Why do I crave sweet food after dinner?

Tanya, why do I crave sweet food after dinner. I know I’m not hungry but I just want to eat it?

Craving food, especially sweet food after meals is a habit that we have learned over the years. 

A habit is something you do over and over and then it becomes so natural that you may not even realize it anymore until you want to stop. You think if you use willpower and discipline that you will stop. And you might for a while until you don’t. Learning the right skills will help you to rewire your brain for long-term success.

And most likely, like me, you have no idea what these skills are. I didn’t until I was tired of using the same methods that were only giving me short-term success!

See, if you have trained yourself, like I did (dessert growing up anyone??) to always have something sweet after a meal, then your body will start to expect something sweet. 

Your body will nag you until it gets a sweet fix because you’ve trained your body to think that a meal isn’t finished until you eat something sweet.

This was absolutely me and I know that I would end my dinner saying that I’m absolutely stuffed and there was no way I could eat the rest of my broccoli, but I had room for dessert!

The reason we crave sweets (and for some of you salt, but it’s still most likely a simple carb), is because when we eat them, our brains release serotonin which makes us FEEL GOOD. They can also boost our energy, albeit, temporarily and our mood, until we fall back into the cycle of feeling guilty or angry that we didn’t have enough willpower to resist it.

The good news is, that we can rewire our brains without deprivation and the constant use of willpower and TRUST me, I never thought this was possible, but it is.

The first thing I changed was NEVER saying I could not eat something as that TRIGGERED me to want to eat more of it.

Instead I use the delayed gratification technique which I talk about in my book, Cookie Dough in the Dark, as this just allows a temporary pause before I eat what I want.

But see, here’s the neat thing. Adding this pause and asking yourself a few questions, actually takes the focus away from your craving, your desire and because you know you can still eat it, the emotional power struggle lessens.

The next time you have a craving, try this out>>

• Give yourself full permission to eat whatever it is that you want
• Acknowledge that you aren’t hungry but that you really want it
• Set a timer/alarm for 5 - 60 minutes
• Ask yourself some questions like, what am I feeling right now? How will this food/alcohol help me with what I am feeling? Is there something else that I could do instead?
• When the timer/alarm goes off, tap into how you are feeling. If you still want to eat/drink "X" then go for it, and if not, that’s great to

What you have just learned to do, is add a little pause between wanting and immediate gratification. You are now practicing delayed gratification and it’s one of the many simple shifts I talk about in my book, programs, calls etc. that helps you to start re-wiring your brain for long term success.

Practice this for a few weeks and love yourself for whatever you decide to do. I’ve learned that having self-compassion instead of berating myself helps with my success, although, that was a tough one to learn after years, who am I kidding, decades… of negative self-talk.

If you loved this tidbit, then you’ll love The Willis Method which is my online program helping women to crush cravings, end mindless munching and drop weight for good (if they need to). Bingeing and emotional eating have run the show for too long and it’s time for new tips and tricks to help you crush your cravings and feel in control around food without giving in. Book a call here to see if this is the right next step for you. 

Check out one of our latest group coaching calls on delaying gratification, click here