Some of us crave salty foods, and some of us love sweets! I know I definitely struggle with the cravings for something sweet like donuts!! For the most part, I personally stay away from sugar because I am aware of it’s addictive substance. Once I start, I just can’t stop! Especially with my favorite Sour Patch Watermelon or Donuts! So what does a girl with a big sweet tooth do (especially around that time of month)? Here are a few things that work great for me and I hope they help you too!
Eat Regularly: If you go too long between meals, you start getting hungrier and start craving the bad stuff. If you’re eating regularly (3 meals, 2 snacks) you should be full all day. When you’re full, you don’t have as many cravings.
Drink More Water: Water also keeps you full like eating regularly, and like I said, staying full keeps hunger cravings at bay
Don’t Store Junk Food At Home: Having it readily available in your home does nothing good for you. It only makes the cravings so much harder to curb and the temptation comes on so much more. If you know you have to get in your car and go to the store for junk food, you might not feel like going and drop the craving.
Make It Homemade: If you must have a dessert, try and make it from scratch. You might think twice about if you really want it once you see what all is going into it like tons of butter or sugar. But it is better to have homemade fresh sweets as oppose to store bought desserts that contain additives and preservatives that your body doesn’t know what to do with.
Use Spices To Trick Your Tongue: Spices like cinnamon, nutmeg, ground coves, vanilla extract, can turn plain things like oatmeal or coffee into a sweet treat without the extra calories!
Track Your Food: If you are paying attention to how those extra calories and macros add up, you may be less likely to reach for that cookie at the next event. One day when you’re on an all-out binge, try tracking your calorie intake. Once you show yourself how many calories you’re going over, and you realize that 30 min on the treadmill only burns 300 calories… you probably won’t want to binge as hard on the next go-round.
Make Splurges Count. Plan it out. Have a cheat meal when you know your’e going out on a date, or dinner with friends and get that one thing you’re craving out of the way. Don’t waste it on something you don’t love.
Pay Attention to Triggers: When we are emotional or in a stressful situation we usually start desiring that comfort food. Knowing that it’s not a physical hunger but a mental desire will help us make better choices.
Eat Fruit: Your body digests and uses natural sugars way better than it does refined sugars. Plus fruits are high in fiber which will help you digest your food better.
Chew Sugar-Free Gum: Now days you can get gum in almost any flavor you’re craving. They have chocolate mint, peanut butter, strawberry, birthday cake, cinnamon etc. Any taste your craving can be curbed with a sugar-free gum!