Best Ways to Reduce Food and Sugar Cravings
If you’re struggling with cravings, you’re definitely not alone! I focus a lot on cravings with my clients in all of my programs because so many people get them! I struggled with food cravings for YEARS. We’re going to talk about some of the best ways to reduce food and sugar cravings.
Let’s take a deep dive into what can cause cravings, how to reduce food and sugar cravings when they hit, and most importantly, how to prevent them. Sound good?!
The foods you eat can either help eliminate your cravings, OR, set you up to crave even more. Especially foods that measure high on this one particular scale. And, here’s a hint, it’s not the scale you weight yourself on!
First, I just wanted to take a moment to say HELLO! Welcome if this is your first time here. I’m Dani Conway, and I’ve been in practice over 13 years helping women ditch the diet mentality, lose the weight and gain the energy you need to stop starving and start living. After finally getting past YEARS of yoyo dieting myself, I truly feel that my superpower is beating the diet industry!
Back to cravings. One major quality of the food you eat can affect whether it triggers your cravings or, even better, keeps you feeling full and satisfied. That’s what we want, right!???
This has to do with a measure called the Glycemic Index. This index measures foods on a scale of 1-100. This rating from low to high is correlated with the time it takes for said food(s) to raise your blood sugar level. Even if you’ve heard of the Glycemic Index before, you’ll definitely want to continue reading. So whether you’re new to this concept, or you’re familiar with it, the faster and higher a food makes your blood sugar rise, the higher the rating is on this glycemic index scale.
Why is this important? When your blood sugar rises, your body sends out hormones, like the well known hormone Insulin, to help lower your blood sugar levels. The problem is that with hormone imbalances, this can also cause a blood sugar “crash” that makes you feel tired, shaky and fatigued not long after you eat the offending food. This can also bring on the commonly known feeling of “hangry” … that dreadful combination of hungry, angry and anxious … which makes you want to eat even more to bring those blood sugar levels back up. Does this sound familiar?
Because this is a cycle that’s incredibly challenging to break out of, we spend tons of time on rebalancing hormones and blood sugar in my online as well as 1:1 coaching programs.
This cycle can then turn into something called Insulin Resistance; which is the inability to process carbs along with secreting too much insulin for what your body actually needs. Your body basically starts to ignore its own natural process. This of course then becomes a precursor for Type 2 Diabetes as well as other disease.
This is one of the many reasons it’s a good idea to choose foods that do not spike those insulin and blood sugar levels… which are mostly those that contain carbohydrates.
It’s a bit more complex though. Your body responds to all of the Macronutrients and Micronutrients that are contained in any given food. That means the amount of fiber, fat and protein; as well as the amount of carbohydrates which all will affect that blood sugar response.
For example, corn flake cereal has a glycemic index (GI) of 81, while an apple has a GI of 36. The cereal is a processed food that’s basically a sugar delivery system. Why? There’s very little fiber in it to help slow down its impact on blood sugar. And even though the apple contains natural sugar, it also contains fiber that helps slow down how quickly it makes your blood sugar levels rise.
Knowing where on this Glycemic Index scale that a food falls can help you make better choices about the foods you’re eating.
If you feel like you’ve tried everything, you’re still struggling with cravings, and you’re not getting the weight loss results you deserve, OR, if you’re just confused about what foods are exactly right for your body and your metabolism, I can help!
Side note… not eating enough throughout the day in an attempt to “eat clean,” or to save the calories for later, will also contribute to cravings. Need help hacking your cravings? Reach out if you’re ready to stop the craving obsession!
Be well,
XOXO
Dani Conway
Holistic Nutritionist
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Ready to ditch the diet mentality and rock your body with the confidence you’ve always dreamed of?! I can help get you there!
I’m Dani Conway! From ex-overweight-yo-yo-dieter to a pioneer and expert in the Low Carb, Keto and Carnivore space; Board Certified Functional Diagnostic Nutrition Practitioner, Functional Blood Work Specialist, Weight Loss, Hormone and Gut Health Expert…
My super power is beating the diet industry!
It’s time to stop starving and start living!
