If you have gone through an older post of mine (
here) about the side effects of sugar and sweet stuff, you should already know that sugar can be as addictive as heroin.
Well, not that far, I mean I have never heard of someone committing a crime because he didn't get chocolate or candies...But you get my point, right?
If you are not in a preparation for a contest, I think that you don't really have to give up all the sweet stuff, just enjoy it in moderation and maybe as a cheat-meal. Sweet things don't always have to be junk-food or other processed food, you can also make your own sweet stuff with natural ingredients like a chocolate cake, cookies or whatsoever.
When I entered this new lifestyle, I had a lot of cravings for sweets as I love chocolate, cookies and cakes. So it was quite crazy-making, and the main problem was that I was cheating so much before this all started as I knew that I will have to skip sweets for a long time now (until the first cheat-meal).
But I was also feeling better after a while and I never thought that cutting down on sugars could have such a great impact on my health and well-being. I had more energy, a better sleep, my skin definitely looked more glowing and I was craving more the healthy stuff than the sugary foods.
You know that you don't have to be a slave to sugar and starting various diets to get on the healthy side of life won't help you either. You can learn to enjoy sweet foods occasionally without feeling guilty and still live without constant cravings. Of course it takes a lot of effort and motivation, and yes there will be situations where you have to overcome your cravings.... I know how hard this can be, I have been there too.
Therefor I wanted to share a short list that can help you curb your cravings:
- Protein breakfast:
If you already start your day with something sweet... well I'm sorry but then you're already doomed. Rather opt for something rich in protein that keeps you full and satisfied until the next meal.
E.g: 4 eggs (only 1 yolk) with 5 rice crackers and a handful of berries (rich in antioxidants)
- Set Standards:
If you are vigorously craving for something sweet, try to chose something that's like a true indulgence by savoring only small amounts of it.
E.g: dark chocolate (70-80%) instead of a whole cheap sugary kind chocolate bar; a freshly baked slice of cake in a cafe instead of hand-stuffing a processed-supermarket-wannabe-cake on your couch
- Focus:
Cravings will happen and you have to try to ignore them. Yeah I know... not that easy... BUT if you don't react to your cravings, you will have the power to overcome them from time to time. Of course it's a challenge at first, but always keep in mind that the less sugar you eat, the less you will experience cravings and the less effort you have to take to get rid of them.
- Stay real:
I know this situation pretty well... 'just one bite, I swear'... It normally never stops at one bite. And remember that this 'one bite' won't help you to overcome your craving (cf the previous point). Far from satisfying you, this little tiny bite will just keep you frustrated.
- The right diet:
Don't get me wrong now, I am NOT saying that you should do a diet. When I am talking about 'diet' I am basically talking about eating habits. If you eat in order to get all the nutrients you need, you will find yourself less with cravings for sugar... Believe me. The first 2 weeks were very hard for me but after I had no problem sitting next to someone who was eating chocolate or candies because my body had all the nutrients it needs
I hope that my tips will be helpful for you to overcome your cravings and your addiction to sweets. I am not saying that it's going to be easy (hell no..) but if you try to stick to those tips, you'll see that sooner or later you won't be a sugar-slave anymore. Your body will thank you.
 |
| Don't let temptations ruin your progress |
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| opt for healthier versions for your desserts |
Some
say sugar can be as addictive as heroin. I’m not sure I’d go quite that
far. I haven’t heard of anyone robbing their families blind or ending
up destitute to fund a Haribo habit. But, as I’m sure everyone reading
this will know only too well, sweet stuff is incredibly moreish.
My mantra is “
mostly healthy, most of the time”
and the approach I take is that it’s not necessary to give up sugar
entirely in order to shed fat. A dessert or sweet snack a couple of
times per week is not going to scupper your progress if you’ve spent the
rest of those seven days eating unprocessed, wholesome foods.
Often, imposing a total ban on any particular food only serves to
make it all the more appealing and trying to cut out all sugar at all
times would be pretty crazy-making for most of us, myself included.
However, reducing the amount of sugar in the diet and learning to
handle cravings so sweet things can be happily enjoyed as occasional
indulgences, rather than experienced like a guilty addiction several
times per day, has been nothing short of life-changing for a lot of
people I’ve worked with.
Besides the many health benefits of cutting right down on sugar and
the massive difference it makes to their fat loss results, my clients
report all the same benefits I’ve experienced personally – much higher
energy levels, better sleep, improvements in skin tone and more of an
appetite for healthier foods.
Discovering that you can get to place where, not only can you cope
with the urge to eat sweet things without caving in, but that those
cravings actually fade to almost nothing is a liberating experience. You
don’t have to be a slave to sugar. You can learn to enjoy sweet foods
occasionally without compulsively eating them every day. And you can
live a life free from constant cravings. It takes effort, especially at
first, but it gets easier and it’s worth it. Believe me, I’ve been
there.
Here are some of the things that helped curb my cravings whilst I was kicking my old several-times-a-day sweet-hit habit.
Protein-rich breakfast
If you’re looking to cut down on sugar, one of the worst things you
can do is eat something sweet for breakfast – it’ll simply set you up
for a day of stinking cravings. Choose something savoury with a lot of
protein to keep you feeling full and satisfied as well as nourishing
your body. Eggs are an ideal breakfast food.
Setting Standards
When you are going to eat something sweet, make it feel like a true
indulgence by savouring a small amount of something very high quality,
like 80% cocoa chocolate instead of a big bar of the cheapo sugary
kind. Or enjoy eating a slice of freshly baked cake with a fork in a
nice café or restaurant instead of hand-stuffing a slab of supermarket
cake into your mouth on the sofa or at your desk.
Ride the wave
Sugar cravings will happen. You need to expect that. You also need to
know that if you ignore them, they will pass. It will seem at the time
like the only way to get rid of that urge is to put something sweet in
your mouth, but you will find that it abates if you refuse to give in.
This is a challenge at first, but as you experience how cravings pass if
you don’t act on them it gets a little easier each time. Always keep in
mind that the less sugar eat, the less you’ll experience cravings and
the less effort it will take to ride them out when they do occur.
Take a Bite of Reality
…On the flipside, when you do eat sugar it makes you crave even more
sugar. So anytime you think to yourself “oh, I’ll just have a bite”,
remember that having that one bite is only going to make you want
another bite all the more. Let’s face it, when do you ever stop at just
one bite! Far from satisfying you, that little taste is most likely to
leave you feeling all the more frustrated.
Intermittent Fasting
Fasting helped me to shed fat and take control of my diet in various ways as I’ve talked about in
previous posts.
I believe IF really helped my body to regulate blood sugar better,
which reduced sugar cravings and the general appeal of sugar for me.
Right now, I’m maintaining my current body fat level, so I only do a
couple of 16 hour fasts per week, but being in the habit of regularly
going 16 hours without eating anything still helps me to know that every
time I think about a certain food, doesn’t mean I have to eat it.
If you like this post, please pay it forward by clicking one of the share buttons.
If you’d like more of my advice on fat loss and fitness my best
selling book, ‘The Fat Burn Revolution: Boost your metabolism and burn
fat fast’ is available now on
Amazon UK,
Amazon USA and in stores across the world.
I’d love to hear your experiences of cutting down on sugar too, feel
free to leave a comment below, it’d be great to hear from you.
- See
more at:
http://www.juliasfitnessblog.com/blog/2014/04/04/sugar-cravings-ruining-your-diet-how-i-stopped-being-a-slave-to-sweet-stuff/#sthash.cTRiLe81.dpuf
Some
say sugar can be as addictive as heroin. I’m not sure I’d go quite that
far. I haven’t heard of anyone robbing their families blind or ending
up destitute to fund a Haribo habit. But, as I’m sure everyone reading
this will know only too well, sweet stuff is incredibly moreish.
My mantra is “
mostly healthy, most of the time”
and the approach I take is that it’s not necessary to give up sugar
entirely in order to shed fat. A dessert or sweet snack a couple of
times per week is not going to scupper your progress if you’ve spent the
rest of those seven days eating unprocessed, wholesome foods.
Often, imposing a total ban on any particular food only serves to
make it all the more appealing and trying to cut out all sugar at all
times would be pretty crazy-making for most of us, myself included.
However, reducing the amount of sugar in the diet and learning to
handle cravings so sweet things can be happily enjoyed as occasional
indulgences, rather than experienced like a guilty addiction several
times per day, has been nothing short of life-changing for a lot of
people I’ve worked with.
Besides the many health benefits of cutting right down on sugar and
the massive difference it makes to their fat loss results, my clients
report all the same benefits I’ve experienced personally – much higher
energy levels, better sleep, improvements in skin tone and more of an
appetite for healthier foods.
Discovering that you can get to place where, not only can you cope
with the urge to eat sweet things without caving in, but that those
cravings actually fade to almost nothing is a liberating experience. You
don’t have to be a slave to sugar. You can learn to enjoy sweet foods
occasionally without compulsively eating them every day. And you can
live a life free from constant cravings. It takes effort, especially at
first, but it gets easier and it’s worth it. Believe me, I’ve been
there.
Here are some of the things that helped curb my cravings whilst I was kicking my old several-times-a-day sweet-hit habit.
Protein-rich breakfast
If you’re looking to cut down on sugar, one of the worst things you
can do is eat something sweet for breakfast – it’ll simply set you up
for a day of stinking cravings. Choose something savoury with a lot of
protein to keep you feeling full and satisfied as well as nourishing
your body. Eggs are an ideal breakfast food.
Setting Standards
When you are going to eat something sweet, make it feel like a true
indulgence by savouring a small amount of something very high quality,
like 80% cocoa chocolate instead of a big bar of the cheapo sugary
kind. Or enjoy eating a slice of freshly baked cake with a fork in a
nice café or restaurant instead of hand-stuffing a slab of supermarket
cake into your mouth on the sofa or at your desk.
Ride the wave
Sugar cravings will happen. You need to expect that. You also need to
know that if you ignore them, they will pass. It will seem at the time
like the only way to get rid of that urge is to put something sweet in
your mouth, but you will find that it abates if you refuse to give in.
This is a challenge at first, but as you experience how cravings pass if
you don’t act on them it gets a little easier each time. Always keep in
mind that the less sugar eat, the less you’ll experience cravings and
the less effort it will take to ride them out when they do occur.
Take a Bite of Reality
…On the flipside, when you do eat sugar it makes you crave even more
sugar. So anytime you think to yourself “oh, I’ll just have a bite”,
remember that having that one bite is only going to make you want
another bite all the more. Let’s face it, when do you ever stop at just
one bite! Far from satisfying you, that little taste is most likely to
leave you feeling all the more frustrated.
Intermittent Fasting
Fasting helped me to shed fat and take control of my diet in various ways as I’ve talked about in
previous posts.
I believe IF really helped my body to regulate blood sugar better,
which reduced sugar cravings and the general appeal of sugar for me.
Right now, I’m maintaining my current body fat level, so I only do a
couple of 16 hour fasts per week, but being in the habit of regularly
going 16 hours without eating anything still helps me to know that every
time I think about a certain food, doesn’t mean I have to eat it.
If you like this post, please pay it forward by clicking one of the share buttons.
If you’d like more of my advice on fat loss and fitness my best
selling book, ‘The Fat Burn Revolution: Boost your metabolism and burn
fat fast’ is available now on
Amazon UK,
Amazon USA and in stores across the world.
I’d love to hear your experiences of cutting down on sugar too, feel
free to leave a comment below, it’d be great to hear from you.
- See
more at:
http://www.juliasfitnessblog.com/blog/2014/04/04/sugar-cravings-ruining-your-diet-how-i-stopped-being-a-slave-to-sweet-stuff/#sthash.cTRiLe81.dpuf
