Most of you who are reading this are aware that sugar is bad for you. You’re also aware that most likely, you get plenty of sugar just by eating the healthy foods you like. You may not know that the American Heart Association has said that sugar is “associated with risk factors such as obesity, high blood pressure, high levels of triglycerides, and high levels of C-reactive protein, which has been linked to oxidative stress and inflammation”, but you do know that your body doesn’t feel good when you consume a lot of sugar.
[The guy who made this animation has done a lot of really well made and hilarious animations. It's amazing how much talent some people have!]
There’s one problem though. Despite knowing that sugar is bad for you…you can’t stop. You can’t bring yourself to go without putting sugar in your coffee in the morning, or stop yourself from binge eating 20 cookies. This post is dedicated to showing you techniques to help beat the sugar addiction and get back your body. Here it goes:
How to Beat The Sugar Addiction
By being aware that you have an addiction to sugar, you’ve already won half the battle in beating it. Why? Because so many people are addicted to sugar, that it’s easy not to realize that there’s any problem with it. I mean, if EVERYBODY is doing something how can it be wrong, right? Nope, it actually just means that everybody is doing the wrong thing.
To check if you have a sugar addiction, do this simple test. First, approximately account for how much sugar you’re taking in during the day. If it’s too much, then ask yourself if you can stop. If it would be really hard to stop, like many others, you have an addiction to sugar. (Remember, just by admitting to it you’re only one step away from beating it.)
Going Cold Turkey
I wouldn’t suggest this for everyone, but for some people, going cold turkey is the best way to beat the sugar addiction. In some ways, this is the simplest solution. All you have to do is wake up, say to yourself “I’m not going to eat any processed junk or add sugar to anything” and then do it. I once read that fitness legend Jack Lalanne did exactly that when he was a teenager, after he realized that refined sugar was the reason he was feeling weak and getting headaches all the time.
Speaking of Jack Lalanne…here’s one of his classic videos on “not being a sugarholic”.
Beat The Addiction One Food at a Time
If you’re not the kind of person who does well with the “cold turkey” solution, try this. For the first week you start cutting down on sugar, cut soda out of your diet but continue with everything else. For the second week, cut cakes and cookies out of your diet except for one or two times a week and substitute some sweet fruits instead (but no binge eating). For the third week, start putting less coffee in your sugar.
Gradually, you’ll completely get refined sugar (that includes brown sugar, by the way) out of your diet. The important thing is to be on the offensive against eating sugar. If you’re not eating more healthily, chances are you’ll start eating less healthily.
No Binge Eating
I’ve heard of people who start cutting bad foods out of their diets, except for that one day a week where they allow themselves to pig out. In my experience, this doesn’t work. There’s nothing wrong with giving yourself one day a week where you allow yourself to eat poorly in the beginning, but it has to be in moderation. Binge eating can potentially feed the addiction and is the last thing you want to do when cutting refined sugar out of your diet.
Surround Yourself With People Who Have Good Habits
No, I’m not telling you to ditch your friends who don’t eat healthily, but if you’re trying to cut sugar out of your diet, it doesn’t help to have people around you who are constantly eating processed junk. By surrounding yourself with people who are healthy and have good habits, you’ll be able to learn from their example and kicking the sugar addiction will be that much easier.
There You Have It…
There you have it. Now you know the steps to take in order to take back your body and beat the sugar addiction. Do you agree that most of us consume too much sugar in our diets? Leave a comment and let me know!
