Cravings Mean Your Body is out of Balance
Let’s continue our story about our friend Sugar. Sugar wants you to want her in your life as often as possible. She manipulates her way in and then she makes you crave her after breakfast, maybe at 3 pm, the second you walk in from work, or after everyone else is finally in bed at 10 pm. These sugar cravings mean your body is out of balance.
How Does our Sugar Friend Get our Bodies Out of Balance?
The most important way sugar throws us out of balance is in our gut. Think of your gut as your second brain, which means, for many sugar and carb cravings have nothing to do with willpower. It’s literally a matter of blood sugar balance, hormones, and your body chemistry.
Digestion and intestinal imbalance caused by bacteria, viruses, and/or fungus can lead to sugar cravings. Improper digestion can also trigger cravings. Regardless of the exact cause, your gut plays a pivotal role in causing and crushing cravings!
How does the Imbalance Happen in the Gut?
Your gut contains bacteria that work with your body to break down and use the foods you eat. The imbalance happens when the sugar-loving bacteria start multiplying and take the place of other bacteria. The other bacteria love things like beans or vegetables. With less of those bacteria, you might have trouble digesting some of those other foods causing painful gas, bloating, or other digestive issues.
Additionally, the sugar-loving bacteria will send signals in your body saying “give me more, give me more!” asking for more sugar, and since there are more the signals are stronger going right to your brain.
Some other Ways Your Body is Out of Balance?
Water! Water! Water!
Yep, you are most likely dehydrated. Even water-loving ladies like me don’t always drink enough water. Water is important to move chemicals, hormones, glucose throughout your body. Water is important for so many different body functions. That’s why it is difficult to survive without water for more than 3 days.
Your body will ask for more sugar. Why? Because there is not enough water to transport the glucose already there into your cells. The cells start crying out for more glucose and the fastest source is sugar.
Nutrient Deficiencies!
When sugar takes the place of more nutritious foods over and over again, then you start to get depleted in vitamins and minerals your body needs for processes in the body.
Then your body says give me more sugar. Why? Because the processes are not allowing your cells to identify or use the glucose it has already because of the missing nutrients.
Stress!
We react to things people say or things that happen in our lives the same as we would when faced with danger. Your body pumps up the cortisol that asks for you to be ready for flight or fight. Fight or flight requires energy.
Again your body asks for more sugar. Why? Because the cortisol says I’m gonna need a lot of energy. Additionally, the sugar creates a dopamine reaction that makes you temporarily feel happy. You get addicted to using that high to get through the stress. The problem is the temporary nature of the high that leaves you quickly asking for more.
What Can you Do About Sugar Cravings?
Stop eating sugar!
Yep, I’m funny! I know you’re addicted to her. That is ok.
We can work on it together to figure out what will work for you. What I know is that I have given up refined sugars a few times to see the benefits to my health, but how I did it may not be the way that works best for you.
I don’t tell you what to do. I won’t tell you that you have to give up all sugar to stop your cravings. I will work with you to determine what is right for you and your body. I will help you experiment with the available options for decreasing sugar cravings so you find the ones that work for you.
Could I tell you to drink more water, find techniques to remove stress, and foods to eat to improve your gut health? Yes, I can.
Can I tell you step by step what I do when I stop my sugar cravings? Yes, I can.
Those things may help with your cravings but will you keep doing them if they are not what is right for you?
My coaching is about you and what you need and want. You may be able to decrease your sugar intake and lose weight doing what I’m doing. But will you stick with it when it is not your plan or what feels really good for your body?
Join me for my Kick Your Sugar Cravings to the Curb 5 day Facebook Challenge.
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