What's your body telling you when you crave sugar or junk food?

When our body gives us a message, it wants to tell us something,. But sometimes it can be hard to interpret whats really going on!

If you crave sugar or junk food, is that your body’s way of saying that the junk food is what it needs? That it will provide you with the nutrients you require? Maybe you’d love the answer to be ‘Yes’ but unfortunately not! Your body is definitely telling you something - the difficulty can be knowing exactly what!

If you crave foods that are not great for your body, then the one thing that you do know is that your body is out of balance. And the craving is your body’s way of trying to protect itself or bring itself back into balance. (If you don’t know which imbalances are triggering your cravings or desire for junk food, you can get your Customised Body Analysis here.)

The problem is that the way we live today, the foods available and the type of stresses we face are not what our bodies are so brilliantly set up to deal with.

It’s harder to interpret what’s really going on with our bodies when we live in a way that our bodies were not designed for. Depending on the imbalances in your body, you need different things to rebalance it. But whatever the imbalance, these three things will help.

1) Eat as naturally as possible. Reduce junk food and refined sugars.

These can disrupt your appetite regulation and contribute to blood sugar, female hormone and gut bacterial imbalances; they can also affect your nutrient status and the toxic load on your body. So basically they trigger or exacerbate imbalances in your body that make it hard to lose weight.

Tip: If you grab junk food on-the-go because of lack of time, try preparing extra portions of your dinner and keep for lunch the next day.

2) Be physically active

Our bodies work best when they are active. Being physically active helps bring many different systems in your body back into balance which makes it easier to lose weight. Plus it boosts your metabolism.

Tip: Find activity you enjoy. If you go to the gym because you feel you should but hate it, it’s going to be hard to sustain. If you can’t think of a physical activity you enjoy, try something new. If you get a friend to join you, you may find it more fun and more sustainable.

3) Destress and relax

Many of us are chronically stressed nowadays and this is not good for your health or your weight. Stress can trigger you to eat high sugar-high fat foods. And, if you eat these foods when stressed, you gain weight more quickly. Plus stress hormones encourage your body to store belly fat.

Tip: If you find it hard to relax, try deep breathing, colouring in (there are lots of adult colouring books available), listening to music, stroking a a pet or just spend a few minutes stretching.