Sweets made for overeating
Eating sweet food is not a problem in itself. Sweet flavour can be a part of a healthy diet. You only get in trouble when you start craving highly-processed “junk” sweets. The thing is that snacks like chocolate bars, M&Ms, KitKat, cakes, biscuits, and cookies aren’t just sugar. They are the right combination of sugar, fat, and salt which makes them irresistible. Food producers know this and they make addictive sweets on purpose. It’s good for business but bad for your weight and health.
These processed sweets are not only very addictive but also very easy to eat. Even if kale was as addictive as chocolate, it still wouldn’t have the same impact. That’s because it takes a lot of chewing to eat kale whereas chocolate simply melts in your mouth.
They are everywhere
Sweets like chocolate, candy or cake have one more trump card. They are everywhere! They usually have a long shelf life and everyone likes them. That’s why they are offered in almost any store and there are snack dispensers wherever you go. This creates visual cues for you to start craving these sweets and it also makes it super easy to get them.
All of this means that it might not be entirely your fault that you are craving sweets a lot. Unfortunately, it’s still up to you to take charge of your diet and fight these cravings. Here are a few tips how on to do it.
Get the sweets out of your house
The simple fact is that if you have sweets at home, you will eventually eat them. Relying solely on willpower is not going to work long term. Your first order of business should be to remove all sweets you tend to crave the most from your home. If you have to go out of the house to shop for them every time you get a craving, chances are you will have an easier time resisting.
Replace them with healthy foods
Thankfully, the same thing goes for almost any food. Stock up your house with fresh produce and you will see that your consumption of fruits and vegetables will increase too. Make your home environment such that it sets you up for healthy eating. That’s half the battle.
Do more chewing
It also helps to be well fed to reduce cravings for sweets. Eating processed foods usually delivers a lot of calories in a small package. That means your stomach doesn’t expand that much and you’re missing an important satiety signal. Whole foods and meals that include a lot of vegetables take up much more space in your stomach and send a stronger satiety signal. One good rule of thumb you can use is chewing. The more chewing you have to do to get through a meal, the better it will be in keeping you full.
