📌I’ve put together a FREE guide for you to download called the 5pm Craving Crusher. Click here to get it »
It’s 5pm. You’re exhausted. The day wasn’t too bad, but you’ve been feeling stressed ever since Y2K. Today was full of work tasks, errands, and stressful news updates.
And your mind fills like a glass of wine with the idea of pouring a drink, mixing something up, or maybe even heading into the pantry for your favorite snack to unwind.
If you’ve ever wondered why 5pm hits like a bat outta hell — why it’s the hardest part of the day to stay on track with food, or alcohol, or just being a person — I want to walk you through what’s actually happening in your body. Because once you see it, it stops feeling like a willpower problem. It starts feeling like a physiology problem.
And physiology, we can work with.
The two hormones running your day
Cortisol is you stress hormone. It’s supposed to be high in the morning to wake you up, taper down through the day, and bottom out at night so you can sleep. It also raises your blood sugar on purpose to help fuel the body when stress requires you to keep going.
Blood sugar (glucose) is your body’s main fuel. It rises when you eat and falls as you use it.
Here’s the part nobody tells you: these two systems are in constant conversation. Cortisol raises blood sugar. Blood sugar crashes raise cortisol. And when they get into a feedback loop with each other — that’s the 5pm crash. That’s the wine cravings show up. That’s when the snacking becomes insatiable. And that’s when you feel completely out of control.
Why this feels like a mood problem
A blood sugar crash and an anxiety attack feel basically identical. The body genuinely cannot tell the difference, because the chemistry is essentially the same.
So, if you’ve been struggling with a mood problem, an anxiety diagnosis, irritability, PMS, and you’re especially pleasant to be around when stressed— it might simply be your blood sugar.
The good news: Once we know about it, we can do something about it. You’re not destined to be a moody person. You’re not destined to be an anxious person. You simply did not know what your body was asking for.
But, now you do.
Five nutrition tools that you can actually do to stop cravings
1. Eat within an hour of waking up (and focus on protein). Skipping breakfast is a recipe for a disastrous, stressful and erratic day when it comes to blood sugar. If we wait too long to eat, we lose more of the control over what we choose later. Coffee can come with breakfast or after, not instead of. (Trust me, I’d never take away your coffee <3)
2. Eat every 3–4 hours, built around protein. Aim for roughly 30g of protein per meal as a starting point. If you need to, set reminders on your phone for lunch and snack time. Skipping meals during the day means catching up later on.
3. Don’t eat carbs naked. Carbs aren’t the enemy. But, carbs by themselves can wreak havoc on your blood sugar. A banana alone spikes you. A banana with almond butter doesn’t. Always pair carbs with protein, fat, or fiber.
4. Have an afternoon snack between 3-5pm. Have a real protein snack around 3-5pm— before the craving hits. Trust me this is the CURE to the happy hour craving. Most of the time we’re simply hungry at the end of the day, so alcohol begins to sound more enticing because it will provide a short-term boost.
5. Lower your cortisol at night. Dim lights after dinner. Stop eating 2–3 hours before bed. A 10-minute walk after dinner does wonders for your blood sugar regulation and stress. And if you wake up at 3am every night — that’s almost always a cortisol spike from a blood sugar dip. This can be solved by focusing on the first 4 recommendations.
The reframe
The cravings, the mood swings, the 5pm wine pull, the 3am wake-ups — none of that is a character flaw. It’s a feedback loop. And feedback loops can be interrupted.
You’re not craving wine. You’re not craving sugar. You’re craving regulation. And now you know how to give your body what it’s actually asking for.
Want the simple version?
I put together a free guide — the 5pm Craving Crusher— that’s the fridge-worthy version of everything above. The why, a protein-forward eating rhythm you can actually follow for the moments when the craving hits and your brain goes blank.
It’s the thing I wish I’d had on my fridge five years ago.
Print it. Stick it on your fridge. Pick one thing from it this week. That’s it. One thing.
If this resonated, hit the ♥ at the top, and forward it to the friend who texts you “why am I like this” at 5:47pm. You’re not like this. You’re just stuck in the loop. And the loop has a way out.
OH, and don’t forget to comment and let me know what the hardest time of day is for YOU? Is it 5pm? 3pm? Let me know!
Xo, Dr. Brooke
