How To Stop Sugar Cravings – My Top Tips
Dec 6th, 2009 by Giselle
Find out how to stop sugar cravings. Are there times when you find yourself violently craving sugar? When you start eating a jelly bean, you cannot stop until the whole packet is demolished? If that is you, you have a sugar addiction. As a dietitian, I can assure you that this addiction is not unlike alcohol or drug addiction. A force much larger than you takes over and has a life of its own. Discover how to stop sugar cravings using the resources and strategies in this article!
How Do Sugar Cravings Develop?
I have found from experience that individuals who eat haphazardly, eat very fast and eat a narrower range of uninteresting foods tend to develop food addictions. Sugar cravings are almost a form of compensation for an uninteresting palate.
Chronic dieters are particularly susceptible to erratic and uncontrollable sugar cravings. Do you put yourself on punishing diets and eat like a bird in the attempt to get to your goal weight by tomorrow? You may want to take a cold hard look at yourself to ascertain what it is that you are subjecting yourself to that is causing these addictions.
I postulate that it could be due to a lack of balance. Balance is key in the taste sensations we get from our foods. There should be a mix of sour, sweet, hot, cold, bitter, salty, spicy taste sensations in our palate. These myriad of tastes sensations, food textures and mouth feels contribute to the enjoyment of food. If we enjoy each meal slowly, feel fully satisfied and stop just before we are full, we are less likely to develop sugar addictions.
Why Do I Have Sugar Cravings?
Cravings can be linked to a drop in blood sugar levels. If your last meal was more than 6 hours ago, it is reasonable to expect hunger pangs to initial sugar cravings. After all, your body needs sugar to produce energy quickly. Particularly the brain – the only form of fuel the brain uses is sugar, not fat or protein. Consequently, it is natural for you to crave sugar when famished!
Food cravings can also arise from hormonal changes. Many women report that they crave sugar when they are pre-menstrual. Our emotional state is also largely responsible for our sugar cravings. Some people, when angry or under stress, find themselves polishing off an entire block of chocolate, half a cake and a whole pack of sweet biscuits. If you are one of those people, try to keep those emotions in check by taking time out to calm down before reaching for the bag of jelly beans. Some breathing exercises to relax could be useful!
How To Stop Sugar Cravings
Are you in the habit of eating something sweet after dinner? Do you like a bowl of ice cream after dinner? If you break this habit, you are on the perfect path to stop your sugar cravings for good.
Stop sugar cravings in-between meals
To prevent cravings, simply have a snack between your 3 main meals. Reach for some fruits, nuts or yoghurt.
Brush Your Teeth
Brushing your teeth at the end of the meal can readily stop sugar cravings. The toothpaste leaves a fresh minty flavour in your mouth and this makes you less likely to reach for something sweet.
Have Some Water
Often thirst is mistaken for hunger. We confuse the body’s messages. Tune in to your body’s cues and get a big glass of water instead of starting on that bar of chocolate.
Do Something Different
Are you bored after spending hours at your desk? Get up and go for a walk instead of giving in to the urge to eat something sweet. Craving something sweet could just be a habit. The best way to stop the craving is to stop the habit altogether. Distract yourself another way, call a friend, go for a walk, take a long hot bath, listen to some music and start grooving or do some yoga.
If you can just delay satisfying your immediate food cravings, you can drastically reduce the amount of times you actually give in to them. They are called “moments” of weakness for that reason. If you can extend the “moment”, the weakness may well pass, too. This is a very powerful method to stop sugar cravings.
Do anything but eat something sweet and break the habit. You might actually like yourself more for being stronger than your cravings!
Clear Your Pantry
Another way to stop sugar cravings is to clear your pantry. Eliminate or store sweet foods in opaque jars so that they are “Out of sight and out of mind.”
Control the Quantities
If having coffee with friends or dining out, share the piece of cake or dessert. That way you cut down on half the sugar intake and get to enjoy exactly what you want. You are less likely to feel deprived and resentful of missing out on the sweet.
Stop sugar cravings at home by giving yourself a bit of chocolate and keep the rest of the bar in a hard to reach place, like the rear of the top kitchen shelf. Then walk out of the kitchen and settle down somewhere else before you start eating.
When Shopping
Never shop when you are dangerously hungry. You will reach for the sweet treats unconsciously when you blood sugar levels are low. Eat something like a piece of fruit and a yoghurt before you commence shopping. Take a list with you and buy only what is on the list, nothing more!
Hypnosis to Stop Sugar Cravings
You might also want to give hypnosis a go as another complementary tool in your quest to stop sugar cravings. I have purchased a number of hypnosis mp3 recordings from the following site myself, and found them to be surprisingly effective. They are very reasonably priced and come with a risk-free 90-day money back guarantee – more than enough time to see if this works for you:
You might also like to try the more general Perfect Health hypnosis session:
Sugar addiction is like any other addiction, only it is socially acceptable and therefore harder to incriminate.
100 Days of Empowerment – Stop Sugar Cravings and Beyond
When you are completely stuck, it usually helps to attack a problem from a completely different angle. Have a look at the following video – it’s quite fun and so true!
A friend sent this to me last year, and I signed up for the program myself. Having been through the entire 100 days program, I can whole-heartedly recommend it. Yeah sure, I do not need to stop sugar cravings in my life, but I am still human with plenty of other issues. And I can tell you, this program is full of positive, empowering messages that truly propel you each day to live a life you love! Create your own breakthroughs, go for your dreams – and walk down a different street!
In fact, the program was so good that my entire family (husband and two kids) shared the journey, too, and had their own breakthroughs.
UPDATE (28-June): The 100 Day Challenge used to be available only around the start of the year, but now you don’t have to wait. What would you like your life to look 100 days from now? Stop those cravings for good and replace them with pride. Check it out here: The 100 Day Challenge.
Do you find this article useful? What are your breakdowns and breakthroughs in dealing with your sugar cravings? What’s your plan of attack? I’d love to hear from you, and I will keep updating this post with the latest tips on how to stop sugar cravings!
Hi Giselle,
I certainly subscribe to the out of sight out of mind philosophy. Even better though is completely out of reach. I am an IT professional, and therefore spend a lot of time at my desk in an office. I often get peckish in the late afternoons, and I found that whenever I had a chocolate snack in my drawer, I would almost inevitably end up eating it all, instead of just a little bit. I am not overweight or addicted to sugar, yet I found it hard to stop eating chocolate when I had it there. So I resolved to no longer have this kind of stuff near me. Instead I have a plain bread roll or nuts for those late afternoons. Apples and bananas also work well for me, and I sure feel better afterwards.
Cheers, Alandra
[...] For a related discussion with further ideas, see also How to stop your sugar cravings. [...]
I found this information very useful. What do you think of sugar substitutes and sugar-free sweets such as made by Extra. Are there any issues with these? (By the way, you can hypnotise me anytime … am willing to give anything a go as the mind is our biggest challenge and apparently it has a sweet tooth!)
I also really like this article. I think focusing on food (in any way) when you want to control your eating is not a good idea. I have gotten myself a great 4 days a week exercise program DVD set. I’ve been doing that since January and it feels great. Focusing on fitness has helped to take away a fair bit of the focus on food.
Next I will try that perfect health hypnosis product you link to.
Cheers,
Lewis
Hi Raphael,
Sugar free products like Equal are composed of phenylalanine, aspartarme, acesulphame K and L-leucine. Substituting small quantities of sugar in drinks or baking a cake with Equal does constitute a problem. This sugar substitute is composed of harmless protein molecules that happen to taste sweet. Equal is a great artificial sweetener because it is calorie-poor and and does not have a bitter after taste like saccharin (Sugarella) . The only draw back is that it is inappropriate for use by phehylketonurics (i.e. people who suffer from phenylketonuria).
Regarding hypnosis, you should give it a go. It is so simple and really works!
[...] So, how then do we stop ourselves ‘flying’ towards sugary foods? How to stop craving sugar? [...]
I think this must be one of the most to the point and useful articles on the web, when it comes to how to fight sugar cravings and food cravings in general.
I really like that you don’t talk about medication, but about natural remedies and how the battle is mainly in the mind, which of course it is. Likewise, I find it pretty convincing, coming from a dietician such as yourself, to look at all angles, including hypnosis and on-line motivational programs. BTW, I signed up for the 100 day challenge program and I love it!
[...] further information, click one of the following links: Glycaemic Index and also How To Stop Your Sugar Cravings. [...]
I tried hypnosis before, to help me with my insomnia and it really helped. I didn’t know it was also available for cravings. Thanks for this valuable resource!
I guess you’re kind of covering it already, but one way I found to be extremely effective to curb my sweet cravings was to RELAX. Whenever I am stressed I am prone to eating. Relaxation techniques go a long way to reduce the amount of anxiety and stress we have to endure. Personally I use Tai Chi, but there are many other ways to reduce your stress levels.
I think sugar cravings are made much worse by all this artificial sweetened stuff like Diet Coke, etc. These drinks are not satisfactory and make sugar cravings worse. Stop sugar cravings by having normal food – the more natural the better!
Is there a pill that can suppress or even stop sugar cravings altogether?
[...] find out how to effectively stop sugar cravings and discover many more resources for healthy weight management, visit [...]
‘If you can extend the “moment”, the weakness may well pass, too. This is a very powerful method to stop sugar cravings.’ Haha. The person who wrote this has apparently never tried to give up sugar. Most of this is bollocks and not going to help anyone truly addicted. Does anyone know of anyone who can actually help?? Real, useful info?
Hello Phee,
I understand that sugar cravings are urgent and often take on a life of their own when they come. The need to immediately react is very real. These tips provided here to help you stop your sugar cravings are just tools to help you cope with the urgency of these cravings. To get better at stopping these cravings, you have to learn to apply these techniques over and over again until they become a natural part of you. It will not be easy and will require focus and consistency on your part. Look at it this way, aspiring to curb your sugar cravings is like someone who aspires to do 100 sit ups or push ups right away. In the beginning it will be impossible but if you start with just 3 and work your way slowly to 100 over a realistic time frame, it will be achievable. The key is focus, consistency, patience and the willingness to start over and over again until you have are able to eventually achieve it.
Another way to overcome this problem requires you to observe your cravings but do not react. Find out what are the triggers that bring on these cravings. What is the predominant emotion you are feeling and what are the events or thought processes that repeatedly lead to these familiar emotions. Then identify your eating pattern. Find out how you can interrupt these patterns by creating a personalised structure that works for you. With practice your ability to interrupt these patterns will get stronger and stronger. Lastly track and celebrate your successes. And if you require professional assistance to help you overcome your sugar cravings, check out the Shrink Yourself website for accessible and affordable online therapy. Best of luck!
Lots of good tips here. However, I think in my case it’s the low serotonin. When we are stressed or depressed we have low levels of serotonin. So we find that an easy (and unhealthy) way to increase our brain serotonin levels is to eat sweets and carbs. You say in the article “try to keep those emotions in check”, but it’s not that easy. I think there’s a big emotional factor and when I’m down or/and very stressed for long periods of time, I eat loads of sweets and carbs.
Dear Ana,
It is true that eating sweets and carbs literally change our body chemistry and these feel-good chemicals literally help stabilise your mood. Amazingly, these foods excite the same circuits in your brain that are stimulated by pleasire-inducing drugs. They deliver a mild but short-lived high and take the edge off our emoitonal pain. Habitually using food as a drug to cope with stress can be addictive. Most people with weight issues regularly abuse food as an opiate to manage their emoitonal states. This unfortunately leads to guilt, depression and even greater stress and anxiety setting up a viscious cycle leading to more weight issues. Mind mastery is the key to emotional balance and this can be achieved through mindfulness and meditation. It takes a great deal of discipline, focus and dedication to achieve mastery. It is not easy but certainly worth it.