Many people experience regular cravings, recurring cravings for sugar.
Healthy lifestyle professionals believe this is one of the main reasons it can be so extremely difficult to stick to a healthy diet.
Cravings are driven by your brain's need for a “reward” - not so much by your body's need for food.
If you can only take one bite or dose of sugar and leave it at that, it's okay to indulge a little when you get hungry. But if you have a tendency to binge eat and overeat as soon as you taste the taste of sugary foods, giving in to the cravings is the worst thing you can do for your mind & body.
Here is a simple 3-step plan to stop sugar cravings.
Hungry? Eat a healthy and filling meal
It is important to realize that a craving is not the same as hunger.
It's not your body asking for energy, it's your brain asking for something to release dopamine in the reward system.
When you get hungry when you're hungry, that feeling is hard to resist.
In fact, craving coupled with hunger is a powerful driver that most people find difficult to overcome.
If you get hungry while hungry, one of the best tricks is to eat a healthy meal right away. Provide your kitchen with healthy snacks or ready meals.
Protein foods, such as meat, fish, and eggs, are especially good for satisfying hunger.
Eating real food may not feel very tasty if you have a craving for sugary junk food. But if you really want to lose weight, this choice is definitely worth it in the long run.
Take a warm shower
Some sugar cravings have found that hot showers or a warm bath can provide relief.
The water should be hot - not so hot that you burn your skin, but hot enough that it is about to get uncomfortable.
Let the water run over your back and shoulders so that it warms you up properly. Keep it warm for at least 5-10 minutes.
By the time you get out of the shower, you probably feel “dazed”, like you've been in a sauna for a long time.
At that point, your sugar cravings will probably have disappeared or at least decreased a lot.
Take a brisk walk in the open air
Another option that may work for you is to go out for a brisk walk.
If you're a runner, go for a run - that's even better.
This serves a dual purpose. First, you basically distance yourself from the foods you crave.
Second, the movement will too endorphins or release "feel good" chemicals in your brain that can help stave off cravings.
If you can't get out, do a few tiring sets of burpees, push-ups, bodyweight squats, or some other form of exercise. sports.
Other ways to reduce sugar cravings
The three steps above will work for most people to end sugar cravings abruptly.
But of course, by far the best option is to avoid this cravings in the first place. To do that, you throw out all the junk food from your house. Keeping them within reach is asking for trouble. Instead, keep healthy foods close at hand.
If you eat healthy and exercise several times a week, chances are that you will have less cravings for sugar and cravings for it.
Additional 10 tips to reduce sugar cravings:
- Drink a glass of water. Some experts say dehydration can cause cravings. So drink enough water!
- Eat a piece of fruit. Taking a piece of fruit can help satisfy sugar cravings for some people. Bananas, apples, oranges work fine.
- Avoid artificial sweeteners. If you think artificial sweeteners trigger sugar cravings, you better avoid them.
- Eat more protein. Protein is great for satiety, and it can also help with cravings or sugar cravings.
- Talk to a friend. Call or meet someone who understands what you are going through. Just the conversation or a few words of encouragement can cause enough distraction from sugar cravings.
- Good night. Getting good, refreshing sleep is important for overall health and can help prevent cravings.
- Avoid excessive stress. As with sleep, avoiding stress can help prevent cravings.
- Take a multivitamin. This helps prevent any deficiencies in your blood values and thus a craving for sugar.
- Don't starve yourself. Try to avoid getting too hungry between meals and creating a sugar craving as a result.
- Read your reasons again. It can be very helpful to keep a list of the reasons why you want to eat a healthy diet, as it can be difficult to remember such things when you develop cravings and cravings for sugar.
Finally, to limit your sugar cravings
If you can eat junk food every once in a while without having massive binge eating that will ruin your progress, consider allowing yourself to do so from time to time.
That means you are one of the lucky people who can enjoy these things in moderation and under self-control. But if you can't control yourself at all around such bad foods, try to avoid them as much as possible.
Giving in to cravings will only fuel addiction and sugar cravings and make it increasingly difficult to improve.
If you manage to resist, the cravings will get weaker and weaker over time and eventually disappear.
Sources include Byrdie (link), Healthline (link), Mayoclinic (link), UVAHealth (link)
