(Last Updated On: February 7, 2020)

With this article, we would like to help you with how you can reduce your sugar cravings.

We recommend slowly decreasing sugar intake. Otherwise, the changes could be overwhelming.

We’ve all experienced it. Just eat something, and there it is, the craving for sugar-rich foods. It is not always easy to resist this urge and stay active.

However, controlling ravenous appetite with vegetables, fruit, and a balanced diet can reduce sugar cravings significantly.

Trying this healthier way of eating for a month would be great! But if less would be better than not starting at all.

We know that changes can be exhausting, and many people are afraid of them.

Therefore, you should not have the feeling that you will have to do without all kinds of delicious foods until the end of life, we can assist you with a healthier alternative solution.

Just start slowly with some natural sugar alternatives leaving out soft drinks, sweets, desserts, etc. After trial and error, you can then decide whether it’s right for you.

 

Sugar Is Responsible for Many Diseases

You might think that fat is responsible for obesity or diseases, but fat alone won’t cause weight gain, the combination of sugar and fat is the leading cause of obesity.

Sugar indulgence can cause tiredness, cravings for sugary foods, carelessness, depression, weight gain, tooth decay, muscle/joint pain, lack of concentration/energy, giving you bad skin, and of course, can cause heart disease.

Sugar can also disturb the digestive system, cause inflammation, promote fungal infections in the intestines, weaken the immune system, nourish tumor/cancer cells, and develop allergies.

Since embracing the ketogenic diet, which is high in fat, low in carb, and moderate on protein, the benefits have been amazing!

We have lost weight, feeling much better in having more energy and better concentration. All allergies, such as hay fever, skin rash, inflammation, have either diminished or have gone away.

 

How to Reduce Sugar Cravings in A Short Time

We often indulge in sugary foods and drinks out of habit. So it’s about time we start changing our practices making a habit in reducing our sugar intake.

Reducing our sugar intake is quite simple, with the initial decision to eat only fresh, genuine food, i.e., vegetables, fruit, herbs, fish, meat, and eggs.

But for those who find this way of eating difficult, there is still hope in other approaches in several steps.

If you are used to a lot of sweets, everything less sweet tastes unfamiliar to you.

Something seems to be missing; it is not the same. This feeling of sugar craving must change immediately.

Achieving this with a little determination can be challenging, but it won’t take long if you have discipline and stay consistent.

Important: It’s not just about sugar, it’s about all sweeteners. It’s about getting unaccustomed to the taste, and real sugars are only as relevant as artificial sweeteners. It is everything that tastes sweet.

 

Try The Following 7 Steps:

1. Do Not Drink Beverages Containing Sugar

It will be the most significant changeover – and it’s not that difficult to implement. The easiest way is not to buy these drinks in the first place.

The best you can do is not to buy any sugary drinks at all! You can drink water from the tap.

We installed a faucet water filter in our kitchen, which is also helpful in reducing plastic waste. You can find our faucet water filter reviews here.

For what it’s worth: We recommend abandoning all fruit juices or at least minimizing them to the very least.

Fruit juices are loaded with sugar. Read the labels if you don’t believe it.

2. Avoid Eating Sweets

Before embarking on the ketogenic diet, we loved eating key lime pies while watching movies. Well, not only did we eat one piece a day, we ate 2-3 slices per day, and one-piece has 44g total sugar/carbs!

No sweets mean no chocolate, candies, cakes, cookies, ice cream, desserts, cornflakes, and other sweets containing high amounts of carbs/sugar.

We have mastered avoiding these types of foods!

Now we enjoy healthier snacks at home like berries, which contain fewer carbs than other fruits or nuts, another tasty alternative for snacking.

Here’s a trick, if this is too difficult for you to cut out sugar right away, you can start slowing the reduction in consumption, which can make for a pleasant withdrawal process.

For example, if you eat a whole chocolate bar every day, you should first try to leave only half of it. If you usually end up with two teaspoons of sugar in your coffee/tea, take one teaspoon instead.

For fruit juices or soft drinks, dilute 50% with water, before switching to water altogether.

If you still have sweets or sugary drinks at home, eliminate them right away. Otherwise, you will always be tempted to eat or drink unhealthily.

3. Hidden Sugar: Eliminate All Added Sugar & Sweeteners

Many food products in supermarkets contain sugar that is beyond your awareness!

The best examples are barbecue sauce, ketchup, spaghetti sauce, and other sauces.

But hidden sweeteners also lurk in all kinds of ready-made meals, croissants, yogurt, salad dressings, chips, canned vegetables, and even toast and meat sausage.

If a product claims to be sugar-free, take a closer look at the food packaging.

Read the ingredient lists: Aspartame, Agave nectar, Brown rice syrup, Brown sugar, Dextrose, High-fructose corn syrup, Pasteurized honey, Maltitol, Malt syrup, Molasses, Raw sugar cane, Saccharin, Sucralose, Truvia and many more are just other words for sugar!

You’ll realize that it is nearly impossible to buy packaged, processed, or finished products without adding Sugar. Find out more about sugar here.

4. Eat More Proteins

Make sure to eat enough protein during the day. Proteins have a long-lasting satiating effect because of slower digestion.

Besides, some proteins contain amino acids (tryptophan and tyrosine), which are involved in the formation of the satiating brain messengers serotonin and dopamine.

Consume food high in proteins such as eggs, almonds, chicken breast, broccoli, fish, peanuts, brussels sprouts, and many more.

5. Prepare Yourself: Cook & Bake Sugar-Free

Sometimes it’s more convenient to buy ready-made meals or desserts, but these products can lack nutrients, along with containing all kinds of additives that do not belong in your body.

It is always better to cook and self prepare meals because you know which ingredients you are putting in and you can eat them without worries.

The best part is you will enjoy homemade meals even more.

You can use the same recipe for cooking and baking. Instead of sugar, use a healthier sugar substitute. Click here to see the best sugar sweeteners.

6. Go for A Walk

Scientists suggest that physical activity causes certain messengers in the brain to suppress addictions and cravings.

Just a 15-minute brisk walk can reduce your cravings. Also, a balanced sports program ensures a higher metabolism, which has a positive effect on the body’s energy balance.

If you don’t feel like going outside, you still can do some exercises at home like push-ups, leg raises, burpees, jump roping, jogging in place, or any other activity. Click here for exercises.

7. Reduce Stress & Get Enough Sleep

Stress and lack of sleep can cause sugar cravings!

What is the quickest way to give yourself strength if you feel exhausted and without energy?

With calorie bombs! We try to recharge our batteries and at the same time to find relaxation in stressful everyday life.

The body needs the energy to digest nutritious food; we lack this energy after unhealthy snacks.

Busy people who always have something to do and are stressed continuously do not take the one thing that is necessary: time for themselves.

Treat yourself to something you feel like at the moment and switch off your sense of duty for at least a few hours.

If you don’t sleep enough, you tend to gain weight faster. The lack of energy and the need to compensate for it increases the desire for sugar cravings. 7-8 hours of sleep are sufficient on average.

So get some good sleep on the weekend or during your day off: Your body will thank you for it!

 

Why Is Sugar Almost Everywhere?

Many people want to give up sweets. The question is: Why is there so much sugar in our food?

The food industry uses sugar to make its products more attractive to us, and of course, it’s much cheaper than oil.

Whether subconsciously or consciously, we find the taste of sugar delicious, and it’s addictive.

Sadly enough, these foods are additionally sweetened, which is not necessary. The food manufacturer provides us with what we demand and buy — a vicious cycle.

That’s why it’s so hard for us to give up sweets. Even juices that are supposed to be healthy have a considerable amount of sugar.

Did you know there are up to 29.3 sugar cubes in 1 liter (34 fl. oz.) of orange juice?

Not only is sugar used to optimize taste, but it’s also more of a flavor enhancer.

 

Why Do We Have Sugar Cravings?

The preference for sweets is in the genes. Even babies prefer the sweet taste of their mother’s milk, but we also know that sugar isn’t healthy for us in large quantities.

In the past, we have learned that sweet foods are usually non-toxic, includes many calories, and provides us with lots of energy.

Our brain strives to get as much sugar/glucose as possible to supply the body with energy.

Sugar can activate the reward system in our brain when this system is activated, we feel better and want to maintain the feeling as long as possible, causing overindulgence in unnecessary snaking on carbs/sugar.

Other sweet-tasting substances cannot trigger this feeling, or only to a limited extent, because they do not have the same energy content as our brain requires.

 

Don’t Relapse & Fight Against Sugar Temptation

When you have made it a few weeks without sugar and other sweeteners, don’t forget that you are still addicted.

You might be tempted to reach out for a chocolate bar again, which could be just as devastating for you as a sip of beer is for a sober alcoholic.

Some Bacteria process sugar quickly; this type of bacteria will increase, demanding more sugar.

It is entirely typical for your body to adjust to a new diet for a few days, sometimes even weeks. Reducing in increments is preferable for most people.

Some may suddenly change everything from one day to the next but may be more affected by withdrawal symptoms.

Slowly change your sugar consumption step-by-step, it’s easier for your everyday life, and you can prevent relapse more easily along with preventing severe illnesses and diseases in the future.

 

Conclusion

If you have continual cravings for sweets, we recommend homemade delicacies made from high-quality ingredients.

That way, you can determine the number of sweeteners yourself, leaving you with full control in your choice in sugar reduction.

There are plenty of natural, high-quality sugar substitutes that are much healthier and suitable for diabetics, it won’t spike your insulin levels, and of course, it’s keto-friendly. You can find more details here.

If you buy any ready-made food, it’s essential to know to look at the food packaging and read the ingredients, as you know, there are many names for sugar.

We recommend consuming as few industrially processed products as possible.

A beneficial diet that will encourage sugar reduction is the ketogenic diet, in which you significantly reduce your carbohydrates, leading to positive changes for a healthier way of living.

You can find out more about the ketogenic diet in our detailed guide: What Is Keto About – Why Is It The Best Food Changeover?

Have you ever tried to eat sugar-free? How did you feel? Let us know your experience and leave a comment below.

For any further questions/information, please leave a message below.

Cheers to Healthy Living,
Anh-Tu and Sigmund

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