Okay, here’s a hard truth after bariatric surgery you might not expect:
Bariatric surgery doesn’t necessarily bring your sugar cravings to zero. At least not for the long run.
It can feel daunting when your sugar cravings return full force. And it raises some questions too:
Why am I craving sugar?
How much sugar can I eat?
Can I stretch my stomach if I eat too many slider foods?
AAAAAARGGH!!!
No need to worry. Because we’re here to help!
To learn how to deal with post-op sugar cravings, we first have to understand where sugar cravings come from. So, without further ado, let’s get to the bottom of it!
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But first: What is sugar exactly?
When you think of sugar it could have lots of different contexts. From table sugar people put in their morning coffee to added sugars in cakes, sauces and other foods. You may already have noticed that sugars found naturally in foods and sugars that are added to foods, come in many different shapes and forms. For example, high-fructose corn syrup is often added to processed foods. But the glucose and fructose (both sugars) found in honey are inherent to this food source.
Not all sugar is created equal, because not all foods are created equal. Let’s explain:
What makes a huge difference in how sugar is processed by your body and how you feel, is the bio-diversity of other nutrients that are found in the foods you eat.
For example, when you eat an apple you’re eating more than just fructose: there’s also fiber in your apple that helps to keep you full longer. But when you eat a piece of white chocolate (low in fiber, low in protein and high in sugar), you might have the urge to eat more than you want to. The feeling of fullness is lacking.
Now, let’s talk a bit more about glucose.
Glucose is your body’s main energy source and is made available for energy in different ways:
- directly from your blood sugar and the meal you just had
- released from your glycogen storages under the influence of a hormone called glucagon
- created from protein and fat through a process called “gluconeogenesis”
Foods that are rich in carbohydrates are broken down into your digestive system into glucose.
Complex carbohydrates and foods that have a low glycemic index (GI), such as berries, carrots, beans and lentils are broken down much slower and cause less of a blood sugar spike than high glycemic index foods.
Examples of foods with a high GI are: white rice, white bread, fries, most cereals, cakes, candy, chocolate and fruits such as watermelon and pineapple.
Highlight: GI stands for glycemic index and is a way to indicate how quickly foods can increase blood sugar levels. Foods with a low GI don’t spike your blood sugar levels as much as foods with a high GI.
Insulin resistance in light of sugar cravings
To understand your sugar cravings, it’s key to look at 2 different things
- How stable are your blood sugars during the day? Are there lots of blood sugar spikes? Do you have a lot of “sugar crashes”? Keep in mind: you don’t have to be diabetic to experience highs and lows in your blood sugars.
- How are you priming your body to be less insulin resistant and more sensitive to insulin?
When your diet lacks protein and fiber and consists mostly out of processed foods high in simple carbohydrates that are also on the higher spectrum of the glycemic index, you may find that your blood sugars are peaking and crashing during the day.
This also means that your pancreas has to work harder to produce more insulin, more frequently. Insulin is the hormone that’s responsible to transport glucose from your blood into your cells for energy.
If you eat more carbohydrates than your body needs for energy (remember: carbs are broken down into glucose no matter what their source is), the excess amount of carbs through your diet is stored as fat leading to weight gain.
Now, we’re not saying that carbs are bad. But what IS important is to eat carbohydrates moderately and only as much as your body needs.
But here’s the caveat.
Insulin resistance can throw your hunger hormones out of whack and make you want to eat more carbohydrates than you actually need.
Obesity increases the risk of insulin resistance. Also, co-morbidities such as polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS) can make insulin resistance more existent in the bariatric community.
Weight loss after bariatric surgery does seem to improve insulin resistance, but it’s important to continue to focus on what you eat, when you eat and on movement too.
When you are insulin resistant it feels like you need more food, specifically carbohydrates, to feel the same amount of energy than someone who isn’t insulin resistant.
It’s important to keep this fact in mind when you’re dealing with your own sugar cravings.
The best ways to become more sensitive to insulin and optimize the metabolism of glucose, are:
- More physical activity
- Moderation of high-carbohydrate foods, especially the simple highly processed foods as they tend to spike your blood sugars more
- Consumption of high-carbohydate meals mostly in the early part of the day as your insulin levels are naturally more available early in the day than later in the afternoon and evening (this all is related to your circadian rhythm)
Now, that you have a basic understanding of the different kinds of carbohydrates and how insulin resistance can affect your sugar cravings, it’s time to look at 3 different ways to tackle excess sugar cravings.
Now, how do you actually tackle unwanted sugar cravings?
Let’s get into it. Craving sugars isn’t necessarily bad. You may really need the quick boost of energy at the moment. Or perhaps you need a little “pick-me-up” during the day. We talked about the biological component of sugar cravings briefly in the previous paragraph. But what about the emotional part of eating? What if your sugar cravings and actually eating sweet foods have become an emotional coping mechanism? It’s time to address it.
#1 Sit with your feelings and don’t hold back on self-care. Lots of self-care.
If you’re an emotional eater, then welcome to the clubbity club of being human. Food is our fuel. But food serves other purposes too: family gatherings, traditions (for example: grandma’s apple cake recipe that has been passed on from generation to generation), culture and also the emotions tied with eating.
Eating something sweet because you need a little “pick-me-up” should be completely acceptable (although diet-culture might see it as a “cheat-meal” we’d like to see it as it is: a pick me up because you feel physically or emotionally drained and sugar will give you that quick boost of energy).
Giving into your sugar cravings occasionally isn’t the problem. But relying on these sugary “pick-me-ups” every time you try to feel better emotionally or physically, may be a sign of a more deep rooted problem.
Perhaps your baseline of how you feel needs closer attention.
- Do you have other ways other than food to deal with stress and overwhelming emotions?
- Are you unhappy right now and using food to feel better?
- Are you using sugary foods to numb your anxious thoughts or negative mood?
- Do you resort to sugar to get that instant reward, that dopamine hit?
Sometimes, we can’t navigate our emotional wounds on our own. (cognitive-behavioral) Therapy, journaling, mediation and visualization techniques are helpful ways to change your thought processes and deal with your emotions in a more helpful way that doesn’t only involve food.
PRO-TIP: When you’re working towards improving your health and happiness, it’s important to carve out time for yourself. Because if you’re constantly “busy” you won’t have time to process emotions properly. Do things for yourself. Prioritize your needs. Take time out to rest, but also to be active in fun ways. Find a balance that works best for you (and your family).
#2 The inseparable link between sleep deprivation and hunger hormones
Sleep and bariatric surgery? Sleep and sugar cravings? You may not think that these pairings are relevant at first glance, but once you understand the mechanisms between sleep and cravings, you can’t un-see them (and that’s why we’re here, remember? Connecting the dots for you!).
Hormones play a major role in managing appetite. In particular ghrelin and leptin are linked to feelings of hunger and satiety. Ghrelin is produced in the upper part of the stomach and in the small intestine. After bariatric surgery, ghrelin levels usually drop making you feel less hungry.
Leptin is a hormone produced in the fat cells and is linked to the feeling of fullness. As you’re approaching the end of a meal, leptin levels rise and ghrelin levels drop. But in the case of obesity, these mechanisms are distorted.
Obesity makes you less sensitive to leptin, a mechanism called leptin resistance. This means you need more leptin to experience the same level of fullness. Also, the signals that your brain needs to process to stop eating might be completely out of whack (this happens when you don’t get any fullness cues and you don’t know when to stop eating ’cause you simple don’t feel full).
Now, where does sleep fit into all of this?
When you’re sleep deprived – your ghrelin levels go up, making you more hungry the next day. And what foods give you the quickest form of energy? That’s right, it’s food with lots of glucose (sugar).
No wonder your cravings are more out of control when you don’t sleep well. Keep in mind that on average, adults should sleep 7-9 hours without interruptions.
PRO-TIPS: track your sleep cycle to get a better understanding of your own sleep patterns. Consider using blue light only during the day and minimize screen time in the evening. Late night snacking can also cause sleep interruptions, just like alcohol and cafeine can do too. Pay attention to any stress that might rise your cortisol levels at night.
#3 What’s on your plate? Protein, fiber and unsaturated fats will do “the trick”
The best, but also the most challenging tip when it comes down to tackling your sugar cravings is this:
“Eat less high-sugar foods to crave less high-sugar foods”
Ulghh..we know. It’s easier said than done. But in all honesty, that’s how it truly works.
The less sugar you eat, the less you crave it.
This way, you become more sensitive to insulin and you prime your brain not to rely on high-sugar foods for energy and instant gratification (fun fact: your brain actually uses 20% of all your body’s glucose to function. It can function on ketones too, but this process is more difficult to manage).
But just cutting out entire food groups isn’t gonna cut it, right?
We need something better than that.
And here’s where the abundance mindset comes into play. Instead of focusing on what you need to avoid to start feeling better (aka the scarcity mindset), we’re gonna focus on what you can add to tackle your sugar cravings.
When you start adding more protein, unsaturated fats and complex carbohydrates that typically are rich in fiber too – you’re gonna notice a difference in those sugar cravings.
Did you know that people who have a high-protein diet, produce less ghrelin? That means that protein curbs your appetite. The same goes for unsaturated fats and fiber. Both of these nutrients have the ability to suppress your appetite by either slowing the speed of the emptying of your stomach or by slowing down the absorption of glucose making your blood sugars spike less.
If you’re not sure which foods are high in protein, you can download our free protein food list here.
Final thoughts about post-op sugar cravings
Bariatric surgery doesn’t necessarily bring all cravings down to zero. You may find yourself unpleasantly surprised that you still crave high-sugar foods post-op. And that your sweet tooth is still there.
But that doesn’t mean that you can’t do anything about tackling these cravings.
By doing the “emotional work”, prioritizing your sleep and focusing on protein, unsaturated fats and complex carbohydrates that include fiber – you now know the basics to deal with unwanted sugar cravings.
Oh..and one last thing:
Having an appetite isn’t bad. Craving sugar isn’t bad either. We need to step away from demonizing these things so that we have more space for self-compassion. Mix that self-compassion with the science we looooooooove laying out for you here at Your Onederland and you have the perfect recipe towards healing your relationship with food.
About Your Onederland
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We welcome you with open arms to Your Onederland! Let’s do this together!
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