Many women struggle with a strong urge to regularly eat sugary foods, which makes sticking to a healthy diet very hard - this urge is driven by your brain's need for a "reward" - not your body's need for food. If you tend to overeat and drink as soon as you taste sweet foods, giving in to this urge is the worst thing you can do. Here's how to help you beat sugar addiction. Here's a simple 3-step plan to stop strong sugar cravings.
First: If you're hungry, eat a healthy meal until you're full
It's important to know that a strong craving for sugar doesn't always mean you're hungry. It's not your body that needs energy, it's your brain asking for something that releases a lot of dopamine while you follow a certain diet as a reward for your patience and commitment for days, a week, or two. Actually, cravings mixed with true hunger is a strong drive most people struggle to beat, so if you feel a craving while hungry, the best trick is to eat a healthy meal right away. Keep your kitchen stocked with healthy snacks or pre-made meals. Protein-rich foods like meat, fish, and eggs are especially good to reduce hunger.
Second: Take a hot bath
Some people dealing with strong sugar cravings found that taking a hot bath helps them feel better and eases the urge to eat sweets. The water should be hot enough to almost feel uncomfortable but not burn you. Let the water run over your back and shoulders until you feel warm. Stay like this for at least 5-10 minutes. By the time you get out, you might feel a bit dizzy, like sitting in a sauna for a while. At this point, your craving for sugar will likely fade away.
Third: Go for a quick walk outside
Another thing that works is going for a quick walk. If you like running, that’s even better. It serves two purposes: First, you avoid eating the food you’re craving. Second, exercise releases endorphins, or chemicals (hormones) that make you feel good in your brain. They can help stop strong sugar cravings. If you can’t go out, do some tough cardio sets, push-ups, squats, or any other bodyweight exercises.
You can also rely on the following set of tips:
- Eat fruit: Eating a piece of fruit might help satisfy your strong sugar craving. Bananas, apples, and oranges work great to replace sugary junk food cravings.
- Avoid artificial sweeteners: If you feel like artificial sweeteners make your sugar cravings worse, you might want to avoid them because they mess with your diet’s overall health.
- Eat more protein: Protein helps you feel full and also cuts down your strong cravings for sugar.
- Sleep well: Getting good, refreshing sleep is important for your overall health and helps stop strong food cravings.
- Avoid too much stress: Like sleep, avoiding stress can help stop sugar cravings.
- Avoid certain triggers: Try to stay away from activities or places that make you crave sweets, like walking past McDonald's or dessert places.
- Take vitamins: This will boost your daily energy, help you do your daily workouts better, strengthen your immunity, and prevent strong cravings for sugar.
- Write a list of reasons why you eat healthy food: It can be really helpful to carry a list of reasons why you want to eat healthy food, since it can be hard to remember them when you crave sugary stuff.
- Don’t starve yourself: Try your best to avoid feeling very hungry between meals by having light snacks.
To understand what happens in your body when you eat sugar, read this article , and learn the best healthy sugar substitutes from it Here.
