Over the years I've seen people (that I silently labeled "fanatics") cut the sugar from their diets. Short of being diabetic, I thought they were crazypants, and couldn't imagine ever thinking that way. I once got a favorite teacher a giant hershey kiss for Valentine's Day (cuz that's what you do in elementary school), and she told me she had cut sugar in her diet for a period of time, and now she couldn't have any or she got sick, so she couldn't accept my gift. My fifth-grade self couldn't imagine a worse horror.
Then I found a book on Fibro that has become like my Fibro bible. It addresses the concept of getting yeast in your gut over the years, and sugar makes it worse. It suggests avoiding sugar as much as possible. As I'm trying everything the book says, and making progress (and feeling better!) than I have in 7 years, I'm going with this too.
The book says I can have 1 oz. of dark chocolate every day, in fact the Dr. encourages it! Yes, seriously. There's a lot of good things like antioxidants in dark chocolate, and it's satisfying.
You have to try to keep to 1 oz. a day to keep your calories down, but 1 oz. is actually a lot more than I thought it was: 6 dark chocolate Hershey Kisses, for example! More Good News: sugar-free chocolate is delicious. Can you tell I am a chocoholic? There are many types of suger-free candy I've tried, and literally all the ones I tried are terrible. Except Russell Stover. My very very favorite is peanut butter cups.
Obviously I'm still trying to lose weight, so I try to control myself and not eat a whole bag each day. Actually, most sugar-free products use Splenda or something to sweeten it, and if I have more than one piece my stomach has issues anyway. The point is these definitely work as a fix for me. I also really like the caramel pecan delight ones.
I've never liked hard candy, especially sour, but if that's your thing, there are tons of sugar-free candies out there. I'm sure you can find one that's yummy. Your better option is to eat sour fresh fruit to get that fix (such as grapefruit, lemons, limes, kiwis, blackcurrants, green apples, cranberries, apricots, cherries, etc.) Dry the fruit for a gummy snack. Make lemonade ice cubes, or a smoothie. I found you a recipe for making your own fruit candies; she uses honey, so if you're really trying to cut the sugar, you can use something like Stevia instead - lots of people use that for baking, and you can experiment to see what you like. At any rate, it's fresh, natural, and even honey is better than corn syrup or a bunch of artificial ingredients. If you like it really sour, don't use a sweetener at all!
Speaking of Stevia, I learned there's sugar in my normal diet where I'd never think to look. Obviously brown sugar in my oatmeal was a place to start, so I'm experimenting with Stevia, a little butter, raisins, and cinnamon. To be perfectly honest, I don't like it, lol. I got it to the point where I can eat it (if you experiment with this, use small amounts! It's not a fun process), but it's very different. It's not actually bad, and a lot of people would love it, I'm sure. I just have to get used to the difference after having tons of brown sugar in it.
Now since I put a ton of honey in my tea, I used the Stevia for that, and I like that just fine. I cannot stand tea all by itself, so I'm glad this worked.
I also drink diet hot chocolate and sugar free apple cider a lot. Very tasty, I promise. I talked before about how we pretty much nixed caffeine from our lives, but my husband and I both have a sip or two in the morning and once in a while in the afternoon. Coffee is fine, but not if you just want a sip here and there, and I happen to think coffee tastes terrible. Soda is obviously a sugar trap, but there's some options. If you have diet soda, it usually has aspartame, but a sip here and there isn't a problem. Diet Lipton Citrus Green Tea is also super yummy (yes, even for someone who needs their tea sweetened). The tea is about a dollar at Walmart, and the soda isn't much more.
I also used fruit juice (I always tried to get the 100% juice without the extra fructose anyway, but it still has a lot of natural sugar) to take my medicine with (it's a liquid and tastes horrid by itself), but the book suggested just eat fresh fruit instead. As far as the replacement goes, Sobe Lifewater is delicious, and has no calories or sugar, the carbs and sodium are low, and it has vitamins. It also doesn't use aspartame, which I try to avoid. They're about a dollar at Walmart, and I only need 1/3 with my medicine, so they last pretty long. I also use some along with water in my smoothies. It's a nice change from the water every now and then, as are those water flavoring things like Mio (those have good things like electrolytes, come in generic, cheaper brands, last a long time, have lots of good flavors, and I think some have caffeine. The problem is I don't like the taste as much myself, though my husband loves it. I'd rather have the Sobe's).
"But what about ice cream!?" you ask. I know sometimes you just need some freaking ice cream. There's nothing I've found to satisfy that craving except ice cream. If you wanna go gung-ho and make your own, this recipe shows you how to use honey or maple syrup (including how it actually tastes and a humorous, great article). The problem is that both honey and maple syrup raise your blood sugar levels, and are no help if you're avoiding the yeast/irritable bowel syndrome problem.
On to store-bought, sugar free ice cream. I've had several types, and almost every one is fake tasting and some degree of terrible. I'm pretty tough and can handle very 'healthy' tasting stuff, but it's not my favorite. I finally found Skinny Cow No Sugar Added ice cream sandwiches. Taste: awesome! Now this isn't sugar free, but it's only got 3g of sugar, so I'm in. I'm willing to have less dark chocolate kisses that day and have one of these instead. They're also huge, so you'll probly be happy with half.
There's another life issue here to discuss. My birthday was recently, and I decided long ago that I will always have birthday cake. Period. I want it. I love cake. I don't care how old I am. So I found sugar free cake mix and frosting and made myself (and several neighbors) cupcakes. I was surprised how tasty it turned out! The effect of the Splenda on my stomach limited my intake to only one a day with less frosting than I'd usually gob on, but that's probably not a bad thing lol. I thought this would be fantastic for families with diabetic kids or just a family trying to have less sugar! (I am terrified looking at kid's fruit juice and snacks at the store now). And for the record: my neighbors said it was "delicious", so I'm not lying to you here. : )
Ok so if you're trying to avoid sugar as much as possible, you've got your arsenal for daily living now. If you're just trying to be healthier but not quite this strict, I have good news for you too!
Since Halloween is coming up, some people say all bets are off. Every workplace will have a bowl of candy (of course the good kind that's your favorite) in those little pieces so you don't feel guilty. The staff table will have those cookies with the orange frosting on top, and probably a box of donuts with that orange and black icing. You go to the bank, they'll have a bowl of candy, next to the lollipops they always have. You have to stock up in case you get trick-or-treaters, right? And God help you if your kids bring back the motherload.
Don't Be This Person
Having alternatives handy for yourself makes it possible to say "No" during your day.
- I suggest sipping on that diet hot chocolate or apple cider so you're hydrated, it lasts a long time, you're comforted by the warmth, you get your sweet fix, and it keeps your hands busy.
- Buy candy you don't like.
- When it's over, give away extra candy - not to coworkers! - but to a soup kitchen.
- Don't buy candy at all; instead give away little novelty toys or something. Just don't be the house that gives gum or apples. Come on. This is supposed to be fun.
- Don't buy candy (or pumpkins) a month early. The longer it's sitting around your house, the more will most likely end up in your mouth.
- Keep a diet journal
- Drink lots of water
- Eat normal meals so you're not hungry
I talked before about how I believe you should live life, and if you want a bite of something, do it! The magic key is to keep it to one or two bites. Then your portions are awesome, your craving is satisfied, and you've gotten to enjoy something you don't usually have - seriously, no one ever eats candy corn during the year. I'm pretty sure it doesn't exist at any other time. I'm also looking at you: Starbucks Pumpkin Drinks! (*This is especially useful at holidays like Halloween or Thanksgiving).
Don't Be This Person Either
Make someone share with you. Luckily I have a husband and friends who live in our complex who will eat whatever I give them. Then I get a bite of the cookie, and someone else eats the rest and it doesn't go to waste.
MOVE! I know people drive their kids around to trick-or-treat (especially since we're in Colorado and it decides to snow every year). But you don't have to. Grab and jacket and get walkin'. The kids are going to be vibrating with sugar anyway and you'll want to work some of that out. Since it seems tons of people don't trick-or-treat anymore (for safety, religious, or other reasons), lots of people do a carnival, party, or trunk-or-treating instead. I know a lot of churches have a thing they put together for kids. The point is, the place might have a bouncy castle or something. If there's nothing for adults, then organize a bike ride in your costumes with little LED pumpkin lights on yourselves or something. Kids would love showing off their costumes, you get to see how everyone decorated their houses, and everyone gets some exercise and stays warm.
Be Your Own Cheerleader: One year I was struggling with the holidays and my self-control. At the beginning of the year I literally bought myself a card for each holiday, with a good alternative or portioned treat. This gave me something just for me to look forward to and helped my temptation a lot. The card also reminded me why I wanted to be healthy in the first place and what was important to me. 
When everyone else in your life is on the bandwagon of self-hate, but still making excuses to gobble everything, be the one to encourage yourself and feel good about your choices. 
Choices: This site has a whole list of better choices to make candy-wise. If you're craving ______, then this is better than that. If you do eat candy, may as well make the best choices you can.
"But what if I DO fall off the wagon? What if I fall off so hard it runs me over?" you ask. Ok. You're human. Things happen. Just go get back on. Here is a site with a very-nice-man-coach to help you. He has a lot of good things to say, so check it out. Do it for YOU.
So never fear! You have the tools, you still have many yummy things you can do, and you have the strength. How great would it be to feel good about yourself after this holiday?
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