Everyone has a sweet tooth and it is perfectly natural. A mother’s milk is sweet to soothe and comfort baby and when from the moment sugar touches our tongue it sends nerve impulses to our brain, hitting our pleasure center and releasing natural opiates to make you feel good. Nature wanted you to enjoy sugar, it is what the body runs on, however it is the sugar in fruits that your body needs not the artificial/refined sugars that a lot of us have an addiction too.

Unfortunately in the Western world we are surrounded by the refined, nutritionally empty sugar that does nothing for us but make us feel depressed, guilty and adds to our weight problem. You don’t have to live with sugar cravings for the rest of your life. You can overcome them and stop obsessing over sugary junk foods. Here are 4 tips to get you started.

1. Go cold turkey and don’t treat yourself.

As already explained, sugar triggers the release of opiates in the brain making you feel good. These opiates also increase/trigger your appetite, so treating yourself to a little sugary junk will pretty much always lead to another bite and another. You will find it extremely hard to resist and may find yourself going around in circles. So it is best to completely avoid the sugary junk from ever touching your lips. That is much easier to avoid then a second bite.

2. Eat fruit.

As our natural sweet tooth is meant to lead us to eating fruits, eat fruit before each meal. Each as much as you desire and this not only will help you overcome your sugar addictions but will also stop you overeating on your meals.

3. Eat breakfast.

If you skip breakfast or don’t have a very nutritious breakfast you will find that later in the day you will crave and these cravings can get pretty intense. Make sure that you consume a good breakfast and don’t skip meals. This is the most important part to ensure that cravings don’t happen or are very limited.

4. Overcome emotional eating.

Sometimes our cravings can be a mere response to emotions – whether we are experiencing stress (hard day of work), boredom (sitting mindlessly in front of the TV) or feeling upset. For a lot of us, emotions and food are clearly tied. It is hard not to have an emotional eating response in a society that uses food to celebrate and mourn. To become more aware of your eating patterns, simply observe yourself throughout the day and note down what triggers you to eat. If its an emotional need note this down and see how often you do this. Once you know your triggers you can then go about tackling them but addressing your real needs.

Emotions are a good and healthy thing and should never go unheard. Allowing yourself to feel is crucial in overcoming emotional eating and your mind and body will thank you for it. If you struggle to overcome emotional eating Roger Gould has a great 12 week program online.