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Want to banish sugar cravings? I’m going to tell you how to do it! If you find yourself craving sweet foods daily or are unable to control yourself once you get started on desserts, this video is for you! In this video – which I have recorded as part of the College of Naturopathic Medicine’s Information series – we look at what can cause sugar cravings, and 3 simple steps you can include right now to eliminate them!

If you are struggling with sugar cravings and would like some extra support, I’d love to chat with you!  Why not click here to book a free discovery call and see how some bespoke diet and lifestyle changes can help your health flourish!

Transcript:

Want to banish sugar cravings? I’m going to tell you how to do it! If you find yourself craving sweet foods daily or are unable to control yourself once you get started on desserts, this video is for you! I hear you because I used to be the same: I could eat a whole bar of chocolate or pint of icecream in one sitting, and don’t even get me started on my nutella addiction! By implementing these 3 tips, I am now able to have ice cream sitting in the freezer for months without even thinking about it, and yes, that goes for the Nutella too!

Before we get into the how’s, I just wanted to explain why consuming too many refined sugars can be detrimental to us as women. We all know that excessive refined sugar consumption have been linked to various health conditions such as inflammation, weight gain, diabetes and even cardiovascular disease. But did you know that it can also affect our hormones? If you’ve watched any of my other videos on women’s hormonal health, you will know that blood sugar balance and hormonal balance go hand in hand. When our blood sugar drops, our body will release cortisol to get it back up, as it sees low blood sugar as an emergency. When we eat a lot of refined sugar foods, our blood sugar will skyrocket and then drop, activating that cortisol production time and time again, and it will do so at the expense of our sex hormone progesterone, and hey presto we’ve got ourselves a hormonal imbalance! You can check out our other video on causes of hormonal imbalance in the link below. So how do we free ourselves of sugar cravings? Here are my 3 top tips.

1. Eat regular meals and do not skip meals.
   Do you ever notice that you tend to crave sugar more in the afternoon or evening? Does it tend to coincide with days in which you may have skipped breakfast or had a light lunch or even skipped lunch due to work? Do the cravings get worse when you’re on a diet? That is because skipping meals will affect our blood sugar, and when our blood sugar drops our body will want to get it back up quickly to regain balance. And what is the quickest form of energy? You got it, sugar! Unfortunately, when we’re in this low blood sugar state, our body will not make us crave an orange or a sweet potato, but will send us straight to the chocolate drawer. So what can you do to keep blood sugar balanced? Eat regular meals throughout the day and do not skip meals! Start your day with a nutrient dense breakfast to set your blood sugar up for the day, and eat a balanced, wholesome lunch each day. Just FYI, coffee is not breakfast, I don’t care if it has almond/ oat or whatever milk in it! I cannot tell you the amount of times in which I see clients who tell me they are addicted to sugar or have sugar binges in the afternoon or evening, who then, by frontloading their meals and ensuring they have nutrient dense breakfasts and lunches, see their afternoon cravings disappear. So if you’ve been eating erratically and finding yourself unable to stop reaching for the biscuits or chocolate, give the body what it needs throughout the day so that it doesn’t send out the danger alert later on in the day.
   
   2. Eat carbs.
   Yes, you heard me! Consuming carbohydrates, balanced with optimal protein consumption throughout the day can stop you craving sugar and sweets. Have you ever eliminated carbs from your diet only to suddenly find yourself head first in a bowl of ice cream a week later? That’s your body begging for carbs in all the wrong ways. Now when I talk about carbs, I am not talking about pastries, biscuits and cake, the squishy sliced white loaf of bread you find in the supermarkets or the takeaway pizzas or – sorry to say – alcohol!. I’m talking about mineral rich carbohydrate wholefoods such as root vegetables (like beetroot, sweet potato, potatoes, carrots) squashes (like butternut squash and pumpkin), seasonal fruit, and well prepared grains and legumes, and even the OCCASIONAL small amounts of natural sweeteners such as maple syrup and honey.. These foods contain not only carbohydrates for fuel, but also vitamins and minerals such as potassium which can help with insulin regulation. You can see, not all carbs are created equal, and most people decide to avoid ALL carbs in the name of health, only to then find themselves craving sugar and carbs and reaching for the refined stuff.
   You see, Glucose is our body’s preferred source of fuel, and while, yes we can survive without carbohydrates, in my opinion there is a difference between surviving and thriving! We need carbohydrates for energy, for optimal thyroid function, for hormonal health, and let’s face it: good quality carb make a meal satisfying and delicious!
   Now please note that If you are coming from a low carb or no carb diet, you will need to introduce carbohydrates SLOWLY and I mean SLOW- LY! Flooding your body with carbs when it has not been consuming them for a long time can cause blood sugar issues and potentially lead to weight gain. If you need extra support, don’t be afraid of working with a naturopathic nutritional therapist who can guide you through this process.
   
   3. Optimise your sleep.
   Raise your hand if you find it harder to resist the croissants and donuts the morning after a bad night’s sleep? You may be beating yourself up about your lack of willpower, but actually there is a physiological reason for this. That’s right, a lack of sleep will increase our hunger hormone, ghrelin, which will also increase your appetite. It also decreases the levels of the appetite-suppressing hormone leptin.When we don’t sleep well or enough, our body will also need quick energy to get us through the day – cue the sweet cravings! Poor sleep will also lead to blood sugar imbalances, which can cause low blood sugar and subsequent cravings. There was even a study done in 2018 where participants who increased their hours and quality of sleep went on to consume up to 10g less sugar the next day. So if you’ve been neglecting your sleep and finding it hard to give up the sweets the next day, really prioritise your sleep by looking at your bedtime routine, exposing yourself to daylight in the mornings and minimising blue light exposure in the evenings, and as my grandmother always said GET TO BED EARLY!

Eat regular meals, consume wholefood carbs with each meal, and get some sleep – Sound too good to be true? Give these steps a try and let us know what you think! Be sure to click that like button, and subscribe to our channel to stay up to date with our future episodes.

Finally, personally I don’t think it’s necessary to give up all sweetness altogether. If you deprive yourself of food you enjoy, it can leave you feeling unhappy and could potentially lead to sugar binges. So look at some healthier options to your favourite sweet treats and have them on occasion. Use natural sweeteners such as Maple syrup, honey, coconut nectar instead of refined sugar. Check out our other video on the best sugar alternatives in the link below. Remember, sugar is pure energy without a lot of nutrition, so don’t make these foods staple in your daily life, but a little bit of what you love as part of a balanced, wholefood diet is what keeps us happy and satisfied.

If you are struggling with sugar cravings and would like some extra support, I’d love to chat with you!  Why not click here to book a free discovery call and see how some bespoke diet and lifestyle changes can help your health flourish!