Coach Insights

Do you have certain foods that enter your mind, and it feels like they have possessed a part of your soul you just can’t control? Noticing that after dinner, all you want is that pesky sweet treat, and if you don’t succumb to its demands, you’re still thinking about it when you go to bed? If so, you’re certainly not alone! Let’s break this down a little bit and give you some simple strategies.  

Addicted to Sugar  

Understanding cravings is important in knowing how to control them. The first and easiest thing to understand, is that most of us are addicted to sugar. Like any addiction, our brains are going to do everything in its power to make us give in.  When you look at your own habits, remember that sugar can be in the form of something sweet, or something with carbs (like chips).   

Solution to Sugar Addiction  

There’s no easy way to say this. To control your sugar addiction, you likely need a bit of a detox away from it before you can have it under control. Give yourself a few weeks without your glorious treat, and slowly reintroduce it. Here is the trick though, if you eat it frequently you will be back to square one, so you must schedule your treats and space them out to once a week. Put it right in your calendar!  

You Were Raised This Way

Look back at your childhood. Did your loving mom prepare desert following most dinners? Does the time of day you have cravings now, correlate with the time of day your parents fed you snacks? Usually when we are children (in those years when our brains are developing the most) our parents are hard wiring us to have certain behaviors as adults. What they didn’t realize is those delicious deserts after every dinner were wiring our brains to expect the same treatment 20,30,40 years later! We honestly love our moms endlessly but come on! 

Solution to Mom’s Deserts  

You can try repeatedly to remove these pesky habits, but if you were raised this way its pretty unlikely you will win! You might succeed for a year, or a month, but in the end your brain will win. So, stop trying to remove the problem, and adapt yourself around it. Instead of ignoring your mind, start providing it healthy alternatives. Sugar/carb free options are in most health food stores and google has a world of healthy versions of junk food.    

- Thoughts By Coach Morgan