How to work through 3pm sugar cravings

You have been “good” with your eating all day but 3pm hits and suddenly you want to eat EVERYTHING in sight. As if under a spell, you drive to the gas station and buy a chocolate bar which you actually inhale in the car. But then you crave something salty to offset the sweet - so into your pantry you go when you get home and polish off half a bag of chips.

And then the shame sets in and you start questioning WHAT THE HECK IS WRONG WITH ME???

Where is my self-control and willpower? When will this pattern end?

As a first step, can you park the judgment to the side - because it really is not serving you and likely keeping you more stuck.

Let’s get curious and granular instead…

Where is this 3pm slump coming from? What is it about this time of the day that is leading to these urges?

The first question I would ask is are you eating enough throughout the day? Or are you skipping meals? Are your meals well balanced with carbohydrates, protein and fats? Or are you grabbing the quickest option? If you are consuming similar social media content to me you are probably ready to scream if you hear one more person tout the importance of protein. Yet I do promise that balancing your plate and ensuring you are including protein, will keep you more full and satiated, and decrease your cravings.

Secondly, I know you are a busy lady and who has time to sit down, unplug and MINDFULLY eat their lunch? The thing is, when you are eating in a distracted way and quickly, your brain does not even have time to register your meal. Meaning when 3pm hits, your body might not even realize that you had lunch two hours ago. Are you still with me? Can you try slowing down your next meal by even 5 minutes? Bonus if you can take 3 deep breaths before you start eating to put your body into a state of relaxation.

Now provided you keep my first 2 points in mind, yet you still find yourself in the chocolate bar section of the gas station at 3pm, can you PAUSE and ask yourself these 2 questions:

1 - What am I feeling right now?

2 - What do I need right now?

..then proceed accordingly.

And guess what - sometimes it might still be that chocolate bar and that is OK!!

Keep gathering data like a scientist and you might learn you aren’t eating enough, you are eating too fast or you just need a break.

Remember - curiosity over judgment and YOU GOT THIS!

xoxo