So why do we crave chocolate or sugar?  I was just thinking of this today!  After coming away from Valentines Day, that just so happens to be my daughters birthday, so that means birthday cake too, I just keep thinking how can sugar have such a hold on me?

Well, my friend and coach Holly Rigsby must have been thinking the same thing.  Today when I saw her e-mail come through I just had to smile!  It was all about craving sugar, and why we crave it.

Check out her blog post from today so you can see what I mean:

Do You Crave Sugar?  by Holly Rigsby, author of Fit Yummy Mummy

Top 2 Reasons you Crave Sugar

1. Sugar Cravings exist out of Habit

You must have satisfied this craving in the past – following a meal with something sweet. Then suddenly it becomes a part of your mindset. After every meal must come dessert. The good news is ALL Habits are learned, so this habit cam be unlearned as the result of practice and repetition.

2. Sugar Cravings exist because you EAT Sugar

What?  If you eat simple, refined carbohydrates or high sugar foods everyday, your body will remain in “crave” mode.

Sugar takes your Hormones for a Roller Coaster Ride. Take a peek at what is happening inside your body when you choose to foods high in refined sugar.

Eating simple sugars causes a spike in your blood sugar for these foods are quickly absorbed into the blood stream.

This in turn gives you the temporary sugar high ~ it feels good…however, your body does not like this imbalance and a series of hormonal responses take place.

** Insulin Increases
Your body produces an increased amount of the Insulin – a storage hormone. Insulin’s job is to remove excess sugar from the bloodstream and store it in the muscles and in the liver.

** Glucagon Goes Away
In order to facilitate this rush of insulin, glucagon – a release hormone…responsible for releasing More Fat…good right? NOT when you eat too much sugar. This helpful fat loss hormone is diminished.

What does this hormone game mean to you?

Each time you consume simple sugars and refined carbohydrates, you are doing nothing more than locking in fat.

But wait…the ride doesn’t stop there…

About 30-45 minutes after the sugar rush, you wind up with residual low blood sugar….your blood sugar levels hit bottom. You Crash!

This rapid drop in blood glucose levels starves the brain of its primary fuel and you experience symptoms such as:

* Energy slumps during the day – especially in the afternoon
* Cravings for sweets
* Cravings for stimulants (tea, coffee, cigarettes)
* Irritability of mood swings
* Poor concentration or fuzzy thinking

Your body reacts once again for at this point your energy level bottoms out, you have trouble thinking clearly and you end up with cravings.
You will inevitably crave sweets as these foods will raise blood sugar the quickest, getting you out of your slump.  The blood sugar High/Low cycle repeats – again and again and again…just like getting on an endless hormonal roller coaster ride.

This is what is happening inside your body every time you eat sweets, simple sugars, refined carbohydrates.  The only logical way to stop the cravings…..is to get off the ride!

You said it Holly!  If we keep giving our bodies the sugar and refined carbohydrates, we are staying on the roller coaster that we hate so much! We are causing our bodies to store fat.  So the best cure to beat the sugar cravings, is fight them, and do not give your body sugars!

Trust me, this is hard to do, but it is well worth it!