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How to Give Up Sugar in 9 Steps
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Ok, so you already know all the dangers that eating sugar can entail. You want to eat healthier, you know you shouldn’t keep adding sugar to your meals or eating those sugary snacks. You know you’ve got to break that sugar habit and every morning you swear this will be the day.
Then 2PM rolls around and that box of doughnuts someone brought in that morning still has two juicy, semi-fresh, sugary chocolaty beauties just sitting there and before you know it, you scarf down one and the second one is half way eaten before you can stop! You stare at that last half and think, “What happened? Why did I eat this?”
If this scenario sounds familiar, don’t worry. Many of us are addicted to sugar. Just like any drug, the more we eat, the more we want. There is good news, however. You can conquer those cravings and cut that sugar out of your life in just 11 super easy steps. It’s true. No matter how much you love those gummy worms, you can dump that sugar habit. Read on.
1. Know Your Enemy
Oh yes, it’s so easy for those who doll out nutritional advice to tell you that there are X grams of sugar in the average candy bar; as if telling you that will make your sugar craving for that afternoon Snickers bar disappear.
One of the things you must do first is to recognize this as an addiction. You know it’s bad for you yet you keep eating/drinking it anyway. If you aren’t sure that it is, change the words eating and drinking for using heroin or snorting coke. It’s not a matter of self control or knowledge.
If you don’t think it’s an addiction, just a problem you have, you like sugar a little bit too much, then stop reading here. Like all addicts you will never truly stop so what’s the point?
However, if you admit that you are hooked on sugar, well, as they say in certain circles, acknowledging you have a problem is half the battle. Keep reading to see what you can do about it.
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2. The Hard Truth
What would you say to a drug addict if they told you they really wanted to quit and wanted your advice? STOP COLD TURKEY is what you would tell them.
They would give you that sad puppy eyed look and say, can’t I just have a little bit now and then? Ridiculous! You would say. You must quit all of it, every bit of it, now and never go back.
The hard, cold facts here are that the drug addict you are talking to above is yourself and your drug is sugar. So stop. Tomorrow. Cold Turkey.
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3. Watch the Fruit
Fruit is something like the angel of the health world. It’s loaded with sugar, but because it’s natural, it can do no wrong. Of course fructose is better than glucose. At least the fruit has vitamins and fiber but some sugar addicts try to feed their addiction by eating fruit all day long. The sugar from fruit will also give your blood an insulin spike.
This doesn’t mean you have to go all Atkins and quit eating fruit, it simply means don’t eat it all day long. Also, pick your fruit wisely.
The more water content, the less sugar so an organge is a better choice than a banana, a piece of watermelon is a better choice than an apple.
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4. Alcohol
Yep, it’s got to go. Many drinkers don’t believe they have a sweet tooth but they certainly do.
Many drinkers, especially females, end up getting their sugar high from those cute little fruity drinks with the little umbrellas.
If you can’t give up alcohol, at least drink distilled spirits such as gin, rum, or vodka as they have no sugars or carbohydrates per serving. Just be sure you drink it with water or seltzer water and not fruit juice or soda.
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5. Be Conscious of Carbs
All refined carbohydrates, such as bagels, white bread, and white rice, should be treated as sugar and, in your quest for a sugar detox, avoided at all costs.
Think whole grains such as quinoa, red or brown rice, and buckwheat.
Read more about quinoa and its benefits.
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6. Coconut Oil
Make coconut oil your new BFF. Yes, it contains carbs but these carbs won’t spike your blood sugar levels.
You can use coconut oil in any recepie that calls for butter or oil.
You can also use it in high temperatures, such as for baking or frying, unlike many other oils.
There are many recipes online for using coconut oil so check them out and you will discover that there is life after sugar.
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7. Paleo Eating
Probably the best way to remove sugar without going all out Atkins diet, is to embrace the Paleo diet and eat like your ancestors did; very little fruit, even less grains, some nuts, lots of meat and lots of exercise.
If this doesn’t appeal to you just think about our ancestors, they had no problems with being overweight, no heart disease, and very few other health problems.
Find out more about Paleo Diet.
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8. Use Alternatives
Ok, so many people tell themselves that they are sugar free because they only use honey or molasses but they are only kidding themselves.
Try Stevia. It comes from a plant native to South America but has no actual sugar in it.
Read more about natural sugar substitutes.
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9. Eat a Balanced Diet
What a lot of this boils down to is that many people don’t eat right or just plain old don’t eat and this allows their blood sugar levels to drop to those dangerous levels where you will eat just about anything, especially if it’s a gooey, sugary treat.
This is another reason why the Paleo diet works so well.
Alternately, you can eat six small meals per day that will not only keep your metabolism burning but will keep your blood sugar level stable.
Sources:
Hannah
Aug 11, 2014 at 10:10 pm
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