FOUR STEPS TO STOP SUGAR CRAVINGS AS SOON AS THEY HIT

FOUR STEPS TO STOP SUGAR CRAVINGS AS SOON AS THEY HIT

Cravings for sugar hit out of the blue quite often. They can scupper the best of intentions.

Is this the end of yet another diet? Is craving the natural way? You wish you could retain control of your senses and not succumb to the cheap and the nasty of high-fat, high-sugar, high-salt 'treat' foods?

The answer is a resounding 'No'. Thankfully!

We can avoid cravings and if for any of the reasons I am about to mention you do succumb, you can control them and master them. This is very good news indeed. From reading the following you will learn how to avoid cravings forever. And I really mean, ever!

Where do cravings come from?

There are many reasons we might crave sugar, other than hunger. I mean, hunger is the most obvious one. If you’re hungry, because you’ve forgotten to eat for a while, then, yes, your body will demand a hit of sugar. Why? Because that is largely what your body runs on. It is our primary source of fuel, glucose. It is what we break down all carbohydrates into in our system so that glucose gets transported in our blood to where it is needed, as fuel. So that makes total sense. But what if you’re eating well, trying to lose weight & finding yourself overtaken by sugar cravings out of the blue. What’s that about?

Often times we might find that we have eaten too little over the past 24/48 hours.

If you have eaten too little carbohydrate, too little fat or too little protein, hunger can sneak up on you and persist, in the firm of sudden sugar cravings. So severe calorie restriction or carbohydrate (in particular) restriction can cause serious cravings that are hard to quash.

Other times you may have had a bad night's sleep, or two.

This can cause an increase in so-called stress hormones (cortisol is one) and a reduction in leptin (our fullness hormone) combined with an increase in grehlin (our hunger hormone). It’s difficult to fight this particular cocktail! Sleep is such an important ingredient of health & healthy eating adherence. Don’t underestimate the value of your regular eight hours.

Feeling a little emotional or 'low' can also be a trigger for sugar cravings, as we well know.

What we may be seeking in reality is a serotonin hit, that happy hormone that keeps us uplifted. Sugar fuels the release of serotonin in the brain so that’s a logical, if somewhat short-lived, reason to crave sugar. Of course, food can be emotive in itself. When we were children food worked as a symbol of love and affection. Perhaps you have your favourite 'comfort' foods from childhood that you crave when low. It's unlikely to be a steak and much more likely to be the stuff of Rice Krispies, toast, cake, sweets etc. Chocolate can be a go-to for many of us as this was a very common 'treat' food of our youth. Food and therefore cravings can be complex.

Thirst is another very simple reason we can sometimes crave.

The signals of hunger and thirst can get confused in our brain and so one of the simplest issues to fix, first, is thirst. You do not ned to punish yourself with volumes of water all day every day. You just need to stay pleasantly hydrated. Water, cups of tea, fruit and vegetables all hydrate. When in doubt, drink something. Think also about how much salty food you may have recently consumed. Did you have a Chinese meal last night? You’re thirsty!

And of course there's habit.

We are all creatures of habit. If you are in the habit of always having something sweet after dinner then that is going to be a hard habit to break. If you always have something sweet at your 11am coffee break then this too needs to be addressed head-on. Fruit comes instantly to mind. Bring fruit with you to work or plan to have a fruity dessert after diner. This will allay any cravings and address your sweet tooth. Sometimes a little of what you fancy does you all the good in the world.

Now that I know the reasons, what do I do if I am indeed suffering a sudden sugar craving?

Well here you are, suddenly craving. You’ve identified that not eating enough over the last couple of days has brough you here and what do you do? Well there are four steps to dealing with your craving.

1.Delay

Do you know that a craving only lasts, on average, three minutes? Three minutes is not a long time in the scheme of things. When you become aware of this fact you suddenly realise, hey, maybe I can slay that particular dragon after three minutes. It’s not as big a deal as we have been led to believe! You’re not actually, contrary to popular belief, craving all-day or all of the time. So delay feeding the monster for three minutes to give yourself a fighting chance of coming out on top. It works. Try it!

2. Deep breathe

Sounds silly, I realise, to simply breathe through a craving, but, in fact, by breathing deeply we can slow down, calm our nervous system and take control again of our emotions. And therefore cravings. Sometimes the solution to what ails us is very simple indeed. Three minutes of deep breathing could be all it takes to get on top of your next sugar craving!

3.Drink water

As mentioned previously, hunger and thirst can get easily confused by the brain. So drink a glass of water as soon as a craving hits. It does a number of things. It reduces thirst. It fills your stomach. It gives you something to do. You put something in your mouth. You distract yourself. And it has the added bonus of being a good habit in the making. How do you know if you are not drinking enough, by the way? Your urine is dark yellow in colour. Your urine should be very clear, this is a sign of adequate hydration. Simple really!

4.Distract your self

The final step to curbing your craving, in an instant, is to actively distract yourself. Pick up the phone and talk to a  friend, pet your dog, do a job you’ve been putting off, get out your front door. Walk!

So now that you are fully equipped to slay the dragon of sugar cravings, don’t let fear overtake you the next time one hits. You understand that there was a cause. It was not some random event. You have four simple steps to take to deal with it. You never have to fear a craving again. You’ve got this!