When you have a craving for sweets
Old habits return. I'm sitting in my home office and suddenly have these stupid cravings for sweets again. That doesn't work at all.
Daily greetings from the groundhog. I often used to crave sweets. And I indulged in these cravings with great regularity. Since I've been doing a lot of sport, my sugar cravings are no longer so strong. Okay, a piece of chocolate every now and then is okay. You have to, otherwise the whole slog will stop being fun at some point.
But now I have a problem. Since the current situation has forced me to work from home, my cravings have returned. The fridge is practically within reach, I'm doing less sport. And suddenly the old habits come back. I could stuff my face with sugar all day long. That has to stop. Immediately. But how? Here are a few tips and tricks.
Frozen grapes
This nutrient-rich snack contains natural sugar, unlike sweets with added sugar, but fewer calories. Why should the grapes be frozen? The cold means it takes longer to finish a portion - by which time you may have forgotten why you wanted to eat something sweet in the first place.
A piece of (really) dark chocolate
What is "really" dark chocolate? And why is it important? If you want to eat less sugar, you should start by reading the nutritional information on the food label. Often, supposedly dark chocolate only contains a maximum of 60 per cent cocoa. What you should look out for is chocolate with at least 80 per cent cocoa. While those with less cocoa contain 30 to 50 grams of sugar (per 100 grams), the darker chocolate only has around 15 grams.
Don't worry, you won't eat the whole bar because of this - your craving will be satisfied faster than you think.
Cinnamon when cooking
You know those pictures of muscle-bound bodybuilders? To look like that, they have to quickly get used to a life without sugar. To make protein shakes with egg whites or low-fat yoghurt taste better, they add cinnamon. You can try that too. This will trick your brain into thinking it's eating a sweet meal. Studies say that cinnamon helps control your blood sugar levels and protects you from cardiovascular disease. Are you convinced and want to eat more cinnamon? Then try it with high-quality Ceylon cinnamon.
Brush your teeth
After brushing your teeth, your brain is supposed to be in a state where you don't want to eat any more. I wouldn't rely on that. The good news is that the cool minty flavour of toothpaste will distort any other taste that comes afterwards. Even if you still feel a sweet craving, you'll have to wait at least a little bit. And with any luck, the craving will pass by then.
Workout at home too
And not just to take your mind off things. It's more about the feeling after the workout. The post-workout euphoria is the chemical and psychological effect that exercise has on your brain. And this euphoria helps you to curb your cravings for sweets. Why? Studies have found that the so-called post-workout high makes you happier, more self-confident and more satisfied. You are proud to have come closer to your goal and then pay even more attention to eating healthily and cutting out sugar.
Information
Know your enemy. The more you know about sugar and how it affects your body, the easier it will be to give it up. Over time, giving up sugar becomes easier because foods such as fruit gradually taste sweeter. If you give up sugar for a longer period of time, even a small piece of milk chocolate can be far too sweet for you.
In short
It's okay to give in to sweet cravings from time to time. But it's important to find a suitable method that makes it easy for you to give up sugar.
All beginnings are hard: try to resist two cravings this week. Once you've found out what works best for you, you can do it every day. For my part, I certainly won't fall back into old behaviour patterns.
Here is another behavioural pattern for you. Try something new and follow my author profile.
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Patrick Bardelli
Senior Editor
Patrick.Bardelli@digitecgalaxus.chFrom radio journalist to product tester and storyteller, jogger to gravel bike novice and fitness enthusiast with barbells and dumbbells. I'm excited to see where the journey'll take me next.
