Do you like sweet stuff? You’ll have heard me say this before. I’m a firm believer in the 80/20 rule – 80% of the time eat all the greens etc, and 20% fully indulge in whatever you like with zero guilt.
Every Lent I give up sweet stuff for 6 weeks. Not for religious purposes, but just for the rare opportunity in life where we need to hold ourselves back and are held accountable.
Most cultures and religions around the world observe a yearly fast. In modern life, we are often lucky enough to eat or buy whatever we like. So having some forced restraint for a short while can be a good thing.
For when those mega sugar cravings come (and I tell you, they bloody do for me!) I find these things can be helpful…
- Have a herbal tea like peppermint and liquorice
- Brush my teeth (weird I know, but it works!)
- Take a slice of butter, add some honey and a sprinkle of salt. That fat, sweet, salty combo can often hit the spot.
- (This one is a bit deeper) I think about the craving and ask “do I actually want that or am I just looking for distraction or comfort?” If you’d like to explore this topic, I loved Women Food and God by Geneen Roth.
And here are some good ways to balance the sugar avalanche when we do indulge during holidays and celebrations (and frankly any day we choose as life is for living!)
- Drink lots of water
- Eat some extra veggies
- Sugar zaps us of Vitamin C, sadly, so dose up on some Vitamin C
I hope these ideas have been helpful and get in touch if you need help with your hormonal health at hello@taraghosh.com
