I had to go cold turkey to finally quit the cravings. The hardest thing for me to give up and was the last thing sweet I gave up was Diet Dr Pepper and Diet Pepsi. Neither one raises blood sugar (although they may invoke a small insulin rise and promote hunger) but the sweet taste would cause me to want other sweet taste. Was probably three months in to a low carb ketogenic diet before I finally decided the sweet tast might eventually get to me and cause me to fall off the wagon. So I gave up the diet sodas and any sweetened candy or anything with artificial sweetners. And the cravings finally went away.

Now I enjoy the smoothness of fats. Wife will use just a touch of sugar or honey occasionally in a low carb desert (maybe a tablespoon of honey in a dozen servings) but never enough to really give it a sweet taste.

I do allow myself one pear or one apple a day in season when they are on the trees. And wife will can the pears with no added sugar and we will have them once in a while as a desert. But none of the store bought stuff with a lot of added sugar.

People don't think of foods as being addictive. But they sure are or at least can be. Not to everyone but just like some people can drink alcohol and not become a dependent alcoholic, so it is with foods. Some of us just have to say "no".

I can still remember the taste of sweet stuff fondly, but I no longer crave it. I also remember what it was like being 100 pounds over weight, sore back pain, sore knee pain, skin tags, feet and lower leg neuropathy and  low energy. I used to like Snickers bars but I like not having all those health problems more. And I am a lucky one who worked pretty hard to control my blood sugars even back then. I have diabetic friends that have had body parts lopped off, going blind, etc. Fortunately I have avoided most of those complications, thankfully.

It takes some will power in the beginning, but once a person gets on a right track and starts seeing the improvements, it becomes a lot easier. Over 5 years for wife and I now. Absolutely no going back. Life it too good without all the diabetic complications I once had.

Edit: sure we gave up some things we used to enjoy. But we also treat ourselves. We are packing up to go on a cruise. Wife is packing tonight and we will do a road trip to Florida in a couple days and visit friends on the way. We will listen to some speakers on this cruise that will help keep us motivated. We save a lot of money not buying insulin and other drugs. https://lowcarbcruise.com/