10 Ways to curb your sweet tooth on the keto diet

Getting a sweet tooth while you’re on a keto diet can be especially rough at the beginning of your dietary journey. After all, it’s unlikely that you’ve tasted your favorite sweet treat since beginning the keto diet.

Don’t get discouraged! Cravings for sweets won’t last forever. Most people usually find their cravings diminish substantially within just a few weeks of adapting to the keto diet. You just need a little time to get there.

Here is a list of 10 ways to curb your sweet tooth on the keto diet. This should be especially helpful to people who are just starting the keto diet.

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1 – Avoid sweets

The fewer sweets you eat, the better. You may be able to avoid sweets altogether if your taste buds are adjusting from regular food to the kinds of foods you eat on a keto diet. You won’t need to eat as much sugar before your sweet tooth is satisfied. When cravings hit, turn to fat bombs or cooking with butter and heavy cream. And avoid artificial sweeteners at all costs!

Related reading: Keto-Friendly Tiramisu Fat Bombs

2 – Avoid artificial sweeteners at all costs!

Yes, avoid artificial sweeteners (especially if they are in the form of a drink mix) at all costs. Artificial sweeteners can confuse your body and keep you thinking about sweets without ever actually satisfying your desire for sweets. As soon as you avoid them, your taste buds will adjust and give up wanting things that used to taste good but aren’t good for you anyway.

3 – Think of the reasons why you started eating fewer carbs in the first place

Remember why you wanted to eat healthier in the first place: maybe it was because your cholesterol levels were too high and your doctor wanted to put you on a medication for high cholesterol. You made the keto diet changes because you really wanted to avoid taking medications. Why would you want to start taking medications now? As soon as your cravings start, think of the things that motivated you: pain from heart disease, joint problems from diabetes, etc. Think about why those reasons were strong enough to make you change your diet in the first place and what terrible consequences might happen if you let yourself give in to your sugar cravings.

4 – Keep away from places where there is junk food or sweets

This can include avoiding restaurants (go out less often), avoid free food samples, avoid going into bakeries, and don’t shop while hungry.

5 – Eat fat, it’s the keto thing to do

Fat is the most satisfying thing you can put in your mouth. When you are hungry, eat some butter or olive oil, or heavy cream (which has a similar consistency to ice cream). As far as fats go, avoid processed vegetable oils: they are unhealthy. There is a lot of information about all the different kinds of fats — please do read it! Also, avoid dairy products that contain “added sugar” such as chocolate milk and flavored yogurts. Avoiding sugar-rich foods like cheesecake will eventually turn off your cravings for it and make you less likely to go back to eating things that don’t work for you.

6 – Avoid partying or social eating events where there will be alcohol and sugar

Alcohol makes it difficult for many people to avoid desserts since alcohol tastes delicious with sugar. Alcohol also adds calories to the meal (and therefore the waistline!).

Related reading: Does Keto And Alcohol Mix?

7 – Avoid eating anything that comes in a box or wrapped packaging

This includes not eating any snacks that come prepackaged like granola bars, cookies from a jar (unless you have them at home already), or things made with white flour. Anything packaged has sugar added to make it taste better and last longer on the shelf before spoiling.

8 – Avoid eating out and bringing home leftovers

Most restaurants use white flour for their cooking and sweeteners to make their food taste better. Don’t eat anything out of a box — if you have had bad experiences with some packaged things in the past (such as macaroni and cheese that tastes different from your homemade recipe) avoid those kinds of meals every time. If you want to go out with friends to be with them, eat beforehand so that you avoid temptation.

9 – Avoid snacking (or eat low carb snacks) and avoid eating at night

Avoid bringing food into the bedroom at night. If you must snack, eat something that won’t raise your blood sugar levels too quickly, and avoid sugars altogether if possible.

10 – Consider adding in more healthy fats to help suppress the hunger but still avoid sugary foods!

Eat eggs for breakfast or add avocado to a salad with some olive oil; nuts are also a good choice to satisfy those cravings without compromising ketosis. There is no need to avoid fat on the keto diet — just make sure it’s not coming from junk like corn oil or seed oils (which are high omega-6).