#160: Beating the after-dinner sugar cravings (snippet from my coaching call with the Tribe!)
Have sugar cravings at night time that you can't kick?
Those after dinner sweets can really wreck havock on your progress if you are committed to reaching and maintaining your healthy weight.
This episode will provide you with lots of ideas to help!
Links mentioned:
Buy my Eat Cake Lose Weight eBook: Click here
Start your weight loss, gut healing and anti-inflammatory journey now with my 3 Week Body Reset
Continue your journey and figuring out YOUR own balance in the Health with Bec Tribe
Explore my free recipes & website: Click here
Follow me on instagram: @health_with_bec
Read my other blog and listen to my podcast on sugar craving tips: Click here
Download my FREE eBook with 4, 15 minute meals: click here
Morlife Deep Sleep Remedy drink (enter code healthwithbec at checkout for 15% off): click here
Before You Speak coffee (enter code healthwithbec at checkout for 10% off): click here
Read This Episode:
Hello and welcome back to another episode of Body Bites with Bec. In this podcast, I'm going to be bringing you something slightly different. I'm going to be doing something that I haven't done before and that is sharing a snippet of one of my coaching calls in the Health with Bec Tribe.
I'm sharing this snippet because I know that it's going to help so many of you. It helps so many women in the Tribe and it's going to help not only women that are on my programs, but it'll help anyone listening, whether you're on my programs or not, because I know how sugar cravings can affect so many of us.
First of all, the Health with Bec Tribe is Step 2 after the 3 Week Body Reset.
The 3 Week Body Reset is my signature program. It's a 3 week meal plan and learning experience with educational videos by me. I really hold your hand throughout the whole 3 weeks to help women learn how to slim down and lose the bloat without hunger or feelings of restriction.
It helps women with so many other things as well from reducing menopause symptoms, ridding themselves of arthritis, clearing skin (because it's a very anti-inflammatory plan) and it helps the woman who has tried it all, tried every diet under the sun and can't get success or maybe they do get success, but then they regain the weight because they haven't learnt how to eat in a way that's reflective of normal life, that they can continue.
The 3 Week Body Reset is Step 1 and that's where everyone starts but obviously you can't learn everything in 3 weeks, so that's where the Health with Bec Tribe comes in …
If women get success and they enjoy the 3 Week Body Reset, then they can join my other program (Health with Bec Tribe), which is my monthly membership for women to learn how to turn this new diet into a long-term, sustainable lifestyle so they can keep losing weight (and keep it off) whilst learning how to live this 80/20 balance that I personally live and breathe myself and have followed since I healed my gut issues in my early 20s where I was also a big yo-yo dieter and having issues with my own weight. So it helps women find total food freedom!
If you're inside the Healthy Bec Tribe, which is 6,500 members now, I can't believe so many women's lives are changing, it blows me away every single day, women all around the world - one of the inclusions of the tribe is 2x coaching calls per month. Every fortnight there is a coaching call with me on Zoom and women can show up in live time and join me.
I get them to submit their questions the day before and then I pick out a couple and I coach everyone on the questions that have been asked, then for the last 20 minutes, I chat to members and they can ask me whatever they want. Women often share their wins, which is so inspiring and motivating. They might share their struggles too so I can coach them through it. It's such a great time and women get so much benefit out of them.
Today, I've decided to share a snippet from the call that I did last week because women found it so helpful and I know that's going to help you so much as well.
Just quickly on the Tribe as well, just in case you're interested in joining, if you've done the 3 Week Body Reset and you're thinking about joining, these coaching calls that I do on Zoom are in live time but the recording is always uploaded into the Tribe Member Portal the day after, for women to watch or listen to whenever they like, which makes it really easy.
As you'll be able to hear in this snippet from the coaching call, it was over Zoom, so the audio quality might not be as good because I wasn't actually using a microphone. I didn't realise that I would be turning this into a podcast.
Also, I did share a podcast about sugar craving tips back in March (Episode #145: 12 Scientifically Proven Tips To Rid The Sugar Cravings!) but this one is different because even though some of the tips will be the same, I speak about it in a different way and for you to really learn, it actually takes hearing things over and over again for you to remember things and for it to sink in.
Also there's tips that members share and that is one of the best parts about these calls. It's not just me helping women. I also get the other women who are on and who have been in the tribe for 1 to 12 months (or longer) to share their tips that have helped them as well. So it's a very interactive chat where you'll hear tips from me, but also some incredible tips from the members, plus some of their exciting wins.
So one of the members (CHRIS) asked -
Q. I’m really struggling with giving up sugar, though I have reduced it a lot. Do you have any suggestions to rid the addiction other than cold turkey?
BM: The first thing I want to mention is the podcast that I did with Elisha (Episode #157: Breaking Habits: Elisha Casagrande’s Alcohol Reduction Journey After Husbands Cancer Diagnosis), who is our newest team member. You would see her a lot in the Tribe because she's in the Facebook Group answering your questions.
Elisha talks about her alcohol reduction journey, but you can totally relate that to so many other addictions that you want to get on top of and change. She has an approach that helped her reduce her alcohol consumption, so listening to that podcast might inspire you. If you have a sugar addiction too, you might take something away from that because she didn't go cold turkey to reduce her alcohol consumption, she had a different approach. I won't get into it, but it's an insanely great episode that so many people loved and found really helpful.
Now a lot of other people love to make my sweet recipes ahead of time, so they're in your fridge or freezer on a Sunday. So when you crave something sweet (often after dinner), you've at least got a sugar-free treat to grab and enjoy with no guilt but tastes just as good. So choose your favourite one, there's all sorts of things that you can make.
The Eat Cake Lose Weight eBook is incredible. You could make anything from that and always have one of those snacks on hand in your fridge or freezer so that you've got something to grab when that sugar craving hits. So you're not getting rid of that habit and that addiction, you’re replacing it with something else.
If you haven't prepared an actual indulgent snack of mine, keeping frozen berries in your freezer is great. I always do that. Most nights I have frozen berries after dinner. Bonus Tip - to help with sugar cravings add cinnamon, then you could also add a little bit of coconut yoghurt or greek yoghurt. Sometimes I even add a little bit of Morlife Protein Powder sprinkled on top and that's another really good sugar-free, low calorie, healthy snack to have after dinner as well.
JACKIE: Frozen berries are life!
BM: I agree, I totally agree. They're just a savior. I defrost them in the microwave as well. I really love frozen strawberries too. They get really sweet after they've been frozen and then you defrost them.
LYNETTE: My fussy, autistic daughter says that Bec’s sweet recipes are the best sugar-free recipes she's ever had and we’ve tried all sorts of stuff over the years.
IRENE: I up my water intake when I have bad cravings and do everything to stay out of the kitchen or even better, I physically leave the house so I'm occupied with something else. The latter has helped me control my cravings psychologically.
BM: That's so good to hear that's worked for you - definitely getting out of the house and going for a 10 - 15 minute walk in nature is a really good thing to stop the craving, but especially if the craving has come from stress, which normally triggers it.
Sometimes it can just be a habit, but if you feel like you crave sugar and overeat when you're emotional and stressed (I know this is easier said than done), but I always like to encourage people to actually zoom out …
If it is a trigger from stress or emotions, try to zoom out and look at your life on a holistic level and ask yourself - what's actually causing this stress?
Is it a job that I'm stuck in that I absolutely hate? Is it a family member? Is it something that I can change about my lifestyle altogether? We've all got the power to change our lives every single day. Who actually makes my life happier and less stressful? Do I need to set certain boundaries with certain people? Getting to the root cause of the issue can help, rather than trying the blanket approach each night. How can you take some small steps to actually make your life happier and less stressful? You all deserve that.
A few other things to remember as well with sugar cravings and stress is sleep. If you're under sleeping, you crave sugar so much more the next day and you're so much hungrier. Really try your best to focus on proper sleep hygiene - same sleep time every night and try to get 7 to 8 hours (personally, I need 7 hours which is my prime amount. If I get any less than that, I'm so much hungrier the next day). That's something to always focus on as well.
Making sure you're always hydrated really helps too.
Another thing that's been scientifically proven is going in a really hot shower and having the hot water run over your back for a good 5 minutes. That is supposed to get rid of sugar cravings.
NIKKI: I quit cold turkey 6 weeks ago and I'm too scared to have any at all. I love the monk fruit sugar and baking snacks with coconut yogurt hits the spot.
BM: That's so good to hear Nikki, because the reason I haven't talked about cold turkey yet is because Chris asked for any tips besides going cold turkey that can help … if you can try for a couple of weeks to go sugar-free and swapping that sugar for one of my recipes or blueberries, it makes it easier. Then you are actually getting rid of the addiction in your brain. It makes it a lot easier to walk down the chocolate aisle and not be tempted. When the cravings are gone, it's a lot easier, so it is a great tool to go cold turkey and I couldn’t recommend that more.
SARAH: 6 weeks off sugar, cold turkey and the biggest, most rewarding struggle of my life. Too scared to go back but it is a struggle. Water, tea, berries and baked snacks.
BM: That is great! Also guys, if you've gone cold turkey for a period, don't don't fear having a small amount of chocolate or ice cream etc. If you're out for dinner or it’s the weekend and you want to share a dessert. if you have a small amount of sugar again, even if you've gone cold turkey after a period of time, that's not enough to reignite your cravings. I wouldn't stress about that. I think your cravings would only come back if you went through a period again of maybe 3, 4 or 5 days in a row of eating sugar every day.
DANNII: For me, it was helpful to learn 2 things when kicking the sugar habit -
1. Learning all about how sugar impacts the body - studying naturopathy, I like to learn about how things impact the body and what actually happens in the body. The biggest way it impacts me is if I have it, I get really puffy in the face. I didn't want that! Learning how it impacts me helped me not want to do that to my body.
2. I had to explore why I was wanting the sugar and I did find out through delving deep and asking yourself those tricky questions. I wanted to have alone time from my kids. I would go to the shops and I'd buy a chocolate bar after I did the food shopping, then sit in the car and eat it so I could be all on my own. Once I found other ways to have some alone time that helped to kick it as well.
BM: Love that, that is so good! So you addressed the trigger - you realised it wasn’t actually about the sugar, it's about that alone time and then created that for yourself, which is so beautiful.
I remember when I used to binge on sugar more in my early 20s, it was when I felt lonely. It’s such a comfort food. So in that situation, it's good to look at the trigger and then try to fix that. I can't remember why, maybe I didn't have enough friend catch ups that week or didn’t connect with someone that day but figuring out that trigger can absolutely help.
A lot of you are starting to realise what certain foods do to your body. So many people realise after the 3 Week Body Reset, that they perhaps have a sensitivity to gluten, but only after they've done the 3 Week Body Reset and feel so much better. They think - oh my god, I've realised how it makes me feel and I want to stop eating it.
It’s the same with sugar - it gives a lot of people a puffy face including me. When you understand what it does to your body, then it does help a bit too, because you know it tastes good, but you also want to feel good. That can really help as well when you're very in tune with what the food's doing to your body.
VAL: Sleep is an issue for me. I always seem to wake up at 3am and then can't get back to sleep.
BM: I'm so sorry to hear that as someone that has had chronic insomnia in the past and I have to work on it every night, I completely relate to that. I think it was about 9 months of my life (about 3 years ago) that I was getting 4 hours of sleep a night and it's horrible. I hope that gets better for you. Just please do all that you can to get to the bottom of the root cause of what it is for you.
If anyone else has sleep issues, (which relates to the topic of sugar cravings because if you're not sleeping well, you crave more sugar) - the thing that I learnt is that I get insomnia if I'm too overwhelmed. So I really do my best now to not overcommit myself in work. It's taken time to learn my balance. I know that we don't all run businesses, but we've all got busy lives in some ways.
For you, it might look like not saying yes to so many social commitments or asking your partner for more help with the kids or agreeing to get a babysitter 1 night a week … how can you make life less overwhelming? When you take too much on, your brain can't switch off at night. That's what causes insomnia for me so I've really taken time to find my own balance and try my best to not overcommit myself, even though the days are always busy, but the more balanced I feel in my life, the easier I can switch off and sleep. Sometimes it's actually looking at your lifestyle as well and seeing how you can reduce the stress on a daily basis.
JAMIE: I'm enjoying a hot cacao husk tea, gives me a warm, hot choccy.
BM: Love that! Oh, another thing that I love having some nights is the Morlife Deep Sleep Remedy. It's a chocolate, caramel drink and it’s got a few different things in there that help you feel relaxed for sleep. It definitely helps me wind down and sleep easier, but it tastes incredible. It's 20 calories and you have it with boiling water and almond milk. It's a really yummy drink to have as well. It tastes like you're drinking hot chocolate but you're not. You could have herbal tea with berries - perfect thing to have that will help with sugar cravings and your sleep as well.
Reminder - you get 15% off Morlife products with the code ‘healthwithbec’ at checkout.
JACKIE: I've been doing the hot showers as I'm finding that I'm really cold now. I've dropped 5 kilos and I'm in Melbourne.
NICOLE: I went cold turkey and I cannot go back. I didn't crave sugar that much before, but this has been a game changer. I’ve lost 8.5 kilos in 3 months.
SARAH: My face puffiness is reducing, finding my chin again was great motivation!
BM: It's amazing how sugar is very inflammatory and that's why it can blow people's faces up. A lot of people lose weight in their faces from cutting sugar out with this lifestyle. Gluten can be inflammatory to a lot of people as well (not everyone, but so many people). Gluten, sugar and dairy can be really inflammatory and that's why a lot of people see results in their face.
KERRY: I have a Before You Speak Mocha with Hazelnut Collagen in it. It's so good and feels like such a treat.
Reminder - you get 15% off Before You Speak products with the code ‘healthwithbec’ at checkout.
VERONICA: I have a little bit of yogurt and berries, which really helps but what always works is brushing my teeth after dinner.
NOLENE: I'm an absolute choco-holic. Since doing the 3 Week Body Reset, I have not looked back! A square of 85% chocolate is enough now, plus the Eat Cake Lose Weight eBook.
KATIE: I had insomnia after kids. Sleepless nights were more their fault than mine. They would wake me up at 3am and I could never go back to sleep but I've never slept better since the 3 Week Body Reset. I wonder if the diet is helping. I also do a fair bit of exercise and if I don't exercise, then I struggle to sleep?
BM: Incredible! A lot of people sleep better on this lifestyle. It can be more complex of course, than what you eat but it can help. One of the reasons is that it really helps to control your blood sugar levels. Obviously there's phases in your life (and I'm not looking forward to it, if I do have kids one day), but some phases of your life are inevitable if you've got kids. Just know that it's temporary and that things will get better, but I'm so happy to hear that the 3 Week Body Reset really helped you Jackie.
LYNETTE: I used to heat up in bed and now I don't wake up boiling in the middle of the night from menopause since following this approach.
VERONICA: I am 69kgs. I’ve been trying to reach 70kgs since I had my last child (who is 35) and here I am now and I've just cracked 69kgs. I have never felt better, I've lost 12 kilos in 4 months.
BM: That's incredible, Veronica. You are all amazing. This has been such an incredible call. It's made my day!
So that is the snippet that I wanted to share with you and I really hope you got value out of that and enjoyed it just as much as the Tribe members did. I wish I could share the whole thing with you because there were so many more wins and I really expressed my gratitude to everyone that joined with how much I appreciate the women that join and their love and their commitment and how proud I am of everyone.
If you are in the Health with Bec Tribe, I am so grateful to do the work that I do. It is such a joy. It is my biggest passion to show you how truly possible it is to see results and find food freedom after you've tried every single diet under the sun and to everyone in the tribe, you guys are superstars. I love seeing your posts in the Facebook Group every single day. It's so inspiring.
To everyone listening, whether you're in the Tribe or not, I just want to say thank you so much as well for listening to this podcast and supporting my dream to help as many women in the world as I possibly can. If you enjoyed this episode, it would mean the world to me if you left a quick rating and review on Apple Podcasts. Also, another way to really support me is to take a screenshot of this episode and share it on your Instagram story and tag me @health_with_bec. If you're not following me yet on Instagram, I am @health_with_bec where I'm sharing lots of tips and the behind the scenes all the time.
Also, the Eat Cake Lose Weight eBook which so many people love to really help them replace a naughty treat at night, you can actually buy that. It's not part of the Health with Bec Tribe. You can buy that whether you're on the 3 Week Body Reset or not, or if you've never bought anything from me. It’s a one off purchase - a 20-page eBook with some really awesome sweet recipes that are sugar-free, gluten-free, guilt-free and low carb that really help to crush your cravings and satisfy you without eating sugar.