SUGAR CRAVINGS
In honor of Halloween next week, let’s chat about sugar cravings.
Many women feel deeply frustrated and confused by their sugar cravings, thinking thoughts like “I just need more willpower.”
This narrative, however, simply doesn’t cut it as a solution to navigating your inner sugar fiend.
Sugar cravings are a symptom, they aren’t in fact the problem.
When understood from this angle, it becomes far easier to tackle sugar.
My little boy constantly likes to ask, “why?,” he is literally endlessly curious. While some moms might find this annoying, I quite honestly inwardly laugh because his ponderings match my own insatiable desire to understand the why behind human behavior. My clients benefit from this because I am constantly trying to aim for the root of their issues, like sugar cravings, in order to help them create lasting changes in their health. I’m like a detective always looking for clues.
You’re probably thinking, well then Ashtyn, “WHAT IS causing me to crave sugar every afternoon or to eat all the Halloween candy I just bought for aforementioned holiday?”
Here are some possible answers my friend…
Stress
When stress hormones run amuck in our body, our blood sugar becomes destabilized. When your blood sugar dips, you might become irritable, hangry, feel a little clammy or shaky, this can cause you to reach for sugar. It is also very common for women to reach for something sweet when life feels stressful as a little pick-me-up.
Solution: try to decrease your stress load (this often requires dealing with your thoughts and mindset as well) and find healthier ways to cope with stress.
Dieting
You’re a diet junkie. No judgement here. We live in a culture that glamorizes diets and extremes when it comes to eating “healthy.”
Solution: Break up with dieting. If you tell yourself you’re never going to have sugar again, guess what happens? Your craving for sugar intensifies. Then when you do eventually cave and eat sugar, you will go all out eating it, because you’re inwardly dramatically thinking…after this I’m saying goodbye FOREVER to sugar. Ditch dieting and sugar loses its magical power. Focus on enjoying lots of nourishing foods, for the most part, and know that the occasional sweet treat is not going to break your health.
Sleep deprivation
Solution: Get more sleep. Please know I 100% get how this is easier said than done. The good news? It IS possible to improve the quality of your sleep AND you will feel so much better on all levels when you do. Need some help in this arena? Check out my blog on sleep here.
Life isn’t perfect, there are seasons when getting the right amount of sleep is just challenging (hello mommas of newborns). If you’re in one of those seasons, know that you aren’t malfunctioning if you are experiencing extra sugar cravings. You are just human. Try to squeeze in a 20 minute nap if you can. Start your day with a great breakfast that includes fresh food with a dose of protein and fat and some fiber from berries, flax seeds, chia seeds, hemp seeds or veggies. Sip on some warm tea. Get outside for some fresh air and a quick 10 minute walk. Still craving sugar? Upgrade your sugar…have a square or 2 of dark chocolate (fill free to add a dollop of nut butter if you’re feeling hungry) or a date with some nut butter.
Nutritional Deficiency
Solution: If your body is lacking in various macro and micro nutrients, it often just screams FEED ME NOW. The easiest source of fuel for the body is sugar. My encouragement to you is to look at what you are eating throughout the day. Are you lacking in protein or healthy fats? Are you deficient in micronutrients (think veggies and fruits)? Are you simply not getting enough calories in during the day?
Habit
You recognize too much sugar sneaks into your day, and you want to change this but you're in the habit of reaching for a sweet treat every afternoon and when you plop on the couch to watch Netflix.
Solution: Notice your patterns. Are there particular times of day that you always reach for something sweet? Could it be that your body and mind just want a break? What if you allowed yourself a 10 minute strech break instead or a 10 minute chat on the phone with a friend? Try replacing your sugar habit with something else.
Your life is lacking sweetness.
Perhaps you’re feeling lonely or like life feels flat, so you look to ice cream to quench this inner hunger.
Solution: try to find ways to sprinkle things you enjoy into your days, weeks, and months. Nourish your soul and take those cravings to God. Nourish your friendships. Add more time for creativity to your weeks. Practice gratitude and see how this shifts your perspective on life and decreases your hunger for sugar.
The bottom line…when it comes to addressing sugar cravings, you need to get curious. By getting curious, you can understand why you might struggle with sugar. Then and only then can you address the root cause, leading to lasting change in your sugar intake.