10 FOODS THAT CURB SUGAR CRAVINGS

Sugar cravings can lead to impulsively eating sweets that lead to weight gain

Did you know 97% of women have food cravings that are sugar cravings? When you feel a sugar craving you have this extreme need to eat something sweet.

Whenever I have a sugar craving I head straight to the supermarket and buy chocolate. After I succumb to my cravings and enjoy the temporary pleasure brought on by the sugar rush I am left feeling guilty.

I work so hard in the gym and all of it goes to waste just like that with one chocolate bar or a piece of cake. Sugar cravings lead to impulsively eating sweets that lead to weight gain. I have listed 8 items that can help prevent you from overeating unnecessary calories

This is what I try to eat instead to fight my sugar cravings. Here are 8 Food Items That Fight Sugar Cravings:

1. Fruits: fruits are not only naturally sweet but they also contain a lot of nutrients like fibre, antioxidants and vitamins which are good for us. My personal favourites are mangoes, grapes, any kind of berry (strawberries, blueberries, raspberries) and grapefruit.

2. Dark Chocolate: chocolate that contains more than 70% cocoa is good for you because it contains polyphenols which have antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties which aid in heart health.

3. Yoghurt: Greek yoghurt is my preference because it is high in protein which keeps me full longer too. You can get plain Greek yoghurt and mix in a bit of honey, nuts and fruits to sweeten it. This makes for a perfect snack.

4. Protein Bars: these are really good because they are high in protein and they often taste like real chocolate (depending on the brand and flavour). The only downfall is that they can be a bit pricey. My favourites are Muscle Pharm’s Combat Crunch protein bars.

5. Sugar-Free Gum or Mints: living in Japan I’ve gotten accustomed to relying on sugar-free mints and gum to curb sugar cravings. They are cheap, low in calorie, make your breath smell good and taste so sweet it’s hard to believe that they are sugar-free. Chewing gum also helps my control hunger.

6. Sweet Potatoes: these are healthy carbs that taste sweet. They contain vitamins like vitamin A, vitamin C and minerals like potassium and they are also high in fibre.

7. Smoothies: a nice fruit smoothie with fruits, skim milk, protein powder and organic peanut butter will help curb sugar cravings and fill you up because protein helps you feel full longer.

8. Sugar-Free Soda: when I lived in Canada I used to love buying Zevia from WholeFoods. It was a bit pricey compared to regular pop but helped me curb my sugary drink cravings. They aren’t as bad as other zero sugar drinks because they use Stevia as the artificial sweetener which is a natural sweetener and so a lot healthier than the other artificial sweetener alternatives. They also have a variety of flavours. Now in Japan I resort to coke-zero instead because I don’t have access to Zevia.

9. Zero-calorie jelly: this might be solely found in Japan but here we have zero calorie jellies which taste really sweet here that I add almonds to and have as a snack to curb my sweet cravings.

10. Tea with Stevia: I like to buy dessert flavoured tea from whole foods store and drink it with stevia. You can also just have regular tea like Earl Gray or English Breakfast with stevia. Tea is calming and also helps you not crave sugar if you drink it with stevia.