Sometimes I feel like I am doomed to be fat simply because I have a sweeth tooth. I have often lamented, "If only I didn't like ice cream so much." Or M&M's......or Little Debbie's.....or Godiva truffles.....or Dove dark chocolate squares.....or Reeses' Peanut Butter Cups......or....or...or....the list goes on.
But last week I was forced to consider that it is possible, probable even, that I can change my tastes and seriously reign in my desires for sweets. You see, last week while I was away with my family I ate some Raisin Bran for breakfast. My aunt saw me fixing my bowl and said, "Aren't you going to put sugar on that?" I said "No." She was dumbfounded. "You really don't put sugar on your cereal?" I repeated, "No, the raisins make it sweet." She looked at me like I was speaking a foreign language.
I dismissed this conversation and it wasn't until several days later I remembered that growing up we learned to put sugar on any non-sweetened cereal we ate, like Cheerios or Raisin Bran. I had forgotten all about that. I remember how the sugar would sink to the bottom of the bowl and it was like a treat at the end of my breakfast to get to scrape up the soggy sugar sediment at the bottom of my bowl. How could I have forgotten this? And how and why did I stop eating my cereal this way? I don't really remember stopping this habit. But somewhere I did stop. And my tastes changed. Now I can't imagine piling sugar on my Raisin Bran when the raisins make it sweet enough. And I can't imagine Cheerios with sugar either. I like mine with sliced bananas.
So, if I stopped liking added sugar with my cereal, if I actually began to PREFER my cereal without added sugar, well, doesn't that mean it is possible for my taste for an entire pint of Ben & Jerry's to go away too? It's time to stop indulging my every desire for sweets and desserts and start to train my taste buds to prefer healthier foods. Maybe one day my dessert of choice will be the apple rather than the apple pie.
Posts
Dumping Amazon and living a more deliberate life
10 months ago
6 comments:
I forgot i used to put sugar on all my cereal too!!
I definitely believe our tastes can change i use to hate the taste of pure orange juice as it was so sour now i love the pure taste of it!!
A very good point - we CAN retrain ourselves to have better eating habits.
I've found that as I get older, my ability to down an entire box of Godivas or Mint Milanos has disappeared. I still do it, sometimes, but the stomach ache afterwards is kind of rewiring me to not to.
I'm so envious of you, for having the courage to put your struggle with weight out here in the Blogosphere. Myself, I am a lily-livered coward, but you give me hope!
I am the same way, but with salt. I have always salted everything, even crackers and cheese!
However, I have found that lately I am not adding any extra salt to my foods, and I don't even miss it.
So, somewhere along the way I have retrained my taste buds to not require so much salt.
I used to put sugar on my cereal too, but that would totally gross me out now. I much prefer a sliced banana as well.
Keep up the good work, and with time, you will be able to go for longer periods of time without the sugar. Even now, greasy and sweet things make me feel sick because my body is starting to get used to healthier, cleaner foods. That's a GREAT feeling!!! Keep it up!
Hi. I just wanted to say that yes your taste buds will change and you won't crave the sweets.
Like you I use to add sugar to EVERY cereal I ate even if it had sugar! Now like you I prefer fruit instead.
After doing flex for a year and now doing core and losing 50 lbs, I still have to avoid "real sugar" because if I eat a little say like a cookie...then my body goes nuts and I will crave sugary sweets to the point that its all I think about! So I avoid ALL sugars and just try to talk myself through the cookie craving by saying No Colette, you know it will lead to other sweets and you have worked too dam hard to give in to one damn cookie!!
You can do this...keep up the good work and you will see results.
Same here, I used to sugar my creal too. And I also thought fresh fruit was TOO SOUR. Now, I really enjoy fresh berries and peaches. They taste so sweet to me! We can do the same thing with salt. Cut back until your tastes change and then suddenly you don't need to salt your food anymore (except eggs. I think eggs NEED salt!)
Hey Deb, I sure can relate to that. I've been thinking about how in the not so distant past I felt compelled to eat sweets EVERY day! I'm working on changing my tastes too!
Post a Comment