5 things to do when a sweet craving hits

A sweet craving usually means one of three things: you're genuinely underfed, you're tired, or you're soothing a feeling. All three deserve a better answer than willpower:

• Check the last four hours. If lunch was small or skipped, the craving is hunger in costume — eat a real meal with protein first, then see if the dessert is still speaking.
• Drink a glass of water and wait ten minutes. Mild dehydration wears sweet-craving's mask surprisingly often.
• Pair, don't forbid. If you want the chocolate, have it after food or with nuts and yoghurt — the same pleasure without the spike-and-crash that orders the next portion.
• Move for five minutes. A short walk or stairs shifts blood sugar and mood enough to let you choose instead of obey.
• Name the feeling. Boredom, anger, loneliness taste sweet at 22:00. Naming it doesn't fix it — but it moves the answer to where the problem actually lives.

And a rule I give every client: no forbidden foods. Forbidden foods run your thoughts; allowed foods, eaten deliberately, don't.