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How to
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Stop sugar cravings by following these simple nutrition guidelines:
- Eat regular meals and snacks.
- Include a small amount of protein with all meals.
- Eat 4 pieces of fruit every day.
- Stop using artificial sweeteners.
Eat regular (balanced) meals and snacks
Eat breakfast when you wake up and continue eating every 3-4 hours thereafter.
If your blood sugar drops too low, (this occurs when you go too long without eating) your body sends out strong signals to EAT!
We interpret these signals as "cravings" and usually choose sugary/starchy foods in response because these foods raise blood sugar levels quickly.
Include a small amount of protein with all meals
Protein helps fill you up, curbs hunger between meals, and prevents blood sugar from dipping. Low blood sugar levels lead to food cravings.
Eat a small amount of protein every time you eat to stop sugar cravings. Good protein sources include:
- Egg/egg whites/egg substitute
- Nonfat/lowfat cottage cheese
- Nonfat/lowfat cheese
- Chicken
- Turkey
- Fish
- Nonfat/lowfat milk
- Nonfat/lowfat yogurt
- Protein drinks and powders
- Beans
- Nuts/nut butters (ex: peanut butter, almond butter)
Get your sugar from a natural source!
I'm not kidding when I tell you 99% of the clients I work with have reported a decline in sugar cravings upon increasing their intake of fruit.
So the next time you have an urge for a candy bar, reach for mother nature's dessert instead. Keep the entire color spectrum of the rainbow in mind:
- Red: strawberries, cherries, raspberries, red plums, watermelon
- Orange: oranges, tangerines, cantaloupe, apricot
- Yellow: banana, yellow grapefruit, mango, peach
- Green: kiwi, honeydew melon
- Blue: blueberries, blackberries, black raspberries, purple grapes, purple plum, raisins, prunes
Top 10 foods to eat when you just CAN'T stop sugar cravings.
Stop Using Artificial Sweeteners
Artificial sweeteners (used in sugar free foods) are hundreds of times sweeter than sugar.
If you bathe your taste buds in artificial sweeteners day in and day out, you get accustomed to a very, very, very sweet taste, and eventually nothing else will do.
Over time, you condition yourself to want and crave sweet, sweet, and MORE sweet!
Challenge yourself: Take a break from all the sugar free foods you eat and drink for as little as 2 weeks (including diet drinks, sugar free yogurt and desserts, and even sugar free gum, etc., etc.) and notice how much of a difference it makes on your overall desire for sweets and sugary foods
Until the day comes when your dentist can simply "pull your sweet tooth" to stop sugar cravings, you'll have to implement some simple dietary principles to manage them.
More healthy eating tips.
Back to Personal Nutrition Guide Home.
