What Stops Sugar Cravings

In my work, the thing I see women struggle with the most is sugar cravings. So, based on my own experience and working with other women for five years, here are what stops sugar cravings.

Most of my clients come to me because of some out-of-control sugar habit. My promise to them is that they will not only not have that habit one day, but they will almost forget they ever had it.

It’s so common, it’s funny. After working together for a while, I’ll ask about that pint of ice-cream a night or that stash they take to eat in bed. And they look at me, with a “what are you talking about look?”

I swear, they could have been doing this eating thing for years and they almost can’t remember it!

I know it can feel impossible right now to stop your sugar cravings right now. But I promise you it is possible to curb sugar cravings.

You can get over sugar cravings, not by white knuckling it but by using strategies that work with your body, mind, and spirt instead of against them.

Beyond helping with blood sugar levels, obesity, diabetes, insulin resistance, and even your hunger hormones, you can also experience so many other benefits.

My clients report more energy, less swelling and joint pain, and overall feeling better.

And the best part? Clients can finally let go of the shame and frustration and feel confident and in-control of their eating.

So, if you believe that dealing with your sugar cravings is what you need right now, read on for how to do it as I walk you through it.

Is Sugar Bad for You?

As a child I loved sweet treats, a piece of candy or a slice of cake after dinner. Having candy or dessert was considered normal but it wasn’t an everyday thing or used as a reward. It was an actual treat.

I believe that having some sugar is fine and nothing to be afraid of. While we don’t actualy need any processed sugar for our health, most of us enjoy it.

The problem is that while a cookie now and then isn’t a problem, unlimited sugar intake can cause a lot of problems.

When I first started this website, I was anti-sugar or anything that acted like sugar in the body, such as bread and pasta. I have always and still do, promote eating enough protein, healthy fats, and plenty of vegetables.

For what it’s worth—it was definitely easier to be thin without those things in my diet! Because sugar and processed foods can be so addictive, I found it easier to leave them out.

These days, I do eat some sugar and foods that act like sugar in my diet. But it’s never out of control and I never feel bad or guilty about it.

So, some amount of sugar isn’t completely bad. The problem with sugar is that it can be harmful in large amounts.

Your sugar cravings can keep you in a vicious cycle of wanting sugar and also hating yourself for giving in. I can help you get out of this!

And the reason we consume sugar and processed in large amounts is because it has an addictive quality to it. It is so concentrated in sweetness that it overrides our natural ability to tell when we are full.

It overrides our appetite and our hunger hormones. Our bodies are designed to let us know the right amount to eat.

Sugar and highly processed foods bypass our natural appetites and hunger cues, leading to so many undesirable outcomes.

Our brains love the taste so much, we tend to eat way more than we are actually hungry for. Also, our obsession with snacks adds to our insulin resistance and other problems. 

So many women turn to sugar when they are bored, hungry, frustrated, sad, mad, or happy. We pretty much use it to punctuate any feeling we are having or to push a feeling away.

So, sugar is addictive biologically and emotionally. It packs a powerful punch!

Can I Ever Be Free from Craving Sugar?

Despite the gloom and doom of the above section, it is possible to manage, reduce, and maybe eliminate sugar cravings.

I’ve been working with women for five years and I know first-hand that it is possible and the feeling of confidence that comes from not feeling out of control feels amazing to all my clients.

If you are currently dealing with not being in control of your sugar cravings and intake, I get it. No one believes me at first when I assure them that it’s totally possible.

Yesterday, I had lunch with my daughter and afterwards we went back to my house to catch up some more.

Since we hadn’t had dessert at lunch, I fixed a plate of different chocolates I always keep on hand. I pulled eight different kinds of individually wrapped chocolates from my pantry and my candy jar I keep on the kitchen counter.

Her comment was, “I could never keep that much chocolate around my house, I’d eat it all in one day.”

Some of that chocolate has been there for eight months. I usually only eat a few pieces a week. I keep a big variety because I love having what I would most enjoy in the moment.

I also keep my favorite brand of ice-cream bars in my freezer if I want something a little more filling. It is possible to live in peace with sugar.

There is no willpower involved. But I wasn’t always this way; I can remember making myself sick with overeating sugar at times.

These days I don’t even think about it or even see it. Here’s the thing. I used to be addicted to sugar and later, even more to artificial sugars used in desserts.

How do You Know if You Have a Problem with Sugar?

While being heavier than you want may make you think you have a problem, that’s not necessarily true. But it can also be a sign that you are eating more sugar and processed foods than you need.

The test is super simple. You are eating sugary foods when you are not hungry or you are eating them instead of nutritious food when you are hungry. These foods FEEL like they are a problem.

Think about your own sugar problem. Since you are reading this, then there is probably something bothering you about your sugar consumption.

Most women are not eating sugar in large amounts around the clock. They usually have specific times or triggers where their sugar monster gets activated.

Here are some questions to ask yourself?

• Where do I feel out-of-control with sugar?
• When (what time of day) do I struggle with sugar?
• What is my sugary food that I overeat on a regular basis?
• When (situations) do I overeat sugar?
• Who am I with when I overeat sugar?
• Why (what is happening) do I eat sugar?

How Do You Get Rid of Cravings for Sugar?

The only way I know is to work with your physical body and your emotions. Willpower only helps to get the process started. As a tool, it only has limited use and will not extinguish the craving for good.

For myself, I used an elimination diet to do it. I did a WHOLE30 13 years ago and not only did I not eat sugar, but I didn’t eat any grains, breads, baked goods, or pastas.

This totally changed how I viewed food and worked very well for me. I still primarily eat this way.

For my clients though, I offer a more gradual way that works with a woman’s life. I don’t want to make their life harder!

Steps to Stop Sugar Cravings

Here is how you can stop your sugar cravings. Writing it out in list form, makes it look like it is super complicated. It’s not. But to give you an idea of what can happen or come up, I’m giving you a thorough explanation.

Most of the time, we’re just told NOT to do something. It seems so simple. You are overeating sugar, so just stop. If only!

My approach acknowledges that sugar is addictive to humans. Not because sugar is inherently bad but because concentrated sugar was very rare to our human ancestors and it was a great thing for them to find some.

These days, super processed and concentrated forms of sugar are overwhelming for us. Our biology wants to dive in, who knows when you’ll ever get any again.

So, while our rational mind knows that treats are always available, our primitive brain thinks this could be it for a while and we need to eat all we can.

The best tool to help you during this time is a journal. It doesn’t have to be anything fancy. I use composition books that you can find for a couple of dollars. If you want to be fancy, you can pay a little more and get a pretty one.

Be kind to yourself during this process. It works. You can rebalance your desire for sugar.   

1. Establish where the problem exists
2. Resist the craving for the first time
3. Evaluate what happened good or bad
4. Plan your approach
5. Expect that it won’t feel good at first
6. Follow my 10 Step Protocol Ô for resisting cravings (10 Steps to Get Through an Intense Craving)
7. Celebrate all the wins
8. Eat meals that support your goals
9. Eat enough carbohydrates
10. Consistency is better than perfection

Establish where the problem exists

While you might feel out of control, in my experience most women are only overeating or binging on sugar at certain times, not all day every day.

This is good news! When you knock out the biggest problem, everything else is so much easier.

Here are some common times I hear about:

For many women, sugary foods offer an extreme level of comfort. It’s like being wrapped in a snuggly blanket, usually in the evening. Often this is in front of the TV or while in bed.

During the work hours is another time. This can often be a grazing thing too, eating candy throughout the day to keep your energy up.

Another common situation is through the holiday seasons. Here in the US, research indicates that women can gain many pounds just in those three months and then start the year with additional weight.

For the record, my clients do not do this, even clients who always gain weight during the holidays. My clients always maintain or continue to lose if that is their goal.

The easiest way to figure this out, is to write down everything you eat or drink every day (and when) for a couple of weeks so you can see the patterns.

You’ll see for yourself the areas of eating that are working well and the areas where you are struggling.

Resist the craving for the first time

It’s time to dive in!

Don’t make a big deal of this, you just need to get some information. For the most part when we are stuck in a craving/overeating cycle, we are unaware of what all is going on.

So, you have to just set out to not give in to the craving. Most of us are so used to giving in and getting rid of the craving that way, that we think it’s impossible to resist it. It happens so fast.

But this time, you’re going to get the craving and not immediately give in.

That’s when you will notice what your body and brain are doing to force you to give in.

• You might feel restless
• It might feel like an itch you have to scratch
• You might feel a bit of panic
• It might feel like your brain is screaming at you
• Or your brain might offer up convincing arguments

Set a timer for a short amount of time, such as five minutes. Just let your body and brain do their thing. All you have to do is sit there and notice.

Write down everything you notice in your journal.

By this time, you’ll probably feel calmer and at that point either skip the treat or go ahead and have it. Now you know how powerful a craving can be and why.

Expect it won’t feel good at first

As you know now, resisting a craving does not feel good at first. This is so normal. It’s nothing wrong with you.

Your body and brain are doing what they are designed to do. At one time, this meant survival. At this time it usually means extra weight and health problems.

This discomfort though is only temporary. Imagine in a few short weeks, you won’t be at the mercy of this particular craving anymore.

Evaluate what happened good or bad

In your journal, it might be tempting to just focus on what went wrong. I encourage you to also note where it went well.

First of all, you actually did this step! You felt the discomfort. The fact that you did this difficult thing is a good thing.

Notice the thoughts that really pushed your buttons to eat the sugar. Notice where you were able to calm yourself.

If you ate the sugar, what was the reason? Overwhelm? Panic? “This is stupid.” “I hate Sara, why am I even doing this?”

A lot of times we give in because we just don’t believe we can change and the sneaky thought is along the lines of “What is the use?”

You’re here, so you know it’s important. But your brain will try to convince you it’s not.

Plan your approach

Now is your opportunity to put your executive function in the game. You get to decide how you want to bust this sugar craving.

There is no one right way.

Most of my clients have things that they refuse to give up at first and these usually revolve around family times such as pizza night.

And that’s fine. So, a client will aim to NOT have the big sugar binge six nights of the week and allow themselves to have that one evening off.

Or as I did, you might decide to not have any sugar for a period of time, such as 30 days, but I don’t find that necessary.

But if you have a big sugar-binging situation, it’s usually a good idea to start with that. Once you prove to yourself you are not a slave to that, the rest is much easier.

Follow my 10 Step Protocol for resisting cravings (10 Steps to Get Through an Intense Craving)

I’ve spelled out in great detail How to get Through an Intense Craving, so invest in the time to read that whole article. There’s a printout you can keep handy as you are learning to do this.

Celebrate all the wins

Here’s the secret sauce to making this work. You have to celebrate all your wins. When I meet weekly with clients, we always start with celebrations.

Most women are experts at noting what went wrong and horrible at giving themselves credit for doing something right.

As an example, my clients will tell me they had a horrible week because they gave in all the time. When we get factual, I discover that they didn’t have that pint of ice-cream on four nights of the week.

To me, that’s a WOW! Last week they ate the pint of ice-cream all seven nights but this week, they had it down to three evenings. That’s amazing.

This is so important to acknowledge. If you do all that work and still tell yourself that you did bad, you’ll find yourself at the “What’s the point?” very soon.

When you celebrate your wins, you build momentum. It feels so much better to celebrate your wins as opposed to berating yourself.

Keep this in mind. Feeling good about yourself is really the point. You can’t hate yourself into any kind of positive change. If you use being mean to yourself as motivation, it is not going to end well.

Eat meals that support your goals

Ladies, eat your meals. Eat three meals during the day. Eat enough that you feel satisfied and don’t get too hungry in between.

You do want to get hungry at some point. That’s your signal to eat your next meal.

Eating real food at actual meals is probable the single most practical thing you can do to stop your sugar cravings.

Be sure to eat plenty of protein, healthy fats, vegetables, and high-fiber foods. Being comfortable and not hungry helps a lot with curbing sugar cravings.

Eat enough carbohydrates

There’s more good news! Eating carbohydrates can help you with your sugar cravings.

Here’s how to do this to support yourself with carbohydrates

• Eat your carbohydrates with your meals
• Plan for moderate amounts
• First choices are higher carb vegetables, fruit, whole grains, or beans
• Second choice is something more processed such as a small treat
• I usually keep my higher carb veggies, fruit, or grains to about ½ cup
• Small treats might be something like a couple of pieces of chocolate or an ice-cream bar
• Veggies can be with meal. Fruits or treats after you’ve eaten your main meal

Don’t be afraid to have some carbohydrates. Moderate amounts with your meals will help you with your sugar cravings. Later when you’ve got the big sugar cravings under control, you can tweak your meals more.

But for now it’s important to eat balanced meals and carbohydrates are an important part of that.

Consistency is better than perfection

One of the things that throw a lot of women off their goal of eliminating a sugar addiction is the idea that they have to do it perfectly.

How many times have you thrown in the towel, when you didn’t do your diet perfectly. Or you ate some sugar and decided you might as well eat until you feel sick.

Perfection doesn’t exist. The whole idea of perfection is made up.

Consistency is key here. Just keep going. Do all of the above. Repeat every day.

Does that sound tedious?

Maybe it is. But who cares. Eating a pound of candy every night is real misery.

I was talking to a woman a while back who couldn’t stop eating huge amounts of candy every night. She was in her words miserable and 50 pounds overweight.

She told me that what I charged for coaching was ridiculous. (It’s not) I wished her well because I only work with women who are excited to take care of themselves.

But I’ve thought about this woman many times. One of the things that makes us feel the most miserable is that feeling of being out-of-control with our sugar cravings.

That’s why I provide as much information as I can for free. If I’ve learned it, experienced it, or observed it in clients, it’s here on my website.

Now back to the tedious part. That’s why I also offer private coaching for women. It is tedious and you can feel lonely when you are trying to make a big change.

Most women have years of dealing with the shame of feeling out-of-control with sugar cravings. It’s painful and lonely.

So, working with a coach that has helped women through this process can be very helpful. One advantage is that when you work with a coach, it is tailored exactly to you and you can get support and feedback every single week.

In the meantime, between this post and the How to Get Through an Intense Craving, you can definitely get started.

How Does Stopping Sugar Cravings Help Me?

For one thing, not putting huge amounts of sugar into your body will help you feel so much better. My clients tell me about all their physical improvements.

• They have more energy
• Joint pain and swelling go away
• They sleep better
• Their faces slim down
• They lose weight

Just as amazing, is the way they feel about themselves. When a woman kicks a habit, she has been struggling with for years, she feels confident, calm, and excited.

She realizes that the woman who can do this can do anything.

So, while you might think this is just about sugar, this is actually about changing your whole life and putting you back into control!