How to Prevent Your Afternoon Sugar Cravings and Energy Crash!

Do you want to prevent sugar cravings? Sugar cravings when it gets to the afternoon. We all start to feel the notorious energy slump while we work.

What exactly causes it, and how can we stop sweet cravings it?

In this post, learn what sugar has to do with your 3 o’clock cravings and energy crash, and how you can boost your energy as a self motivated and super busy entrepreneur, as well as deal with any afternoon slump you’re already suffering from!

Oh my gosh: we all know that horrible, groggy feeling we get every day between 2 p.m. and 4 p.m.

Where you just feel tired and you don’t want to do anything. All you want to do is lie down and sleep, but of course there is still more work to do!

Some cultures around the world even add this slump to their daily routine like the smart Spanish folks and their ‘siestas’.

This is especially hard for us entrepreneurs after all, if you’re working from home, what’s to stop you
from simply going to sleep?

Theoretically, you could just walk from your office to your bed and catch some nice sweet zzz’s!

There’s no one there keeping you accountable and you can’t just pretend to work
like in an office cubicle you are your own boss, and work gets done when you get it done.

How do you avoid the sweet temptation to go for a nap? 

One of the most popular ways to combat the afternoon slump is to opt for a little pick me up like that
small bag of M&M’s in the back of your cabinet drawer, or even better, a quick Starbucks run to get your
fave frappé!

I mean, doesn’t it make it easier to head back to work with a boost of energy from the sweet sugary drink?
Maybe you have to convince yourself first to choose the sweet route by telling yourself you’ll get more work done with a bit of sugar flowing though your veins (after all, you’ll do a workout later, eh?)!

Does any of this sound familiar?

Well, don’t worry because this is super (and I mean super) common. But just because the energy boost/slump cycle is common doesn’t mean it has to happen it shouldn’t happen and you can break the cycle.

What’s going on here is what we call the afternoon ‘carb and/or sugar crash’.
It’s absolutely not healthy or necessary.

You want to feel sharp, motivated, and maybe even excited
about your tasks from morning to night, and this cycle only makes business for us entrepreneurs harder.

Oh, and it’s totally not fun either (believe me, I used to go through it every single day).

So, allow me to enlighten you in detail about what happens during this energy roller coaster, and to explain just how you can help yourself stay as sharp as a knife from wake up to sleep time.

As an entrepreneur, I know how tiring the long hours at the desk can be, and I know just how hard it can
be to hold back from self motivation through sweets (I’m looking at you, strawberry Starbucks frappé)!

But, the thing is, the slump you’re experiencing is caused by what you are and aren’t eating, not just long work hours!

Now you know a bit about me, let’s get cracking! Here’s how you can avoid and breeze through
the afternoon with power and energy, and cure any sneaky sugar rush slump coming your way!

What causes the common afternoon crash?

Sugar is the enemy…
Sugar, especially refined sugar, is in everything, everywhere, and almost everyone is obsessed with it.

Hello sugar cravings, you know what I’m talking about!

What is sugar doing to us?

Before we discuss how we can stop or prevent sugar cravings, let’s talk about the benefits of sugar. Refined sugar and excessive amounts of other sugars (more on that later…) spike the body’s blood glucose level, causing the pancreas to release insulin in an attempt to control those levels.

It just makes your blood sugar levels drop, and this my friend is what’s making you feel high with energy and then low after the crash, leading you to feel tired, lethargic and unfocused.

This is what gets many of us into a daily battle to feel normal again, which only makes us crave sugar
again, again and again.

Hello vicious cycle!

But wait, don’t think just cutting out traditional refined sugar foods (I’m talking candy bars) is going to fix the issue!

How your lunch affects your energy (and contains hidden sugars)?

That white bread sandwich you’re eating for lunch is a part of the cycle too.
Bread, fries, and pasta all technically also count as sugar.
You know when you eat that leftover plate of pasta for lunch, and then all you want to cozy up on the
couch?

Yep, that’s sugar crash! Let’s prevent these sugar cravings shall we?
When you eat a food containing carbohydrates, your body will release the hormone insulin to take sugar out of the bloodstream and into our cells this is fine.

What’s wrong is that when the carbs are refined carbs or in the form of simple sugars, our bodies digest them too quickly, and they enter blood rapidly, which only causes a large insulin release.
And we end up with a sugar rush and crash just like when we eat a candy bar. The cycle continues.

This is generally a problem with most high glycemic index foods.

Which means that basically the best way to avoid the afternoon sugar slump is to avoid sugar and other high glycemic index foods.

How to avoid eating sugar when it’s calling your name AND the best energy boosting foods?

Now, of course, staying away from sugar can be tough especially because of cravings so when I’m telling you to avoid sugar, it’s easier said than done.
Lucky for you, I know how addictive sugar can be, and I have some serious experience in quick sugar craving busting tips.

One of the keys to busting cravings is to keep your blood sugar levels stable all day. That way your body won’t go looking for a quick source of energy in the form of something sugary, causing sweet cravings.

1. Eat a good lunch and breakfast with healthy fat.

To stay energized, stop and prevent sugar cravings, eat, especially at lunch and as a snack, high quality protein combined with fiber packed whole grains, vegetables, and good fat, like healthy saturated fats and omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids, including those found in grass-fed butter, avocados, cacao butter, and eggs from chickens that live in pastures.

However, remember to still be wary and pay attention to your calorie intake as well. Even if what you’re eating is healthy, if you have it in a supersized portion, you’ll feel drowsy and lethargic from eating so
much.

2. Stay away from artificial sweeteners. I highly recommend that you stay away from sweeteners at all costs (think: Splenda, aspartame, Nutrasweet, etc.).

Yes, we can all agree that refined sugar is unhealthy for you, but what not all of us know is artificial sweeteners are actually far worse because of the way they react and metabolize in your body.

In a study published in 2010 by Yale Journal of Biology and Medicine:

‘Findings suggest that the calorie contained in natural sweeteners may trigger a response to
keep the overall energy consumption constant …

Increasing evidence suggests that artificial
sweeteners do not activate the food reward pathways in the same fashion as natural sweeteners…

Artificial sweeteners, precisely because they are sweet, encourage sugar craving and sugar dependence.’

If you slip up and eat sugar… what can help with the crash.
However, sometimes when you’re only just getting started with cutting your sugar intake, it’s easy (and quite normal) to slip up and eat a bag of skittles, or maybe to treat yourself to cake for lunch.

When that happens, you’ll need to know how to bounce back from a sugar crash.

I’m here to help so you don’t feel like passing out as soon as the sugar high drops.
Also, we all sometimes have a lethargic day no matter what we eat and when that happens there are still, some great ways to boost energy.

These quick tips can help you not only to bounce back from sugar crashes, but also from general low energy!

A-mah-zing, am I right?!

Energy boosts that actually last and will that’ll help you recover from a crash!

Prevent Sugar Cravings: How to recover from a sugar based energy crash!

1. Get up and move around for a few minutes

Moving around helps boost circulation and stimulate a tired and unmotivated mind. Physical activity is an amah-zing way to revive a depleting energy.
Simply get up from the desk and move around your office or stroll your house, maybe go crazy and do some jumping jacks!
Even better, you could run through a quick ten minute yoga or TAI-chi sequence from YouTube.
Trust me, you’ll feel way more energized!

2. Sunny… sun… sun… catch some quick rays

Take a moment to step to soak up some sun!
Exposure to sunlight can increase the brains release of a hormone called serotonin.

What is serotonin?

Well, it’s the hormone which is associated with boosting mood and helping
boost calmness and focus.
So, being in the sun will help you to feel fab, and more importantly, energized! Just don’t stay outside for long, you’ve got work to do!

3. Stay hydrated!

Last tip on how to prevent sugar cravings: stay hydrated. Researchers have tested the effects of dehydration, and the results point to that fact that mild dehydration may lead both men and women to feel tiredness, anxiety, and to have difficulty with mental
tasks.

Plus, staying hydrated can curb sweet carvings and hunger.
Sugar cravings can occur as a result of being thirsty, so replenishing the water in your body is often a quick little trick to kick your cravings, helping you to not opt for those donuts as snack to quell your craving!
Whenever you get a craving, sip on a cup of pure water to see if that helps!

Drinking about seven to eight glasses of water every day is optimal, and make sure your water is as pure as possible no sweetened flavored waters please.

BONUS: Just give in… take a SHORT nap!

Now, this tip isn’t for my people who have sugar crash, it’s a quick reminder for those of you who need an energy boost after waking up on the wrong side of the bed.

Sometimes taking a nap can be an obvious solution to low energy as long as you keep it short (20 minutes or less), since long naps can just cause grogginess.

Short naps can reduce drowsiness and help fight a slump in regards to cognitive abilities and flexibility.

How to Prevent Sugar Cravings and Energy Crash

Avoiding (and reducing) the afternoon slump to sum it all up:
Being an entrepreneur means that you have to live a busy and in many cases, self-motivated, life, which
means that it’s super important for us to make sure our levels are the best they can be every day!

And that’s why it’s also super important to watch the amount of sugar you’re eating every day, in ALL forms.
Your body needs stable and consistent blood sugar levels, as things will go awry when the amount of
sugar in your blood is outside the normal range like when you consume foods with a high glycemic index. That’s what’s causing your sugar based afternoon slump.

Keep your blood sugar level stable by staying away from high-carb and high sugar foods like candy bars
and pasta, as well as sugary drinks like soda. Opt for breakfasts, lunches, and snacks that are digested
slower, such as good fats, protein, and high-fiber complex carbs.

Picking healthier foods and avoiding sugar earlier in the day will help you to avoid the afternoon slump and sweet cravings that come with it.

I hope that these tips can really help you have a motivated, sharp and productive day, with awesome
health and no sugary cravings!

Once you’ve started decreasing sugar and/or getting your sugar intake
balanced for a few weeks, you should totally start to notice the decreased cravings and extra energy!

However, I do know that sugar cravings can be seriously tough to beat, so if you need extra help I’ve
even put together some helpful steps on cutting back on sugar and/or beating sugar cravings!

See you soon!
Isabelle

P.S I would love to hear from you. Do you experience sugary or junky food cravings at your desk?

What do you find gives you a healthy energy boost as an entrepreneur?

Other suggestions on how to prevent sugar cravings?

Let me know in the comments?!

* This post contain affiliate links. Please see my disclaimer policy for more details. 

A little introduction!

Hey you! I’m Isabelle, and I’ve been an entrepreneur since I was eight years old! Yep, you read that
right! I started out by setting up little blogs where I would sell affiliates.

I got it from my parents, who have been entrepreneurs their entire married life.

Suffice it to say, the entrepreneurial spirit runs through my veins!

I run my own online business and blog where I share my experience and knowledge on health issues that affect us all and that’s where this post comes in!