticism, but looking at the problem from the economic point of view is mesmerising. Indeed you can imagine (at least in general terms!) the amount you spend on sweets daily or weekly. Calculate how much your favourite ice cream, candy bar and box of Belgian chocolates you buy on Fridays costs. Agree that you will save this money in a unique piggy bank and purchase headphones or handbags after a month or 3 months. Psychologically it will be more straightforward: you will understand what you are giving it up for.