Everyone who is trying to lose weight or switch to proper nutrition is concerned about the same question: “What can I replace sweets with?” It seems easy only at first glance. In fact, getting rid of the banal habit of drinking tea and coffee with sugar is not so easy. Giving up sweets during a diet is the most serious test for those with a sweet tooth.
The lack of a favorite product is perceived as stress, so the question of how to replace sweets on a diet becomes relevant. Moreover, you cannot completely give up carbohydrates. With proper nutrition, sweets are just as appropriate as proteins and fats. But only the “right” treats can replace harmful trans fats, fast carbohydrates and all kinds of aromatic and chemical additives.
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.
Why do people love sweets?
The mechanism of this addiction is quite complex, although at first glance everything seems extremely simple. Every person knows the moments when they especially want something sweet:
- Prolonged bad mood.
- Lean dinner
- Rainy and uncomfortable weather outside.
- Some women often eat sweets during their periods.
Often people eat not only stress, but also free time. For some, this is a great way to solve personal problems or get rid of dissatisfaction with oneself, while some simply don’t want to cook, because it’s easier to drink tea and cake. According to scientific research, there are several reasons why we may experience sweet cravings:
- Depletion of the body's energy reserves
- it is much easier for the body to obtain glucose from simple carbohydrates compared to complex ones.
Severe stress and emotional fatigue
— at such moments the brain needs glucose to suppress stress and function normally, and a deficit of pleasure appears. Under the influence of any stress, physical or psychological, he requires a kind of reward, which is sweetness.
- Habit
- this is the reason people most often forget. Many things in our life gradually become a ritual and this statement is fully true regarding sweets. - Synthesis of serotonin, also known as the hormone of happiness.
- Insulin concentration.
- Synthesis of many hormones.
- Metabolism of fats and protein compounds.
It should be noted that a strong craving for sweets may indicate a deficiency of chromium and magnesium, and sometimes calcium, in the body. Also, do not forget about possible problems with the functioning of the endocrine system, say, with the production of adrenaline. If this is what you suspect, we recommend that you immediately visit a doctor and conduct a full medical examination.
These were the main reasons for the appearance of cravings for sweets, which many people know about. However, there is another one, which is primarily characteristic of women - losing weight. Almost every lady uses various types of dietary nutrition programs. With a calorie deficit and active lipolysis, our psyche requires sweets. It is at these moments that many people want to know how to replace sweets and starchy foods on a diet.
Although today people often talk about the need to give up sugar, in moderation the product can even be beneficial. Here are the main processes that are strongly influenced by simple carbohydrates:
Agree, all this suggests that you should not completely give up sugar. Instead of the expected benefit, this step can cause harm. Increasingly, nutrition experts say there is no need to give up various foods. The only exceptions are fast food and excessively fatty foods.
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.
What sweets can you eat on a diet?
Nutritionists recommend eating fruits instead of sweets and cakes. They contain fructose and various types of complex sugars, which allows them to deceive the body, which is yearning for a cake. However, dietary programs are different and some of them even require giving up fruit. At the same time, in most cases this is allowed and can be an excellent alternative to sweets.
Perhaps someone has encountered the fact that during a long-term strict diet, the body’s reaction to fruits differs from usual. We are not talking about disgust, for example, from apples, but the brain persistently demands sugar. We recommend that you pay attention to fruits such as papaya and pineapple. They are almost always available in our supermarkets.
Let's not forget about bananas and kiwis, although they do not have a pronounced sweet taste. These fruits have a low energy value and can perfectly satisfy hunger. To achieve maximum effect, you can prepare salads from various fruits.
Dried fruits can also be beneficial. Some of them contain more fructose compared to fresh ones. An excellent example here would be dried apricots. If you are looking for something to replace sweets and starchy foods on your diet, then you can pay attention to the protein nutrition program. Although it does not contain sugar, cravings for it will be significantly reduced. Let's not forget that sources of protein compounds most often have excellent taste and this can compensate for the lack of pleasure in the absence of sweet foods.
Many nutritionists recommend drinking mint tea to suppress sugar cravings. Moreover, the decoction should be strong enough and not contain other additives, including green or black tea. You can also think about sugar substitutes. However, today the results of some studies refute the effectiveness of these products during the diet. Despite the seemingly low energy value. Many sweeteners promote a strong release of insulin, which should be avoided on a diet.
Honey may be an excellent answer to the question of how to replace sweets and starchy foods on a diet. Of course, we are talking only about a natural and fresh product. If the honey is candied, it should first be heated in a water bath. Remember that many beneficial substances begin to degrade at temperatures above 50 degrees. Many people are confused by the high energy value of honey, because 100 grams contains 329 calories.
This suggests that it is impossible to get carried away with the product of bees’ labor. To avoid gaining weight and still satisfy your sweet cravings, you can consume only two tablespoons of honey during the day. The only drawback of the product can be considered an allergic reaction. Otherwise, honey is one of the most healthy and nutritious foods. Despite its high energy value, it is completely processed by the digestive system.
Chocolate
Forget about chocolates, truffles and other similar products. During the diet, only dark chocolate is allowed. The higher the content of cocoa beans, the healthier the product will be. Since the energy value of chocolate is quite high, consume no more than 30 grams throughout the day.
Bakery
If you use refined white flour to make homemade baked goods, your body will receive a lot of empty calories. It is quite obvious that this should not be allowed on a diet. If you can’t imagine life without baking, then replace premium flour with corn, rice or buckwheat.
This will allow you to not only continue to enjoy your favorite foods, but also provide your body with many nutrients. Also today, many people use oatmeal to prepare dough. It is quite obvious that you will additionally have to give up refined vegetable oil, margarine and yeast.
Marshmallow
Another diet-allowed delicacy that has a high energy value. However, natural marshmallows are a source of a large number of substances beneficial to the body. First of all, this concerns the extract from agar-agar algae, which is beneficial for the thyroid gland. One marshmallow a day definitely won't hurt you.
Marmalade
Natural marmalade is made from berries and fruits. If you consume a maximum of 25 grams of product per day, you will get only 73 calories. At the same time, marmalade is useful for hair, nail plates and joint-ligamentous apparatus. Carefully study the composition before purchasing marmalade and use one that contains a minimum of artificial colors and other similar additives.
Paste
Halva
Since the product has a high energy value, you can allow yourself one teaspoon per day. This will not only suppress cravings for sweets, but also improve the condition of hair, nail plates, and slow down the aging process.
Fresh berries with fruits
The main advantage of these products is the presence of a large number of micronutrients, as well as plant fibers. However, their energy value is not high. But you shouldn’t overuse berries with fruits either. Eat about 100 grams of food per day.
Nuts
Another high-calorie product that you need to be careful with. You can safely eat several nuts a day. Please note that they should not contain salt, glaze or sugar. We also recommend that you avoid roasted nuts and consume them raw.
Made from natural products, jelly is perfect for those who don’t know how to replace sweets and starchy foods on a diet. Jelly contains a large amount of gelatin, which is made from animal veins. This indicates its benefits for joints, and the energy value of the product is low.
Ice cream
You will probably find it strange that this dessert is on the list of foods allowed during a diet. However, now we are talking about fruit ice cream, but it is better to refuse cream and milk ice cream.
As you can see, even during a diet, you can eat a fairly large amount of tasty sweet foods without fear for your figure. The main thing is not to get carried away and everything will be fine.
Seven tips on how to replace sweets on a diet:
People gain excess weight most often due to excessive consumption of fatty, sweet and starchy foods. If you can give up fat almost painlessly, then it’s hard to part with sweets and baked goods so easily. A person's dependence on these products is not a disease or psychological disorder. We just need fast carbohydrates to improve our mood and trigger a lot of chemical processes in the body. That is why not a single competent nutritionist will tell you that in order to lose weight you need to completely eliminate sweets from your diet. However, it is important to know what exactly can be consumed without harm to the figure, and in what quantities. How to replace sweets and flour when losing weight? We will look at useful analogues that will help you become slimmer.
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.
How to limit and replace sweets for your child
There is an opinion: do not give children treats until they are three years old, and after that, limit their quantity. This is correct, since premature “acquaintance” with sugar leads to:
- to the development of food allergies, diabetes;
- overweight;
- caries;
- sucrose intolerance, galactosemia, lactose intolerance;
- disruption of the functioning of the gastrointestinal tract.
If your child wants some tasty store-bought treats, offer him a small but very tasty snack:
- Add berries, a slice of peach or a slice of pineapple to the warm pancakes.
- Fry a banana in butter until it sizzles, and it will become sweeter than jam.
- Prepare vegetable and fruit casseroles from foods high in sugar (apples, beets, carrots).
- Cinnamon powder will help you sweeten the drink. Mix a pinch of spice with the same amount of vanillin and add to warm milk. The result is a very tasty, and most importantly, healthy drink.
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.
Marmalade for weight loss
Essentially, marmalade is fruit puree plus sugar and gelatin thickener. There is no fat, no starch, and the calorie content is much lower than in other sweets. One ten-gram cube of marmalade contains about 30 kcal.
How much marmalade can you eat per day when losing weight? Two or three pieces in the first half of the day will be enough.
The sugar content and total calorie content of marmalade is approximately the same as that of marshmallows, which means that you can easily alternate these treats.
Try to choose brands that indicate on the packaging that the product contains only natural colors and flavors. Now there are more and more of them.
Let's take, for example, Fruttella marmalade, it comes in bright bags, usually with bears, worms or stripes inside. The composition is more or less natural; natural juice extracts are used as dyes.
A 70-gram package of this marmalade contains approximately 220 kcal. One piece contains 10 kcal. You can easily afford a few things in the morning. It will be much less caloric than a cake with cream.
Of course, if you have a choice, then choose the marmalade that contains less citric acid. The combination of sugar and acid is not the best gift for teeth.
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.
The importance of sweets
Sweets are vital for those losing weight. Even people suffering from diabetes are recommended to consume them. Why is it so important not to completely exclude all treats when correcting your figure? Sweets affect the following processes in the body:
- production of the happiness hormone serotonin;
- blood insulin level;
- production of other hormones;
- fat and protein metabolism.
Therefore, completely giving up sugar can harm the body. How to replace sweets when losing weight? Everything is very simple: you need to learn to distinguish healthy treats from those that spoil your figure.
We will look at what sweets for losing weight you can find in stores or prepare yourself.
