Beat Your Sugar Cravings

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Use these tips to defeat the Sweet Tooth Monster!

By Rachel Albert-Matesz Illustration by Tom Griffin

You have decided to adopt a supernutritious, whole-foods diet. You’ve cleaned out your cupboards and revamped your refrigerator and pantry. You’ve stocked up on fresh, frozen and dried fruits and vegetables, refreshed your herb and spice racks, replaced refined grains with whole grains and swapped commercial animal products for organic and grass-fed versions. You’re primed for success.

But wait — you’re missing a critical ingredient! To create your own success story, you need sound strategies for dealing with the demon that destroys most diets — the Sweet Tooth Monster! To vanquish the monster and its dark desires, you need to understand what makes your body call out for sugary comfort foods and what you can do differently to appease that desire.

1. Problem: Irregular or missed meals.

Skipping meals or eating on an unpredictable schedule catapults your body into a state of starvation, depriving your brain and body of fuel. This sets you up to crave starchy or sugary foods for energy.

Solution: Eat at regular intervals throughout the day.

Plan to eat a nourishing minimeal every four to five hours until 7 or 8 p.m. Most people find this stabilizes their energy and prevents impulse eating and bingeing. Eating before you run out of energy can prevent sugar cravings.

2. Problem: Lack of sufficient dietary carbohydrates.

Low-carbohydrate diets often create cravings for starchy foods and sweets. The reason: the brain prefers running on glucose, supplied by carbohydrates. When you don’t consume enough carbohydrates to fuel your body, you get hungry, which many people experience as a craving for sweet foods.

Solution: Build meals and snacks around one or more carbohydrate-rich whole foods.

Examples include baked or roasted (not fried or instant) potatoes; sweet potatoes; dense root vegetables, such as carrots or parsnips; fresh fruits; or whole grains, such as brown or wild rice, millet, quinoa, buckwheat or 100-percent sprouted or sourdough whole-grain bread. At least twice a day, add colorful, fibrous vegetables — particularly greens (steamed or sautéed leafy greens, a tossed green salad or coleslaw), a dash of healthy fat or oil (nuts or seeds; olive, coconut or flax oil; butter; or avocado) and include a small portion of protein in each meal.