Sugar cravings are the bane of a weight watcher’s life. You can make a delicious meal for under a certain amount of calories and definitely say that it was a good meal, you’d eat it again, you feel full, but there’s always that mythical second stomach that’s calling out for dessert.
How do you satisfy that second stomach without undoing all the hard work you put into that nutritious meal? If you’re suffering from sugar cravings, take a look at our suggestions for how you can stave off the sweet tooth and focus on eating better.
Dark chocolate
There’s a space in the diet that chocolate can only fill. But if you are feeling a chocolate craving, remember that milk isn’t your only option. Milk chocolate is full of sugar and the lighter you go the more sugar you get. But you can offset some of this by switching to dark chocolate. More cocoa, better taste, better for you.
Fruit
The healthiest option is to look at the plant world and ask what’s sweet in there. A lot of different fruits are sweet enough to stop a craving in its tracks, but also are low fat and low sugar. Plus, the benefits of eating fruit are numerous and well known, including their high count of vitamins and fibre.
Berries, in particular, are high in fibre, which means they are also very low in sugar. This is helpful if you’re more worried about habit rather than hunger. If you’re just looking for something to satisfy your sweet tooth, grab a few blueberries rather than chocolate buttons while watching the TV or after dinner.
If you’re just trying to satisfy a craving, fruits are a great option, but if you want to make a meal of it add some yogurt for healthy desserts or blend it all up in a smoothie for a refreshing breakfast. Add the yogurt to satisfy your hunger.
Snack bars
Another way to get that chocolate craving satisfied without going to town on a Dairy Milk XXL is to swap it out for a chocolate flavoured snack bar. Not all snack bars are healthy, but a lot of them, even healthy ones, come with a chocolate chip flavour. Enjoy chocolate chips as part of your snack bar.
But if chocolate isn’t your problem, you’ll still have lots of options in everything from strawberry to birthday cake flavours. Look for snack bars with whole oats and fresh or dried fruit to avoid the table sugar. You can even make your own to simplify things and ensure that you’re only getting what you want in your system.
Chia seeds
Chia seeds are great for trying to stay fuller for longer. They are 40% soluble fibre so they absorb water and swell into a jelly when they’re in your gut, so your stomach is tricked into thinking it’s full for longer. Plus, this might also offset some sugar cravings.