If you're asking this question, you're most likely thinking of cutting out all sugar from your diet.

We'll talk about if that's a good approach in a second, but let's answer the question first:

"If you're completely cutting out sugar, your body is likely to take between 1 - 2 weeks to physically adapt."

However for most people, the cravings don't occur purely on a physical level but also on a mental level as well.

How long this mental craving lasts for sugar will vary on each person but here are a couple of things to consider:

#1 - The more you resist sugar, the more you are attracted to it

If you label sugar as 'bad', you are much more likely you are to be drawn to it.

It's human behaviour but you are naturally drawn to do things you aren't supposed to.

Sugar is like the 'forbidden fruit' for many.

The more you think you can't have it, the more you get drawn to it.

How do you stop this from happening?

I'll cover this in detail in another post but here is the bottom line:

'Stop labelling food as 'good' or 'bad'.

As soon as you moralise food, you start feeling guilty for having the 'bad' foods.

This creates a negative relationship with food where we are constantly restricting ourselves, which leads to cravings, which leads us to feeling guilty and repeating the whole cycle again and again.

Instead, if you get in tune with your body cues and have sweets mindfully, you'll know exactly how certain types of food makes you feel.

Eating slowly and mindfully is one of the most natural ways to stop your sugar cravings.

And it's a whole art and science that will be covered in a separate post.

#2 - Sugar and Emotions

Most people use sugar as a way to deal with their emotions.

You might think that you're craving sugar.

But for most people, sugar is a way of dealing with the emotions they are currently feeling.

For instance,  if you're feeling bored and want a 'hit' - sugar is the only go to source for some people.

If you want to stop sugar cravings once and for all, you need to have the ability to recognise and address your emotions in healthy ways.

Client Example:

A client of mine recognised he was going to sugar as a way to address his emotion for 'loneliness'.

He substituted his sugar eating habit with calling his parents overseas in the evenings when he came home from work.

If you're emotionally eating, ask yourself what emotion are you trying to deal with and what's another way to address this emotion?

Moderation might work better for you than abstinence

For some people, going cold turkey on their addiction might help them.

These types of people go cold turkey because they know if they have even one bite, they'll get drawn to the whole chocolate bar.

But for most others, moderation seems to do the trick.

I for one, love having a bite of dark chocolate once and feel content for a few days.

For you, it might be totally different.

Experiment with both ways and see what works for you.

This journey is about self-awareness.

The more you understand your behaviour, the more in control you'll be of your actions.

Bottom line

Physically, the body can adapt pretty quickly if you stop having sugar.

However mentally, it might take longer to stop craving sugar.

For some people, completely stopping might not be the best option because the more you resist, the more you are drawn to it.

Recognise that there are underlying causes (emotions, relationship with food) that you need to address first if you want to be in control of your behaviours.