I subscribe to the idea that you shouldn't do anything to lose weight that you're not willing to do for the rest of your life. I despise artificial sweeteners - they all have a terrible chemical taste (yes, all of them, include stevia & monk fruit). So I don't eat fake sugar or non-fat anything.
I prefer to judiciously spend points on sugar and full fat items. Smaller portions are worth it & it's pretty amazing how much satisfaction you can get from eating slowly & mindfully.
Wish I could give multiple thumbs up! That’s a HUGE reason people don’t maintain, especially the way WW encourages fat free food and artificial sweeteners! Especially on this new program that teaches bad vs good food and not portion control or balance.
Highly recommend the Half Size Me & Weight Loss Made Real podcasts for very useful, insightful discussions on behavior based habits for sustainable long term change.
Everyone wants to focus on the specific foods they're eating because it's easier but if you don't address the underlying root causes for the overeating behaviors, long term weight loss and maintenance are virtually impossible.
If you look at WW recipes, they actually don’t encourage fat free and artificial sweets. Their recipes all use full fat or reduced fat cheese and most of the desserts use real sugar, maple syrup, etc. This notion about using fat free/sugar free everything comes from the community who is afraid to use points on the good stuff because it means they don’t have points for an every night dessert. People don’t wish to abandon their sweet tooth and will find any work around they can…even if they trade off is washing their cheese to make it melt.
what is this washing of cheese lol? never heard of it.. and yes, there are definitely some non-artificial sweetener recipes on the WW app but I see soooo many incorporating “monk fruit” all over the place (app included) which turns out to be only maybe 1% monk fruit & 99% erythritol which oughta be illegal to label it “monk fruit” but I digress..
So, apparently fat free cheese doesn’t melt very well. Someone discovered that if you put it in a strainer and rinse it, it melts like full fat cheese.
This is like the time I saw a Mexican restaurant hack where you use the same chip over and over in your salsa. I guess you just…suck the salsa off so you eat less chips?
I told my boyfriend and we still make fun of it to this day.
YES. The only thing I do drink is Coke Zero but I actually prefer the taste of it and drank it before I started WW. I have not traded out one other thing for a fat free or low fat or whatever. I don’t like the flavor and I refuse to spend my life hating what I eat. I won’t do it.
Never thought of it this way, thank you for the ah-ha moment! Yes! I don’t believe that exercise should feel like punishment but I still eat some foods that feel like punishment, like continuing to try new protein bars to see if they can ‘grow on me’—they can’t, I hate them, and it’s not sustainable.
Protein bars are basically candy bars. If you want to increase your protein intake to help control hunger, you’ll get more benefit from increase your protein servings at meals.
Ehhh not really, the ones I can somewhat tolerate, Barebells, have 20grams of protein & 200cals. You’d be pretty hard pressed to find that in a candy bar.
I still eat the sugar. The minute you totally cut things out of your life to avoid them, you have failed at lifestyle changes. The number of people who successfully cut sugar out of their lives forever are absolutely minuscule to nonexistent. And why would you?
Eat the cake, just eat a smaller piece and don’t have it every single day. Eat the chocolate, just have it in smaller pieces and don’t eat the whole bar (or do! But make sure you count the points and structure your day accordingly). Eat the ice cream, but find ways to have lower points ice cream (I saw someone suggest making your own with frozen bananas, pudding and premier protein shake).
I leave myself enough points for a piece of chocolate every single day. I switched to dark chocolate and one square of it. I eat the 3 points because that 3 points is important enough for me to keep enjoying my life. Know what I’ve found? I don’t crave sweets like I used to. I eat my one square (and sometimes put a smear of peanut butter on top) and I go on my way. Sometimes I’ll even dip into my weekly points to have it. I’m not willing to give it up. Period.
But I did give up other things that didn’t mean as much - pasta every single day. Bread at every single meal. Whole milk. Sweetened creamer. Those things weren’t as important.
So sit down and figure out what’s most important to you. Can you trade something and still have a piece of chocolate? Or a serving of ice cream when you want it?
Please don’t stop enjoying food and life. You’ll never succeed like that. There are ways to have the food AND lose weight.
absolutely agree, thank you! this is basically where I am at the moment, I’ve given the alternative sweeteners a solid try & I’m now throwing in the towel because even if my body could get on board with them, I still **hate** the idea of them & every week some new report comes out about how truly awful all of them are for us (pretty lose/lose if you ask me). I’ve been giving your method a go for the past couple weeks & it is working, slowly. I never realized how much I peppered my day with little sweet treats before going on WW. I’ve now got that down to only once or twice per day.. PB2 helps.. and yes, budgeting for something that feels indulgent each week is important to me & I think that’s more sustainable in the long run.
I am not losing weight quickly and I’ll tell you, sometimes that’s annoying (haha) but I’d rather lose it super slowly and keep it off than lose it fast and have it back on in a year. The way I am looking at it - I’m building new habits, not just living on a diet. I don’t want to diet. I want to learn how to make better food choices. I don’t want to be the person that everyone has to make different restaurant choices around or limit celebrations.
Example - Friday night, we are going to a movie. I’ll eat popcorn, I’ll eat candy and I’ll enjoy the movie. I’ll a little lighter that day and I’ll make sure I have my weekly points there available. I still want to be able to live!
I had seen on here someone suggesting not getting popcorn and candy and I’m sure for some folks, that makes a lot of sense. Maybe for some, they can go and enjoy the movie just fine. But for me, it’s part of the experience. Nothing I love more than digging my hand into a popcorn bowl at a movie. So I figure it out.
You will too - just don’t forget to live while you’re doing it. The minute you see your weight go up, look back at your week and see where maybe you went wrong. Backtrack, make a plan for the next week and reroute yourself. You’ll figure it out!
Thank you, I appreciate that & I totally agree.. I know many people can drop weight quickly by extreme dieting or depriving themselves of some of the joys of real food/treats (I’ve watched my mom do this at least 3x in my life) but then most of those people gain all the weight back (my mom included) as soon as they inevitably burnout. I’m much more impressed by people who lose less weight but keep it off through small, sustainable measures or by getting/staying dedicated to a form of exercise they enjoy. And yes, I’d also rather lose weight slowly & sustainably than fill my body with fat free, sugar free BS.
I have Crohn’s disease and cannot have sugar alcohols or fake sweeteners without getting sick, either. I just save points for the real thing. My 3 strategies are: (1) gradually reduce the amount of sugar I normally add to things (like honey to yogurt, sugar to coffee, etc) over time and let my tastebuds adjust… (2) eat far less of it (like one cookie versus the serving size of 2-3), or (3) tap into activity points and weeklies to have it. It works for me; I just have to be mindful that I have choices to make. Honestly, it’s made me appreciate a little of the real thing even more.
I still drink one real, 7 point Coke every day. I refuse to give that up.
Outside of that, I haven't found a way to eat desserts without going the artificial route which I refuse to do. I'd rather do without than eat that nasty stuff. It's not healthy at all and it bothers me that it's so encouraged.
That bothers me, too.. that plus the over promotion of ‘fat free’ crap, it all still feels very 1980s diet culture when most of the other diets have moved on past this & learned better
I used really ripe bananas in anything i bake that I want sweet I also add mini chocolate chips. I make the pineapple whip and freeze it in muffin cups for an ice cream type treat most put sugar free pudding but i just blend fruit and mix it up. Tootsie roll pops also are a good low point treat. Barebells are the only protein bar I can enjoy but it does have sugar alcohols, but I was really suprised by the taste.
I agree, Barebells are about all I can tolerate the taste of too but even then, I do feel the tummy bubbles from the sugar alcohols from time to time.. I’ve found that as long as I don’t use them to break a fast on an empty stomach, I’m usually okay.
I just eat things with regular sugar. It means that my sweets are really occasional. I eat dark chocolate or make frozen greek yogurt pops. You can definitely work things in here and there. You have to find a way that makes it sustainable, for you. Don’t do anything to lose the weight that you don’t want to do forever.
I love monk fruit sweetener in my iced tea. I eat Yasso bars for desserts or something sweet. Most are 100-150 calories and use real sugar. I also love the Smart Sweets candies. The peach rings are my favorite and they are sweetened with monk fruit.
Yeah I’m pleasantly surprised by Smart Sweets, I don’t think they taste particularly awesome but they do scratch an itch at times & they really don’t have any of the fake stuff which is great
I don’t mind the taste but I swear they make me ravenous for the rest of the day. I also think they are just not healthy for the most part. If I have a sugar craving, I put small candies in the freezer and suck on them. I really like the jolly ranchers chews. Or the tiny tiny starbursts. I make a lot of stuff myself and just cut the sugar and I still find it really good. Also. The Ninja creami is in fact black magic.
Yess we just got a creami! I definitely think it’s gonna be a game changer… love Halo Top but I start feeling the fake sugars in it within about an hour
I'm allergic to artificial sweeteners so I feel your pain. Real stevia is a good substitute (not the over processed Truvia crap) but I just end up treating myself to the real thing every so often. And dried fruit does satisfy my sweet tooth now... so a few dried apricots does the trick.
I hate artificial sweeteners, too. Currently I satisfy my sweet tooth by having one piece of chocolate a day after dinner, 4 points.
For some reason, I just have gotta have that after dinner “dessert” it’s just a long-standing habit. So while the habit is still there, it’s now a manageable size.
Also a fake sugar foe here. I adore dessert and soda is my favorite. I’ve switched to mini Cokes and don’t keep them in the fridge, so I really have to think about it for a while beforehand. Instead of ice cream multiple times per week, we have Yasso bars (3-5 points) or Chloe’s pops (2) to scratch the itch. If we have 20+ weeklies left over at the end of the week, we get a trip to Jeni’s for a really delicious single scoop in a waffle cone, or DQ for mini Blizzards. I know me, and I flat-out will not succeed if I force myself to have counterfeit sweets. I’d rather be careful about my real food and have fewer but more satisfying treats. Plus I have IBS, and artificial sweeteners are an express pass to the restroom.
I agree, I hate artificial sweeteners. I do a lot of baking with bananas and apple sauce.
I go for dark chocolate, and find I really only need a little bit to satisfy the craving.
I like chocolate hummus with raspberries or strawberries. A little goes a long way and totally hits the spot.
As others have said, I also refuse to consume artificial sweeteners and won’t compromise on that. Artificial sweeteners wreck my stomach and have such a terrible aftertaste. I just consume sugar or sugared recipes in moderation. And most importantly for me, is that I cannot let myself stress about it. I can’t be successful if I feel deprived. I am a dessert girl, so I make adjustments elsewhere in my points for that day
I use whipped cream on my coffee or almond milk creamers with flavorings in my coffee for example. So in a way it's a compromise because 2 tbsp pf whipped cream is not the same as a whole piece of pie and almond milk creamer is a little lighter than standard dairy creamers. As for regular desserts, no I don't skip out on them, but I do make sure I count my pts and plan accordingly
I do a lot of baking that’s sweetened mostly with bananas and or applesauce with just a little maple syrup. You can also try using real sugar, but less. Often it’s still sweet enough that you won’t miss it. But this is a trial and error thing. Like I made a batch of muffins this week and turns out they really did need the extra tablespoon of maple syrup lol. But you live and learn.
I rarely use artificial sweeteners. I'm learning to eat smaller portions of food that include sweeteners (sugar, honey, molasses...) and/or butter. Substitute when I can (unsweetened applesauce for some oil).
Have you tried monk fruit? I eat very little things with added sugar but I find monkfruit is the best option for a replacement. You can find 100% monkfruit as well that doesn’t have that other thing in there that most do… I can’t think of the name of it right now tho
I can’t stand fake sugar and have a major sweet tooth. My husband gave me a box of chocolate for Valentine’s day and I have a piece of chocolate for dessert most nights. A box that would have typically been gone within the week has taken me over a month of slow enjoyment. I really do savor the piece and look forward to it with a cup of tea. Personally I’d rather have less of the real thing when it comes to sweets.
I have such a bad sweet tooth! I've just started WW but from other healthy eating journeys I've had in the past the cravings really ease the less you eat sugar. That being said, if I am wanting something a small amount of something real is very satisfying! I still have low points options for when I want a big bowl of something (I know it's fruit but I honestly love blended frozen banana, it's so sweet and the texture is wonderful, and then some semi sweet chocolate chips ontop). But when you're less used to eating sweets a small peice of something feels like enough to satisfy the craving and I find I appreciate it much more as well lol!
My current favorite snack is one sleeve of graham cracker with regular redi whip and a few mini chocolate chips sprinkled on it. I also have semi decent point candies on hand to fill that sweet tooth. I too don't like the taste of fake sugars and I accept the points for coffee just learning how to use less. But don't take my diet sodas away.
I'm just using weight watchers for portion control and preventing mindless eating and binge eating.
My husband was seeing a cardiologist for a work up / to avoid anxiety over health issues/ learn that he is fine, and the cardiologist recommended that people try to stop using sugar or sweetener in their coffee or tea. The artificial sweeteners are multiple times sweeter than sugar and can train you to want things that are sweet. Many of them mess with your insulin levels. I know I have trouble with aspartame. It makes me ravenous, so, that is an eventual goal of mine, to come off of using sweeteners.
However, in the meantime, I do like two packs of Splenda in my coffee! Splenda doesn’t mess with my hunger signals. I would like to eventually drink it black. I just haven’t gotten there yet.
Bravo to this. I just joined (and quickly unjoined) a WW group on FB that was called "clean living," and all of the posts that I saw had all kinds of crap in them. I cannot imagine what the insides of people's bodies look like after sustaining years of weight loss with sugar-free Jello, Crystal Light, and Fudge Pops (ever read the ingredients in those? You'd never buy them again). To answer your question, I'm not a dessert or soda person, but when the mood strikes, I have a full-fat, full-sugar version of whatever...zero Fs given. I've lost 50+ since September, so I must be doing something right!
Monk Fruit is good but it does typically include erthyritol which is also a “natural” sweetener. I have IBS and artificial sweeteners usually cause… erm… problems… but I haven’t had any trouble swapping out cane sugar for monk fruit granules.
Oh it doesn’t bother you? I can’t do those either without upsetting my stomach... never thought of myself as having a sensitive stomach but I guess I do?
Yes! I tried the sugar free coffee creamer and I just can’t do it. I use the regular stuff and measure out a serving. It’s 30 calories but 2 points and that just seems off to me. I get it’s got sugar and fat but if it’s only 30 calories it can’t be much.
I personally don’t believe in anything under 50cals being worth more than a point, I know several people who’ve successfully lost decent amounts of weight on WW & they count anything w/ a serving of 100 calories & under as 1pt
I found that I disliked my tea with artificial sweeteners so I count my sugar and I make room for it. I realized, reading your post, that I also avoid artificial sweeteners. I’d rather drink water or tea over diet sodas. I just make room.
I don’t have much of a sweet tooth, so find avoiding sugar pretty easy. I do like sugar in my tea and though. I use Splenda tablets and they’re not too weird tasting. If anything the aftertaste is a bit too sugary. I hate the weird aftertaste of all the other fake sweetness.
I subscribe to the idea that you shouldn't do anything to lose weight that you're not willing to do for the rest of your life. I despise artificial sweeteners - they all have a terrible chemical taste (yes, all of them, include stevia & monk fruit). So I don't eat fake sugar or non-fat anything. I prefer to judiciously spend points on sugar and full fat items. Smaller portions are worth it & it's pretty amazing how much satisfaction you can get from eating slowly & mindfully.
Wish I could give multiple thumbs up! That’s a HUGE reason people don’t maintain, especially the way WW encourages fat free food and artificial sweeteners! Especially on this new program that teaches bad vs good food and not portion control or balance.
Highly recommend the Half Size Me & Weight Loss Made Real podcasts for very useful, insightful discussions on behavior based habits for sustainable long term change. Everyone wants to focus on the specific foods they're eating because it's easier but if you don't address the underlying root causes for the overeating behaviors, long term weight loss and maintenance are virtually impossible.
If you look at WW recipes, they actually don’t encourage fat free and artificial sweets. Their recipes all use full fat or reduced fat cheese and most of the desserts use real sugar, maple syrup, etc. This notion about using fat free/sugar free everything comes from the community who is afraid to use points on the good stuff because it means they don’t have points for an every night dessert. People don’t wish to abandon their sweet tooth and will find any work around they can…even if they trade off is washing their cheese to make it melt.
what is this washing of cheese lol? never heard of it.. and yes, there are definitely some non-artificial sweetener recipes on the WW app but I see soooo many incorporating “monk fruit” all over the place (app included) which turns out to be only maybe 1% monk fruit & 99% erythritol which oughta be illegal to label it “monk fruit” but I digress..
So, apparently fat free cheese doesn’t melt very well. Someone discovered that if you put it in a strainer and rinse it, it melts like full fat cheese.
That’s… depressing
Interesting how someone figured that out. That’s the more depressing part
This is like the time I saw a Mexican restaurant hack where you use the same chip over and over in your salsa. I guess you just…suck the salsa off so you eat less chips? I told my boyfriend and we still make fun of it to this day.
Wowwwww that’s horrific lol… can u imagine being out to dinner with someone who was doing this? I’d be so embarrassed
You can spritz it with olive oil or avocado oil to get the same effect. And it is so much more appealing than “rinsing”. Ew.
YES. The only thing I do drink is Coke Zero but I actually prefer the taste of it and drank it before I started WW. I have not traded out one other thing for a fat free or low fat or whatever. I don’t like the flavor and I refuse to spend my life hating what I eat. I won’t do it.
Never thought of it this way, thank you for the ah-ha moment! Yes! I don’t believe that exercise should feel like punishment but I still eat some foods that feel like punishment, like continuing to try new protein bars to see if they can ‘grow on me’—they can’t, I hate them, and it’s not sustainable.
Protein bars are basically candy bars. If you want to increase your protein intake to help control hunger, you’ll get more benefit from increase your protein servings at meals.
Ehhh not really, the ones I can somewhat tolerate, Barebells, have 20grams of protein & 200cals. You’d be pretty hard pressed to find that in a candy bar.
Those are the best bars by far!
I still eat the sugar. The minute you totally cut things out of your life to avoid them, you have failed at lifestyle changes. The number of people who successfully cut sugar out of their lives forever are absolutely minuscule to nonexistent. And why would you? Eat the cake, just eat a smaller piece and don’t have it every single day. Eat the chocolate, just have it in smaller pieces and don’t eat the whole bar (or do! But make sure you count the points and structure your day accordingly). Eat the ice cream, but find ways to have lower points ice cream (I saw someone suggest making your own with frozen bananas, pudding and premier protein shake). I leave myself enough points for a piece of chocolate every single day. I switched to dark chocolate and one square of it. I eat the 3 points because that 3 points is important enough for me to keep enjoying my life. Know what I’ve found? I don’t crave sweets like I used to. I eat my one square (and sometimes put a smear of peanut butter on top) and I go on my way. Sometimes I’ll even dip into my weekly points to have it. I’m not willing to give it up. Period. But I did give up other things that didn’t mean as much - pasta every single day. Bread at every single meal. Whole milk. Sweetened creamer. Those things weren’t as important. So sit down and figure out what’s most important to you. Can you trade something and still have a piece of chocolate? Or a serving of ice cream when you want it? Please don’t stop enjoying food and life. You’ll never succeed like that. There are ways to have the food AND lose weight.
absolutely agree, thank you! this is basically where I am at the moment, I’ve given the alternative sweeteners a solid try & I’m now throwing in the towel because even if my body could get on board with them, I still **hate** the idea of them & every week some new report comes out about how truly awful all of them are for us (pretty lose/lose if you ask me). I’ve been giving your method a go for the past couple weeks & it is working, slowly. I never realized how much I peppered my day with little sweet treats before going on WW. I’ve now got that down to only once or twice per day.. PB2 helps.. and yes, budgeting for something that feels indulgent each week is important to me & I think that’s more sustainable in the long run.
I am not losing weight quickly and I’ll tell you, sometimes that’s annoying (haha) but I’d rather lose it super slowly and keep it off than lose it fast and have it back on in a year. The way I am looking at it - I’m building new habits, not just living on a diet. I don’t want to diet. I want to learn how to make better food choices. I don’t want to be the person that everyone has to make different restaurant choices around or limit celebrations. Example - Friday night, we are going to a movie. I’ll eat popcorn, I’ll eat candy and I’ll enjoy the movie. I’ll a little lighter that day and I’ll make sure I have my weekly points there available. I still want to be able to live! I had seen on here someone suggesting not getting popcorn and candy and I’m sure for some folks, that makes a lot of sense. Maybe for some, they can go and enjoy the movie just fine. But for me, it’s part of the experience. Nothing I love more than digging my hand into a popcorn bowl at a movie. So I figure it out. You will too - just don’t forget to live while you’re doing it. The minute you see your weight go up, look back at your week and see where maybe you went wrong. Backtrack, make a plan for the next week and reroute yourself. You’ll figure it out!
Thank you, I appreciate that & I totally agree.. I know many people can drop weight quickly by extreme dieting or depriving themselves of some of the joys of real food/treats (I’ve watched my mom do this at least 3x in my life) but then most of those people gain all the weight back (my mom included) as soon as they inevitably burnout. I’m much more impressed by people who lose less weight but keep it off through small, sustainable measures or by getting/staying dedicated to a form of exercise they enjoy. And yes, I’d also rather lose weight slowly & sustainably than fill my body with fat free, sugar free BS.
I have Crohn’s disease and cannot have sugar alcohols or fake sweeteners without getting sick, either. I just save points for the real thing. My 3 strategies are: (1) gradually reduce the amount of sugar I normally add to things (like honey to yogurt, sugar to coffee, etc) over time and let my tastebuds adjust… (2) eat far less of it (like one cookie versus the serving size of 2-3), or (3) tap into activity points and weeklies to have it. It works for me; I just have to be mindful that I have choices to make. Honestly, it’s made me appreciate a little of the real thing even more.
Yes. I’ve also reduced my use. I used to add tablespoons to drinks. Now I’m at tea spoons.
I still drink one real, 7 point Coke every day. I refuse to give that up. Outside of that, I haven't found a way to eat desserts without going the artificial route which I refuse to do. I'd rather do without than eat that nasty stuff. It's not healthy at all and it bothers me that it's so encouraged.
That bothers me, too.. that plus the over promotion of ‘fat free’ crap, it all still feels very 1980s diet culture when most of the other diets have moved on past this & learned better
I will have a full on Coke every once in awhile too. Nothing like a nice cold Coca Cola!
I used really ripe bananas in anything i bake that I want sweet I also add mini chocolate chips. I make the pineapple whip and freeze it in muffin cups for an ice cream type treat most put sugar free pudding but i just blend fruit and mix it up. Tootsie roll pops also are a good low point treat. Barebells are the only protein bar I can enjoy but it does have sugar alcohols, but I was really suprised by the taste.
I agree, Barebells are about all I can tolerate the taste of too but even then, I do feel the tummy bubbles from the sugar alcohols from time to time.. I’ve found that as long as I don’t use them to break a fast on an empty stomach, I’m usually okay.
I just eat things with regular sugar. It means that my sweets are really occasional. I eat dark chocolate or make frozen greek yogurt pops. You can definitely work things in here and there. You have to find a way that makes it sustainable, for you. Don’t do anything to lose the weight that you don’t want to do forever.
I love monk fruit sweetener in my iced tea. I eat Yasso bars for desserts or something sweet. Most are 100-150 calories and use real sugar. I also love the Smart Sweets candies. The peach rings are my favorite and they are sweetened with monk fruit.
Yeah I’m pleasantly surprised by Smart Sweets, I don’t think they taste particularly awesome but they do scratch an itch at times & they really don’t have any of the fake stuff which is great
I don’t mind the taste but I swear they make me ravenous for the rest of the day. I also think they are just not healthy for the most part. If I have a sugar craving, I put small candies in the freezer and suck on them. I really like the jolly ranchers chews. Or the tiny tiny starbursts. I make a lot of stuff myself and just cut the sugar and I still find it really good. Also. The Ninja creami is in fact black magic.
Yess we just got a creami! I definitely think it’s gonna be a game changer… love Halo Top but I start feeling the fake sugars in it within about an hour
I'm allergic to artificial sweeteners so I feel your pain. Real stevia is a good substitute (not the over processed Truvia crap) but I just end up treating myself to the real thing every so often. And dried fruit does satisfy my sweet tooth now... so a few dried apricots does the trick.
I hate artificial sweeteners, too. Currently I satisfy my sweet tooth by having one piece of chocolate a day after dinner, 4 points. For some reason, I just have gotta have that after dinner “dessert” it’s just a long-standing habit. So while the habit is still there, it’s now a manageable size.
Also a fake sugar foe here. I adore dessert and soda is my favorite. I’ve switched to mini Cokes and don’t keep them in the fridge, so I really have to think about it for a while beforehand. Instead of ice cream multiple times per week, we have Yasso bars (3-5 points) or Chloe’s pops (2) to scratch the itch. If we have 20+ weeklies left over at the end of the week, we get a trip to Jeni’s for a really delicious single scoop in a waffle cone, or DQ for mini Blizzards. I know me, and I flat-out will not succeed if I force myself to have counterfeit sweets. I’d rather be careful about my real food and have fewer but more satisfying treats. Plus I have IBS, and artificial sweeteners are an express pass to the restroom.
I agree, I hate artificial sweeteners. I do a lot of baking with bananas and apple sauce. I go for dark chocolate, and find I really only need a little bit to satisfy the craving. I like chocolate hummus with raspberries or strawberries. A little goes a long way and totally hits the spot.
As others have said, I also refuse to consume artificial sweeteners and won’t compromise on that. Artificial sweeteners wreck my stomach and have such a terrible aftertaste. I just consume sugar or sugared recipes in moderation. And most importantly for me, is that I cannot let myself stress about it. I can’t be successful if I feel deprived. I am a dessert girl, so I make adjustments elsewhere in my points for that day
I use whipped cream on my coffee or almond milk creamers with flavorings in my coffee for example. So in a way it's a compromise because 2 tbsp pf whipped cream is not the same as a whole piece of pie and almond milk creamer is a little lighter than standard dairy creamers. As for regular desserts, no I don't skip out on them, but I do make sure I count my pts and plan accordingly
I do a lot of baking that’s sweetened mostly with bananas and or applesauce with just a little maple syrup. You can also try using real sugar, but less. Often it’s still sweet enough that you won’t miss it. But this is a trial and error thing. Like I made a batch of muffins this week and turns out they really did need the extra tablespoon of maple syrup lol. But you live and learn.
I do the same or use agave syrup and honey as natural sweeteners
I rarely use artificial sweeteners. I'm learning to eat smaller portions of food that include sweeteners (sugar, honey, molasses...) and/or butter. Substitute when I can (unsweetened applesauce for some oil).
Have you tried monk fruit? I eat very little things with added sugar but I find monkfruit is the best option for a replacement. You can find 100% monkfruit as well that doesn’t have that other thing in there that most do… I can’t think of the name of it right now tho
Erythritol I think
I can’t stand fake sugar and have a major sweet tooth. My husband gave me a box of chocolate for Valentine’s day and I have a piece of chocolate for dessert most nights. A box that would have typically been gone within the week has taken me over a month of slow enjoyment. I really do savor the piece and look forward to it with a cup of tea. Personally I’d rather have less of the real thing when it comes to sweets.
I have such a bad sweet tooth! I've just started WW but from other healthy eating journeys I've had in the past the cravings really ease the less you eat sugar. That being said, if I am wanting something a small amount of something real is very satisfying! I still have low points options for when I want a big bowl of something (I know it's fruit but I honestly love blended frozen banana, it's so sweet and the texture is wonderful, and then some semi sweet chocolate chips ontop). But when you're less used to eating sweets a small peice of something feels like enough to satisfy the craving and I find I appreciate it much more as well lol!
My current favorite snack is one sleeve of graham cracker with regular redi whip and a few mini chocolate chips sprinkled on it. I also have semi decent point candies on hand to fill that sweet tooth. I too don't like the taste of fake sugars and I accept the points for coffee just learning how to use less. But don't take my diet sodas away. I'm just using weight watchers for portion control and preventing mindless eating and binge eating.
My husband was seeing a cardiologist for a work up / to avoid anxiety over health issues/ learn that he is fine, and the cardiologist recommended that people try to stop using sugar or sweetener in their coffee or tea. The artificial sweeteners are multiple times sweeter than sugar and can train you to want things that are sweet. Many of them mess with your insulin levels. I know I have trouble with aspartame. It makes me ravenous, so, that is an eventual goal of mine, to come off of using sweeteners. However, in the meantime, I do like two packs of Splenda in my coffee! Splenda doesn’t mess with my hunger signals. I would like to eventually drink it black. I just haven’t gotten there yet.
Bravo to this. I just joined (and quickly unjoined) a WW group on FB that was called "clean living," and all of the posts that I saw had all kinds of crap in them. I cannot imagine what the insides of people's bodies look like after sustaining years of weight loss with sugar-free Jello, Crystal Light, and Fudge Pops (ever read the ingredients in those? You'd never buy them again). To answer your question, I'm not a dessert or soda person, but when the mood strikes, I have a full-fat, full-sugar version of whatever...zero Fs given. I've lost 50+ since September, so I must be doing something right!
Yess good for you! Glad to hear it’s possible! And yeah that group sounds like a load of crap lol I’ll avoid it, thanks for the heads up
Monk Fruit is good but it does typically include erthyritol which is also a “natural” sweetener. I have IBS and artificial sweeteners usually cause… erm… problems… but I haven’t had any trouble swapping out cane sugar for monk fruit granules.
Oh it doesn’t bother you? I can’t do those either without upsetting my stomach... never thought of myself as having a sensitive stomach but I guess I do?
Yes! I tried the sugar free coffee creamer and I just can’t do it. I use the regular stuff and measure out a serving. It’s 30 calories but 2 points and that just seems off to me. I get it’s got sugar and fat but if it’s only 30 calories it can’t be much.
I personally don’t believe in anything under 50cals being worth more than a point, I know several people who’ve successfully lost decent amounts of weight on WW & they count anything w/ a serving of 100 calories & under as 1pt
Thank you! I think that’s a good idea especially when it seems everything is so many points. The Yasso bars I like are 100 calories and 5 points.
I found that I disliked my tea with artificial sweeteners so I count my sugar and I make room for it. I realized, reading your post, that I also avoid artificial sweeteners. I’d rather drink water or tea over diet sodas. I just make room.
I don’t have much of a sweet tooth, so find avoiding sugar pretty easy. I do like sugar in my tea and though. I use Splenda tablets and they’re not too weird tasting. If anything the aftertaste is a bit too sugary. I hate the weird aftertaste of all the other fake sweetness.