In an effort to categorize cravings we have taken a large group of foods and grouped them into this category of sugar cravings.  This article will cover the desire for items such as chocolate or candy or any other food items known for their high sugar content.

Understanding cravings is an important part of any weight loss regime.  No matter who you are you will experience the desire for a candy bar or a slice of cake to satisfy your sudden seemingly overwhelming “need” for sugar.

Chocolate Cravings
It is still in dispute as to what makes chocolate so appealing but it is commonly accepted that women are affected more strongly than men.  There is a report from the Diabetes Association that revealed that only 15 percent of men appear to crave chocolate while as many as 40 percent of women crave chocolate.  To take the report further almost 75 percent of women claim that chocolate is the only substance that will quell their appetite. Chocolate cravings may be influenced by a deficiency in magnesium and that this may be why some experience an increase in chocolate cravings during PMS.

Serotonin
If you experience a craving for sweets chances are that your body is out of sorts chemically.   It is essential to understand the role of a chemical in your body.  This chemical serotonin is believed to play a huge part in the regulation of many human moods.  It is widely accepted that serotonin assists in managing mood, aggression, anger, vomiting, sexual desire, body temperature, anger and even sleep.  With the knowledge of serotonin you need to go one step further to understand and battle your food cravings.  If you are tired or have low blood sugar (and/or serotonin) your brain signals the body for the need of carbohydrates or what most people just call sugar.  Unfortunately for the dieter this causes the craving for a candy bar (or any other type of sugar product) and when a person fulfills the urge there is a small burst of serotonin and you feel good for a short time.  After awhile you lose the “rush” and desire more satisfaction which leads to eventual dieter’s frustration which causes people to fail and give up the attempt to lose weight.

Insulin Resistant
Insulin is responsible for maintaining stable blood sugar levels by telling the body’s cells when to absorb glucose from the bloodstream. Being insulin resistant means your body stops responding to insulin, and instead grabs every calorie it can and deposits it as fat. So no matter how little you eat, you will gradually gain weight. You grew up in a nation that has a diet of high fat, high-carbohydrate diet for many years and now you desire to lose weight.  Now you are fighting the battle of weight loss by eating a low fat, low carbohydrate diet.  There is a good chance that you may have become insulin resistant because of the eating habits of your youth.  What does this mean to the diet you are attempting?  It could cause you to gain more and more weight regardless of what you do or eat!

If you are insulin resistant and eat less (dieting) your body will grab every calorie it can and deposit it as fat.  So if you are on a diet and gaining weight this frustration may be because you have developed a resistance to insulin.   In an attempt to lose weight an insulin resistant body will not be able to absorb glucose and will signal the need for more sugar.  Hence, this is where the constant cravings come from.  If you are dieting and this sounds familiar it may be because you are insulin resistant.

Even worse, insulin resistance leads directly to obesity and diabetes and heart disease. Many experts believe it is the root cause of the epidemic of many diseases in America today.  A low-fat diet makes it far more likely you will suffer from this condition.

Many American women are now trying to lose weight on what is called a fad diet.  The Atkins Diet and the South Beach Diet can worsen women's metabolic problems because of the stresses dieting puts on a body. 

Many people need to heal their metabolism before ever considering weight loss.

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