Battling my sweet tooth

     One of my biggest food-issues in college has been my love for sweets. I cannot get enough of cakes and cookies and ice cream, especially when they are put in front of me. It was very difficult freshman year to not eat desert when I was sitting with my friends in the dining hall for nearly an hour every night. 5 pounds later, I realized that I truly am not very strong when food is in plain sight. I started leaving the dining hall when I was done my dinner rather than sit around and eat desert because I was just relaxing. This is my first tip which I still live by now: when you are done eating a meal, put the food away so that you don't go for second helpings, and if you have a sweet tooth like me, don't buy the sugary food to begin with so that temptation doesn't hurt your waist line.

    Even though I stopped buying unhealthy deserts which are loaded with sugar, my roommates don't seem to live by the same rules. Every time that anyone's parents come to visit, we have cakes and cookies and more left in the house when they leave. Now these delicious sweets which are dripping with fat and bad health are staring me in the face every time I'm in the kitchen. It is so easy to simply take one small bite. The problem is that I'll go back for 6 more small bites throughout the day. This can add up to a whole slice of cake by the end of the day, which isn't a healthy decision for anyone. Here is where my next tip comes into play: put any sweets which are left out to share in a place which is out of direct site. I've learned to put the cakes and such on top of the fridge so that they are not right on the counter where I'm doing my cooking and such. When my sweet tooth still battles me, I'll take a small bite then put a piece of mint gum in my mouth right away. Mint makes anything else taste horrible and thus makes it much easier to say no to that next bite of sugar. Try it :)