Summer is for Apple Pie and Unicorn Birthday Cakes
Recently I talked to my friend who told me she was at a BBQ earlier and she ate a lot of food. She’s trying to lose weight, but now she’s craving something sweet, so she’s making an apple pie.
Does this happen to you too? You crave sweet food after eating a meal. You know apple pie is not going to help you lose weight, either is your niece’s unicorn birthday cake, so why do you eat it anyway?
Let’s break it down. This is a solvable problem.
What did my friend have for breakfast that day? Pancakes.
What’s Really Happening to You?
Let’s say you have pancakes for breakfast. Pancakes are usually made from white flour, which raises your blood sugar quite high. Your body then wants to keep your blood sugar high.
Then you go to a BBQ where you eat a lot more food, my friend was trying to be healthy and eat grilled chicken. This generally doesn’t have a lot of sugar in it. So probably you’ll keep eating and eating and not feel satisfied.
Then you’ll think to yourself why aren’t you satisfied? It’s because you’re craving something sweet and then you’ll eat pie or cake too. Even though you’re not hungry and you’re trying to lose weight.
What Can You Do About It?
You have two options:
- Don’t eat pancakes for breakfast. Eat something low in sugar, for example, an egg white omelet or wheat toast with avocado.
- You’re eating pancakes. Hopefully, this is because it’s one of your cheat meals. Your goal then is to keep your blood sugar levels relatively stable.
- Make a plan to have fresh fruit to eat about 3-4 hours after you eat pancakes. Your blood sugar peaks for most of you 2 hours after you eat a lot of sweet food. You’ll start craving sweet food again maybe 3-4 hours after you eat it when your blood sugar level is going down. You should test out the timing as it varies person to person.
- The plan is if you have fruit before you go to the BBQ then you won’t eat a crazy amount of food that won’t satisfy you. Ideally, you would eat a normal one serving of food at the BBQ. Then you will stop eating because you’re full and feel satisfied.
- Also, plan for the fact that 3-4 hours after you eat your blood sugar is going to start going down again. This is when you ideally eat more fruit. Less ideally a few bites of unicorn birthday cake or apple pie. I know it’s hard to eat just a few bites. Try to share it with someone else.
Why Is This Important to You?
Because you might think this has something to do with your self-control. It probably has more to do with your body’s blood sugar levels. It’ll be a lot easier for you to lose weight and stay fit if you pay attention to this. Otherwise, you’ll be frustrated about what you think is your lack of willpower or discipline.