Column Rocio Dos Santos Arenas
Keep Sugar Cravings Away & Turn your good habits into routines
Keep Sugar Cravings away
The Brain Games
Are you finding yourself craving sugary sweets and treats throughout the day and building up some sort of anxiety around it as you then often end up indulging and straight away feeling guilty about it?
Long question … I know … as an answer I mostly get a rotund YES!
- It happens to a majority of people and it is nothing to worry about, what you want to do is know how to manage your reactions to sweet cravings.
- Set your goal … is it to eat less sweets in general? Eat less processed sugary products? Portion control your craving indulgences?
Once your goal is set you will then be able to work on a strategy by having a plan, tips below.
- Know the ingredients and contents of the food you eat when those cravings come … knowledge is power and you will understand how harmful and full of nasty things most of these products are.
- Make your own sweet treats at home and have them ready to go. Raw treats for time limited days and baked treats for weekends for example. This way you can control how much sweetness gets thrown in the making process and what all the ingredients are.
Brownies – credit photo Rocio Dos Santos Arenas
- Place your craving treats in a shelf surrounded by other more healthier options such as salted popcorn, dehydrated fruits, nuts and seeds, raisins, peanut butter, whole fruits … This way your brain will have to check all options before choosing the chocolate bar and little by little it will become a re-training.
- Get enough natural sugars daily from whole fruits and vegetables. Most often we lack our daily servings hence inducing sugar cravings … did you know carrots, corn, onions, beets, parsnips, sweet potato, red radishes, green cabbage … all are sweet veggies!! Eat them up!!
- Drink plenty of water daily, this satiates you and reduces craving feelings, get a daily dose of movement so you do not feel tempted to eat badly.
Most importantly! Life is all about BALANCE and indulging in pleasures every now and then is perfectly fine … when you do so please DO NOT FEEL GUILTY! Enjoy that occasional sweet indulgence with pleasure and gratitude.
Turn your good habits into routines – With these five simple steps
You have a few healthy habits that make you feel great however you find yourself doing them on and off.
You do not seem to find the motivation to keep up with them and they slowly fade away until you somehow remember them and pick them back up.
Would you like to know how to ensure you keep those habits and how you can positively turn them in amazing routines?
Keep Reading …
1.Start by choosing one positive habit that does not require much time or effort from your side.
For example:
– To drink water and lemon first thing every morning
– To walk outside for 15 minutes each day
– To include a 5 minute mediation in your day
– To have a smoothie for breakfast
– To drink more water
Blueberries – credit photo Elena Ebersohn
2.Establish how will this new routine will benefit.
– Will it clear your mind, relax you, make you healthier, detoxify your system, hydrate you … ??
3.Set aside a time of the day for this and ensure you will be able to achieve it each and every day. #challenge
Schedule it in your day, there is always time.
Tips: set alarms, reminders, use post it notes or involve friends and family so they can encourage and push you.
4.Ensure it has a positive reward effect for you.
You do not want this new found habit to be negative, time consuming or an effort; instead you want to be doing it with pleasure.
5.Reward yourself after each 7 days in a row that you have accomplished following through with your new routine.
That reward can be anything of your choosing that makes you smile.
“If you always do what you always did, You will always get what you always got.” – Albert Einstein
About the author:
Rocio Dos Santos Arenas is an Holistic Health Coach specialized in gut health conditions and food intolerances and is a trained Pilates and Yoga instructor and movement enthusiast. She is currently living in the French part of Switzerland spreading knowledge and awareness about the importance of a healthy body and a healthy mind and transforming people through an active lifestyle with group classes, courses, workshops, retreats. She recently found her company Activ Wellness to provide you with the guidance, tools and support you need and bring changes and so you become stronger, healthier and more focused.
