How to stop sugar cravings? 

If you’re Googling “How to stop sugar cravings?” or “Why am I always craving sugar?” I’m guessing you’re pretty fed up with your current sweet tooth calling the shots. 

Let me know in the comments below if this resonates. 

It’s 7 am, your alarm goes off, and the first thing that pops into your brain (besides the inner critic judging your every mouthful yesterday) is, “There’s chocolate in the cupboard”, and so begins the food tug of war, taking all your willpower to resist the temptation to eat chocolate for breakfast. 

This is just one of the many stories I’ve heard from clients over the past 10 years as a binge-eating dietitian. It feels like a sugar or food addiction, right? It’s so compulsive, so reactive, and so out of our control. 

Well, I’ve got good news for you. As much as you feel like you have no control over your sugar cravings, there are several logical (and proven) reasons why you’re constantly grabbing the lollies, chocolates and sweets. In this article, I’m sharing the science-backed strategies I’ve used to reduce my compulsive sugar addiction and help hundreds of clients do the same. 

What causes sugar cravings? 

Ok, before we jump into tips to stop sugar cravings, it’s helpful to understand the science behind sugar and cravings. Here are the five most common reasons you keep reaching for the lollies and chocolate. 

Irregular blood glucose levels

If we’re constantly skipping meals or eating chaotically, it’s *so* normal to reach for high-sugar foods. Our bodies are *very* good at keeping our blood sugar levels stable. If we haven’t eaten in hours, we start to feel faint, light-headed, and dizzy (symptoms of low blood sugar), we may notice intense sugar cravings as we know these foods will boost our blood sugar levels quickly. 

Poor gut microflora

Research is starting to explore the link between our gut microbiota and our desire to eat highly palatable foods like sugar. While there needs to be more evidence to support these claims, and preliminary research showing the link between gut health and cravings has only been explored in animals, we know eating prebiotic and probiotic foods to support our gut microbiome promotes many other health benefits. 

Emotional dysregulation 

Food is a fantastic coping tool if there’s a state of hyper-arousal (fight or flight) or hyperarousal (freeze) – especially sweet sugar foods. Whether we’re feeling tired, stressed, understimulated or overstimulated, reactive, angry, frustrated, bored, withdrawn, or depressed – sugar is one the fastest, cheapest, and most accessible options to help regulate our nervous system – we call this emotional eating. 

Low dopamine levels 

Imagine you’re sitting at your desk, it’s 10 am, you’ve been in the office for an hour, and you’re procrastinating hard on getting a task done, then BOOM, the thought pops into your mind, “let’s visit the lolly jar”. This is what we call dopamine seeking. Food, particularly highly palatable foods like lollies, chocolate, crisps, salted nuts, etc, can quickly boost our dopamine when we’re low on these neurotransmitters. While this is particularly common for ADHDers and while binge eating and ADHD often go hand in hand, anyone can use food as a dopamine-seeking tool. 

6 strategies to reduce sugar cravings 

It’s time we delve into the information you really want: how to stop your intense sugar cravings. Like I said earlier, the good news is there are many ways to reduce reliance on sugar. There are my six go-to science-backed strategies in order of how I use them as a binge-eating dietitian. 

1. Eat regularly 

I know it sounds simplistic, but the first thing I check with any new client who’s feeling addicted to sugar is whether they’re eating regularly. As I mentioned above, if we’re skipping meals or have huge gaps between our meals and snacks (more than 5-6 hours) it’s normal to reach for sugary foods. It’s our body’s way of maintaining our blood sugar and energy levels. 

Homework – focus on closing the gap between eating and STOP SKIPPING MEALS. Ideally, we need to eat every 3-4 hours. See if eating regularly impacts the intensity and frequency of cravings. 

2. Increase protein, fat and fibre intake 

Once you’re eating regularly, if you’re still noticing intense sugar cravings, it’s time to review what you’re eating. Research suggests a diet higher in fats, protein and fibre with a reduced carbohydrate intake can help reduce sugar cravings. Sure, you might feel full after eating, but are you satisfied (the difference between fullness and satisfaction). Sugar cravings, or any cravings, after eating are a great indication that what you just ate didn’t quite hit the spot – from a sensory perspective. 

Struggle with meal planning and food prep? Check out my non-diet guide here. 

Homework – swap everyday items like pasta, bread and rice for higher protein options, e.g. high protein bread and pasta or rice with quinoa. Swap low-fat foods for regular full-fat options. Add nuts, grains, oats, seeds and other sources of fibre to cooking and baking. Make sure your meals aren’t just filling but that they’re also satisfying too. Imagine a salad with lettuce, tomato, cucumber and feta vs. a salad with lettuce, tomato, cucumber, feta, rice, halloumi, and a creamy dressing. I know which one I’d choose. 

3. Sleep and self-care 

Ok, so you’re eating regularly and including more protein, fats and fibre in your day, but you’re still noticing strong urges for sugar. It’s time to explore the link between sleep deprivation and food cravings. Researchers discovered that, relative to the sleep-rested state, a sleep-deprived brain significantly increases the desire for high-calorie foods. Sleep deprivation can also cause a rise in ghrelin (hunger hormone) levels and a fall in leptin (fullness hormone) levels – meaning we have less control over our ability to self-regulate food intake. 

Homework – complete this self-care audit. Aim to improve your sleep (this can be easier said than done); however, focus on what you can control. Can you use an alarm clock so you don’t sleep with your phone next to you (hello, midnight scrolling)? Can you go to bed 30 minutes earlier? Can you sleep in 30 mins longer? 

4. Emotional regulation 

Food is an incredible tool to cope with our emotions. Fact. This is non-negotiable. Even if part of your brain right now’s saying, “Yeah, but I should have more willpower and cope with my emotions without using food”. Sure, there are plenty of other ways we can soothe our emotions, but compared to drugs, alcohol, pornography, food’s pretty harmless. Ok, but I know. You’d like to rely less on food for comfort and regulate your emotions without immediately turning to food. I get that, and I also want that for you. 

Homework – find 2-3 emotional regulation tools e.g. breathwork, dancing, boxing, puzzle, colouring book, fidget toys – that you can practice using instead of food. 

5. Give yourself permission to eat sugar 

This is a big one for most of my clients. They’ve been conditioned to believe it’s “bad” to eat sugar. While they can implement the above strategies, they still feel out of control around sugar because when they do eat, it feels like they’ve broken a rule. They feel guilty and shameful and keep you stuck in the binge-restrict cycle. Sound familiar? This is what we call making peace with food in intuitive eating. 

Homework – next time you eat sweet food, tell yourself, “I’m allowed to eat sugar.” You won’t believe it at first, but the more you tell yourself this over time, the more you’re challenging your scarcity mindset and letting your brain know sugar is safe, you’re safe, and you don’t have to gorge yourself on it because you can eat it again later.  

6. Practice urge surfing 

My last tip if you’ve done all the above steps and you’re still feeling addicted to sugar is urge surfing. It works by creating space between a thought and behaviour so you can respond to your urge/craving rather than react to it. 

Homework: Next time you get an urge to reach for sugar, here’s what I offer you 

1. Pause and rate the intensity of the sugar craving from 1-10 
2. Set a 5-minute timer and tell yourself, “If I still feel like it in 5 minutes, I can have the sweets.” 
3. Find an activity to distract yourself for five minutes, e.g. dancing, making a phone call, scrolling on social media, listening to music, take some deep breaths. 
4. Once the timer goes off, check in with yourself again and rate the intensity of your sugar craving from 1-10 
5. Decide whether you want the sugar or if you have the capacity to try a different emotional regulation activity 

Is sugar addiction real? 

I know it feels like you’re addicted to sugar, but there’s little evidence to support sugar addiction in humans. In animal studies, addiction-like behaviours, such as bingeing, only occur in the context of intermittent access to sugar. These behaviours likely arise from intermittent access to sweet-tasting or highly palatable foods, not the neurochemical effects of sugar. In other words, it’s our relationship, beliefs and permission to eat sugar that makes us feel addicted to it, not the food itself. 

What to do when you get a sugar craving? 

1. Acknowledge it’s normal and a symptom, not a problem. 
2. Ask yourself if you have eaten something in the past 3-4 hours. 
3. Reflect on what you’ve eaten. Did you have protein, fat and fibre? 
4. Ask yourself what you need? 
5. Are you hungry and need a meal? 
6. Set a timer and try to give yourself what you need, e.g. a meal, a shower, hug, rest, entertainment, etc. 
7. If you still have sugar cravings – eat it and try to enjoy it – you’re allowed to eat sugar! 

Need help reducing sugar cravings? 

You might have picked up from this article that I know a thing or two about helping people take back control over sugar (and all foods). If you’re curious about a non-diet approach that empowers you rather than focuses on more willpower and discipline, book a free strategy call with me, Erin. 

We can chat more about your struggles, and I’ll let you know how we can work together. 

If you’ve gotten this far, thank you for reading this article. I put so much effort into these and want you to be able to take the information and improve things, I hope this article helps you find some reprieve. 

Erin x