Sugar cravings

I considered myself to be a health conscious person. As a woman in 30s I am careful with what I consume and try to eat clean. As much as possible I try to avoid overprocessed foods like cake, cookies, ice cream etc. I also am someone who rarely gets food cravings. If I get craving for a particular food I assume that I am unwell. Generally what I had observed is that whenever my blood pressure goes down before that I get sugar or salt cravings. One of such episodes happened yesterday.

Yesterday I had been working till 6:00 p.m. I completed my work and logged out. After logging out and packing my stuff I felt that I should eat something. Again this is unusual because after my evening coffee I directly have dinner. I do not eat in between, if I do I feel too full and cannot have dinner. But if I had the feeling to eat something I decided not to ignore what my body had been telling me.

I sat in silence to understand what my body needed. After waiting for some time I realised that I had been craving for sugar. I absolutely hated when I get sugar cravings because after eating anything sweet I often feel nauseous. That makes me regret eating anything sweet. I had completely crossed out cookies and chocolates to satiate my sugar cravings.

I went into the kitchen to see if I can find a healthy or guilt free sweet snack to eat. I was specifically looking for groundnut chikki so that it would not be to sweet at the same time it would be healthier. Unfortunately the chikki got over 2 days ago.

Then I started to find any other healthy snacks for consumption. I found a multigrain biscuit that my dad had brought. It did not contain any sugar and was made with whole wheat. Then I checked the ingredients and found out that it had almonds. Almonds do not suit me and cause heat boils, hence I crossed out that option as well.

Then I went to the fridge to see if there is anything healthy in it. At first, I found a dark chocolate which was 80% chocolate and only little sugar. It is my favourite chocolate and I loved it because it is more bitter than sweet. It is the chocolate that does not give me nausea. But I decided not to take it because mostly I eat it whenever my blood pressure gets low. I somehow associate it with illness and hence I was hesitant to have it.

I was standing in the kitchen and seeing the pantry full of eatables which I did not want to consume. I thought to myself that what possibly I could have so that I would not get full, and satiate the sugar cravings without guilt. I felt like crying.

Then I had an epiphany. I had brought pineapple two days ago. It was still in the fridge. It was perfect to beat the sweet cravings. I felt like I had won the war. It was sweet and guilt free. I took the pineapple out of the fridge and decided to eat it. After consuming a couple of pieces of pineapple I started feeling better. The sugar cravings were gone. It was not just a physical feeling but overall I felt better about my consumption choice. Instead of eating something overprocessor I decided to eat of fruit to combat the sugar cravings. I felt amazing after eating the pineapple. It was sweet, healthy, tasty, and not overpowering too. It checked all the boxes.

I felt as if I had fought a monster and won the battle. I felt proud that I did not fell for the sugary confectioneries and chosen a healthier option. I felt as if I was a step closer to win over the temptations.

Yesterday, I learnt anothet lesson: Always keep fruits in the stock.