Please can someone give me some advice. So far my diet has consisted of fruit,nuts,low fat yoghurt, rice cakes,salad, veg, and pasta , but as a manic chocoholic I am avoiding sweets, crisps, junk food,but I don't want to totally cut it out if I will end up craving it and overindulging it, would love to hear what other people do if its a once a week treat buying only one item, or stay away from it as much as possible until I stop wanting those treat.
Any help or tips would be great,.
Hi Loupea,
Speaking personally, I usually have 1 piece (25 grams) of dark chocolate each day after my evening meal, and enjoy it alongside a cup of coffee. I really enjoy it. On the weekends I tend to have a dessert on Friday and Saturday evenings, whereas I would not have dessert at all on weekday evenings. A typical dessert for me on Friday and Saturday might be a fruit crumble with some ice-cream - but I measure out just 50grams of ice-cream. Or I would have some mixed fruit and ice-cream. I also allow myself a packet of crisps on the weekend. I also have a piece of homemade fruit cake (which I make from a recipe that has no added sugar) in the mid afternoon, and have that most days! So I don't feel as if I'm depriving myself of things I enjoy.
Those allowances make me feel I'm not depriving myself, and I thoroughly enjoy them.
I think people vary in terms of what they do, so I would anticipate you'll have a range of responses, but personally I prefer not to feel deprived of things I enjoy.
Hope you're having a great weekend.
Lowcal 
Thank you, I feel if I deprive myself I may be worse off as I'm cutting a lot out at the moment and don't want to end up binging if I am out somewhere so I will set limits and include it then ,thank you.
Sounds like a good plan, Loupea. I would also suggest checking the content of your low fat yoghurt, as some of them can contain lots of sugar. I use Total Greek yoghurt, and actually I choose the 2% fat one, as I've tried various versions of that brand, and I find it really tasty alongside some fruit and seeds. The 0% fat one is also good, but the great thing about that range of yoghurt is that it really doesn't have hardly any sugar in it, and it's delicious.
Can you post the cake recipe. I have family coming and that would be a great help xx
Hi Whyweight123,
Here is my cake recipe (adapted thanks to Hidden 's original version of a cake recipe):
healthunlocked.com/nhsweigh...
Hope you like it.
Lowcal
p.s. There's a lot of great recipe ideas in this thread, which is in the Pinned Posts area:
Hi Lowcal. Could you share that recipe for a fruit cake with no added sugar? I've been reducing the sugar content in my little fruit buns and putting in some chopped Apple instead. But I have to say they taste a bit bland, even with a bit of ginger and spice. Thanks.
I've managed to resist fairly well (although the first week was hard as I love chocolate) but most mornings, I have a little nugget of nutella in my porridge (that I weigh and account for).
I've also got out of the habit of chocolate biscuits, just have plain ones in the house and of course, I account for those too. I might have a couple every couple of days with a cup of tea, and rich tea are nearly half the calories of a digestive. I've found that I'm enjoying these things more now that I don't have the others......
Hi loupea. Sounds like ur doing great but if you've got a sweet tooth healthy eating can be a nightmare. I've stopped having sugar in my tea and coffee but have a bit of honey in my mint tea... yummy. During the days if I need some thing sweet I have a banana, kiwi or some berries, blueberries normally hit the spot. The evenings used to be my nemesis but if I crave I have a muller light corner - toffee yogurts with chocolate balls a personal favourite 😁 my husband loves to eat crisps and I have found some low calorie ones from asda, sweet chilli or sour cream and chive lentil crisps so I can have a packet as well!! If chocolate is needed a good quality dark cocoa bar, one square is enough for a quick fix. I'm making myself hungry ......
I don't think I am as strong willed as the rest of you as I probably couldn't stop at 1 square of chocolate lol, but I have had a lot of blueberries for snacking, but sometimes I just fancy a treat in the evening with a film to relax.
I have a daily Nakd Bar as it has only natural sugars from dates and I sometimes have a treat on weigh-in day, Monday, in the form of a packet of crisps. I also have the occasional Alpro Chocolate Dessert which is a lovely chocolate hit, yum!
thank you, love naked bars and Alpro as my granddaughter is dairy free.
Nakd bars are 140 calories each and the Alpro desserts are 150. I have them memorised, LOL!
Thank you for that, I have just started week 2 of the nhs plan and I have never calorie counted before, I find the app a great help but still finding my feet on what is low cal and what is not but as my partner had a manor cake tonight and shocked me with the calories on an sixth of it at 285 kcals so I had an 80 kcal Rolo mousse instead lol.
I found my love (addiction) of cake was hard to include in my calories and I was thinking about what my weight nurse said at the start. Don't exclude anything your diet won't last 4 weeks if I did... I searched and searched and then found Kiplings French fancies are only 107 kcals each. I have my cake and eat it EVERYDAY xxxxx
I can't have chocs, crisps, etc, in the house as I will eat the whole lot but I do want a bit as a treat so I just buy one pack or bar, etc, when I need to. I always think I can do it, I can do it so I buy a multipack and prove to myself once again that I CAN'T! A little bit occasionally is fine. I had a bag of quavers for 107 calories so it was counted. I guess you just have to know yourself!
I think i will limit what i get no multi packs or storing things in the house lol.
I am a chocoholic and a little makes me want more, so limit it where possible. I do have the odd weight-watchers dessert, or a drizzle of melted chocolate on a pancake with fruit in it.
I do love my puddings so will include these in my calories when I can. I try to use the smaller "healthy living" dessert pots, or bake apples or bananas too.
I never eat crisps and rarely drink alcohol, so my sweet treats are what I allow myself to have.
I have had the occasional proper pudding when out, but try and compensate by long hill walks when that happens!
I don't drink alcohol or do puddings, but I crave chocolate or crisps in the evenings and my friend and I have both hit a tube of pringles before and demolished the whole tube, I love my fruit and veg but I don't want to cut treats altogether then binge on them think I will just have to see if I can have a treat a week or limit my treat kcals.
Look into rice-cakes or recipes for roasted chick-peas! Cup-a-Soups and Fruit Teas. Even a bowl of certain breakfast cereals eaten dry from a mug can provide a lower calorie snack. Alternative "grazing" options are out there....
just been on Pinterest.....wish I hadn't, some great low cal recipes on there.
Curly wurlys are yum but only about 100 cals 😊
Hi!
I'm a massive chocoholic! That is the one thing that can make or break any healthy eating plan. I have a pattern of cutting chocolate out completely, getting to a point where I'm thinking about nothing but chocolate all day every day, having a massive binge and feeling awful because of it. So, I have started giving myself a day per week where I can have chocolate (usually a Saturday for me) and only buy a small bar of chocolate on that day and here's the crucial thing, IF I find that I want it. At first I wanted it every week, now I want chocolate far less than I used to. It means on the days I do want some chocolate I tell myself I have to wait until Saturday, which works for me.
Hope this is helpful
very helpful thank you.
I to have been there. I stopped having any in the house and replaced it with dates. They have a similar texture, I have three a day and it has helped me hope this helps x
I can't have biscuits, cake or any kind of bread in the house or at the office because I will always eat all of it once I start. The sun has never ever set on a pack of biscuits in my house.!! I also still occasionally get cravings in the evenings and I am always going to struggle with overeating impulses.
Two things work for me most of the time.
In the evenings if I get a craving for something sweet I sometimes find that a tiny bit of marmite on something or something sour-sharp like a small piece of feta "works". I have no idea why.
I now aim not to eat between 7pm and 9 am five days a week . This has been super helpful in stopping cravings.
Reading this great thread - I have never yet tried fruit tea must get some in. Thanks DartmoorD.
Gullon biscuits tiny, no eggs or gluten, teh chocolate chip ones only able to eat 2.
Marshmallows they are very sweet so again limit to just 2.
Buy your treat, place in an area where it will take an effort to get it (mine on top of cupboard where I have to get a stool to get them)
Good luck
Wendy
Hi Hidden ,
What a load of brilliant ideas. I am going to put a link back to this for emergencies. So thanks, guys. I am loving Lowcal's fruit cake variations. They look fantastic and meet all my needs as a lovely, lovely thing to eat. I will keep that recipe to treat Mr Flytrap, when he comes off his current low carb phase. I have experimented with fruit purees replacing most of the sugar and fat in cakes/tea breads, over the years. I will try for the umpteenth time to find all my best recipes or re-invent them so I can share. I am beginning to think Mrs Dumpling is my kcal counting twin, if it wasn't for the long walks with the dog. She keeps coming up with tactics just for me. I once answered the question, what does low fat mean on a food label, with the jokey response, it means they've added sugar to keep the product's structure and mouth feel. But looking at labels, it seems I was mostly right. I usually silence the urge for sweet with fruit, but cutting back on carbs at the moment so once a day I am adding milk and a sweetener to my black coffee. I also find berries, sugarfree jelly and a tbsp of full fat Greek yogurt, as a pud in the evenings is enough of a hit most days. So planning a good treat will get me out of trouble as a rule.
I am lucky because I only like 70% or plus dark chocolate or Belgian any type. Yes, like my Ma used to say, the trouble with you, girl, is you have Champagne tastes and a beer income. All the standard UK brands leave me cold and I wouldn't have American in the house. So that is those bullets dodged. For me it's all about the cocoa displacing the sugar as I haven't got a really sweet tooth. So when I started to plan my eating to lose weight, I stopped accepting the occasional sweet/choc we get offered, say when paying the bill. Eg, I realised I have never liked chocolate mint and wasn't prepared to "pay" for it out of my kcal budget. Fortunately it's Flytrap Junior's favourite, so now if I get offered it, he hoovers it up before I can blink. So that's one lesson. Work out what your best chocolate hit is and only eat that or versions of it. Say no thank you or give the rest away. 2nd lesson. Only buy 1 at a time. Then I can have it, if I want, but do I really want to walk all the way to the nearest stockist to get a second? Sometimes no, sometimes yes. But it helps me recognise how much I want it. I do always have an emergency chocolate bar hidden from the rest of the family so there is some when I must have it. But with my memory, that can mean it's hidden from me too! I do try to build think time in, so it is usually a little difficult to get at and often locked away. I like to give myself time so I don't just find it and inhale the whole lot. I am someone who mostly can stop at 1 or 2 squares eaten very slowly with a nice cup of coffee. But there are days, when I would eat the lot and do. I always try to make a ceremony of eating it. No absent minded munching. I also have a little heap of emergency satisfying but very low kcal meals that I swop to on the day any binge happens, or if I can see munchies sweeping towards me. Lesson 3 is if we have to have sweet temptations in the house, make sure they are their favourites and not yours. Lesson 4: packaging is crucial. I only want those that are individually wrapped or portioned. Then I can't just mindlessly reach for the next one and the next one. I have to open a new packet, which mostly tells me to stop.
One of my kcal counting chocoholic chums, who has a bigger allowance than me, always has an options hot chocolate with squirty cream on top and one of her favourite bars as supper, but only as a reward if she has the kcal left in the evening. She says it keeps her on plan all day as all she has to do is think about her evening treat and check any temporary temptation against her planned one. About once a week she doesn't earn it, but the rest of the time, there it is.
Thanks for starting this thread, Loupea, you seem to have a knack of hitting on the big question of the day for all of us. Hope the chocolate isn't singing too loudly in your vicinity this week,
Venus
only had two 80 kcal Rolo mousse this week which is excellent for me lol, but I really didn't think to look at sugar levels on low fat so that's great info for me to keep an eye on.
Thank you so much everyone.x
Really good post, with lots of interesting answers 😊
Just found Hartleys jelly has a trace of sugar,0% fat and is 7 kcals a pot for 175g.
I find with chocolate it's best to go for something small that I can change the amount of, like M&Ms or chocolate buttons. That way I can measure out only enough to fit I with what I have left my allowance. Even if I'm desperate and have nothing left, one chocolate button over won't kill me or really derail any progress! Especially as I get the more expensive, dark kind from a local shop. The price alone means I refrain from going through the bag in one sitting!
As someone else said, anything else I tend to keep in the house is for my stepdaughter, and therefore off limits. Especially as expensive as a lot of gluten free stuff is!
Great idea buying buttons or m&ms so I can share them into portions, thank you for that idea.
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