Ideas for a no carb snack to ease sugar cravings

I have just started the 12 week challenge at the gym and i'm under a strict meal plan. I'm finding it...ok! It's hard to deal with mentally more than anything. I haven't dieted or been strict with what I eat in a looong time and it's kinda messing with my head!

The food is fine and the i'm always full which is good but in the evenings I am craving SUGAR!!!! After dinner i'm not allowed any carbs, I am allowed yoghurt but i'm already over it! I used to have an ice block in the evening but now i'm not allowed :(

Does anyone have any good ideas for any low-sugar snacks I can eat?

TIA :hug:

I found when I was cutting out carb that the sugarfree lollies helped alot (Double D were pretty good), they helped with that want for something sweet. Downside is that too many can have laxative effect and of course there are the additives/artificial sweetners to deal with. Can you eat strawberries? Berries are pretty good on the carb scale so long as you aren't eating huge amounts. Cut out caffiene if you can, it makes you crave sweet things more, downside it that you then go through both carb and caffiene withdrawal at the same time.

Took me 3 days of grouchiness, headaches etc and then I finally felt great with no craving for sweet things.

I used to have a cup of tea when I wanted something sweet.

Herbal teas, the sugar free lollies, and the low carb ice cream are all good! There is also sugar free chocolate, but I didn't like it much! :lol:

The best ever thing I have found to help with carb/sugar cravings is taking Chromium tablets.
They've worked wonders for me, because at AF time, I used to always crave sugar, but it has eased since taking Chromium.

I am doing the no carbs in the pm thing at the moment and find weight watchers jelly is good as a sweet treat, or peters have an ice cream that has practically no carbs says 'no added sugar' in big letters on the front. best of luck!

Oh great, I didn't think there would be so much! I'm not on a no or low carb diet, but after dinner if I want something else it can't be carbs only 1/2 serve of protein and to be honest I really don't fancy tuna as an after dinner snack!

I really think it's more pcycological than anything else, because I know I can't have it I want it. And i'm finding myself really restless and figity in the evening because I keep thinking of all the things I can't have! Oh roll on Nov 15th lol! I am gonna eat chocolate and get drunk!

I totally don't believe in a low/no carb diet. The first thing to go will be your brain function because the brain relies on glucose in the blood for its food. Sorry.

I think the BEST thing you can do to reduce carb cravings between meals is to eat really good quality very low GI carbs, combined with a lot of veggie bulk, at every meal - physiologically the low GI effect hangs over to the following meal so you eat less and feel more sated. Do this at every meal and you'll be eating less (and not feeling like you're going without) before you know it.

If yoghurts ok, try a low fat custard with some fruit for bulk.

What fruits can you have?
I am doing Cohens which is low carb and I can have oranges, apples, paw paw, mango, apricots, kiwi fruit, peaches, lemon and a few more that I can't think of right now.
I was thinking that you could make yogurt with paw paw or mango (I buy mexican mangos from wollies as they're the only ones in season and I'm not allowed canned or frozen fruit) as an after dinner thing. It is so yummo. I use sprite zero to sweeten the fruit a little more too.

Grated apple sauteed in coconut oil is what my kenisiologist recommended. That is for an anti candida diet that has NO sugar whatsover. Has to be green apples, they are allowed!

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I totally don't believe in a low/no carb diet. The first thing to go will be your brain function because the brain relies on glucose in the blood for its food. Sorry.

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Don't apologise I totally agree. I said i'm NOT on a no or low carb diet! I'm getting enough carbs for the amount of exercise I do, the portions and the amount have been worked out specificly for me. The only time i'm not allowed to have carbs is for a snack in the evening.

I can eat any fruit I want except after dinner.

CQ, that comment was just as much for the other posters in the thread, you mentioned at the beginning no carbs at dinner so I assumed you're still having them throughout the day.

Have you found any of the suggestions helpful? Anyone tried sugar-free or low-carb chocolate? any good?

Bugger, just typed a big message and lost it! Ok, short version of what I was going to post...

Marydean, sorry my previous post came off as rather rude and i'm sorry I didn't mean it to. I am allowed carbs for dinner, just none after dinner :)

Did all my measurements today and I need to lose about 5% body fat so my pt said only protein shake with water for me for an after dinner snack :(

Spoke to a dietician briefly and she said that if something is low sugar they've probably added a lot of fat and if something is low fat they've prob added a lot of suger :doh:

Nuts (small amount), protein drink.

I actually think we eat waaaaay too many carbs. I find on low carbs I function a whole lot better. During the sugar withdrawl of approx 3-4 days I suffer terribly. But after then I am on fire! :hug:
I use the jelly - it's a good sweet treat.

When trying to lose weight I was recommended Aeroplane diet jelly as much as I wanted & a scoop of Peter's sugar-free icecream ... or I'd have no more than 5 sugar-free lollies (there is a range of these lollies at BigW, usually cheaper than the supermarket & sometimes BigW have them special)

... I tried the Chromium tablets for sometime (even took the max amount) & they didn't work for me :rolleyes:

Smiles - yes I use the diet jelly - it really hits the spot when I want something sweet. Suga - prunes are healthy but not suitable on low carb - so I need to wait to hit my goal before I indulge!

I've still got the diet jelly in the cupboard, I keep forgetting about it! Don't you think in this day and age they could come up with half hour setting jelly???

[The food is fine and the i'm always full which is good but in the evenings I am craving SUGAR!!!! After dinner i'm not allowed any carbs, I am allowed yoghurt but i'm already over it! I used to have an ice block in the evening but now i'm not allowed :(

Does anyone have any good ideas for any low-sugar snacks I can eat?

TIA :hug:[/QUOTE]

Hi

I'm currently doing atkins and cannot have any sugar at all. my biggest problem with a diet was always beating those sugar cravings. I have found that chromium tablets help to ease out your blood sugar levels which means you don't have the sugar cravings.

Appart from that there is a really good sugar free dark chocolate bar with mint crisps. It's by "....Well,naturally" and I buy it a Woolworths. And the good thing about this bar is it taste like real chocolate and it doesn't make you "go" if you have to much.

Hope this helps

Ooh, that sounds good, i'll have to look out for that, thanks. I think with the sugar cravings its more psychological than anything else so I don't think the tablets would work!

Keep the suggestions coming :)

I'm currently doing the Tony Ferguson diet and they sell a whole range of suger free chocolates, wafers (savoury and sweet), lollies and jellies. The lollies and jellies I find much cheaper in the supermarket, but DH and I absolutely love the wafers and the chocolate. He loves the praline one and me the white chocolate one. But they have dark, chilli, hazelnut, white, praline, mint, choc waffer(timeout kind of thing) and more. They aren't that cheap, I think $4.95 for a large block, but we looovvveeee them.

Are they high in fat though? Do you have any at home you can look at for me? So you can get them in the supermarket, hmm....:)

Not the choc. I don't think, not that brand but I'm sure there would others you can, I just know these are really yummy

O.K Waffers - per 100g (serving size 2.3g) Fat-23g, Carb-1g So a little high in fat
Chocolate - per 100g (serving size 8g) Fat 32g, Carb-8g. Again a little high.

I think you would be safest with the diet jelly that is 0g fat and 0.07g carb per 100g. So many flavours to choose from too. And with a little of low-fat low-carb (IGA make a great one) vanilla ice-cream, tastes like a Splice ice-cream, ummmmm.......

A Chupa Chup does me.........it is much lower in carbs than a yogurt.

I have avoided the diet jelly (and any of the diet products containing the additives numbers 951 and 950) as these additives seem to really increase my cravings for more sweet things.......

CombatQueen, ... the bags of lollies & wafer choc (& block of choc) that Tony Ferg centres sell you can get them in the Darrell Lea shop :dance:

(blocks are about $4.95 & bars about $2.50)

The bags of lollies you can also get in BigW, .. sometimes they have them on special for about $2.12 to $2.50 a bag ;)

I love the dark choc wafer bar ... yummo :D

Going to the supermarket tomorrow where abouts will I find the diet choc etc??

I tried the white chocolate from Tony Fergusen - Oh Lordy - it's heaven in a packet!!!!!! :lol:

The problem with replacing sugar with artificial sweeteners is that you'll never get over the cravings; artificial sweeteners cause the same chemical activity in the brain as actual sugar, plus there are all the health risks associated with artificial sweeteners. Sorry to be such a downer lol.

I know that's true for some - but I really don't get that desire... It's not the same at least I don't need the carbs iykwim??? When I have a big carb or sugar fix - I crave more and more... Wit the artificial sweetners I don't get that. But maybe I am unusual???

This is a quote from an article in Aus Womens Health

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Food Standards Australia New Zealand established the amount of sugar substitutes you can have over a lifetime without any appreciable health risk. "To reach the Accetable Daily Intake for aspartame someone weighing 70KG would need to consume 2.8g a day - equal to about 20 cans of diet soft drink or more than 100 standard 1g packets of sweetner"

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But it also says a 2004 study in the International Journal of Obesity that when we offer our bodies sweet diet drinks without the KJ's, they crave real sugar even more.

So I suppose that although artificial sweetners have a real place in todays overweight, diabetic society we should always eat things in "moderation".

I agreee Combagt Queen. That's nteresting though... :hug:

Artificial sweeteners do have their place, but I do think they are part of the weight problem these days. I think it is much better to give up soft drink or limit it to occasional, rather than just do a direct swap. If you are drinking a 1.25 litre bottle per day it can't be good no matter what is making it sweet. Just swapping to the artificial or low version of something, does not really address the problems behind a weight problem in the first place.

Artificial sweeteners are a good tool in the transition of changing ones eating habits.

I am so new to this myself, I tried the no sugar peters icecream and I hate to say but it was pretty revolting stuff. I am wondering though (I am not at home right now), the WW choc desserts are low in carbs, I would imagine they are. They are BRILLIANT and even though its WW it tastes rich and like 'naughty' food. I will have to check how high in carbs it is though.

Sorry no definitive advice but I am all ears :)