Top 5 Tips for sweet cravings

If you have been following the current trend a bit, or reading my posts on a regular basis, you must know it by now: Sugar should be your enemy. Stop avoiding the good fats, stop choosing the "low-fat" versions, stop counting calories. Start eating organic REAL WHOLE foods, free your mind from all misleading beliefs from the mainstream commercials, and see what happens.

Unfortunately, sugar is highly addictive. And industrials know it very well. The more they add some in their processed foods, the more you will like it and ask for more. Some people keep this sweet taste addiction but choose artificial sweeteners instead, thinking that at least, it is not sugar they are having. Sorry but no sorry... This might be even worse for you.

So how can we do then? These are my TOP 5 tips to overcome these sugar cravings, based on my own experience, with myself and with some clients I have been coaching.

1. Replace sugar/starchy foods with beneficial fats and proteins

Keep in mind and repeat to yourself: "Good fats flush out the bad fats in my body". And start appreciating these foods for what they really are: an amazing nutrient-dense and healthy source of nutrition for your body AND MIND.

Think of:

• -Wild caught Alaskan salmon
• -Sardines or anchovies
• -Avocados
• -Coconut oil
• -Organic grass-fed raw butter or ghee
• -Grass-fed or wild meat and organ meat, free-range poultry
• -Extra-virgin cold pressed olive oil
• -Olives
• -Organic pre-soaked nuts and seeds

By adding more good fats in your daily consumption, you will quickly see how you won't need as much sugars or starches anymore. Just start from your breakfast on, and always have some fats in any snacks or meals you eat.

2. Drink more quality water

Many chronic health problems could be relieved if people understood how crucial it is to drink GOOD water. Tap water, unfortunately, is often still polluted with harmful waste of all kinds of medication, but also fluoride and other residues. Choose a good quality mineral water, with the dry residue amount above 300mg/L. Add a pinch of pink Himalayan Salt to your bottle.

How much you should be drinking in Liter? At least your bodyweight (in kg) x 0.033. Whenever you feel like grabbing some sweet fruits or treats, just have some water instead and feel what happens.

3. Take time to chew your food

Too many people don't take time to mindfully enjoy their meals. Most of us have a quick breakfast (if breakfast at all), then a quick sandwich at lunch in front of the computer. Be more thoughtful during your next meal! Be grateful for the great food you are going to eat and take time to appreciate each mouthful. You will feel more satiated and won't rush to sweet foods as much after the first meal.

4. Sleep better

It is scientifically proven: the less you sleep, the more your body will look for quick energy fixes. And yes, you get it: sugar foods, sweet foods will be the first foods you will be attracted to.

The best sleep pattern is the one that respects your natural circadian rhythm: go to bed by 10.30pm, avoid all laptops, smartphones, screens, and EMFs disturbances at least 1-2 hours before bed time. Dim the lights to help your body get ready for the night, to decrease your cortisol levels and increase your sleeping hormones (melatonin).

A good tip also would be to add Ceylon cinnamon to your foods, as this stabilizes your blood sugar levels and helps decrease your sweet cravings.

5. Self-love and deep belly breathing

Sugar cravings and addiction to sweet foods is more a symptom than a root cause of a problem. Many people use sweet foods as comfort foods. It helps them manage their daily stress better. On a deeper level, it may help them feel better with themselves because it replaces some deeper, more serious void inside. We all need love, in form of self-love first.

For some other people, overindulging in sweet foods may also be a way of keeping distance with deeper hurtful feelings.

Deep belly breathing can help you manage those emotional states better. Take 5-10 minutes every day, just to breathe deeply and reconnect with how you feel. The more you practice, the more you will realize that you have the power to manage how you feel, and the less you will need any external substance to feel better.

In Health and Happiness,

Stephanie