Sweet tooth

hey everyone!  I am new to here. I had RNY on 10/3/16.  I am still working through the transitions of getting to regular food. But my big question is...  what can I do about a sweet tooth??? I have had this crazy sweet tooth for about the last 3 weeks that I cannot satisfy. I have ate ice cream, popcycles... all of course sugar free. But I just cannot get rid of this sweet tooth. Any suggestions?? 

I don't mean to be harsh, but I recommend that if you want to get rid of a "sweet tooth", you just get rid of it; i,e, ignore it.  A lot of what you define as a sweet tooth this early on is just psychological.  You can, and will, live without sweets... especially just a month after a VERY expensive and potentially dangerous surgery. 

Look at it this way.  If you can't ignore it now, this early on, where will you be in a year or two when the malabsorption wears off?  Screwed, that is where you will be.  You don't think that after 5+ years I still crave sweets?  Of course I do.  But if I gave in (except on super-special occasions), even with sugar-free treats, I shudder to think of the slipper slope I would enter....

Audrey

Thank you for answering. But to be quite honest you are WAY out of line. I don't expect it to go away right away or even at all. I just wondered if anyone had any suggestions. If I wasn't going to stick to what the surgery entailed I would not have had it. Believe me I know what it costs and I know what I have to do afterward. 

If this place is full full of disrespectful people, I can sure fire find another forum. 

Hi Tarina94,

Welcome to ObesityHelp.com....  When you post you are going to get a mix of answers and personalities as it's the internet.  They were just trying to help.  If you don't want to see a member's post you can utilize our "block" feature.  We hope you stick around and appreciate all the different help and support you can get from here.

Good luck to you

Quiet frankly, I disagree with Audrey. Ignore it-- novel idea-- though if I had the ability to do that I would not have had surgery. I'm 18 months out and still struggle with sweet cravings daily. I don't care if I ate cardboard daily-- I'd still long for a cookie, cake or slice of pie. 

Yea, not giving into every craving is critical- and when you do give in- and you will-, making it reasonable is important. 

Sugar free jello/jello pudding was and are still my go-to. Some have to be careful with the  sugar alcohols they contain-- but they don't bug me. 

I think my ability to have some appropriate protein forward sweet treats has helped me not cave into not so great choices over the years. I have an arsenal of "my food" that I can reach for when craving something sweet (or crunchy or salty or whatever) and I sort of enjoy sharing it with non-ops who think life must be so boring on the other side of WLS ;)

Anyway... everyone must forge their own path... but it's a looooong one, without a finish line and I like having some yummy things along the way ;) 

https://www.pinterest.com/eggface/desserts-weight-loss-surge ry-bariatric-recipes-sug/ 

https://www.pinterest.com/eggface/protein-ice-cream/ 

One I might suggest... http://theworldaccordingtoeggface.blogspot.com/2015/12/holly -jolly-premier-protein-pudding-jars.html ax anything of course not on your OK list (when in doubt print out any recipes and bring to your Nut/RD for thumbs up)

Best to you on your journey,

the only way to get rid of a sweet tooth is cold turkey. As long as you eat sweets you will crave sweets. 

Artificially sweetened items often cause a craving for more of them as well.

I am still early days myself, but I think I fall somewhere in the middle. My goal is to figure out how few carbs I can get away with, and still be a sane person. some of the sweeter stuff I eat, as egg face mentioned, is protein forward.

-chocolate protein shake with pb2 ( it's a powdered peanut flour) sometimes I'll freeze this and have it milk shake style.

-Greek yogurt with a bit of vanilla and truvia added or 1/2 tsp of strawberry preserves and all bran buds. 

-sometimes I add a bit of crystal light or mio to my water

-fruity herbal tea hot or cold.

none of these things might sound delicious haha but they do the trick for me, so far.

the other part of this, is working on behaviour change. For myself, it's learning to see the difference between a habit,  a true craving, or emotional craving.  For example, if I have only eaten meat and veg for x days and start craving something sweet, that makes sense. But, if I'm having a bad day and looking to food for comfort or distraction, that's a craving I try to resist. I do that by coming on here, or looking at wls accounts on instagram, or going through the list of reasons I had surgery in the first place.

good luck! Don't get discouraged.

Some artificial sweeteners give me wicket craving for more. 

Splenda is one of them. Aspartame is another.  SA - sugar alcohols - like in some "sugar free" foods and drinks may also make me crave more carby foods. 

Avoiding most of those really helps me. 

Sweeteners I can tolerate is stevia and saccharine.  Not in huge qty, but I can make a dessert and it would be ok. 

Most protein shakes have splenda and other artificial sweetners and f.avors. I have to avoid that. 

SF gum - have SA and additives that makes me want to have more and more. So I avoid that. 

And last but not least - the internal Candida (yeast infection in the gut) makes me crave sweet foods.

Once my cravings seams out of control - and I also start itching more.(skin) - I treat mine with Rx.  Specialy after antibiotics... 

And yes - I had been tested and it was determined that I do have yeast overgrowth in my intestines...so my gastro don't have a problem prescribing Rx to treat that. 

I avoid sugars and starches and now I need "Candida treatment" maybe once every 6 months or so...or when I take antibiotics. 

Going really low carbs for a few days often helps as much as Rx meds. But it may be a struggle. 

Listen to Hala she is a wealth of information. I think a good probiotic is essential part of our supplement routine...we need good bacteria in this new system of ours...

Yes sometimes we do need to tell our head hunger to 'shut up'...but we are human....

For this stage the best thing I would say is change it up with protein drinks... Lots great recipes out there. Can make protein pudding with SF pudding mix... can even add SF pudding mix to your smoothies- 1 TBSP is a serving. Can Make the smoothie spoonable with less liquid and more ice.... Also SF Syrups. I have Jordan's Skinny Irish Cream syrup every morning in my coffee latte and it is heaven. 1 Cup fairlife milk (Lower carb, higher protein) for me about 16oz coffee, my daily dose of Miralax..LOL... and my syrup. Heaven----

SF Popsicle can help, but I would stay away from SF ice cream... not sure which one it is, but it has to have more calories and little protein... Popsicles may not have protein either, but small calorie sacrifice....