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Why do we find ourselves craving sugar so badly?
Scientists have found sugar is more addictive than cocaine and as bread turns to sugar in our system bread, cake and pasta addiction is also a real problem for many, addiction to white flour. Other psychologists and emotional eating books see stopping emotional eating as the solution.
One reason that people binge on sugar and feel they have to have it is linked to the rush sugar gives us and the chemical changes in our body. Maybe you are craving sugar because of the way it makes you feel when you eat it, maybe you like the sugar in the form of bread and pasta starchy foods as it makes you feel full and comforted . It can fix the lonely feeling and emptiness temporarily and provide an emotional fix or distraction from missing love and connection. According to emotional eating books, this feeling is then something you look for over and over in order to ‘feel good’. The problem here is that the rush is over quickly and of course no food can make us happy hence why it never seems to feel like it’s enough. We want more and more.
Another is the taste. Who doesn’t like something sweet, right? Some people’s taste tends to lean more towards sugary items due to the sweeter rather than bitter taste and this is why you can find yourself reaching for that bun or chocolate bar or soda instead of anything else.
How to reduce sugar cravings?
Here are some options for overcoming emotional eating and real sugar cravings from emotional eating books
Choose healthier options
Start to choose the healthier variants of your sugary snacks. Substitute things like biscuits and chocolates for something like high sugar vegetables just as carrots and fruits. If you do your research, you can get the same ‘sweet’ taste from many healthier options and eventually your body will stop looking for the unhealthy stuff and be content with the healthy stuff. For me it took about 7 days and my tastes changed completely. You can also check out my how to stop emotional eating program which has included a healthy eating meditation https://nicolabeer.clickfunnels.com/sales-page-audio-program22992287
Do a cleanup
Start at home and get rid of all the unnatural, unhealthy, tempting sugary food. If something is not there, you can’t be tempted by it. Don’t see this step as punishment but rather one of your steps towards feeling healthier naturally. I know this is not possible if you have children as you want them to be able to have treats. One mum I worked with gave her husband responsibility to keep and give out their sweets, another couple decided to keep no treats in the house and walk together as a family to buy them from the local store when they wanted them
Curb your alcohol intake
Remember that there are a lot of alcoholic drinks out there are pure sugar when you look at the breakdown of them. I am sure sometimes I loved the days I drank to switch off each night was not the alcohol but because I craved the sugar fix. It can be addictive also you may find you want more sugar because that is what sugar consumption does, once you have it the more you want and you just keep feeling like you need more.
Have a plan
Planning ahead to curb your sugar intake or go on a sugar detox is key to beating the sugar cravings. Preparing meals and snacks in advance will also help you because the excuse we generally have is that we don’t have time to prepare anything healthy. Eliminate this excuse by planning your meals out and sticking to your plan. Also, you will not want to break a plan that has taken you that much effort to prepare like a meal.
All the above is a good guideline to starting out when you are ready to go on a sugar detox and get rid of the sugar cravings for good. I get than it can feel overwhelming too. There is nothing wrong with feeling that way, all change is daunting, if cutting out sugar is to scary right now, cut it down perhaps. Don’t beat yourself up.
At the same time, sometimes the best starting point is by getting someone who has been through the same as you to help get you started. You may find some good emotional eating books out there or if you like an action program with steps and audios to listen to, you can get started today – by checking out the how to overcome emotional eating audio program visit this page
I also have an award-winning self-love course.
If you have any questions about either do feel free to book a call with me.
From my heart to yours, Nicola
P.S Do check out this fast way to change your relationship to food here