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Health and Fitness Tips

Sweet Tooth?

To help control my sweet tooth, I keep low-calorie treats in the house like SnackWell's cookies. They're low-fat and also low-calorie. It's not quiet the same as a regular cookie, but you get your fix. Since I have problems with portion control, I separate out the cookies into little snack bags that hold about three each. My clients have the same issue and have their partner hide the cookies from them.

Sweets are a combination of habit, availability and cultural tastes. Lots of my clients say, "I have to have chocolate every day." Well, as far as I know, there's no chemical reason you can't eat chocolate every day (unless you are diabetic). But, I can certainly understand, loving sweets myself, having a hard time if there are tons of sweets in the kitchen.

I think there are a couple of things you have to look at. First of all, how much junk is in the house, and do you need it all? Do you have to have the kinds of sweets around that you like? Can you and your partner have a meeting and make some decisions about what kind of junk there is available? Can you tell your partner; "Look, this is very hard for me to give up. Can we have ice cream bars or pistachio ice cream because I dislike it?"

Second, sometimes it's helpful to schedule a treat that's very specific for a time when you can't hold out any longer. Another question is, can you incorporate those calories into your diet. What's a candy bar - 260 calories? As long as it's not a large candy bar, that's doable. It's just how you feel about it that makes it doable.

Third, try to hone-in on that time of the day when you're most at risk of giving-in, and see if you can make some behavioral changes that will nip it in the bud. Pinpoint when and where the trouble area is, because it's usually not a problem through the entire day. Is it after work? Is it just after dinner? If you can figure out when and where the trouble area tends to be, you can often make a behavioral change. For example, have your partner clean up the dishes and you never go into the kitchen after dinner.

Avoid sweets by not even buying them, work at replacing sweets with natural foods like fruit. And see your waist-line shrink and your desire for sugar reduce.

Rick Gusler is a certified personal trainer and diet nutritionist who serves his clients through Gusler Body Sculpting Fitness Center in central Denver. To schedule a free consultation, or to learn more about the Gusler method of body sculpting, spin yoga, or Rick's Boot Camp, please contact him at 303.860.7131 or online at www.guslerbodysculpting.com.

Gusler Body Sculpting Fitness Center, LLC
459 Acoma Street · Denver, Colorado 80204 · 303-860-7131
Hours: Monday-Friday: 6am-8pm · Saturday: Closed · Sunday: Closed

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