Do you feel your sugar and carb cravings are getting the better of you? Here are some simple tips that might help you overcome them:
- Know and avoid hidden sugars, these will keep you in a craving cycle.
- Remove all temptation foods from your environment.
- Unless you’re preparing a meal, stay out of the kitchen.
- Commit to a two week period to beat sugar addictions.
- Be prepared, have healthy snacks ready so you aren’t hungry.
- Suggestions are nuts and seeds, dips with seeded crackers or vegetable nibbles, fruit, protein smoothies, vegetable juices, bliss balls or other home-made low carb snacks.
- Include good fats and proteins at each meal to supply lasting energy.
- Include a range of fibre foods in your diet.
- Include food rich in B6 – tuna, salmon, turkey, beef, chicken, sunflower seeds and spinach, they help regulate dopamine, easing food cravings.
- Support with Gymnema, chromium, zinc and magnesium if deficient.
- During breaks go for a walk rather than snacking.
- Before reaching for a snack, drink a glass of water. Often, we think we are hungry when we are actually dehydrated.
- Don’t work through meal breaks and allow yourself to get too hungry.
- Slow down and chew your food thoroughly and slowly. Pause between mouthfuls and partway through your meal to allow the satiety centre of your brain to receive messages.
- Identify the times you snack and come up with strategies. For example, if you snack when you walk in the door after work, have a handful of nuts on the way home.
- Be aware of common times that blood sugar levels drop, such as around 3pm, have extra protein with lunch and a snack ready at this time.
- Understand why you snack. Are you bored, emotional, pre-menstrual, procrastinating, stressed?
- Get adequate quality sleep, fatigue is a common trigger for cravings.
- Reduce stress hormone cortisol which amplifies cravings. Mindfulness, gentle exercise and belly breathing can all reduce cortisol levels.
- Understand that dysbiotic gut bacteria and yeast overgrowth can also drive sugar cravings and address if needed.
