7 Simple strategies to Crush Sugar Cravings for Life

You’re sitting at your desk mind your own business. Nothing changes except the clock strikes 3 pm and all of the sudden you’d do anything (anything), for a Reese’s. We’ve all been there. But when you’re trying to lose weight those snack attacks can add up and sabotage your goals. The good news is, you don’t have to live with sugar cravings. The better news: you don’t have to rely on will power or self-control!

Eat Every 3-4 Hours

The reason this weight loss strategy works doesn’t have so much to do with revving your metabolism (although there is some truth to that). The real reason eating every 3-4 hours works is because it keeps you from ever feeling ravenously deprived.

When you skip meals your body craves fast fuel. Going too long between meals leaves you with an empty belly and low blood sugar. Your brain and body start to crave the foods that give relief from hunger fastest: simple sugars. It’s a quick fix because simple sugars are broken down rapidly in the digestive track giving you a surge of energy (and inevitable crash later).

Starting in the morning with breakfast, eat a balanced meal with protein, healthy fats and fiber every 3-4 hours to stave off cravings.

Always be Prepared.

Part of the reason sugar cravings wreak havoc on your diet is because they hit at inopportune times. A couple of hours post-lunch at work and your options revolve around what’s available in a vending machine. When you’re in the middle of a long drive and it’s only gas stations and fast food drive-thrus in site. The best possible solution: always be prepared.

Pack a non-sugary snack that is healthy but that you also enjoy. If a sugar craving hits, remind yourself that you ate breakfast, you ate lunch and despite what your brain might think, you are not starving. Allow yourself a snack if the craving doesn’t go away – but make it the healthy, homemade, non-sugary snack that you packed. You’ll find out pretty quickly whether what you’re feeling is true hunger or not.

Give Yourself 15 Minutes

Instead of denying yourself a bite, simply push the timing forward. This works for two reasons.

First, real hunger lasts longer than 15 minutes but sugar cravings probably won’t. If you can wait it out, most times the craving will either disappear or you’ll have quieted your craving for long enough that you can now make a smarter snacking decision.

Second, delaying instead of denying puts you back in the control seat. You’ll continue to anticipate the snack but without the same panicky impulsiveness. You basically give yourself the opportunity to make sense of the animal instincts running through your energy depleted brain.

Stay Hydrated

Quite often what your brain deciphers as hunger is actually thirst. Even minor dehydration can cause you to lose focus which makes it even easier to mistake the need for water as the need for Snickers.

Aim for at least 80 ounces of water every day to cover your basic needs. If you work out, live in a hot climate or just tend to sweat a lot, consider drinking even more to replace lost H20.

Follow my water-drinking routine to get it done:

1. Drink 16 ounces of water with lemon as soon as you get up.
2. Drink another 32 ounces of water by lunch time.
3. Drink 8-12 ounces of non caffeinated tea after lunch (another good way to avoid post-meal snacking).
4. Drink another 32 ounces of water by dinner time.
5. Drink 8-12 ounces of non caffeinated tea after lunch.
6. Bring a full water bottle with you to bed!

Keep a Food Journal

I can’t tell you how many times my clients clean up their snacking habits simply because they no longer feel like logging every little handful or bite!

Meal journals help you track calories and macronutrients. They help you add variety to your diet, or find go-to meals that are easy to make and eat. On top of that, they force you to increase your awareness. How many times do you think you’ve swiped a handful of M&Ms or cleaned out a pint of ice cream before you even realized you did it?

Increasing awareness is the first, and possibly most important step in cleaning up your diet and gearing your nutrition towards your goals.

Break the Cycle

If the same sugar cravings hits you at the same time every day, you are most likely dealing with a habit. Most times, the habit of snacking isn’t about the food or hunger itself. It’s about something else that you’re only allowing yourself with the excuse that it’s a grumbling stomach.

That same food journal can help you track you snack attacks. If you find a pattern in when and what you crave, set an alarm on your phone for that time tomorrow. When it goes off, pay attention to what is going on (or not) in and around you. Have you been alone in your house all day and you’re craving some human interaction? Are you bored? Have you been working at your desk for 6 hours non-stop?

Boredom. Stress. Loneliness. These are often the more honest culprits responsible for making you think you need to get up and head to the lunch room, or to the cafeteria, or to the store.

Choose a Naturally Sweet Snack

Find a few naturally sweet snacks that you love and always have them on hand just in case. There is a real difference between the sugar found in processed foods and the natural sugar found in, well, nature.

Fresh fruit is a great choice because it’s packed with fiber. It’s an especially good choice when combined with protein and healthy fat like peanut butter or Greek yogurt. It’ll fill you up and last longer.

Trail mix is a great option because it combines sweet, salty, fiber, protein and fat all in one. If you need a quick boost of energy and you’re craving something sweet, at least this is the kind of snack that keeps on giving.