Does that morning Danish leave you craving another treat two hours later? Do you grab a candy bar to cope with your afternoon slump — and then reach for a cola to get out of your post-slump slump?
If you have found that munching sugary snacks just makes you crave more sugary snacks, you’re not alone. Eating lots of simple carbohydrates — without the backup of proteins or fats — can quickly satisfy hunger and give your body a short-term energy boost, but they almost as quickly leave you famished again and craving more.
Seven Reasons to Give Up Sugar:
1. Sugar is Not Food – It is empty calories with little nutritional value and actually causes your body to steal vitamins from other vital organs in attempt to process the sugar, leaving you undernourished.
2. Sugar Makes You Fat – It is filled with calories that are stored in your fat tissues.
3. Sugar Makes You Nervous – There is a clear link between excess sugar and disorders like anxiety, depression, and schizophrenia, because of extreme levels of insulin and adrenalin.
4. Sugar Causes Diabetes, Kidney and Heart Problems – Excess sugar can damage the pancreas’s ability to function properly.
5. Sugar Kills Your Teeth – Sugar increases the bacteria in your mouth that erodes enamel. The biggest crime is that many popular toothpastes contain sugar which is not required to be put the on the label.
6. Sugar Suppresses the Immune System – Sugar interferes with the body by overtaxing its defenses.
7. Sugar Causes Wrinkles – A high-sugar diet damages collagen.
Tips on How Wean Yourself Slowly from your sugar cravings :
It takes about 7 days to get the addiction out of your system. This does not mean the cravings will disappear but the intense addiction needs that amount of time. Wean yourself off sugar or go cold-turkey. The choice is yours — you pick the way that works for you as we are all different.
1. Eat fresh and dried fruit instead of sugary sweets – Although they are filled with natural sugar, they are a healthier choice as fruit is filled with vitamins, minerals and fiber. It is okay at first to eat a bigger quantity of them while weaning.
2. Dessert Rules – Week 1: Maximum once a day. Week 2: twice a week. Week 3: once a week. Make it your rule to have raw fruit at least half the time.
3. Try Stevia – A natural sugar alternative that actually nourishes the pancreas and has no calories. Stevia is an herbal extract from the Stevia Rebaudiana leaf that has been shown to regulate blood sugar and blood pressure.It is important to remember that Stevia needs to be consumed in moderation.
4. Do not skip meals – When you miss regular meals; you create a starving situation in your body and you will eat anything to bring your blood sugar level back to normal and you know what that means.
5. Instead of soda pop, lemonade & iced tea – Make lemonade with stevia and herb tea with honey. If you need that carbonated zing, add sparkling mineral water. When at a party or at the bar, drink soda water with lime or lemon.
6. No sweets in your cupboards or fridge – It is too tempting to have them available.
7. When craving strikes, go for a walk – Athletes’ cravings for sweet foods declines after exercise; they prefer salty foods.
Email Manali at [email protected] to schedule a first free 30 minutes session to help you create balance in your lifestyle.
Manali is a Certified Lifestyle Coach with over 20 years of work experience and has helped many people establish the mind and body connection and balance in their lives.