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I've been able to eliminate cravings for the bad stuff which, for me, has had the same benefit as making the good stuff crave-inducing. To do this I: 1. Eliminated all artificial sweeteners. This meant quitting Diet Coke and using delicious local honey instead of Splenda in my tea. 2. After 2 or 3 weeks of no artificial sweeteners I stopped eating sugary foods. No more candy, doughnuts, cakes, or other sweet baked goods. I still allow myself honey in tea and whole fruit, but no fruit juices. Four months later—and without further dietary changes or the addition of exercise—I've lost more than 30 pounds. I still eat bread, pasta, cheeseburgers, fried chicken, etc. But I eat less because I have less appetite, and I never have a craving for sweet things. A month after quitting sugar I took a bite of crème brûlée to see if my tastes had changed. This dessert, which I had always loved, now seemed so cloying I could barely swallow it. Interestingly, whole fruit now tastes so much better than it ever has, with just the right amount of natural sweetness. More importantly, this relatively slow rate of weight loss feels sustainable. The dietary changes also feel permanent. I'm not on a weight-loss diet, I've made my diet more healthy. My untested hypothesis is that I had been so used to the overwhelming sweetness of artificial sweeteners that my tastes were altered such that I always craved sweet. By eliminating the hyper-sweet stuff, my tastes changed enough that I could more easily take the further step of eliminating refined sugar. I imagine this has resulted in more stable blood sugar levels and a corresponding decrease in cravings and overall appetite. I'd love to hear about others' experiences. |
Not likely, though backing off on the sweets probably did improve your ability to appreciate the broader range of normal sweet. The reduction of cravings is probably more related to stable blood sugar.