Are you feeling out of control around sweets? Have sugar cravings at night? Feel like you can’t stop thinking about that piece of chocolate or can’t have any sweets in your pantry because you’d go on a rampage at night?
Stopping sugar cravings may even feel impossible to you and you may feel you’ve fallen into a hole without any way out.
No matter your situation, I’m here to bring you some light to the bleak situation: there’s absolutely a way out.
And even better: YOU are in control of that way and you can start improving your situation today.
Stopping sugar cravings is a multi-faceted issue and definitely not something I could ever summarize in one article. There’s no simple guide to follow nor any step-by-step blueprints, since sugar cravings in their essence may stem from tens of different reasons. Your relationship with sugar is as unique as your entire being, and no one solution would fit every person with sugar issues.
Before I share some core principles and ideas, just know that if you feel you need more support and guidance with your cravings, contact me, and let’s see how we could work together on your road towards a better self – a self without cravings for sugar and sweets.
And now, here are some foundational principles that may help you understand where your cravings stem from and how to make some changes in your life to reduce and eliminate your sugary issue.
Balance your blood sugar
One common reason people tend to get sugar cravings throughout the day (or especially at nighttime) is their blood sugar rollercoaster. If your breakfast is sugary and less nutritious, your blood sugar will “spike”, following a sudden drop which will most likely leave you feeling fatigued, unmotivated, and – ultimately also craving for sugary treats since your body is trying to get quick energy as a way to feel energized again (due to a quick blood sugar spike again).
These blood sugar rollercoasters can wreak havoc in your body, not to even mention these huge cravings you seemingly can’t shake. It’s just your blood sugar in full action.
The best way to balance your blood sugar is to make sure you have carbs (especially fiber), protein, and fats in every meal. In other words, you should never have “naked carbs”: carbs without any fiber, protein, or fats. Fiber, protein, and fats will result in a much more lower, gradual blood sugar increase (and drop), leaving you energized and full for hours and hours (and without getting ravenously hungry once 1-2 hours have passed).
Example:
– Don’t have plain cereal with milk for breakfast, not even accompanied by fruit alone.
– Instead, have greek yogurt topped with berries (or fruit) and some granola. The fats and protein in yogurt will balance the sugar from granola (and even better if you’re having whole-grain granola with seeds and nuts).
– One of my go-to breakfast options: a seasonal salad of various veggies I enjoy, plus whole grain rye or sourdough bread with cream cheese and smoked salmon.
Have proper rest and sleep
Often, sugar cravings stem from your body’s desire to give you plenty of energy and equip you for your daily life. In a way, it’s a loving act of your body to keep you going. Glucose is the body’s preferred source of energy and if your body feels lacking in energy, it will try to do whatever it can to get some glucose.
Sometimes, you simply need more rest. You may notice how you encounter more severe sugar cravings after a bad night’s sleep or how you barely even care about sweets if you got your full 8 hours. If that’s the case for you, you need to prioritize sleep and make it one of your core habits every single day (though everyone should prioritize their sleep, no matter their situation with sugar).
My recommendations:
– Set a clear bedtime schedule and stick to it. Your body loves routine and will soon naturally adapt to your bedtime rythm.
– Make sure you get at least 7 hours of sleep (7,5 is most optimal).
– No devices before bedtime – preferably, stop using any screens about an hour before going to bed and use bluelight-blocking glasses a few hours before bedtime.
Eat plentifully, and regularly
As mentioned above, balancing your blood sugar may often reduce your sugar cravings tremendously – or even make them disappear completely. But there’s another side to sugar cravings and your eating habits: you need to make sure you eat enough and regularly.
Sometimes, sugar cravings may derive from simply having eaten too little during the day or having gone too long without eating.
This tends to be the case especially for those who tend to get sugar cravings at night: it’s your body’s way of telling you it needs more energy since it didn’t get enough during the day.
If you currently tend to eat very little in the morning and for lunch (and then find yourself raiding the pantry for that hidden box of chocolate chip cookies) or you often go long without eating, this is one of the habits you need to actively work on.
Don’t set yourself up for failure by nibbling on a few things during the day, only to find yourself feeling out of control near food later at night. Set yourself up for success, instead, by eating plenty during the day.
My recommendations:
– Try to eat every 4-5 hours, but also listen to your hunger cues. Don’t force yourself to eat. Preferably, however, you shouldn’t go too long without eating.
– When you have a meal, make sure it’s balanced (as mentioned above) and plentiful. Don’t simply snack on 1 egg and a piece of toast. Put together a proper meal, preferably with veggies, a protein source and some healthy fats. This way, your energy release will be more gradual, and you’ll feel full and energized longer.
Tackle stress
When you have a short deadline, a piling list of todo’s, or day-to-day worries, you may find yourself reaching for sweets more often. Sweets and sugary foods tend to provide the feeling of comfort or even rest, so during more stressful times, it’s your body’s natural response to crave sweets as a means to escape the stress, find some relief, or get some rest.
If you’re experiencing some stress in your life, you actually need pure rest – and not look for that rest from the bottom of the ice cream jar. Go to sleep earlier, take a few hours each night for some “me time”, journal and reflect on your thoughts and do things that bring you joy (other than eating).
My recommendations:
– Instead of reaching for sweets when you feel stressed, think of activities that always calm you down (except for eating). This may include breathing exercises, dancing, walking, reading, talking to a friend, cuddling (even cuddling your dog), sunbathing, the list goes on and on. Find true sources of relaxation, instead of almost automatically reaching for treats.
Target emotional needs, trauma, and self-worth
The above situations are more tilted toward physiological situations and practical things you can do on a daily basis, but in many cases, sugar cravings go way deeper than that and stem from something far beyond eating too little or not having blood sugar balanced.
For many (including me), sugar cravings are the manifestation of unresolved emotional trauma or even feelings of worthlessness or “not enoughness”.
Sweets may have become a coping mechanism or escapism, much like alcohol is to alcoholics. You may be trying to numb your emotions or thoughts by grabbing that pint of ice cream and drowning your thoughts by digging into the sweetness of the food. It may bring you momentary satisfaction the first few moments, only to lead you spiraling further down since – surprise, surprise – sweets didn’t remove your emotions and the underlying issue is still there.
My recommendation:
– This is a delicate, deep topic that can’t be summarized in one (or even 10) articles and I advise you contacting me for more support, so we could investigate your situation further.
However, you can start laying your groundwork with one simple exercise. Whenever you feel you’d like to have some sweets, get curious and ask yourself WHY. Why are you currently thinking of having sweets? What happened during the day? What FEELING are you looking to get from eating sweets? What’s the result you’re trying to create? Ask these questions until you get deeper into the reason (and write these thoughts down into a journal, so you could later look back and reflect on these moments).
Notice your thoughts about sweets
While I do believe there are many practical steps you can take (as mentioned above), I also need to emphasize that the thought-work relating to sweets is largely the one thing that makes the biggest difference, and beyond everything else, you need to change your thought-process relating to sweets.
The main difference between a person who doesn’t have massive sugar cravings and doesn’t feel controlled by sweets vs a person who is constantly struggling with sweets are the thoughts they have about sweets.
A cookie is neutral in its essence. It’s the meaning your thoughts give to the cookie that counts. One person may look at the cookie, eat it, enjoy it, and move on with their life since they didn’t put the cookie on a pedestal. Another person may look at the cookie, eat it, think how they “messed up” and guilt-trip themselves to end up eating the entire box since their thought process guided them to that action.
Your thoughts create your actions and your thoughts about sweets create your action of having those sweets. But you get to decide what you think about sweets and you can rewire your whole thinking process.
My recommendation:
Start noticing – or even writing down – your thoughts when you feel you have a craving. What are your thoughts relating to that particular dessert or treat? How are these thoughts triggering your actions and are these thoughts helpful to you?