Top 4 causes of out of control sugar cravings and how to beat them for good! 

There can be a lot of reasons your sugar cravings may be out of control but here are the most common:

1- Your Not Eating enough Protein 

2- Stressed to the max or you need more sleep

3- Your carb intake needs adjusted – You may be eating too many or too few carbs for your lifestyle. 

4- You’re filling your day with artificial sugary sweet things and that leaves you only wanting more of the real thing. 

 

How can you kick the cravings for good? 

It’s not to say you will never crave anything sweet.  These things will help your cravings to not dominate your mind or your belly!

1- Eat Protein at every meal and snack 

2-Get 7-9 hours of sleep & find a healthy way to manage stress

3- Don’t skip meals and make them ¼ of your daily intake. 

4-Pair your carbohydrates with protein and fat to slow their digestion and increase satiety 

 

The #1 thing that I see ALL THE TIME? Clients come to me saying their sugar cravings are out of control. Most often they are severely lacking balanced macronutrients, specifically not eating enough protein.  Within 2 weeks of working together, as they balance out their macronutrient intake and get their protein consumption up to where it should be, those CRAVINGS ALMOST COMPLETELY SUBSIDE!  I have seen it over and over again!  Trust me just give it a try! 

 

You will notice when you’re lacking sleep or super stressed you will crave both carbs or sugar more! When we eat sugar it gives you a dopamine hit! (aka, makes you feel GOOD) so when stressed or depressed we might find we crave sweets more. That is natural so set yourself up for success and prioritize sleep and manage stress. Understand that if stress is high and the ZZZ’s are lacking the cravings will come “a knocking!” Expect it and plan for it and it will not catch you off guard.  

 

The other thing I see super often is clients will eat cereal for breakfast or have a really sugary coffee, energy drink or soda.(even if it’s sugar free) A couple hours later they are craving more sugar or carbs before lunch.  Just like anything, patterns are cyclical.  Eating lots of sweets begets, eating lots of sweets. Try to ween off the super surgery coffees, energy drinks or morning sweets.  Opt for a greek yogurt with your cereal or a fruit smoothie with a scoop of protein or collagen or some eggs on toast.  Getting in a good amount of protein with a carb and fat at every single meal, will help to slow down that insulin response. It will also stabilize not only your cravings, but blood sugar too. 

 

The other thing to keep in mind is our guts are full of bacteria.  Each of the bacteria prefer a different type of food.  The “good healthy guys” love prebiotic fiber that comes from eating lots of fruits and veggies.  The rogue, “bad guys” LOVE SUGAR.  So think that thru….when you eat lots of sugar you are feeding the bacteria that loves to eat it and in turn, guess who grows big and strong and multiplies like mad???  You’ve got it, all those BAD BACTERIA.  The more balanced you are with your intake the more balanced that bacteria will be in your gut. How awesome is it that you can address the sugar cravings from the inside out!  Pretty awesome! 

 

Lastly… the other big culprit I see with cravings, is clients will eat these tiny, little, mostly processed meals. An hour later they are craving candy or a “protein bar,” which is probably just a candy bar masked as a “healthy” alternative!  EAT A SIZABLE MEAL PEOPLE!!!  One with lots of protein, some healthy fats and plenty of carbs.  That will keep you feeling full and satisfied for more than just an hour or two!  #teamweeatfood  

 

So in conclusion you can see clearly there are several ways that you can attack and conquer those sugar cravings. 

Save this post and start today! 

Pick one of those that you can improve on now! 

 

Which one would you like to tackle first? 

More Protein?  

Larger meals? 

Less sugar over all?

More sleep?

Managing Stress Better?

Better Hydration?

 

Share with us your thoughts!