Posted on May 06, 2016 by Kate Halsall
True story – I asked one of our gym members yesterday that if I could write about anything health, fitness or food related what would he read and he said “how can I stop eating puddings”!! And why not? That sweet tooth that some people have means that after meals they reach for something to satisfy that sugary craving. How do you stop it? Fear not, you don’t need to staple your mouth shut! Whilst some people will retort “use your will power” – and to be fair this would help – there are much easier solutions!
- What is your overall diet like? Small changes to your diet could stop that sugar craving!
- If you eat lots of simple carbs such as processed food, too much fruit or dairy, adding sugar in your tea/coffee, eating “healthy” baked products (including some protein and breakfast bars), too much honey in your porridge and so on – you may feel satisfied for a short time, but ultimately once your body has utilised the energy source, your blood sugar will drop and you will start to feel hungry again…..reach for something sugar….seeing the pattern?
- Are you eating enough protein and good fats? You may have a healthy diet full of complex carbs but you also need to ensure you’re eating enough protein and good fats to help curb those sugar cravings.
- Ensure you eat foods containing chromium (good for balancing blood sugar) such as broccoli, green beans and oats; AND foods containing selenium and zinc (for thyroid function) such as brazil nuts, fish, spinach and other dark leafy greens.
- Have pudding! Ok before all personal trainers and nutritionists explode, stay with me!
- Eating carbohydrates – any type – releases the feel good hormone serotonin. Also the taste of sugar releases endorphins which calm and relaxes us…so when we’re down or stressed our body craves these hormones to be released. As such, eating pudding isn’t all bad BUT that’s not to say go out and eat cake, especially if you want to lose fat or are watching your figure! Instead think about the types of carbs you eat……some healthy, slow release carbohydrates are much better for you!
- Positive reinforcement! If someone tells you not to push the red button or not to drop the object you’re carrying, something inside us immediately wants to press the red button. If you tell yourself you’re not going to have pudding, you’re only more likely to eat it – and probably eat more of it! Rather than telling yourself you’re not going to have pudding today, tell yourself that today you’re going to find an alternative dessert source.
- Pudding does not have to be donuts, cheesecake, trifle, chocolate brownies and so on. Look for healthier options (but don’t whatever you do google “healthy desserts” as this returned a grilled dark chocolate sandwich for me yesterday!). We’ve said that too much fruit isn’t great for you, so why not save it until dessert time? There are an abundance of recipes for avocado chocolate mouse use cacao. I’ve got a paleo book which makes “cookies” out of almond flour, dates and coconut oil. There are healthier options out there!
In a nutshell there’s no point in telling you not to eat something. If you do have sugar cravings it is best to look at your diet first before you reach into that bag of sweets. Of course you could try going sugar free…cut all refined sugar from your diet – but be aware for some people this will be like going cold turkey, it’s not going to be as easy as it sounds.