Craving sweets after lunch

Hello everybody,

I have a question regarding sugar/sweets cravings after lunch, but at first, let me introduce myself .. for better picture.

I'm stay at home mother of two girls - 2,5 year old and 5 months old (breastfed), working out 6 days a week for aprox an hour (sundays of) + 3 stretch sessions in the evenings. I'm feeling ok during my workouts, have enough energy, progressing steadily and recovering well.

My problem seems to be "clean" snacking. To be specific: i eat 3 healthy meals, following the thrive steps. I'm currently at step 8 and so far I didn't have to modify anything. It is the inbetween meals time I have problem to control myself. I can't go without 2 snacks, because breakfast-lunch-dinner are 5-6 hours apart one from another. For midmorning snack I'm having yoghurt with handfull of almonds or wallnuts, which takes me to the lunch with slight feeling of hunger. 

Hour after really generous lunch consisting of some sort of meat, rice or potatoes and big bowl of raw veggies with olive oil, i start to feel painful cravings for something sweet-something unhealthy. Eating healthy snack won't do the trick, i tried that, because I'm not really hungry. Usually, I would struggle for an hour or so, trying to keep my mind and hands bussy, so I don't thing about it, but it only works 2 out of three times.

This means that every third or fourth day I would binge on some sugar crap, and than feel like crap, promise myself i wont do that again, keep the promise for 2-3 day and than same old circle... :-(.

It's really starting to get on my nerves.

I'm gaining fat, nor am i losing any (not my goal anyways). I just want to stop that stupid habit, because i know it's not healthy. 

Any suggestions?

Thx in advance.

small steps is my advice.going from a sweet snack to a healthy one in a hit isn't easy. breaking the sugar habit isn't easy. 

I also crave sweet, often late afternoon. sometimes I give in because it is not a habit for me, to me that craving means I haven't eaten what I should have earlier. Sometimes I don't give in. but the choice makes the difference. I like a bit of dried fruit as my go to, crave something sweet treat...but I have built up to that over time. Sometimes I crave juice....not fruit. Juice. I don't drink it anymore. if I crave it bad enough and all of the other tricks don't work, then 50ml of juice to 150mlish of water does it.

Chai tea sweetened with Xylitol or Stevia is also good. I grind up my own spice mix...a bit more cinnamon.

And using things we associate with sweet too. Cinnamon in coffee if you are a coffee drinker, vanilla in Greek Yoghurt, cinnamon in yoghurt too is good. As an afternoon snack I now like banana with some cinnamon on it. usually post work out. My favourite is milk. Milk with cacao in it. no sweetener for me I find the full cream milk provides enough 'sweetness'. My wife adds xylitol and cinnamon. Protein shakes, smaller ones if you have eaten well already. some protein bars are more like chocolate bars now...I like the low carb ones on occasions.

I could say that I went from sweet to no sweet in days. I didn't. I phased it out, and it took time. I dropped some things quickly, others got phased out some things got substituted in the short term.

I'd have a square of dark choc after a healthy lunch and call it a win if I didn't crave something else. If you still crave, time to look for healthier alternatives and go through the progressions.

Mindfulness meditation too. you need to break the thinking cycle. recognise the thought, acknowledge it and decide to do something about it. which might mean stop buying it. I have 3 kids as well, and we kept that unhealthy stuff in the house 'for the kids'...they don't need it.

You are achieving your goal 2 out of 3 times. That sounds like progress to me. Give yourself credit and be proud of going from 0 to 2. Keep doing what your doing and you'll get there. 

Hi Petra, 

I am sure that Jeff may also chime in here on this.

One of the best things we can do in regards to nutrition is to be kind to ourselves. It sounds as though you are doing a great job on the Thrive program so well done! The attachment of negative emotions to eating is never a positive thing. Sometimes the more you are trying to stop a behaviour the harder it becomes.

The mind can be a funny thing and bringing attention to something even by "thinking" that you don't want to eat something sweet, can have the opposite effect and actually make you constantly think of eating this type of food. You have an awareness of the problem and that is the first step in altering the behaviour. Another helpful thing can be to preplan for your moments of weakness and not have any sugary treats easily available in your house. This can help short circuit the cravings as the effort required to get them e.g. get the kids packed up and then drive to the store, can allow your brain time to process the behaviour.

I too myself have a sugary treat every so often but instead of attaching negative emotions to it, I allow myself to enjoy it and then get back to my healthy eating. It's really not that big of a deal if 95% of what you are doing is on track. Perhaps not allowing this to bother you so much might actually dampen the frequency of the sweet cravings.

Again congratulations with your progress, it sounds like you are doing a great job on the Thrive program.

18 hours ago, Jeff Serven said:

You are achieving your goal 2 out of 3 times. That sounds like progress to me. Give yourself credit and be proud of going from 0 to 2. Keep doing what your doing and you'll get there. 

Thank you for your optimistic perspective :-)

@Darin Phoenix i wish there was a button in my head, which would switch off those negative thinking... overthinking is my problem, i'm aware of that.

But since there is no such button, i quess i have to learn to snack and indulge around it.

Thanks to you too.

@Jared Birbeck

Baby step forward then ;-)

Might give cacao a try. I've always loved it, but haven't drank one in years. And I make some for my daughter from time to time.

Thx

Make sure you're not eating any artificial sweeteners.  They will do that to you.

Make sure you're getting your full complement of water before lunch.  

The longer you go away from sweets, the easier it will get.  Sweets at night will make you crave them the next day.  

Maybe more breakfast fat?

Sweets are for special occasions, not for regular consumption.  It's your kid's birthday?  Have some cake.  It's your coworker's birthday?  fuggedaboudit!

Hi Petra,

I agree with Jeff, you need to give yourself credit for your achievements in Thrive. Changing your eating habits will take time and commitment which is sounds like you are committed to both of these.

Darin had some great points, are there sugary sweets in your home that you have easy access to? 

@Winter Phoenix thanks very much.

Well, in fact there are sugary stuff in our house. I don't buy them (not usually), but we live in two generation house and I can't force my mother in law and my husband to stop buying them when they like them (and can perfectly control themselves and eat them in moderation).

And I spend 2-3 days a week at my parets house, where I have absolutely no control of what is accessible or not.

I simply need to learn how to be around the stuff and not binge in first moment of weakness.

if i may add when i started lately sticking to good healthy eating habits especially with thrive i didnt notice that i wasnt craving for sugar like i was before even when i eat sugary things i just feel its too much sugar (and not too tasty like they were) i buy a can of soda and i cant  finish it at all its like other addiction u wownt feel the craving once u start decreasing it gently and u will feel you will getting stronger with time

@Jared Birbeck

So, I sort of mixed couple of your ideas into little after lunch treat - cappuchino made with full fat milk and cinnamon on top, sometimes plus 10 grams of 92% chocolate (instead of my usual small esspreso)... and that seems to decrease my sugar cravings. It worked for couple of day now, so I hope for the best... :-).

Hi, I'm a bit late on this one, but there are some "sweet" receipts that can be adapted to Thrive if you have imagination! I personally love chocolate and it is my NR.1 choice when it comes to "cheating". I wanted to share with you a receipt that I did yesterday, for example, that perfectly suits for lunch: 

Sweet Potato Brownies!

Ingredients: 

-Sweet Potatoes 

-Banana

-Eggs

-Cocoa Powder

(I don't know the exact measurements as I always cook by feeling) I've put 2.5 fist-sized sweet potatoes, 1.5 mature bananas, 3 eggs, and Cocoa by feeling

Boil sweet potatoes until soft, smash it together with the banana and add the cocoa. At this moment you should have some sort of paste. Beat the eggs and add them to the paste. Put it in cups and to the oven at 180 degrees with a bit of butter for about 20-30 mins (I also did it by feeling). On the side I prepared a kale salad with tomato and vinegar, and for the dressing of the brownie, I took some greek yogurt and a home made berry sauce (simply cook some berries in a bit of water and lemon juice). Voila, you completed your tasks and cheated in a healthy way! 

Starch: Sweet P., Banana, Berries

Protein: Eggs and Greek Yogurt

Fat: Also Eggs and Greek Yogurt, Butter, and olive oil if you wish to add it to your salad

Raw Veggies: Kale Salad with Tomato 

PD: The brownies sometimes end being more of a souffle than a brownie depending on the portion of sweet potato that you add to your receipt, which don't seem to be a problem for me as i could just dig into the cup with a spoon  On the other hand, this mixture is awesome. The point of sweetness it has feels good, as sometimes you just feel so bad after eating something too sweet. The sweetness of the sweet potato and the banana in the brownie, combined with the greek yogurt and some homemade fruit sauce is just awesome. 

Hoped to inspire you guys with this one, the choices are limitless if you have imagination. Taking fruits and sweet potatoes as sweeteners is a great option to cheat-not actually cheating

Love and support to those (like me) chocolate lovers 

Oscar

@Oscar Riaño I m going to try this for sure! I d say apart from cocoa everything else is Thrive approved and after a good workout we can probably manage the carbs of sweet potatos and bananas. Bring more ideas like this!

Just two questions, where do you put the butter, in the cup or in the mix? And can you take a pic for us next time?

Hey team,

On the subject of cheat desserts (aka healthy stuff that feels like a treat) - I made the cheatiest of breakfasts. Actually I feel like it's too much of an indulgence to have it every day ...

* 1/2 cup pumpkin puree * 1/2 avocado * large handful spinach * ~60ml coconut cream * 2 heaped teaspoons of carob powder (is this allowed? I'm only on step 4) * 1/2 tsp cinnamon * 2 scoops collagen or some natural protein powder *~100-150ml coconut water >>> blend all together and eat.

If you want to be fancy and put it on instagram you can decorate with berries or seeds or whatnot. The chocolate goo is thick enough it will hold anything :-D

5 hours ago, Antonio Alías Montoya said:

@Oscar Riaño I m going to try this for sure! I d say apart from cocoa everything else is Thrive approved and after a good workout we can probably manage the carbs of sweet potatos and bananas. Bring more ideas like this!

Just two questions, where do you put the butter, in the cup or in the mix? And can you take a pic for us next time?

Sure Antonio, i'll post a picture next time! I like to put butter in the cup (for the mixture to not stuck) AND in the mix as the end result tends to be more juicy when you add some sort of fat  By the way, I didnt know that cocoa was not approved by Thrive  Is there any topic where you can read it? Or does it come in future tasks? (I'm in task 12) 

Anyway... Saludos desde Eslovenia de un español emigrado!!

Nice recipes everybody, thanks a lot. 

It is almost a 3/4 years since I started this topic and I’m so glad that right now I’m in a completely different place with my sweet cravings - maybe I’ll write about it someday.

I’ve never realised that cocoa is not Thrive approved. Are we talking about unsweetened pure cocoa powder? 

I’m using that couple of times a week ... one teaspoon into my porridge or greek yougurt ... and it´s also essential ingredient of dark chocolate I eat almost everyday.

what is the reasoning behind that, if I may ask?

Yes, I meant unsweetened pure cocoa powder! 

@Oscar Riaño @Petra Kmecová it s not something you should worry a lot, if you like it and don t abuse from it. In the course is never show as one of the approved foods. And only in this forum one can find it s not approved because of its high phytic acid profile. As a general rule, all the not approved food is due to its anti nutrient content. I guess the antinutrient content beats the nutrient content, as it happens with many grains, legumes or cocoa. However this is not explained in detail in Thrive. All this food is not considered BAD, simply not good enough, not optimal. The BAD are refined vegetable oils, sugar and gluten. So in my personal experience these last 3 are the worst for me and I feel bad when I eat them but including 2 meals of legumes in a week or a buckwheat flour pizza from time to time is fine. But you shouldn t eat it when doing the course for the first time and the step ask you to eat only certains food.

Saludos compatriota!

Thank for the explanation @Antonio Alías Montoya. That was new information for me, coz I’ve always percieved dark chocolate as a healthy option.