As someone who has quit sugar several times in her life and was sugar free for 4 years and restarted becoming sugar free again and have been so for 5 weeks, I think the first thing is you need to want to do it, whether it’s because you now know of it’s detrimental consequences for Health, or trying to lose weight..
The highly acclaimed Dr. Robert Lustig states “Sugar is not just an empty calorie, its effect on us is much more insidious. “It’s not about the calories,” he says. “It has nothing to do with the calories. It’s a poison by itself.”
If Lustig is right, then our excessive consumption of sugar is the primary reason that the numbers of obese and diabetic Americans, and indeed worldwide have skyrocketed in the past 30 years. But his argument implies more than that. If Lustig is right, it would mean that sugar is also the likely dietary cause of several other chronic ailments widely considered to be diseases of Western lifestyles — heart disease, hypertension and many common cancers among them.
So once you have established you really want to quit and your life (not just your waistline depends on it) it may psychologically be easier to do:
Here are a few suggestions on how to break free and get sugar out of your life:-
Eat regularly – When I first started quitting sugar I ate regularly.. three meals a day and two snacks or five small meals a day. This meant that my hunger was always kept at bay so I didn’t have the impulsive need to snack, then eat whatever was around me.
Eat real whole foods – These are foods without an ingredients list, the closer a food is to its original form, the less processed sugar it will contain. Food in its natural form, including fruits and vegetables, good whole grains
Start the day correctly, have a breakfast of protein, and good fats – I personally believe the best breakfast is poached eggs with avocado, savory breakfasts such as masala omelet and smoothies are great, oats in nut milk with cinnamon/nutmeg/protein powder. The typical breakfast full of carbs and sugary cereals are the worst options since you’ll be inclined to snack on junk.
Incorporate good protein and/or fat with each meal – This helps control blood sugar levels. Make sure they are healthy sources of each. When I say fats I mean good fats, nuts, avocado, olive oils for dressing
Use spices to sweeten – Being of Asian origin I have grown up with these, spices such as cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves and cardamom, ground ginger will naturally give your food lots of taste as well as naturally sweeten it. Cinnamon also helps to regulate blood sugar and is great in smoothies
Get moving – Not only will exercise, help reduce tension, boost your energy and decrease your need for a sugar lift. I found when I was really into training I used to have to focus on what I was doing intently it was almost like a meditation (which is now being promoted for great and overall well being
Explore your primary foods and emotional issues around your sugar cravings – Primary foods such as joy, relationships, spirituality, are just as important as what you put in your body, many times our craving for sugar is more for an emotional need that isn’t being met, may be you are craving for a real relationship when you get home from work and all you need is companionship but you don’t have that so you eat instead
Keep sugary snacks out of your home and environment – I only keep nuts/nut butters at work as a go to for cravings
Don’t substitute artificial sweeteners for sugar – I personally dislike the taste of anything artificial and I don’t think it helps as the desire for sugar is still there so you are not really breaking the cycle, when I really had the urge for something sweet i’d take a tiny bit of date broken into my porridge or with my smoothie, it helped immensely
Know the not so safe foods – Although I would steer clear of packaged foods it’s important to know the longer the list of ingredients, the more likely sugar is going to be included on that list. Things that we turn to every day such as tomato ketchup, sauces, low-fat foods/yogurts/so-called ‘healthy flapjacks and granola bars, cereals are full of sugar as are juices
Avoid white foods -bread, pasta, bagels (including whole wheat), are usually highly refined or act just like sugars in the body and should be avoided.
WHEN A CRAVING HITS TRY THESE:
Distract yourself. Go for a walk – Cravings usually last for 10-20 minutes maximum. If you can distract yourself with something else, it often passes. The more you do this, the easier it gets and the cravings get easier to deal with.
Keep yourself hydrated – Sometimes drinking water can help with the sugar cravings. Also sometimes what we perceive as a food craving is really thirst, I make flavored waters with cucumber, mint, ginger, lemon. The mint will help reduce cravings
Alternatives things to eat – If you have to give in to your cravings have a piece of fruit, Stick to low sugar fruits, like berries, try an apple with cinnamon or cottage cheese with cinnamon
