Sweets surround us all the time and I hear many people say they feel out of control with them. Maybe you feel like you can’t say no when offered something sweet, or once you start eating, you feel like you can’t stop! These kinds of thoughts often result in feelings of guilt, shame, and fear around sweet foods. But is the answer to cut them out altogether?
The best way to stop eating sweets is…to not stop eating sweets. What?! Anytime we restrict something, our brain starts to focus even more heavily on that thing- making us want it even more! To avoid overeating sweets, avoid labeling foods as “good” or “bad”, and avoid restricting foods. Instead, focus on eating a balance of foods, eating enough calories throughout the day, eating mindfully, and enjoying the food you are eating! If you stress less and make sweets less of a “reward” and less of a big deal, then you won’t crave them as often.
Read on for more information about what causes sugar cravings, what to do when your sugar cravings feel out of control, and if you should cut sugar out of your diet.
What Causes Sugar Cravings?
Sugar cravings are normal! As humans, sugar tastes good to us and gives us a burst of energy and feel-good hormones. That is why stress eating or emotional eating is a real thing! Enjoying something sugary can be a brief escape from the stresses of daily life.
Eating in response to emotions and stress is not necessarily a bad thing. It can be one way of coping with difficult emotions. However, if food becomes your only coping mechanism when difficult emotions arise, that is when it really becomes a problem. If you feel like your coping mechanisms could improve, reach out for help!
While stress is sometimes inevitable, there are other things that cause sugar cravings that are more under our control. An imbalance in blood sugar is one of the biggest things that can lead to sugar cravings. An imbalance in blood sugar can happen for many reasons:
- You are not eating enough food
- You are going long periods of time without eating
- You ate too many unhealthy carbohydrates early in the day
- You are not getting a good balance of carbohydrates, protein, and fat each time you eat
- You are not eating enough carbohydrates, protein, or fat over the course of the day
- You are not fueling properly for physical activity
Your body is a complex machine. Learning how to balance your blood sugar through the foods you eat will help to regulate your hormones, improve your mood and stress levels, decrease strong food cravings, and regulate appetite.
There can also be other underlying factors that result in sugar cravings- ones that might not be as obvious. Nutrient imbalances or other clinical conditions could also be playing a factor. Talk with your doctor so that they can keep an eye out for anything else going on.
Why Too Much Sugar is Harmful to Teens
We often talk about sugar as the “bad guy,” but when it is used appropriately to fuel your body it can be an essential part of a healthy diet. What a lot of people don’t realize is that all carbohydrates break down to sugars in your body. So that means, an apple, whole grain pasta, and a lollipop would all break down to the same basic molecule when it is digested.
This is why I don’t like referring to sugar as “bad.” Even the sugar in a lollipop can provide some energy for the body! However, not all carbohydrate foods and sugary foods are created equal. Some are much more nutrient dense than others.
For example, look at the difference between an apple and a lollipop. While both have carbohydrates, the apple also has fiber, antioxidants and other vitamins and minerals that do even more for the body.
Foods that have natural sugars like fruits, dairy, and whole grains are often higher in other nutrients compared to foods with added sugars like cookies and candies. A diet high in added sugars often leads to nutrient deficiencies because those foods are taking the place of more nutrient dense foods.
Eating an excessive amount of sugary foods or even eating a diet that has too many healthy carbohydrates (that break down to sugars) can lead to problems. Including protein and fat sources in your diet is essential to your overall health as well.
I help teenagers strive for balance in their food choices. Sugar can be part of a healthy diet as long as it is balanced with the appropriate other nutrients your body needs!
What to do to Decrease Sugar Cravings?
If you notice that you are having strong sugar cravings, the first step would be to recognize what might be causing the problem. You might ask yourself some of the following questions:
- Have I been eating breakfast?
- How have my energy levels been during the day?
- Am I getting enough sleep?
- Am I stressed or feeling more emotional than normal?
- Did something change in my life that my body has had to adapt to?
- Am I eating regularly throughout the day?
- Am I getting a balance of carbohydrates, protein, and fat each time I eat a meal or snack?
- Am I exercising regularly?
- Am I fueling for exercise?
Once you determine what might be causing the strong sugar cravings, then you can start to make adjustments. If these are challenging adjustments to make, here are some tips that might help!
Tips for Controlling Sugar Cravings
- Set alarms or reminders on your phone to stop what you are doing and eat regularly. This might be especially helpful for busy teens that are always on the go!
- Keep balanced snacks with you so that you don’t ever get to the point where you are starving but don’t have any food near you!
- Get up a little bit earlier to give yourself time to eat breakfast and prepare your meals and snacks for the day, especially if you are away from home for most of the day.
- Practice some simple meditations or deep breathing to manage stress and negative emotions. Be patient and show yourself kindness.
- Find someone you can talk to. Maybe that is a trusted friend, a parent, or a therapist- or even all three! This will be essential to your emotional and mental well-being.
- Plan fun exercise. Maybe you go to a group class, go on a walk with a friend, or find a new active hobby.
- Create a bedtime routine for yourself that helps your body and mind wind down for the day and fall asleep more quickly.
- Make a list of balanced snack and meal ideas so you can refer to it when meal planning and deciding what to eat!
Is it a Good Idea to Go Off Sugar?
Cutting out a certain food or restricting certain things can make your mind hyper-focus on that exact food you are trying to avoid. Instead, I invite teenagers to give themselves full permission to eat all foods and then use mindfulness techniques as they eat different foods.
See if any of these resonate with you:
- Take pauses as you eat to determine how you are feeling, and how your body is responding to the food.
- Focus on your five senses. What does the food taste like? What is the texture in your mouth? What does it smell like? Etc.
- Give yourself permission to not eat foods you don’t really enjoy. If you don’t like lollipops, you don’t have to eat them! Same thing with healthy foods. If you hate apples, you don’t have to eat them.
- Put away distractions like phones and other screens! Really focus on the eating experience.
- Don’t place limits on the amount of something sweet you can have. Instead, key in to when the food stops being so satisfying to your body.
Why Do You Crave Sugar at Night?
If you have noticed that nighttime is when your sugar cravings come on the strongest, there could be a few reasons for that. After a long day of school or work, enjoying a sweet treat is one way people relax from the stress of the day.
If you are consistently getting cravings at night, it might just be because your body is used to having something sweet at night because you have done it so often. Think about it, many social events and parties are in the evening, and it is a time that we get accustomed to eating something sweet.
This is a great opportunity to use some of the mindfulness skills to decide if eating something sweet is really going to satisfy you or if you are eating just because it has become a habit.
Summary
As you give your body and mind permission to eat and enjoy (or not enjoy) all foods, there is something freeing that happens. You might find that the control sweets had over you at one point is not as strong any more.
Remember to always focus on adding rather than subtracting. You don’t need to cut out sweets to be healthy, but you might need to add more fruits and veggies, more whole grains, protein or something else! As you work to include more nutrient dense foods and eat mindfully, you will naturally discover an eating pattern that is healthy and sustainable.
Resources
Hayes C. How to beat sugar cravings. Nutrisense.io. Published December 7, 2021.
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