How to Work with Your Sugar Cravings Instead of Against Them
One of the most common questions I get asked is, "How can I stop my sugar cravings?"
I am going to be totally honest with you, there is no magical way to completely stop those sudden urges to eat something sugary from coming on. That being said, there are plenty of ways you can work with your sugar cravings instead of always against them.
The tips I'm about to share below will mainly discuss sugar cravings but keep in mind that most of these tips can apply to other cravings such as salt and fat as well.
What are Cravings?
Cravings are the sudden urge to eat a particular food. They normally come out of nowhere and make you feel like you have to get your hands on whatever food you're craving ASAP.
They can also be very frustrating for anyone who is trying to live a healthier lifestyle and may make them feel the need to ignore or push the cravings away and not eat the food if it's considered unhealthy.
What Causes Cravings?
There are many factors that can cause cravings, some can be psychological and some can be biological. The important thing is to get down to the root cause of the craving in order to manage them more efficiently.
Possible causes of cravings are:
Hormones
Your hunger hormones known as ghrelin and leptin signal your hunger cues. Ghrelin tells you when you're hungry and when to eat and leptin tells you when you're satisfied or full and when to stop eating. When these hormones are in balance, they can help you have normal eating patterns. However when there is an imbalance in these hormones, they may tell you you're not hungry even though you haven't ate all day or they may tell you that you are hungry even though you just ate.
Some typical causes of hormonal imbalance are: stress, lack of sleep, medical conditions, medications, PMS, eating disorders, injury, and so many more. If you want to read more about hormonal imbalance check out this link.
Physiology/Emotions
The regions of your brain that control memory, pleasure, and rewards are also responsible for controlling cravings as well. So the reason you may be craving a sweet treat is because a pleasurable memory was triggered that you have linked to that sweet. And your brain may see eating the sweet treat as a reward.
Another example of this is stress eating. As a child you may have turned to food when you were in a stressful situation. Now that you are an adult you may still turn to food when you feel stressed because that is your body's response to coping with the situation.
Food Behaviors
Food behavior refers to the way you act around certain foods. One of the food behaviors that can cause cravings is deprivation. Research shows that the more you deprive yourself of your cravings, the more you will crave that food. This is why you will tend to binge on the food you have been depriving yourself of once you finally give into the craving. Try letting yourself eat the food you crave without feeling guilt so you don't get to the point of deprivation, binging, and guilt.
Nutrient Deficiency
This one is only a theory and as of now there is still no solid evidence to back this up. However, the theory is that you may crave certain foods because you are lacking a specific nutrient. For example, you may crave iron rich foods like meat around your time of the month because you lose iron with blood loss. Again, this is still just a theory so just because you are craving a certain food does not mean you are nutrient deficient.
How to Work with Your Sugar Cravings Instead of Against Them
Of course the first thing I want to tell you is that it's OKAY to give into your craving and let yourself eat the food without feeling guilty. When you actually allow yourself to eat what you're craving, eventually the craving diminishes because the glorified version of eating of the food you once deprived is gone.And I can't tell you how great it felt the first time I gave into my craving for a donut without making myself feel guilty for it..it tasted so much better! And I want you all to get to a point where you feel the same way too.I do understand however that you may not always want to give into your cravings either. It's all about balance 😌 So below I will share my tips on how to manage your sugar cravings.
(1) Try to eat well-balanced meals that keep you satisfied throughout the day
Eating well-balanced meals can truly help you reduce the amount of cravings you have throughout your day. To build a well-balanced meal try to include carbs, protein, and a little bit of fat...yes fat! When you focus on including more filling and nutritious foods in your meals, you can keep yourself satisfied consistently throughout your day and curb some of those cravings you may get when you exclude specific food groups at meals.
(2) Try a healthy alternative to the sugary food you are craving
There are so many creative ways to swap ingredients in sugary treats to make it more nutritious. One example is using applesauce in place of oil when you are baking. This is a great way to reduce the fat content of a recipe. Click on this downloadable PDF "Easy Swaps for Sweet Treats" to learn more ways to make sweet treats using alternative ingredients.
(3) Stay hydrated!
I'm not trying to say that every time you feel a craving you should go drink water and that will make it go away. What I am saying is stay consistently hydrated throughout the day because your body needs water to function properly! Water helps transport and absorb nutrients in the body. It also helps with the functioning of your organs. For example, your liver is in charge of releasing glycogen (stored glucose) throughout your body as an energy source when it is not getting enough energy from food. If you are not hydrated enough, your liver may not be able to release as much glycogen, therefore you would be lacking energy which can induce cravings by making you feel hungry.
(4) Make getting 7-8 hours of sleep a night a priority
I cannot tell you how important a good nights sleep is, it can impact so many parts of your life. Research shows that lack of sleep impacts our hunger hormones and increases our intake of high fat foods and refined carbs. A tip for ensuring a good nights sleep is creating a nighttime routine that relaxes you and gets you in the mood to sleep.
(5) If you are an emotional eater, try managing your emotions in other ways
Emotions such as stress can trigger your hunger hormones to tell you that you're hungry if you typically use food to cope with them. If you resonate with this, I encourage you to be more mindful of when you are eating because of an emotion and turn to another way to manage that emotion such as going for a walk, calling a friend on the phone, meditation or breathing techniques, or getting some rest.
Now you have five tips from a dietitian on how to create a synchronous relationship with your cravings
And now that you are more aware of some common causes of cravings and have tips that can help you work with them, I encourage you to put the advice into action while also focusing on not giving yourself a hard time anymore when a craving does come on. They are totally normal and as you can see there are multiple reasons for having one.Comment and tell me about how you would typically deal with a craving before you read this blog.Disclaimer: If you purchase products through links posted on this site, I may earn commission through affiliate partners, however, all opinions on products are genuine.
