If there has ever been a time to slay your sugar cravings, it’s definitely during the holidays! Let’s face it, we get together with friends and family for dinner, or just for a good ole laugh in the breakroom and what to our dismay is the first thing we serve? Some type of holiday themed sugary snack! My personal favorite are sugar cookies with peppermint frosting!
Sugar is readily available for snacks and meals more often than not, during this time of year. Dinners are full of breads, white potatoes, cookies, cakes, and deserts! And snack time, whether in the office or at home, also consists of more sugar than any other time of the year!
We certainly want to indulge a little and enjoy the goodies, but there are some significant things you can do to slay your cravings before they slay you!
8 Tips for Slaying Cravings Before They Slay YOU:
Stay Hydrated
Drink plenty of water throughout the day. Sometimes, our bodies can confuse thirst with hunger, leading to unnecessary cravings.
TIP: Flavor enhancements in your water can also help to cut a sugar craving. Try electrolytes, nootropics, or even fruit & mint to give you flavor without sugar.
Eat Regular Meals
Stick to your regular eating schedule as much as possible. Skipping meals may lead to intense hunger and increased cravings, causing us to eat faster at meal time and essentially overeat!
Hack Your Cravings
The minute you think about a particular food, you imagine what it tasted like last time you ate it, and you begin to crave it even more. Especially when that food involves something starchy or sugary! You can easily hack the craving by eating something healthy, before the item you were craving!
TIP: If you are craving something sweet, try eating a piece of fruit like a strawberry or an apple. You will be shocked at how it almost completely knocks out the craving all together. If you are craving something salty, try drinking electrolytes!
Increase Your Protein Intake
Eating a higher level of protein in your meals and snacks will help you stay fuller longer and stabilize your blood sugar. When your blood sugar is stable, you tend to crave sugary snacks less!
If you are unsure of how much you eat, try tracking your protein intake for a few days. You’ll get a good idea of the average amount you ingest daily.
TIP: If you have an active lifestyle, take .8-1.7 x your body weight to determine a protein intake goal. If you are anything like me, getting in 100 grams of protein is a good goal for the day, so that’s always my base goal! I try to have a higher protein intake than carbohydrates so that I can build more lean muscle mass and burn fat! If you have a more sedentary lifestyle, try taking .36 times your body weight to determine your starting goal.
Eat Protein & Veggies First
Starting with foods that are high protein (like meat or a plant-based protein) and high in fiber (like vegetables) before you get to the starchy items (like potatoes and bread) will help you fill up on foods that will keep you satiated longer.
TIP: Here are some high protein foods to consider; meat, seafood, eggs, dairy, plant-based proteins, nuts & seeds, soy products, protein-rich grains, and poultry. No matter if you favor a more vegan/vegetarian lifestyle or you tend to favor more of a keto/carnivore lifestyle, the philosophy still holds true.
Once you’ve eaten your protein and veggies, you’ll indulge so much less on items that just do not benefit you from a body composition stand point. I love saving my complex carbohydrates for last! It’s like a treat! Then, when it comes to desert…. I have enough room for just a couple of bites and I don’t feel deprived in the least!
Slow Down at Meal Time
Make meal time something to enjoy! Eating with family and friends while savoring a tasty dish, allows your body time to send signals to your brain when you are full.
TIP: A good rule of thumb that many subscribe to is to finish eating when you are 80% full. This avoids the misery of overeating and packing in the unwanted calories that expand our waistband.
Stay Active
Incorporate physical activity into your holiday routine! It’s easy for us all to take a vacation from everything while we have time off, but we will all be better served by going on a walk or grabbing a short workout 3-4 days a week! Staying active helps to offset the added calories (even its minimal) and improves your mood! Imgaine what January 1st would look like when you wake up and weigh yourself and you realize you didn't gain a pound this holiday season?
Get Sleep
We will talk about sleep in upcoming blog posts, but lack of sleep can affect your hunger hormones and increase your craving for unhealthy foods. Aim for 7-9 hours of quality sleep each night!
Remember, it’s ok to indulge “a little” during the holiday season! But be smart and strategic about how you tackle the thing you crave most!
Six months ago, I knew all of this, but never really believed it…so I didn’t try it. But at the end of July 2023, I made a commitment to change my lifestyle to live the best half of my life to the fullest. I no longer eat loads of sugar and carbs, I’ve increased my protein intake considerably, I watch my water intake daily, and I’m in the gym 4 days a week on average. Although I’m 50, I feel 30! My cravings are gone and instead of looking at food as a way to numb whatever I was feeling, I look at it as fuel for my body and medicine to heal from the inside out!
Let’s work on slaying your cravings this holiday season because it absolutely benefits the best part of your life…TOMORROW and every day afterwards!
B.Happy, B.Healthy, B.WELL!
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