Yesterday I ate more sugar than I probably have in the entire last year and for the first time in about 5 years I did not feel guilty about it!
What I have come to realize through my path at The Institute for Integrative Nutrition is that sugar cravings are natural. We all have them. But it is not what we think. We crave sugar not because we want to sabotage our health, but because something is out of balance in our lives and we are craving a return to that balance.
When we were born we were nourished by our mothers with something sweet – milk. As babies we felt warm, safe, full, and all was right with the world.
When we crave sugar what we are really craving is balance. That feeling of, “I am safe, I am loved, all is right in the world”. Sugar is the quick fix. It is like a drug in that it makes us feel better at that moment. What it also does like a drug is to send our body into quick response mode.
Now before I go on about sugar and our bodies, lets go back to why I did not feel guilty yesterday…
Yesterday a gazillion things were “going wrong.” I felt like my life was spinning out of control. Things that have always been stable were suddenly changing. Phone calls were coming in so fast I hardly had time to deal with one before another came in. I was opening and closing my cupboard door constantly eating jellies intended for Valentines Day.
The I stopped and realized, I am super stressed. I am craving something sweet because I want my brain to return to that happy state. Right now I am unhappy and sugar is the “quick happy”.
My current job is creating an imbalance in my life. It was stressing me out yesterday so much I could hardly think straight. When I stopped for a moment to consciously think about what I was doing, I realized that I have 2 choices (well many more than 2, but for the sake of an argument lets pick two).
A. I can stay on my current path knowing it is causing me stress.
B. I can change my path.
I choose B!!!!!
I realized that I am already in a transition and that my new path of becoming a health coach is the right path. My sugar craving was a strong signal to me that the current path of teaching violin needs to not be my only/primary focus.
Once I realized that yesterday was just a day for growth and confirmation of my change, I happily ate my sugar knowing that it would get me through the stressful day. A stressful day due to old patters. I knew that I was making changes to let go of the stress in my life and by making these changes the sugar craving would cease.
And I was right! This morning I am more energized then ever to provide opportunities for others to balance their lives through health coaching. I don’t feel the need to grab a handful of sugar, I know that my happiness can come from moving forward in my life, not through that little gummy of sugar.
So I say, “Thanks sugar cravings for being so strong yesterday to make me think about my life!”
So if you are craving sugar, don’t feel bad! Just ask yourself, “What is out of balance in my life and what am I going to do about it?”
Cheers,
Summer Joy
Leave A Response