Sugar cravings aren’t unusual for you – especially around 3:00 pm or 9:00 pm.
It’s frustrating, isn’t it?
You eat healthy all day – but when the cravings hit, it’s game over. All your efforts to eat healthy for the day are gone.
I’ve been there too. As a teenager I would start my school day with a 1 litre of Pepsi from the vending machine, and finish five more by end of day.
I was also depressed, moody, fatigued, and overweight.
But I was within the norm. Did you know that the average American consumes 20 tablespoons of added sugar daily? That doesn’t include fruit.
The daily recommendation is no more than 6 tablespoons for women and 9 tablespoons for men. The “average” statistics are mind-boggling.
But even if you know you’re addicted to sugar, you still consume it. Why is that?
It doesn’t help that sugar is in everything. Your body truly can’t get a break from it. It’s in cereal, granola bars, bread, sauces, juice, coffee, and so much more.
Avoiding it feels difficult and downright impossible. Am I right?!?
But I promise you, if you ditch it now you’ll feel better in the long run. Let me explain …
YOUR BODY ON SUGAR
Sugar is less like a food and more like a drug.
It impacts every part of your body. There’s no question, it has an impact on both your short-term and long-term health.
Here’s what happens to your body on sugar:
1. Your brain releases dopamine. This is a mood-enhancing chemical in the brain. The worse your mood, the more your body craves dopamine.
If sugar can release dopamine from the brain and quickly improve your mood, then that’s what it’ll do. That’s why you crave sugar to improve your mood.
But the more you consume it, the more you need it to get that same feel-good feeling.
2. Your blood sugar spikes, and insulin is released to level it out – hence the common sugar crash.
Yet, the more you use insulin for balance, the more resistant it becomes.
Now it begins to respond less and less to your body’s needs which creates bigger problems down the road.
3. Your nutrients begin to deplete. Because sugar is higher in calories and lower in nutrients, causing you to fill up on nutrient void foods.
Plus, your body needs to use what nutrients it does have to get rid of sugar, a toxic substance.
In other words, your body uses its nutrients stores to eliminate sugar from the body. But, sugar doesn’t replace those nutrients – and now you’re in the red.
4. Your inflammatory response kicks in as the first line of defense against sugar. That’s because sugar is a foreign invader in your body.
Eating lots of sugar leads to chronic inflammation. This is the precursor to disease. It shows up in symptoms like cravings, food sensitivities, acne, and anxiety.
Manage your inflammation to heal from almost anything and for disease prevention.
5. Your body starts to crave sugar in order to find balance. Obviously, sugar can’t do that. But, it provides a quick reaction that can often improve mood and energy quite quickly.
So your body craves it during those times. It wants to counter the negatives occurring – depression, moodiness, fatigue, etc.
And so the cycle continues …
HOW CRAVINGS WORK
So now we’ve established how your body acts under sugar. Which shows how it becomes so addictive, creating that vicious cycle that you can’t get off of.
But here’s where it gets interesting – your cravings have little to do with hunger. It’s more to do with imbalances in the body and the brain.
Your body tends to crave the foods it can’t breakdown, digest or absorb.
This could be because of a hormonal imbalance and your brain needs a mood-boost. It could be because of a gut bacteria imbalance and you’re feeding an imbalance with that food.
So, how do you get off this hamster wheel?
5 STEPS TO DITCH SUGAR CRAVINGS
Here are a few of the tricks I recommend you try to ditch your sugar cravings:
1. Eliminate it for 2 weeks. Not forever, but for 14 days.
Why? Because your taste buds only have a lifespan of 10 days. So dropping it for 14 days is enough time to kill off the sugar taste buds and reset them to a healthier palate.
2. Drink your water. If you’re craving food or feeling hungry, chances are you’re thirsty.
Drinking enough water keeps your poops regular and flushes out toxins. But, it also helps you recognize your body’s signals.
Before reaching for those cookies or chips – grab your water first and drink up.
3. Get a good sleep and relax. Stress and lack of sleep bring on cravings.
That crumby feeling gives your body only one choice but to boost it quickly with sugar.
Aim for 7-9 hours of sleep each night. And try to have fun, relax, or fit in a workout to relax and ditch your cravings.
4. Track your food, mood, and poop. Just for 7 days to help you get a better idea of what the root cause of your cravings might be. This allows you to track a patterns to find the why.
Do you have a nutrient deficiencies, bacterial imbalance or food sensitivity? This will help you find out.
Not sure? I can help you with that. Book a consultation with me or join my 4-Week Nutrition to Curb Cravings Program to eliminate your cravings for good.
5. Make a healthy version of the food you’re craving. Wait a day, and if you really want a cookie, eat a darn cookie!
However, instead of buying a treat, make a homemade version. You can make it healthier and with less sugar.
Bye, sugar cravings!
And, download a list of my 24 nutritionist approved healthy packaged snacks to also help you curb your cravings.
