Question

I am trying to lose weight but crave sweet things all the time and cannot resist them. Can you give me some advice?

Answer

Many people on a diet get hungry but if they are questioned closely, they are often specifically longing for a particular forbidden item of food. It is often wise to compromise between what is a truly acceptable diet and one which will allow some weight loss but will also allow some forbidden foods from time to time. However, you should make sure that you would be able to stop at 1 or 2 sweets.

An alternative way is to keep a diary of when you have your craving for sweets. For example, there may be recurrent domestic situations which tend to precipitate sweet eating in you, and if they could be identified, then you might tackle the situations themselves. You might also benefit from group therapy, which can be provided by many weight watching groups. You will find that often these also provide expert dietary advice, which might help you reach a good compromise between a strict diet and allowing you a few sweets.

Psychologists suggest there are several ways of breaking habits. The first might be to change the craving by focusing on something else. This could be on something within your environment, or by counting. Other techniques might involve relaxation.