Do you struggle with sugar cravings, especially after meals and at night? Then read on to learn actionable strategies to overcome your cravings and gain control!
First, I must tell you…I am a recovered nighttime snacker. There were times when it bordered binge-eating, for sure. Eating past the point of long feeling full, dulling my achy tiredness with mindless snacking, and feeling distressed and shameful of my behavior.
For YEARS!
I’d even be extra conscious of my dinner so I could save room and calories for my special, ‘me-time’ snack once the kids went to bed.
What happened?
I really made a plan. I wrote down my strategy and used research-based cognitive behavioral techniques to guide my actions.
And it worked. It can for you, too, my friend. You just have to be ready and willing and make a plan.
Why do you get sugar cravings, especially at night?
Physiological causes of nighttime sweet cravings
There are a few pesky hormones to blame for that out-of-control feeling around sweets.
One reason for sugar cravings is an imbalance of blood sugar levels during the day.
Snag my Ultimate Guide to Crush Nighttime Snacking? Get my top 7 Tips to Crush Your Cravings!
A typical food recall I hear goes something like this: “I don’t eat much at all and I eat low calorie…my day goes like this: Cornflakes with milk for breakfast with a banana. Then I usually don’t have time for lunch, so I grab something healthy, like an apple. Then I’ll have some pretzels and one cookie if it’s in the office. I don’t understand why I can’t control myself around junk food at night!”
As soon as this woman started to frontload protein with regular, timed meals, those cravings started to dissipate.
Why?
Although her meals were healthy enough and were low calorie, they sent her on a blood
sugar-spiking frenzy. Each time your blood sugar shoots up, your body must release insulin to escort sugar into your cells, where it belongs. Well, this causes a lot of highs and lows in blood sugar which stirs up other hormones, which make you hungry and crave sweets. And, I don’t know about you, but when I’m hungry, I crave carbs. I’ve never wanted to dig into a hunk of dry, grilled chicken breast.
But maybe that’s just me.
A second physiologic reason for sugar cravings at night is an imbalance of nutrients.
The above woman has strong sugar cravings at night is a lack of structured, dependable eating during the day of nutrient-rich foods. I call it, “underfueling and overcompensating”.
Your body likes to know it will receive dependable food at regular intervals. It does not want to be surprised. It wants you to always be running after those tigers and eating the meat every 4 hours, or so.
(Along with some ancient seeds and berries for fiber, milk for calcium, fish for omega-3’s…you get the point…balanced meals.)
A third physiologic reason for nighttime sugar cravings is elevated cortisol levels. Cortisol, often referred to as the “stress hormone”, plays a significant role in how your body responds to stress. Chronically high levels can alter blood sugar and insulin levels, causing the body to seek quick energy.
This happens because your body may burn through glucose quickly in times of stress, leading to a dip in blood sugar.
Lastly, ghrelin is another key player in the nighttime sugar craving game. Ghrelin is our “hunger hormone” and helps regulate appetite and food intake. Ghrelin levels rise before eating and fall after eating. When ghrelin levels are high, you’re more likely to crave foods that will give you quick energy and calories. (Can anyone say, potato chips??)
Ghrelin has been shown to activate the brain’s reward system, particularly in areas linked to cravings and food pleasure.
Sleep deprivation and stress can also increase ghrelin levels, which cause a physiologic and emotional drive for sweet, calorie-dense foods.
So it’s not in your head. You ARE craving sweets.
Then, of course, there are the emotional and behavioral causes of sugar cravings.
We’ve probably all said at one point, “Well, I had a rough week…I deserve this”.
There is a psychological reward of indulging in sugar after a long day that can quickly become a conditioned habit. (We go into this, in depth, in my Ditch the Diets group bootcamp.)
Boredom, stress, and lack of sleep are other reasons that can drive sugar cravings.
Actionable Tips to Stop Sugar Cravings at Night
1. Balance Your Meals During the Day
Don’t diet all day, just to lose control at night.
Eat 3 balanced meals per day…protein, fiber and healthy fats at every meal. It doesn’t have to be fancy.
Here are some examples:
Breakfast: Whole grain waffles with peanut butter and fruit. Coffee with milk
Lunch: Tuna salad over greens, some whole grain crackers, and some dried figs or dates.
Dinner: Baked fish/chicken/pork, a side of barley, and some grilled asparagus or vegetable of choice.
The important part is eating in a way to balance your hormones. The protein, fiber and healthy fats in these meals will also keep you satiated for a longer period of time, preventing you from being hungry every 2 hours.
Address Emotional Eating with Non-Food Strategies
As I mentioned above, in my Ditch the Diets Bootcamp, we take a deep dive into cognitive behavioral strategies to help you break the habits and conditioning you've developed around food. It really takes a strategy to put actions in place when you would normally turn to food.
Some ideas would be to distract yourself, or do something with your hands, instead of eating. Maybe you could pain, knit, or workout.
3. Practice stress-reducing techniques like journaling or meditation.
4. Replace nighttime snacking habits with self-care rituals (e.g., a warm bath).
5. Improve Your Sleep Hygiene
6. Plan for Healthy, Low-Sugar Snacks
Ideas for snacks that satisfy cravings without overloading on sugar:
Greek yogurt with berries
Dark chocolate (85% cocoa or higher)
Apple slices with almond butter
Dates with peanut butter
Rice cakes with chocolate sun nut butter
Frozen banana slices
Warm milk with cinnamon
Crushing your sugar cravings won’t happen overnight, but it’s absolutely possible! Start by setting realistic goals, gradually reducing sugar, eating balanced meals throughout the day, managing stress, and improving your sleep hygiene as needed.
Don’t forget to Grab my Ultimate Guide to Crush Nighttime Snacking? Get my top 7 Tips to Crush Your Cravings HERE!
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