DO YOU HAVE SUGAR CRAVINGS?

Have you ever tried a low-calorie or sugar-free diet, only to be foiled by sugar cravings? See if this sounds familiar.

You swear to stop eating all sugar (or chips, or fast food, or whatever). You stick to it for a few days, or maybe even a few weeks. But before long you’re feeling deprived, which makes the food you’ve sworn to give up all the more tantalizing. Pretty soon you’re binging. You work your way through a whole box of whatever it is you’ve been dying to eat, and maybe even a second box. When it’s over, you feel like crap physically. Even worse, you’ve failed to stay on your diet, which makes you feel like a bad person. Why can’t you get it together? Guilt sets in, eventually followed by fresh determination. You’re going to start again, and be extra strict this time around.

This is the psychological trap a lot of diets create. You set unrealistic expectations for yourself, don’t meet them, swear next time will be different, and start the cycle over. Sugar cravings are constantly in the background of your mind, and sometimes in the foreground. You may feel like you’ve lost control of your body, or like you have to fight constantly to keep it in shape.

With the right approach, it’s easy to silence those sugar cravings. It doesn’t have to take up all your willpower, either – in fact, once you start fueling your body well, you’ll have more energy than ever, and you won’t have to spend it on resisting cookies.