Hey, everybody, Becky Williams here, and today I want to talk to you about sugar cravings. These sneaky things can show up virtually anytime. I think the thing that trips us up the most is that we aren't always aware of where they're coming from. Sometimes we're going to crave sugar when there's an imbalance in our bodies. Most of the time, it is something that we can control.

One way that I've helped my clients to get a hold of these cravings is to keep a journal. And so this food journal, you don't necessarily have to put stuff into an app, but just writing it down. At 9:00, I was craving chocolate. 11:00, I was craving hamburger, whatever it is, okay? I'm just throwing foods out there. But after a few days of tracking like this, you may find that your cravings are going to hit about the same time each day. By navigating these patterns, you're able to pinpoint any of your triggers. This is the key to overcoming that sugar addiction. So is it because you're bored? Is it because you're not getting enough protein in your meal? Is it because you're stressed? Is it anxiety? What is it? So all of these things can send you down that blood sugar roller coaster whether you want to go or not.

Okay, so what's the big deal, though? All around the world, food is used as tradition, right? We use it at most of our events. If you're having a birthday party, you gotta order a cake. If there's a funeral, you're going to bring food to the family. If there's a wedding, what do you think of you got to call the caterer, right? So food is part of our culture, and it is part of us. And most of the time, we are going to celebrate and grieve, but unfortunately, it's going to be with unhealthy and sugary foods.

So, we do know that over time too much sugar in your body can cause inflammation. It can cause serious issues and even diseases. Get on Google, type it in, do a quick search. You'll see pages and pages of complications that all started from sugar addiction. So some of my clients tell me, “Becky, I just can't help it. I crave sugar. I don't know what to do.” So the question here is, is this a willpower problem or is this something else?

And so humans are actually born with a desire to eat sugar. In caveman times, if you found something sweet, it meant it was high in calories and it was safe to eat. So you would want to eat as much as possible. The thing is, sugar is not evil.  It's that nowadays it's everywhere, it's abundant.  We all overeat it.  So what's the real sugar? I mean, what's the real issue? If sugar is not the issue, then what is it? Well, the problem is that a lot of times we'll decide, okay, I'm not going to eat sugar anymore since it's this big evil thing. And then you end up over-indulging, you end up in a binge. Because restriction is not the answer. Saying no to sugar for the rest of your life is not the answer. You are able to have your cake and eat it too, you just can't have the whole cake.

And as a former sugar addict, I do understand how difficult it can be to make the switch to a more sustainable way of eating. So one thing that really, really helped me is to make swaps instead of eliminating food. So for example, instead of going on a super, super strict diet to where I cannot have any sugars, there's a right list and a wrong list. And you're having to understand what's okay to eat and what's not okay to eat, that just sends you into 1: stress; 2: you are, on a psychological level, you're looking at that list of “I can't have” or bad foods and you're automatically going to want those. That's just human nature, okay. So by swapping foods, this is going to help you to not feel deprived. It's going to help you to calm down and not feel that stress.

So one example would be like ice cream. Instead of eating the sugary ice cream from the store, you could take very slightly ripe bananas when they're green and kind of hard to peel. You can freeze those in a bag in your freezer, take them out, put them in your blender, put a little bit of unsweetened almond milk and a little bit of stevia or erythritol and blend that up. And it has the same consistency of ice cream. It's got the natural sweetness from the bananas, but you're not getting that sugary high that you would get from the one that you could get at the store. Another option is if you love chocolate, you could do chocolate bars, but just don't do the ones that are full of the processed white sugar. You could do some sweetened with stevia. So it's not that I don't ever consume sugar anymore, it's that I don't do it in the same way.

Now, I do realize that there's some of you that are going to listen to this and say, “I don't care. I'm not cutting sugar out. I'm not making the swaps. I just don't like it. I don't like stevia. I don't like this”. Okay, I hear you. So I have one last tip for you. If you're going to not cut sugar out completely, I want you to be choosy with your treats. Just because somebody is in the office and they're having a birthday and there's donuts in the break room does not mean you have to eat it. Do you even know the person who had a birthday? Did your mom or your mother in law go to a baby shower and say, hey you want me to bring you some cake home? Do you even know the person having the baby? Skip those celebrations. Instead, the things that are super, super important to you, those once a year kind of celebrations, things like your wedding, your anniversary, your child's birthday party. Things that are important, things that are only going to happen every now and then, those are the times that you would choose to have a special treat.

If you are about to go to some of these celebrations where you feel like you may be tempted to give into these sugar laden foods, my trick is to drink a protein rich protein shake on the way so you can just blend up your smoothie. Make sure you have collagen powder in, it's a great protein. It's dairy free. Go ahead and drink that on the way. That way when you show up, you're not hungry and it's easier to say “No” to those treats.

Speaking of treats and Indulgence, how about I finish up this video with a Keto Chocolate Fudge recipe? Oh my goodness this is so delicious. This is going to be satisfying. It's not going to add to your waistline. And you need four ingredients. This is my kind of recipe. You need:

• 4 oz of 100% dark chocolate
• ¾ cup of coconut butter
• 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract
• stevia or erythritol. Or you can do a blend of both, like something like swerve.

Instructions:

• Melt your chocolate.
• Melt your coconut butter.
• Combine it all in a bowl with a fork.
• Put it in a silicone loaf pan. Or if you want to put it in like little individual ones, like you have a family that you're going to share with. I would do the little silicone molds like the muffin tins. Don't put it in a metal pan. I've done that. It was really not pretty. Had to get a knife, try to dig it out. It was a hot mess. Don't do that. Get your silicone molds.

It's going to give you twelve pieces for this recipe. It is creamy, it is delicious. It will have you forgetting about all of those sugary treats from the store in no time.

Do you have a favorite recipe that you love that is either dairy free or keto or paleo or AIP? Whatever you have, I would love for you to share it in our Facebook group. I hope that you have a great day and I will see you next time. Bye.