The Best Cure for Post Holiday Sugar Cravings

How to Stop Sugar Cravings After the Holidays

If you struggle with sugar cravings, the holidays can feel like a complete derailment of your progress. But it’s not as bad as it feels. These cravings are not a personal failure—they reflect an underlying metabolic issue that was never fully resolved. Until that issue is addressed, post-holiday setbacks are not only common, they’re predictable.

That underlying issue is insulin resistance.

Sugar and carbohydrate cravings are best understood through the lens of metabolic health. When insulin signaling is impaired, the body has difficulty regulating energy availability, which intensifies cravings and makes willpower feel irrelevant.

This article is continued below...(scroll down)

---

It helped. I feel great.

"It’s helped. I feel great."

Kobe Bryant

NBA baskeball player

This has been life changing

"Let me tell you this has been life-changing. I have all of her books, in audible and ebooks! I have gotten rid of all the hateful 8 oils. I have trained my body to eat its own previously toxic body fat. Download that pod it's a game changer!"

Megyn Kelly

Broadcaster / The Megyn Kelly Show

Life changing

Deep Nutrition changed my life.

Jesse Watters

Fox News Primetime host

Saved my life

I would like to thank you for literally saving my life. Back in February, I had to be hospitalized while on vacation in Phoenix with an A1C of 11% and had to start taking 2 types of insulin and 2 other meds. I read the Fatburn Fix in April, and followed the program to a tee, and I’m down by 15 pounds, 6.8 A1C, and only one once weekly diabetes medicine. Prior to reading the book, it was almost impossible for me to lose weight as a diabetic. 

Leontyne Tompkins

I feel free

For the last month, I have really been reading all labels on everything. I have completely remove those 8 oils you talk about. I must tell you, I feel great! I have more energy and I am now 197 lbs (have always been around 205 to 210lbs). I eat potatoes with real butter, grass fed steak, pasta with the right toppings. I eat everything! I seem to crave less sugar. I love it! 

Robert Kirkendall

I feel so much better

I had terrible aches and pains everywhere in my body, my hands, shoulders and knees. I feel so much better and the way I feel is motivating me every day! Thank you

Mike Deb Wootan Burcin

Better than ever

I am an anesthesiologist in Orlando and a huge fan of both of your books! I have been incorporating your principles for the last 10 months and feel that my health is better than ever.

Marnie Robinson, MD

My allergies disappeared

The biggest difference for me (and a surprising one) is that my allergies have almost completely disappeared! This is a big deal for me, because I’ve had allergies most of my life and they have often affected what I do which is a teaching music in [a public school district].  In general, I feel much better and have more consistent energy throughout the day.

Erica Turrell

Heart Palpitations have Stopped

I’ve lost 20+ pounds (also fasting 16-24 hours daily) and haven’t had palpitations except for one occasion — I had a mini bag of Fritos for the first time in July. And, I feel better now on a daily basis than I ever did all through college.

Mike Wright

Deep Nutrition and Fatburn Fix reader

I’ve lost over 50 pounds

I’ve lost over 50 pounds. I’m 56 years old. Cutting processed food and unhealthy fats from my diet was one of the first things I did on my health recovery journey...I went cold turkey off the bad oils. Emptied my pantry into the trash and just started eating real food

Mitzi Wilkinson Champion

Knowledge I didn’t know I needed

Your Fatburn Fix book is amazing, my friend. Thank you! I’m an Functional Nutritional Therapy Practitioner and I know my stuff. This is the extra layer of knowledge I didn’t know I needed. Well done!

Jennifer Dillman

Fatburn Fix reader

Lost a solid 20 lbs and my bloodwork is great

I have lost a solid 20 lbs and my bloodwork (after 3 months of eating your way) was even better! I was metabolically healthy (per your book) before I read your book, but barely. Lowering my weight, sealed the deal! I have been talking about you and your book to anyone who will listen...Thank you for all you’ve done and what you continue to do! You are changing lives for the better!

Missy Cramer

FatBurn Fix reader

Lost 20 lbs I could never shed

I love your Fatburn Fix!  Has helped me so so much!  I have had the dreaded weight all my life - 20 or so pounds I could never shed.  I have lost that now. I only eat 2 meals a day lunch and dinner with a glass of milk or cappuccino around 4 to hold me over. No snacking and not bad oils.  It has been the key to unlocking my fatburn.  I work out in the am and believe I am burning fat for energy not from food!

Lauren Smith

http://mcmahonmed.com

I feel great

My waist is four inches smaller. I feel great and many of the minor aches and pains that I had (knees and lower back) are gone. Also, my muscle tone is amazing, even though I have not increased my workout routine.

Richard Janelle

Completed Dr Cate's online course

The go-to for strength and conditioning coaches

Whenever I advise my clients about eating to perform I go straight to what I have learned from Dr. Cate. Her book Deep Nutrition has become the go-to for strength and conditioning coaches across the country.

Kent Matthes

Major League Baseball Agent with WME Sports

Dismantles the lie

Dr. Cate dismantles the lie that seed oils are healthy, which may the biggest lie about nutrition and health because it’s so insidious.  

Ken D Berry, MD

Author of Lies My Doctor Told Me

She knows the chemistry

Dr. Cate alerts us to the harms of seed oils and she’s convincing because she knows the chemistry better than anyone.

Dr. Drew Pinskey, MD

Globally recognized internal medicine and addiction medicine specialist, media personality, LoveLine Host, and New York Times bestselling author

No one is better at communicating nutritional truth

Dr. Cate has had the single greatest impact on how we talk to people about fueling for both performance or durability. While we all are a little unique, the foundational principles of human nutrition are immutable. If you are looking to create a more durable, resilient body, no one is better at communicating nutritional truth than Dr. Cate.

Dr. Kelly Starrett

Physiotherapist coach and New York Times and Wall Street Journal bestselling author

Highly recommend The Fatburn Fix

Dr. Shanahan has had a significant impact on my practice of medicine. I am known as a Low Carb Doctor, but I never really appreciated the negative effects of processed seed oils on the health of my patients. I highly recommend The Fatburn Fix to my patients and have a loaner copy in my waiting room. It is amazing how quickly blood sugars and overall health improves with cutting seed oils. It is not just about the carbs!

Dr. Brian Lenkzes, MD

CEO of LowCarbMD San Diego, co-host of Low Carb MD Podcast and host of Life's Best Medicine Podcast

Respected in the sports world

Dr. Cate reordered my diet when I was with the L.A. Lakers, and the benefits, for me personally, were felt immediately and have served me to this day. I’ve come to take real food so seriously I started a small family farm. I know of no M.D./nutritionist more respected in the sports world than Dr. Cate Shanahan.

Chris Kaman

NBA Player

Brought seed oil issue front and center

Cate brought the seed oil issue front and center. Healthy fats matter. So much so that I created an entire product line to swap out bad fats with good.

Mark Sisson

Founding Father of the Primal/Paleo Movement

Optimal health starts with food

If you want to understand how optimal health starts with food, start with Dr. Cate. Her book Deep Nutrition leaves you with an appreciation of the profound relationship between our genes and the planet, inspiring us to be good shepherds of both.

Dallas Hartwig

Attribution author of The Whole 30

Helped me with endurance

Deep Nutrition really helped me with endurance. I started to feel better as a player. I was able to run more, I was able to be more active …and I just decided to keep going with it to this day.

Dwight Howard

NBA Player

Silver bullet for me

Dr Cate’s teachings helped me lose 60 pounds like it was nothing. It was like a silver bullet for me.

Paul Grewal, MD 

Dr Grewal Internal Medicine, MD, author of Genius Foods

Radically improve your health…

Dr. Shanahan has provided a solid reference that deserves a place in the library of anyone who is seriously interested in nutrition. Her perspective on the vital role that healthy fat has in our diet is novel and, if implemented, can radically improve your health.

Dr. Joseph Mercola

Author of Fat for Fuel and Founder of Mercola.com

Pull up a chair…

I have based my work on the idea that getting the right kinds of healthy fats into your body and avoiding the worst fats is essential to optimal health. I've interviewed dozens of the world's top experts about this, and I know of no one who speaks more eloquently on this topic than Dr Cate. If she’s talking fats, pull up a chair. Take notes.

Dave Asprey

Author of the Bulletproof Diet

The key to unlocking my fatburn

I love your Fatburn Fix!  Has helped me so so much!  I have had the dreaded weight all my life - 20 or so pounds I could never shed.  I have lost that now. I only eat 2 meals a day lunch and dinner with a glass of milk or cappuccino around 4 to hold me over. No snacking and not bad oils.  It has been the key to unlocking my fatburn.  

Lauren Smith

Saved my life

I would like to thank you for literally saving my life. Back in February, I had to be hospitalized while on vacation in Phoenix with an A1C of 11% and had to start taking 2 types of insulin and 2 other meds. I read the Fatburn Fix in April, and followed the program to a tee, and I’m down by 15 pounds, 6.8 A1C, and only one once weekly diabetes medicine. 

Leontyne Tompkins

> Tears of joy

 I'm crying tears of joy and appreciation for all you've done for me and my health! Without Deep Nutrition and Fatburn Fix, I would literally still be in the vicious cycle I'd been fighting all my life! In a nutshell - I am no longer a compulsive overeating addict suffering under the crushing 'thumb' of all food and alcohol.     

Penni Wicks

---

 

This metabolic pattern has become widespread in adults consuming modern, highly processed diets. Understanding—and correcting—this backdrop is the key to undoing post-holiday sugar cravings without relying on deprivation or guilt.

You MUST Address Insulin Resistance

Many people suffering from sugar or carb cravings may feel they have a demon inside them. In a way, that’s true. Because insulin resistance is a result of a chemical change in your body composition. (If you’re interested in all the academic details, I’ve published a paper here.)

The reason your sugar demon feels so out of control is that insulin resistance turns sugar cravings into a biological drive. It links your hunger directly to your blood sugar levels and makes us obsess about sweet foods to the point that our day doesn’t feel right if we don’t get our treats. That’s why most people trying to avoid it struggle with setbacks. Until insulin resistance improves, gaining control of cravings for starchy and sweet tasting foods is far more difficult than it is after you’re no longer insulin resistant.

You can permanently end sugar cravings. But to do so, you must fix your metabolism. You can learn what insulin resistance really is (since doctors and ChatGPT do not yet know), how it affects your energy and your moods, and how to recognize it here. There’s also a simple blood test that helps you track your improvement. Fixing your metabolism requires changing what you eat—especially eliminating seed oils and eating meals that support steady brain energy. BTW it does not require heavy exercise, and GLP-1 drugs don’t help as much as changing your diet. (Though they can help some people to get started with dietary changes.)

But here’s the good news. You do not have to wait until insulin resistance is fully reversed to reduce sugar cravings. There is a way to regain control now, as long as you are eating meals that support your brain energy. If you’re not sure, I explain how to tell, and exactly what to eat, and what to avoid, in my latest book, Dark Calories.

You Must Untangle the Ritual Behind Sugar Cravings

Many people try to quit sugar by focusing only on the food itself. But sugar cravings are rarely just about sugar. They are about the rituals we build around sweet taste and the emotional states those rituals support.

Most people look forward to sugar because it plays a specific role in their day. For some, sweetness is what gets them out of bed in the morning, often in the form of a sweet breakfast. For others, it’s a mid-morning treat that helps them push through work. Some use sugar as a small reward at lunch, like a soda. Others rely on it for an energy boost in the afternoon, or as a way to get through that late-day slump. And for many, dessert after dinner serves as a reward, a way to mark the end of the day and finally relax.

These patterns are not random. They are predictable responses to insulin resistance, which creates unstable brain energy and makes the sweet treat, or the starchy comfort food, feel uniquely comforting, motivating, or calming at certain times of day. (Remember, your digestive system convers carb turns into sugar.) Sugar becomes a tool for managing how you feel—awake, motivated, rewarded, soothed—not just something you eat because it tastes good.

Before you can change your relationship with sugar, it helps to clearly recognize which of those rituals you follow. You may have one. You may have several. The goal is not to judge them, but to see them clearly.

Are Internal Struggles Siphoning Away Your Self-Esteem?

There is another common feature of sugar rituals that many people don’t talk about: the mental tug-of-war that happens before and after. Before the treat, there is often an exhausting internal debate—Should I or shouldn’t I? Afterward, that debate is replaced with regret—Did I mess something up? Why can’t I do better?

That cycle is not a failure of discipline. It is a sign that insulin resistance is driving your hunger and reward system. When insulin resistance is resolved, these questions tend to fade. Sweet foods lose their emotional charge, and the constant negotiation around them quiets down.

The strategy that works—even while insulin resistance is still present—is not to fight these rituals head-on. Instead, we recognize them, contain them, and then gradually taper sweetness. This calms the brain’s reward system instead of triggering it and allows you to regain control without white-knuckling.

How to Perform a Sugar-Demon Exorcism

Below is the four-step plan I’ve used myself and recommended clinically for years.

Step 1: Commit to a plan you can actually follow

This approach only works if the plan is realistic. Going cold turkey is usually not. So I want you to please consider each of the steps below carefully, then write down what you think will work best for you. Post it somewhere you can read it daily, and in a private place if you don’t want anyone else nagging you about it.

Step 2: Contain the sugar ritual to only once per day

Before cutting back on sugar, you need to contain the ritual. Sugar cravings are not just about taste. They are tied to timing, habits, and how those habits make you feel, emotionally. I’ve found that if you commit to choosing one eating period per day for sweets, it does two important things. First, you stop asking do I deserve a treat at random times, which eliminates opportunities for making excuses to say yes. Second, the assurance that you will eat sugar at some point today starts to convince your brain that everything will be alright, even without sugar coming in repeatedly. The ritual becomes predictable and contained, which empowers you.

In general people do well setting that one time per day expectation for after dinner.  Sweetness is least addictive at this time of day and least likely to trigger sugar cravings that last all day.  Morning sweetness is the most addictive because it sets the tone for blood sugar and appetite for the entire day. Unless mornings are currently the only time you eat sweets, they are not a good place for this ritual.

If you currently eat sweets multiple times per day, stay at this step for at least two weeks, and honestly, longer is better. The goal here is not perfection—it is containment.

Once you’re down to eating sweets only once per day, you’re ready to move to the next step.

Step 3: Gradually reduce the sweetness in stages

Once sweets are limited to one time per day, you can begin to taper the amount of sweetness. The key is to go slowly enough that your brain barely notices the change. Use three or four stages—whichever one makes the math easy.

For sweetened drinks, like coffee or tea, this might mean cutting back from three packets of sugar to two. For other foods, the strategy will need to be different and requires some creativity. You may need to switch to a sugar delivery vehicle that can be broken into smaller pieces. For donuts or baked sweets, you might switch from a full donut to a few small bites or “nuggets,” then gradually reduce from there while replacing the lost calories with healthier foods. If fruit is your main source of sweetness, you can switch from large fruits like bananas to smaller ones, like berries or grapes. For sweetened yogurt, gradually mixing it more and more plain yogurt might work, and then, over time, you can also reduce the sweetened portion.

The goal is not to feel deprived.

Step 4: Hold each new level for two to three weeks

Your brain and taste buds need time to adjust. Staying at each lower level for about two weeks allows sugar cravings to quiet down before you taper again. Rushing this process usually backfires.

This is not about willpower. It is about giving your biology time to recalibrate. And BTW, if you’ve gotten sugar down really low and feel in control, then you can stay there. But that’s not how it is for me. I have to go zero sugar or I start slipping back into using more and more.

Optional Step 5: Try cinnamon in place of sugar.

Cinnamon has its own sweet taste, but of course, it has zero sugar, so there’s no risk of slipping into using more. I use cinnamon in my yogurt with just a little bit of starchy nuts (cashews), and that combination seems to completely prevent me from feeling any sense of deprivation whatsoever.

Have you tried this? Has something else worked for you? Let me know in the comments!

If you’d like personalized guidance, consider making an appointment here.