3 Ways to stop sugar cravings

Stop sugar cravings

We all know that sugar is not good for us. It consists solely of refined carbohydrates; it is high in energy, and provides us with no vitamins or minerals.

By removing sugar from our diet, we do ourselves a favour. However, if we can’t manage to completely remove it, the next best thing is to reduce it.

These are the top three things that help reduce sugar cravings.

1. Shop on a full stomach

This is the first of three very important points. And say it with me, ‘I will never ever, ever go shopping for food on an empty stomach’.

This sounds like a silly point but it really helps.

When we go shopping on an empty stomach we crave all the sugary foods that we see. We might buy some for ourselves right then and there. But we also throw a whole bunch of these sweet foods into our trolley.

And then we pack our sweets into our car and bring it all home. And once it is all at home, we indulge on it for days. And this is the whole problem.

If we can avoid snacking on sweets when we shop as well as not bring sugary things home, we will decrease our sugar intake.

Also the best practice is to actually write a shopping list for ourselves and try to stick to it. Don’t buy the junk food and sugar drinks that you don’t need.

2. Drink water

Now you’re probably wondering, ‘How will drinking water help me avoid sugar?’ Well the simple answer is that it will quench your thirst and prevent you from drinking sugar packed drinks.
We all know that soft drinks are packed with sugar but did you know that so are various vitamin water drinks?

Even 100% fruit juice is packed with the sugar fructose. Fructose is a fruit sugar but it is not good for us in the amounts that are found in fruit juice.

The best answer out there is to stick with your water and if you feel the need to have something sweet to drink then go for a sugar free drink.

Water also helps with weight loss when drunk before a meal and it helps to keep our bodies hydrated.

3. Include more protein in your diet

Bet you have never heard of this one before but, by actually increasing protein intake you can reduce sugar intake.

Ways to increase your protein intake would be by having eggs for breakfast instead of breakfast cereals and including more meat, fish, cheese or yoghurt into your daily meals or snacks.

So don’t feel bad about having that biltong for a snack or adding a thick slice of cheese to your sandwich.

So why does protein actually help with this? Studies have shown that by increasing protein intake you actually feel fuller for longer. This means that you won’t be digging through your cupboards for your next snack as soon as you used to. It has also been linked to increasing ketones in the body which helps keep our appetite at bay.

Try out these three tips today and see if they help you!

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