How to Eat to Beat Sugar Cravings & Balance Your Hormones
That hormonal acne you're experiencing? The hanger? The mood swings? The period that comes late (or not at all)? The brain fog and exhaustion?
I get it, I’ve been there, and I’ve seen my clients put up with it thinking it’s normal.
Well, it’s not. And it doesn’t have to stay your normal.
In fact, eating regularly and mindfully throughout the day can help you calm cravings, maintain stable energy, and balance hormones.
That’s because our blood sugar plays a big role in hormone balance. In fact, as a hormonal health + period coach, it’s probably the number one issue I see in my clients over and over (and also one of the simplest fixes).
Most of us associate sugar and carbs with delicious food, but also weight gain. Fair enough, but the problem goes below the surface of our waistlines.
See, the hormone insulin (our sugar storage hormone) is highly impacted by diet. If we abuse our blood sugar for long enough with big spikes (eating too much, having lots of sugar, etc.) and huge crashes (going too long without eating, or the result of a sugar high), we end up on a rollercoaster.
Over time, our insulin signaling gets worn out and out of whack, leading to insulin resistance.
This means our bodies become deaf to insulin’s message to use and store sugar, causing weight gain and symptoms like intense sugar & carb cravings, feeling hungry even after eating, feeling more tired than usual, feeling irritable if meals are missed or delayed (AKA “hanger”), mood issues, and brain fog.
Not to mention, as we continue to ride that blood sugar rollercoaster, every sugar crash causes us to release stress hormones, which do help raise blood sugar, but also put us in a near-constant state of internal stress that trickles down to disrupt our sex hormones.
It’s one big equation for hormonal disaster.
This is crucial when it comes to imbalances like Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome (PCOS), but can also contribute to symptoms like irregular periods, inflammation, hormonal acne, unwanted hair growth, hair loss on your head, worsened PMS, extreme fatigue, and more.
In plain speak?
Eating too much at one time, consuming too much sugar, going too long without eating, and other erratic eating behaviors can throw our blood sugar out of whack and mess with our hormones and cycles.
So what’s the answer?
You can start by:
- Focusing on protein and fat at breakfast
- Eating regularly and mindfully throughout the day
- Avoid too much sugar at one time
- And pairing carbohydrates with fat and protein to help slow the sugar spikes.
This is just a starting point, but it puts you on a nice, gentle wave throughout the day, and tells your body, “Hey, it’s all good. No need to stress, we’re safe. You can go back to making the hormones you need to now.”
The end result is fewer cravings, stable energy, and balanced hormones that lead to happier, healthier cycles (and people!) that let you focus on what matters most.
Sam is a Nutritional Therapist and Hormonal Health Coach who specializes in using food, movement, and self-care to help women and menstruating people have better periods, and manage imbalances like PCOS. She’s a firm believer that bad periods are not a life sentence, and that just because symptoms are “common” doesn’t mean they’re “normal.” She teaches women all over the world how to understand their cycles, tap into the benefits of each changing phase, and harness their hormones for good. She helps them feel at home in their bodies (rather than confused, resentful, or frustrated) so they can spend their time on what matters. As a digital nomad, Sam works with her clients online across the world, while traveling full time.
Want to learn more about eating for hormone balance? You can find her on Instagram at @bewellandwander or email her at Samantha@BeWellandWander.com
