How to Stop Craving Sugary Foods

chocolate is the worse craving

Craving sweets is similar to having an addiction to smoking: Each requires a great deal of willpower to quit. Craving sugary foods also requires breaking a habit. Figure out what time of day you most feel the need for sweets. Is there something special that happens to trigger this need for a chocolate bar? Are you upset, angry or sad when you reach for a piece of cake? Find the pattern, and the craving for sugary foods can be controlled or stopped.

Instructions

Sweets are as addictive as smoking and just as hard to quit

1. 

   Take it one day at a time. Make up your mind that you do not want or need to consume sweets for this one day. Try to keep your mind off thinking about having desert or a piece of chocolate after lunch or midday. Have a glass of milk instead, or a cup of coffee and a few slices of hard cheese. Proteins will keep you from being hungry and fulfill the need to have something to munch on.

2. Eat a well-balanced meal that includes proteins, a starch, vegetables and desert. The proteins keep your blood sugar normal so you will not have the urge to eat sweets as a pick-me-up mid-afternoon. Save the fruit from lunch to eat at the time you usually enjoy sweets as a snack. A great fruit to enjoy at this hour is a cup of fruit cocktail as it takes time to eat and has a naturally sweet taste with a few sips of the juice in the cup.

3. 

   Start the day with a well-balanced breakfast. If you start the day with nothing more than a cup of coffee, your sugar level will drop mid-morning. This is when you will crave something sweet. Change your eating habit, and you will find the need for sugary foods decreases.

4. Watch for when and why you have this sugar craving. Have you been disappointed in something you had hoped would happen? Are you feeling sad or lonely? Are you in need of a few day's vacation, or have you gained weight and you feel disgusted with yourself? Once you find the trigger, it will be easy to find a way to deal with the cravings for sugary foods.

5. 

   Brush your teeth and gargle with a strong--not sweet--mouthwash after you have finished eating a meal. Removing the taste of food from your mouth by brushing your tongue as well will help curb your cravings for sweets.

Tips & Warnings

• Brushing and gargling with a powerful mouthwash eliminates the need to eat something else. Keep a piece of dark chocolate in the kitchen cabinet. If you have a strong desire for a piece of chocolate, eat one little piece and allow it to melt slowly in your mouth. Rinse your mouth when finished, and go on with your day.

References

• Stop Sugar Cravings
• Tips to Stop Craving Sugary Foods

Resources

• 10 Ways to stop sugar cravings