Whole Body Wellness

Curb Your Sweet Cravings by Eating Sweets
In working with clients one of the first things we frequently address is their sweet cravings. Perhaps I attract clients with sweet cravings because I have a sweet tooth of my own. It’s been there since childhood, when my grandmother always kept our freezer stocked with homemade cakes and cookies. What fond memories.

In overcoming my own sweet cravings, I have become an expert at helping my clients and workshop attendees break through theirs. Does this mean I never eat cake or cookies? Of course not. That wouldn’t be any fun! It just means I don’t feel that need to have them as frequently. That’s my goal for my clients. I help them tweak their diet so they aren’t always fighting a desire to eat the more refined sweets like candy, cookies, cake, and ice cream.

See, when I work with clients I don’t just say “stop having sweets, they’re bad for you,” I say “let’s figure out WHY you’re having the sweet cravings.” This is where my approach varies a bit from a traditional nutritionist. In my experience, both personally and with clients, a sweet craving is a sign that something is out of balance. By addressing the imbalance and therefore reducing the craving, my clients can eat healthy without feeling deprived.

One of the reasons we all get sweet cravings is because we don’t have enough sweet flavor in our diet. Ideally, we want a balance of sweet, salty, bitter, and sour tastes in our diet. We typically don’t get sweet flavor in our meals and so we look for a sweet treat such as candy or cookies.

What would happen if we added some healthy sweets to our meals? I’ve experimented with this personally and with my clients and it works like a charm. When I talk about healthy sweets I’m mainly talking about sweet vegetables such as sweet potatoes, winter squash such as butternut, beets, and carrots (especially cooked carrots). How often do you eat these foods? I will frequently make a batch of one of these sweet vegetables on the weekend and keep them in the refrigerator so I have them on hand when I want something sweet – either as part of a meal or a snack.

If you cook them right, they’re honestly like eating candy. Plus, they are packed with nutrients and fiber. Sweet potatoes are my personal favorite. The trick is to bake (not microwave) them at 450 degrees for one full hour. Yes, an hour is a long time. Simply set a timer and go watch TV or make some phone calls.

While I’m certain that eating more sweet vegetables will help you with sweet cravings, there may be other things going on that are causing your cravings. Often when I work with clients we find there is a combination of three or four reasons behind the cravings and we go step-by-step to address each one.