One of the principles of any diet and proper nutrition is to avoid sweets, starchy foods and any treats that use sugar and wheat flour in their production. Sweets, cookies, pastries, cakes and pastries - all these sweets are prohibited, because they contain a huge amount of simple carbohydrates, fats and synthetic additives. Eating these high-calorie foods inevitably leads to metabolic disorders, excess weight gain, cellulite and health problems. Giving up sweets and starchy foods is not easy, but perhaps the most important thing is to understand the reason for the craving for unhealthy foods and know what you can replace them with.
- Lollipops
Causes of cravings for sweets
A craving for sweets is comparable to an addiction, but unlike alcohol or gambling, it does not cause condemnation from others. Those with a sweet tooth are ready to give up salty, smoked, fried and any other foods in favor of sweets. There may be several reasons for this attraction:
- genetic inheritance;
- habit of eating stress;
- lack of chromium, magnesium in the body;
- baking, baking, and sweets are perceived as a source of joy and happiness.
To maintain weight, it is enough to observe moderation - no more than 1 serving per day, which should be eaten in the first half of the day.
And note: non-standard ways to replace sweets and starchy foods on a diet!
- Foods high in protein fill you up perfectly and significantly reduce your cravings for sweets. Plus, a lot of energy is spent on digesting protein foods. By burning calories, the body expends calories. This aspect is very important on a diet!
- Mint tea suppresses the feeling of hunger, as well as the desire to eat sweets.
- Psychological techniques! If you cannot give up unhealthy sweets, then before purchasing, be sure to look at the composition and calorie content of the dessert on the packaging! You can also hang posters at home with the figures of the models you aspire to. They definitely don’t allow themselves cakes!
- Fair replacement! If you ate sweets when you were stressed, then find an equivalent product that will bring you pleasure. The main thing is that it fits within the framework of the diet.
- Make sure you work off every piece of cake you eat with a powerful strength training or cardio session. Next time you will think twice before you eat something harmful.
On a note! There is a way to eat sweets and it is quite unusual. Do you want some cake? Eat only undressed and in front of the mirror.
Instead of sweets - fruits and dried fruits
Fresh and dried fruits are the easiest and healthiest option to replace sweets with.
Fruits contain natural sugars that are beneficial to health, as well as minerals and vitamins. Peaches, kiwis, green apples and oranges are rich in sugars. They can replace sweets even while losing weight. It’s great if you add pineapples or grapefruits to your diet, they speed up the fat burning process. Grapes contain a lot of sugar, but it should be eaten in small portions. But a banana will not only replace sweets, but also help you feel full. Pears and apples are ideal for baking, becoming even tastier.
Nutritionists advise eating sweet fruits in the morning. But if you want to eat something tasty in the evening, then an apple or even a banana will be much healthier and less caloric compared to a piece of cake.
You can prepare a wide variety of salads, homemade yoghurts, jelly-like cakes, fresh juices from fruits, or simply enjoy their pristine taste.
Dried fruits contain even more sugar, so you need to eat them in small quantities. They contain useful substances and keep you full for a long time. They have the ability to cleanse the intestines of old foods. It is recommended to eat up to 30 g of dried fruits per day.
Dried fruits are sources of nutrients and help fight various problems. Dried apricots, for example, strengthen the cardiovascular system and help burn excess fat, and raisins strengthen the nervous system. Prunes relieve fatigue, help intestinal function, improve skin condition, and dates charge you with energy and increase performance.
Insulin addiction
Excessive consumption of sweets causes increased insulin production. At this moment we may experience a surge of vitality and energy. But, as with any other addiction, the effect is short-lived: soon the person strives to get a new portion of sugar-containing products.
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As we see, sometimes the body needs sweets quite reasonably, that is, not just like that, but when it really lacks something. Therefore, to satisfy the need, you need to take care of the following things.
- Stimulate serotonin production with healthy foods. Meat, milk, mushrooms, legumes, potatoes and grains can help with this.
- Replenish chromium deficiency. In addition to individual dietary supplements, it is contained in fish, seafood, eggs and broccoli.
- Monitor the intake of healthy carbohydrates into the body.
Thanks to the above actions, we will satisfy the unconscious need for sugar, normalizing the balance of nutrients. But are there any harmless products that can replace sweets to taste and bring not only benefits, but also aesthetic pleasure? The answer is simple: of course there is.
Instead of milk chocolate - dark chocolate
Dark chocolate with a cocoa content of at least 70 percent will not harm your figure in any way. The product contains flavonoids that reduce insulin resistance and regulate the body's consumption of glucose. It has been scientifically proven that insulin resistance provokes weight gain, even obesity.
Eat 50 g of dark chocolate a day to improve your mood, stimulate mental activity and harmonize the nervous system. In addition, it improves intestinal microflora, contains beneficial plant fiber and has anti-anxiety activity, thereby preventing the occurrence of stress.
Dietary confectionery products
The point of switching to diet food is to reduce the level of sugar consumed. To do this, give up simple foods that contain excess glucose. Switch to desserts that use sweeteners and add it to your coffee and tea. When trying to choose something to replace sweet and starchy foods, especially chocolate, you need to look towards dark chocolate.
Some sellers make it with a cocoa composition of 80% or more. Yes, dark chocolate is not so sweet, but it is still tasty and does not harm the figure so much. Pay attention to products labeled dietary, diet, fitness; as a rule, they only use sweeteners, and the calorie content of these products is very low. But you shouldn’t overdo it with such food, because even the safest sweeteners have an impact on your health.
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Instead of cake - marmalade, jelly and marshmallows
These sweets contain no fat and are rich in healthy carbohydrates if prepared correctly. Such delicacies strengthen the immune system and lower cholesterol, and also provide calcium and iodine. You can eat up to 10-20 g of dessert per day, but not more than 3 times a week. In the store, choose the most natural product without chocolate.
Marshmallow
Few people know that marshmallows contain absolutely no fat. It consists of fruit puree, egg white and thickeners: gelatin, pectin, agar-agar. These components help strengthen the immune system, cleanse and improve the functioning of the liver and brain, have a beneficial effect on the structure of nails, hair and joints, and also help improve digestion.
When replacing sweets on a diet with marshmallows, one must not forget about a sense of proportion, since its calorie content is 320 kcal. But it is worth highlighting one undoubted advantage - the airiness and relative lightness of the product. The weight of one piece is approximately 35 g, which corresponds to 100 kcal.
Marmalade, jelly
You can also replace flour products with jelly and marmalade. In addition to berry and fruit purees, these products contain high amounts of gelatin and pectin. There are no fats in the composition. Useful properties are the same as marshmallows.
The caloric content of jelly is 80 kcal per 100 grams of product. Pectin in the jelly cleanses the intestines of stones and toxins, and glycine is effective against damage to cartilage and bones. Marmalade is of natural origin (extracted from apples and other fruits). In addition, it helps normalize liver function and remove accumulated toxins and waste from the body. The marmalade contains vitamin PP, sodium, calcium, phosphorus, iron, magnesium and potassium.
Stevia is a harmless sweetener
To prepare homemade sweets, nutritionists recommend using natural sweeteners, for example, stevioside. It is obtained from the herb stevia, which is often called sugar or honey. Of all the known sweeteners, stevioside is considered the safest. Despite the fact that it is several times sweeter than sugar, even diabetics can use the sweetener.
A natural sugar substitute does not disrupt metabolism and has a beneficial effect on the functioning of the body:
- regulates blood sugar levels;
- helps remove harmful cholesterol and radionuclides;
- calms and restores strength after heavy physical and psycho-emotional stress;
- slows down the aging process;
- reduces rather than blocks the feeling of hunger;
- has antiseptic properties.
Nutritionists recommend using stevioside for making homemade desserts, sweets and other delicacies. If it is not possible to buy a sweetener or filter bags with dried stevia, you can grow the herb in the country and use its leaves and stems in cooking.
A concentrated infusion, which can be stored in the refrigerator for up to 7 days, is best suited for these purposes. To prepare it, you will need 20 g of herb, a glass of boiling water and a thermos:
- Pour boiling water over stevia and place in a steam bath.
- After 10 minutes, pour the tea into a thermos and leave for 10-12 hours.
- Pour the infusion into a clean glass jar, straining through a fine strainer, several layers of gauze or a wide bandage.
The sweet concentrate can be added to tea, coffee and compotes to taste, and can be used to sweeten fruit salads, cereals and other dishes.
Synthetic sweeteners should not be eaten. They are harmful to health, since during heat treatment they break down into dangerous compounds, which, when consumed for a long time, provoke a number of serious diseases: allergies, migraines, depression, heart problems and cancer.
Lollipops
Stevia is used in the production of sweets for diabetics and those wishing to lose weight. Almost every supermarket has a confectionery section for this category of people. On store shelves you can see candies with chocolate glaze and lollipops that are completely free of sucrose and fructose.
These sweets will be a great addition to a cup of coffee or tea. Stevia extract gives them the necessary sweetness, and provitamin A (beta-carotene) helps improve immunity and normalize metabolism in the body, which is extremely important when losing weight and eating right.
Instead of cookies - oatmeal cookies or nuts
The cookies we buy at the store contain large amounts of sugar. The only healthy cookie substitute is oatmeal cookies and nuts. Of course, it is better to bake it yourself. Made from oatmeal, oatmeal cookies contain a lot of fiber, which stimulates the digestion process and removes toxins from the intestines.
Nuts are rich in protein, healthy fats, vitamins and minerals, and amino acids, which are essential for brain nutrition and a healthy immune system. But remember that nuts
are very high in calories, and their consumption should be limited to a few kernels per day.
It is recommended to mix dry fruits and nuts to make a vitamin mix. You can also make homemade sweets. To do this, you need to chop different dried fruits, roll them into small balls and roll them in cocoa or coconut. Such a healthy and tasty dessert will not leave anyone indifferent.
Low-calorie homemade baked goods
Low-calorie baked goods can replace sweets on a diet without harming your figure. A properly selected food set will help replace sweets and allow the body to receive the necessary nutrients.
Cookie
During the diet, you can eat biscuits made from bran. It can easily replace your usual sweets and satisfy your hunger.
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Pudding
You can replace sweets on your diet with low-calorie pudding made from zucchini.
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Baked apples
During a diet, it is useful to replace sweet dishes with baked apples, which have high taste and low calorie content.
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Advice! It is best to use firm, sour varieties of apples.
Cheesecake
If you are tired of regular cottage cheese while on a diet, then you should make a diet cheesecake that will delight you with a delicious taste and will not add extra pounds to your figure. The recipe is suitable for daily preparation and will help replace candy. If the apples are sweet, then sugar can be excluded from the composition.
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Fruit bar
If you like fruit juices, try replacing them with fruits and smoothies. Often the juices we buy in the store are fruit-flavored sugar water. Fruit juice has fewer nutrients and is very high in sugar and calories, just like most sugar-sweetened drinks. Therefore, we advise you to replace store-bought juice with a healthy and satisfying smoothie.
Muesli bars with various natural additives from dried fruits should appeal to those with a sweet tooth thanks to the honey they contain. They are sold in pharmacies, because they are a truly dietary product that is not at all harmful to health and perfectly satisfies the craving for sweets.
How not to fail on proper nutrition
Eating breakdowns are often encountered by newcomers to the world of a healthy lifestyle. “Holidays” and good motivation will help you avoid them.
Set aside a few days a month when you can treat yourself to whatever you want, but in reasonable quantities. Thus, you do not set strict prohibitions for yourself, because you always want to break them.
Motivation is 40% of success. It is she who will help you move on when you are close to a breakdown. Psychologists recommend creating a collage with your desires on it. For example, you want to become the owner of a fantastic figure. Find images in magazines of girls or men whose bodies match your desires. Cut them out and paste them onto whatman paper. Place it in the most visible place. One glance will be enough to refuse a piece of cake, replacing it with a healthy product.
Honey
Perhaps it is rightfully considered the main sugar substitute, because sweet dishes prepared with it do not lose their pleasant taste. Moreover, this product is not only tasty, but also healing: it brings cheerfulness, promotes digestion, and preserves youth. Just one teaspoon of the product can briefly save you from cravings for desserts, if you do not have a pronounced allergy. You can also drink tea with honey: it must be warm, not hot, since in boiling water, unfortunately, it loses its beneficial characteristics.
His Majesty the King
The following product cannot be said to replace sweets, and many nutrition experts call it a dietary treat. We're talking about chocolate. Surprised? It is indeed a very useful thing, but only if you have black bitter in your hands.
This type of chocolate has a minimal amount of sugar, and cocoa beans contain substances that stimulate memory, improve mood and give energy. 1/10 of a standard bar (10-15 g) is allowed to be eaten even by those who follow the strictest diet.
Ice cream cup
Creamy ice cream contains protein, which makes it considered a healthy food. Replace confectionery or sweets with 70 grams of this product, just choose a sweet that does not contain dyes - it will bring pleasure and help reduce glucose consumption. The best option is homemade ice cream. You can make it anything, even berry.
Jelly joys
Marmalade is another healthy treat for those who don’t yet know what substitutes for sweets. There is no fat in it, since the deliciousness is prepared on the basis of fruit and berry puree, and some recipes contain agar-agar - a substance containing iodine, which is so beneficial for the liver and thyroid gland.
Which marmalade to choose, chewing or jelly, is a matter of taste, the main thing is quality! Therefore, when purchasing, do not be lazy to turn over the packaging and read the ingredients. First of all, pay attention to the names of the dyes. Natural ones include:
- carmine,
- curcumin,
- beta-carotene;
- chlorophyllin.
If tartrazine and carmoisine are present, it is advisable to refuse the purchase, since these dyes are strong allergens. Remember: high-quality marmalade has a dull tint, while bright jelly treats are most often of artificial origin.
