It is so hard to diet when you love to make cakes...and eat cake. And you know you have to taste things here and there to make sure they're good etc. I am dieting right now so I'm miserable... I just want to make and decorate cakes and cookies...and eat them!

I just don't do any of it when I diet..too much temptation.

...so no cakes for a while for me...

I taste a small part of what I cut off, and throw the rest away. I have long since stopped eating icing. I make sure to drink lots of water on hand, and other healthy snacks. And excercise.

I had a student once that dropped out after Course 1 saying she gained 20 pounds because of the course.

This is SO true! I lost 30lbs. 2 years ago while still making cakes and being a Pastry Chef at a restaurant.

I tasted everything still, but didn't swallow...to put it delicately!

If I was tempted to eat, I actually pretended it was "dog poop"...as my co-worker suggested. THAT put me right off sweets!

I've found that the more cakes I do, the less I eat cake! lol I've never been a huge cake fan, but I do like a good piece of chocolate cake...and rich filling on occasion. The only other cake I have to stay away from is Gooey Butter Cake...that stuff will get me in trouble!! One thing that helps me from taking tastes while I'm baking and mixing up the icing, etc. is wearing gloves. I got in the habit of it and let me just say that licking icing off your bare finger is one thing and tastes good...but licking it off a latex glove ....YUCK! That'll stop ya! lol But cookies...now that's a whole other story!

I'm with you! I've been a faithful Weight Watcher since Feb 2000 and have lost 44 lbs - well, until I started this "cake obsession" last April, now it's a revised 32 lbs lost! I've gotten better at the temptation, but that buttercream is evil!

~Cole

I know how you feel... I'm on WW right now : ) It is hard. I just started taking cake decorating classes so that is a cake each week for the next 4 weeks YOW! I say to myself, "I know this cake tastes good and it looks wonderful but i don't need to taste everyone that i bake/make"

Believe it or not if you say that everytime it starts to work.... I also give them away right away so i'm not really tempted. As far as tasters... If you have family in the house they are usually more than happy to taste test...

I struggle so badly with sweets and cake is the worst for me! I crave sweets all day long... ever since I was little, my dad had coffee cakes for breakfast (still does) and I always ate it with him. Food and sweets are such a comfort to me... I am constantly struggling. Sugar is an addiction. I haven't had sugar at all since sunday...so I am irritable and 'unsweetened'.

I wish I didn't like to eat it and only liked to make it. I am on a rollercoaster at all times. My weight goes up and down. So frustrating.

I usually make a cake for someone in the family and then have some at the event we are getting together for.. and leave it at their house.... and I always feel angry when I get home that I have no cake and didn't take any.

I used to be into weight training pretty seriously before i got pregnant. So I was in really good shape and I wasn't 'soft' anywhere. Then I got preg...and had complications...was put on bedrest...you know where I'm going with this...food and tv were all Ihad. So I put on a good 60 lbs. Then I lost 70 lbs after I had my baby - took me a year. But now after the holidays I crept back up 10 lbs... I am so disgusted.

I'm with you CARFLEA, I give all my cakes away now, never keep anything around to nibble on. If my hubby wants some, I'll make a cupcake or two for him or slice him a peice. I try not to even bring them to work anymore cause I'll eat it while I'm here. But I also agree, the more you make, the less you want it. I notice that when I'm busy with a lot of orders in a small time frame.

~Cole

Well, I can't eat any of it so I have DH taste everything. I am diabetic, and just don't taste at all.

Just hang in there. It will be hard for a few weeks but you can get through this : ) Are you on any "program" diet?

There is a sugar free whitmans candy that is really good. This could curb the sweet stuff.

Maybe you can get really good at making sugar free and "diet" cakes : )

My vice is fried cheese : ) Can you guess where i'm from? It is such a sterotype but i love it.

And another frustrating thing is my DH is not into sweets. His idea of having alot of sugar is a peanut butter sandwich. He hates cakes and cookies, chocolate or ANYTHING like that. I have no idea what that is like. So he won't taste anything while I am making it b/c he hates sugary things...

...so I have to taste it... not b/c I have to but b/c I want too... I am my own crown of thorns.

I am on a diet that one of my ex boyfriends gave me (weird, I know). When I worked out like a maniac I dated this competitive bodybuilder for 2 years so he made me a diet tailored to me for weight loss. It WORKS let me tell you - but it is irritating and frustrating and it makes me REALLY mad... but the results are great.

Ya'll are so funny. Helen, I love your idea. I am going to use it. As long as I don't make cookies for the kindergarden class. I am doing the LA weight loss menu and working out at Curves. I started this Monday so just beginning. I still have to taste, but I REFUSE TO SWALLOW FROM NOW ON! That is my new secret weapon.
Cindy
ps. sugar free latte's don't count

The way I see it a little taste here or there shouldn't make much of a difference. Im trying to lose weight as well and provided that your taste isn't a whole mouthful you should be ok. I for one love cake and I find that if I deny myself I binge when I can't stand the withdrawal symptoms any longer. Moderation is my aim.... something that I can sustain and still have positive outcome and so far its working. Plus having family and friends who are willing guinea pigs helps a lot. Last cake I made I got one slice. The rest was given away.

this is so hard for me. I am finding that the more cakes I make the easier it is not to want a piece and have to taste the icing. Plus I am trying so hard not to eat too much cake so I am not sick of it when I do want to eat a piece on a special occasion.
My mom makes a lot of chocolate cakes because she doesn't eat chocolate cake and won't be tempted...lol! that works great for her!

It doesn't work for me... the more I make the more I want... Because the prettier they look then they must taste yummy.... lol

I am the kind who, no matter how much cake I eat, I can never get sick of it. I can eat sweets and forego savory foods altogether. It is how I am built. My family calls it the Italian sweet tooth. We are all sugar fanatics.

Ya know I saw this topic on home page when I came on. I had to share this:My husband had said to my 19mth old son "well I don't think mommy will ever go on her diet now that she has this new hobby making cakes" I have been trying to stay on a diet but just starting out this cake hobby is killing me. I want to try everything to make sure I am not killing anyone

DIET - What a nasty four letter word!!!

Actually I just started one myself. I'm not a big cake eater, but chocolate and brownies are another story!! I make DH take them to work whenever I have extra!!

I'll have to start using that one - I taste, but don't swallow!!! ROFLOL Antonia74, you're a riot!!

That no swallowing thing just cannot work for me. Once it is in my mouth and it tastes good it's a one way street down to my belly.

Me too... I have to eat it 100%. I could not be bulimic if I tried. (NOT saying the taste and spit only people are bulimic)! I'm just saying that what is tasted is eaten. Everytime. I love food too much to not follow through.

I agree with the tasting, once its in my mouth, its going down!

But I have also found the more I bake and get a recipe down, the less I need to "try" it anymore. And the more I eat it, the more it makes me sick. In the beginning, I think it was the hardest because OF COURSE I want to try everything I made - you have to be sure it tastes good to everyone else.

So I try to chew gum when I bake - if you have that minty flavor in your mouth, and you eat cake it doesnt taste good. I also try to eat a meal before I start baking and drink lots of water. That way Im full going into it and don't just graze cake for a meal

I don't need to try it.... not half as much as I do. I just like to and want to. Maybe I should try that gum idea...

I still don't trust myself to make one right now. In 2 weeks...well...wait, I started this diet this past Sunday...so in 2 weeks from that Sunday I will see how things are going for me.... No cheat days or meals either. Not for at least 11 days.

Well I think pastry chefs should look like they actually enjoy what they produce (if only a little taste here and there!) - my friend always says 'never trust a thin chef!' When I gave the birthday cake to my boss today I told her it was a new recipe so I wanted her opinion and she said that she'll save me a slice, uuuggghhh - how do you deal with that

Yeah...and that's why I can't get myself to watch food network as much as I used to... I LOVE Paula Deen to bits... but Giada deLaurentiis...and Sandra Lee...(I find them both too skinny to eat what they make)... I am VERY skeptical... I don't care how fast your metabolism is... you can't eat pasta and cheese and high fats and heavy cream for every meal and still look like a coat rack. Can't do it.

It can definitely be hard to bake and not taste. I only have 10 more pounds to my goal since having my daughter a year ago (goal is 10 lbs. below pre-preg weight). I keep saying that I need to eat better and exercise more often, but it can be hard to find the time....KWIM!!!

Any diet or exercise tips would be great. Afterall, this hobby is not very conducive to wieght loss.

I guess I am lucky! I don't have to taste every cake I make. There are many time I make a cake for a family occasion and don't even eat a piece.

I think teaching also helped me break the habit of licking fingers when you get icing on them. Because I would never do that in class in front of my students, and encourage them to do the same. At home there are only a few times were I will actually want a taste of icing. Usually when I am PMSing and doing a cake.

I think part of it is just not letting yourself do it. If you really want to make a cake, then you just have to tell yourself no to tasting it. If you know you will be tempted to have it in the house, give it away to someone. If I am in a baking mood I will bake, but the goodies leave my house soon after if I know I will be tempted to eat them all by myself.

I do have an online friend that suggest to chew gum while baking. It gives you that feeling of eating something, and keeps your mouth busy, so that you are less tempted to actually taste it.

Maybe you can try eating a healthy snack before you start working on a cake so you feel full and will be less tempted to try things.

You really have to decide and tell yourself, it is either the cake or the weight loss. I know that it is hard. Turst me I just gave up drinking cokes 6 weeks ago because I drank them all day long. It was hard in the beginning because I was use to reaching for a coke and had to train myself differently. But it can be done. Now the only time I have to watch myself is when I get something from a fast food place, because I'm trying to replace cokes with water, rather than diet drinks.

Try to break that habit of eating it, and it will (hopefully) get easier with every cake.

Good advice. I think that chewing gum could be a big help. Sometimes I taste out of habit more than anything else. Habits can be hard to break, but I am getting to the point that I want it bad enough that I will just do what it takes.

My problem is that I become obsessive over any desserts in the house. If I know they're there I will be compelled to eat them! Especially while browsing the forums on CC.

My solution after I make a cake or test a recipe is to literally cut off a piece to eat and throw the rest in the trash. This way I can taste it to see if it's good or not but I won't have that temptation to eat it. It's very wasteful but I'm a SAHM so I don't have anyone nearby to hand it off to! Plus, who wants a cake with a piece cut out of it?

Since I've given up desserts for Lent I'm hoping my addiction will lessen. I've taken to decorating cake dummies for practice and fun.

My best diet tip is to use a food and exercise journal. I downloaded the Exercise & Diet Assistant from Palm.com. http://software.palm.com/us/html/display_palm_product.jsp?navCategoryId=&id=prod70669 It allows me to track my food intake (calories, carbs, proteins, etc) as well as exercise. Type in your goals and it will tell you how many extra calories you need to burn per day to reach them. I'm amazed at how little things can sabatoge my weight loss goals.

Good luck to everyone!