You got hurt, it freaking sucks. And now your sugar cravings are through the roof. What the heck?! Should you eat the sugar after injury? Will sweets and sugar affect your injury recovery? Am I over thinking this?!
Recovering from an injury comes with all sorts of unexpected struggles: Why is it so hard to rest? Why do I suddenly worry about everything I eat? How do I learn to trust my body again? Etc. etc. etc.
During this time, cravings for sweets and sugar (and a nagging feeling of guilt) can hit hard, too, but I want to encourage you to SATISFY your sweet tooth!
Listen to your cravings. Injury recovery will teach you A LOT about your body and how to listen to it — cravings, food, and body image feelings included.
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Reframe the question!
Asking yourself, “What do I do about my sugar cravings since I’m injured?” poses the question as a problem that you need to overcome.
Your sweet tooth is not a problem. Weird to hear a dietitian say that maybe, but I’m serious!
Are you missing something earlier in the day?
- Are you not eating enough earlier in the day, so by the time evening comes around, you’re starving, and more likely to lean into indulgent foods?
- Similarly, you might not be eating enough CARBOHYDRATES earlier in your day.
Tip #1: Eat every 4-5 hours, and include carbs, protein, and fruits or veggies at your meals.
Doing this helps prevent the hunger monster from taking over and screaming, “I WANT CANDY” like Aaron Carter.
Recognize WHERE this craving is coming from.
I sometimes like to talk about hunger as a multi-headed animal. There is physiological hunger that comes from our stomach.
There is also hunger that comes from our “lizard” brains. At it’s core, your brain needs to ensure your body is fed, and hyperindulgent foods like sweets and pastries and cookies provide fats and sugar and calories that make your brain VERY happy. (NO, they are not addictive, but, yes, there is an evolutionary reason why you crave these foods sometimes.)
Tip #2: Feed the lizard brain. What I mean by that is LET YOUR BRAIN RECOGNIZE you’re eating this wonderful food.
Have you ever been driving your car and thinking about other things, and then suddenly you’re in your driveway? “Oh wow, I don’t even remember driving home.” Sometimes the distractions of life take us away from remembering we’ve eaten food as well. Watching tv or eating while at your work desk, etc., can satisfy your STOMACH hunger, but your brain is left thinking… wait I don’t remember eating that. Go eat more?!
Take the time to take a deep breath and enjoy your food. At least the first few bites. It can be nice to rate it as well. Before you take a bite, think, “Scale of 1-10, how good is this going to be?” Then take a bite. Scale of 1-10, how good was it? What about the 5th bite? The 10th?
There’s also a third type of hunger; emotional.
Many times, food is a tool in our toolbox to handle an emotion we’re struggling with. It could be boredom. It could be sadness. Both are, obviously, EXTREMELY common in injured athletes. It could be a whole slew of other emotions.
Tip #3. Take the time to recognize the emotion, and build out your toolbox.
If you’re eating from boredom, that’s FINE. Food is allowed to be a tool in your toolbox. It just can’t be the ONLY tool, and we want to make a conscious decision about what’s happening and which tool we should use. Think about what else you could do to feel less bored, or lonely, or frustrated, or whatever it is.
Now that you know it’s important to SATISFY the sweet tooth craving, let’s chat mindfulness strategies.
Tip #4: ADD nutrition to your craving.
Include your craving in your overall performance plate (shown above). Most of the time, it will count as a carbohydrate, so how can you ADD protein and ADD a fruit or vegetable to round out the meal?
OR, ADD nutrition to your snack.
Maybe you want a bit of chocolate. Can you add chocolate chips to your greek yogurt? Now we have a great snack. Can you have a banana with your spoonful of Nutella? Now we have additional nutrients and fiber.
You can also download a PDF with Sweet Tooth Snack Ideas.
Last but not least, if you’re craving sugar after your injury…
Tip #5: You can just eat the food!
Nobody expects you to be perfect 100% of the time, least of all me. If you are cravings a Snickers bar, and you don’t want to pair it with anything, or include it in your Performance Plate, that’s okay, too. Just count it as the 20%.
Happy Fueling <3
FUEL YOUR COMEBACK
