Cravings are generally a symptom of low blood sugar, when your body craves something sweet to raise it. The best plan of attack is to try and avoid this situation by being careful throughout the day.

I don't know about your overall diet, so you may be doing some of these things already, but hopefully there are some new things you can try. Firstly, the most important thing you can do is eat breakfast every day. I know that sounds strange when you get cravings in the evening, but this is because if you don't raise your blood sugar levels first thing in the morning (after what is the equivalent of fasting all night), your blood sugar levels are unstable for the rest of the day. Even if you are not hungry, a little wholegrain cereal or wholemeal toast is a good idea. I know many dieters who tried skipping breakfast to 'save' calories, but it never worked and they always ended up eating more calories by the end of the day. Basically, their body tries to recoup the missed calories at breakfast by increasing the appetite for the rest of the day.

After breakfast, you need to keep blood sugar levels stable throughout the day by never going longer than 3-4 hours without some type of meal of healthy snack. It is much better for our digestion, blood sugar and energy levels to eat 6 small meals a day, rather than 3 larger ones. Experiment and see what suits your body best.

Finally, make sure you eat complex, brown carbohydrates rather than refined, white carbohydrates, as the latter break down into sugar very quickly. Also make sure you have some protein with each meal. Both these tactics are designed to slow down digestion and absorption and keep blood sugar stable for longer.

It may take some time for the cravings to subside completely, as sugar can be very addictive. But stick with it and you should beat them in the end!