When you’re trying to eat healthy, sugar cravings can seem like the one thing that’s holding you back from reaching your goals.

You might fill your plate with nutrient-dense food all day long, but then a sugar craving hits and BAM! You’re elbows deep in a pint of Chubby Hubby.

But your sugar cravings aren’t just a devil on your shoulder trying to sabotage your attempts to get healthy.

Sugar cravings are actually messengers from your body that it needs something.

And once you know what your body is trying to tell you, that’s when you can take back control and overcome your sugar cravings more easily.

So what do sugar cravings actually mean?

Here are 3 kinds of sugar cravings, and what you can do to get rid of them.

1. One possibility is that you’re tired.

Sugar cravings spike blood-sugar, so when you eat sugar you get a temporary energy boost.

When you crave sugar in the afternoon, there’s a good chance this is the underlying issue.

The best way to get rid of this kind of sugar craving is to make sure you get enough rest.

Even if you have kiddos waking you up throughout the night, you can take action to give yourself more restorative rest.

Create a sleep oasis in your bedroom, free of electronics and other distractions.

Be strict with yourself about going to bed and waking up at the same time-even on weekends-so your sleep and wake hormones can be on the same page as you when it comes to the energy level you want throughout the day and night (they like predictability!)

Give yourself a bed-time ritual and repeat it every day so you fall asleep more easily.

Use supportive herbs to help your body relax and regulate itself.

Take a 20 minute power nap if you need it, and schedule this nap into your daily routine if you find it helpful!

It might feel like you’re losing time when you nap, but you’re really charging your battery so you can do everything faster and better.

AND you’ll have less sugar cravings to boot.

2. Another possibility is that you’ve got some emotional needs that aren’t being met.

Sweet things actually trigger the hormones dopamine and serotonin to flood your system.

These hormones make you feel happier and more at ease, and eating sweets is one of the fastest ways to get a feel-good hit.

From a Chinese medicine perspective, the sweet flavor is associated with home, comfort, and nourishing not just your body but your mind and spirit as well.

So if you tend to crave sweets when you’re feeling stressed out, emotionally exhausted, or overwhelmed, you need to find ways to satisfy your deepest needs in ways that have nothing to do with food.

The #1 remedy for this kind of sugar craving is to practice feeling your emotions more fully.

Emotions are called emotions for a reason: They’re energy in motion.

When you try to suppress your emotions they get stuck, and you end up trying to sugar-coat them.

But you can throw a Mt. Everest size pile of sugar at those emotions and it won’t help.

Because the only way to get through uncomfortable emotions is to let them move through you.

And even though you might end up ugly crying, I guarantee that it feels a lot better than you think it will.

A lot of women have trouble dealing with these buried emotions on their own.

If this is you, contact me for a free 15-minute consultation.

I have some ideas that can help you.

3. The third possibility is that your body isn’t getting the nutrients it needs.

When your body is nutrient deficient, a blood-sugar boost is one of the fastest ways for it to keep functioning.

But the problem is that the results don’t last long, and you’re still left lacking what you need.

If you find yourself staring into the fridge an hour after you ate, wondering why you don’t feel satisfied, it’s most likely because you’re missing a nutrient your body needs.

Protein, healthy fats, and magnesium deficiency are the most likely culprits for this kind of sugar craving.

So if this is you, make sure you start your day with a protein-rich breakfast, have healthy snacks like nuts and seeds on hand throughout the day, use plenty of healthy fats like avocado and olive oil in your meals, and prioritize magnesium-rich foods like spinach, Swiss chard, tofu, and pumpkin seeds to help you meet your body’s needs.

Now I’d love to hear from you.

What do you do when a sugar craving hits? Leave a comment, I’d love to know!

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