How do you get rid of sugar cravings so you can lose more weight and live a healthier life?
Sugar cravings are the one thing that we all struggle with, and sometimes these cravings can be so overwhelming that we give into them. And as much as we tried to avoid sugar and avoid temptation it seems to be everywhere. You can’t leave the house without seeing sugary treats on the shelves at the grocery store or advertisements for your favourite candy bar.
Limiting sugar intake can be difficult, even when we know that it can be detrimental to our health. Sugar can sabotage your goals and have a significant impact on your weight loss.
Keep reading to discover…
- Why we even get sugar cravings, to begin with
- How much sugar you should really be eating every day
- What happens to your body when you eat too much sugar?
- How you can stop sugar cravings in their tracks!
WHAT CAUSES SUGAR CRAVINGS?
We all crave sugar, but why?
Blame Your Brain
The biggest reason why we crave sugar is pretty simple: we like it.
Sugar tastes good, and when we eat it, it makes us feel good… That is until we start seeing the health effects of overeating.
When we eat sugar, it stimulates our brain’s reward system, and this is what makes us feel good when we eat it.
Sugar consumption stimulates the pleasure center in our brain, and this causes a release of dopamine (the feel-good hormone). Your brain makes a memory of the dopamine spike and creates a conditioned response, making you crave sugar.
Blame Your Ancestors
From an evolutionary standpoint, sugar was something that could help us survive but was not readily available like it is today.
Our ancestors could use naturally occurring sugar, such the fructose you would find in fruit, to gain extra energy and stored fat. This can be useful when food is scarce.
But now sugar is everywhere and easy to get our hands on and so we naturally consume more.
HOW MANY GRAMS OF SUGAR PER DAY?
We know that too much sugar can be bad for you, but this doesn’t mean that you have to cut out sugar altogether.
A little bit of sugar is ok, and it is when we consume it in excess that it becomes an issue.
So, what is the daily recommendation for sugar?
For men, this is 37.5 grams of sugar a day, or 9 teaspoons. For a woman, this is 25 grams of sugar a day, or 6 teaspoons. Chances are, you should be consuming less than half of the sugar you are currently consuming every day.
This is a healthy amount, especially if you are active and you will burn off the added calories.
HEALTH EFFECTS OF TOO MUCH SUGAR
Sugar is bad for your health, and too much can lead to adverse side effects.
- Added weight gain
- Leads to type 2 diabetes
- Increases risk of heart disease
- Raises bad cholesterol and lowers good cholesterol
- Damages your liver
- Destroys your teeth
STOP SUGAR CRAVINGS
We all want to stop sugar cravings, and the good news is there are ways for you to reduce them. This can improve your health and help you lose weight.
Create better eating habits – Sugar can be addicting, but creating eating habits can help you cut down on the amount of sugar you consume. Knowing what to can be difficult, especially if you are trying to lose weight, but once you make the switch to natural, healthy food, you will naturally eat less sugar. Eating less sugar can naturally lead to consuming fewer sugar cravings as your body adjusts.
Make better choices – When trying to eat healthier and cut out sugars, make sure you start by choosing foods that only contain natural sugars. This means there are no artificial sweeteners (this can worsen sugar cravings) and there aren’t any added sugars to the foods you are eating. The easiest way to do this is to eat whole foods and avoid anything processed. And if you need to satisfy that sugar craving, reach for an apple or a sweet fruit, rather than a candy bar or cup cake.
Eating Regular Meals- One big mistake that I often notice everyone making is skipping meal. When you have meals on irregular timings your insulin level fluctuates which in turns spikes and crashes your blood sugar levels. When your blood sugar level will be low, you will instantly want to eat something sweet. The feeling that you often get when you just want anything that you see in your mouth – that is exactly what we are talking about here. Eating meals at regular intervals balances your blood sugar levels promoting a healthy lifestyle and minimising your cravings.
USE A MEAL PLAN TO CUT OUT EXCESS SUGAR
The best way to control your sugar cravings is to make healthy choices and transition to better eating habits by eating healthier food.
As mentioned above, knowing just what foods you should be eating can be difficult but allowing an expert nutritionist make you a meal plan can be the key to your success.
Custom Meal Plan is a meal plan that is designed to help you develop better eating habits by showing you what foods you should be eating and when you should be eating them. These plans are designed for healthy eating and fat loss.
When you get on a Custom meal plan, you are shown exactly what to eat and how much. This meal plan combines the power of intermittent fasting and carb cycling to help you drop the fat and create better habits, which includes limiting your sugar intake.
As you adjust to your new meal plan, you can use the tips above to help limit and stop your sugar cravings, so you don’t sabotage your goals or your health.
