Biscuit Plate (Photo credit: Caro Wallis)
One of the things I hear most about women with PCOS is we seem to be drawn towards all things sweet and sugary. Seems to be part and parcel with all the other delightful things that come with this disorder. Despite the fact I still indulge in treats from time to time, I’d like to share how I tackled my sugar addiction.
1) Identify your weak spot.
There was always a time and place where my need for sugar was too easy to satisfy. For me that was morning tea at work. Even though I didn’t buy any biscuits or cakes for home, there was daily temptation in the tearoom. I could easily have a couple of biscuits with a cup of tea and forget that I would suffer for it later when my blood sugar crashed or I was simply starving by midday. So this was one small area I felt I could work on.
2) Set a limit.
Rather than go cold turkey, I decided to set myself a ration of one biscuit in the morning and one in the afternoon. This worked to cut down my intake but my cravings weren’t curbed in the least. And I relapsed on more than one occasion.
3) Find a substitute.
Finally I decided that if I had something else to eat for morning tea that would keep me full till lunchtime and keep me away from the biscuits then maybe I can finally get some control over my biscuit habit. There are many Low GI cookbooks in my collection that have cakes and other tasty treats that substitute out flour or sugar with Low GI alternatives like oat bran and honey. So I made myself some lovely Banana and Sultana Bread and started bring a slice to work.
Well with my cake and tea, I still looked at the biscuits but didn’t NEED to eat them. Saying ‘no’ became easier and I stopped being hungry so soon before lunch.
Today I still have the occasional treat and dessert now and then but don’t have cravings that make me head to the supermarket at 10pm in search of chocolate. So here are a few other tips others might find useful
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This image was selected as a picture of the week on the Czech Wikipedia for th week, 2007. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
- Don’t keep sweets in your house, out of sight out of mind right…..
- Be sure to have nice Low GI snacks available when the munchies attack. Some of my personal favorites include peaches with low fat yoghurt or a non-salted mix of seeds, dry fruit and nuts.
- Treat yourself occasionally. Have an ice-cream on the weekend once in a while but keep it small and special
- If you really need a chocolate hit, go dark. Chocolate with high cocoa content not only has a stronger flavour so it’s harder to over indulge but greater health benefits when compared to milk chocolate.
Hopefully these few tips help out. Now pass the Caramel Crowns ………… 😉
Do my ovaries look fat? 