July 17, 2022
Like many people, you may feel almost at war with yourself when it comes to sugar—you crave it.
Hence, you eat it, but then…
You crash, get hungry quickly, and eat more to bring yourself back up again to higher levels of functioning.
Unfortunately, this rollercoaster ride severely impacts our ability to lose weight, feel energized, and live a vital life.
To help you lose weight, become healthier, and generally feel better, a great place to start is simply cutting down on sugar.
But this can be hard for multiple reasons.
For one, sugar is biologically addictive. It gives us a dopamine hit when we eat it; because of this, we’re not in total control of the decisions we make around it.
Plus, so much added sugar in many of our daily foods! So even if you think you don’t eat much sugar, you may eat even more than the recommended intake.
In other words, sometimes it can be challenging to know how much sugar we’re eating, let alone attempt to make healthy decisions around it.
So how can we get past this addictive roller coaster ride?
Before you start cleaning your diet of sugar, it is helpful to understand why sugar is so potentially toxic.
How sugar impacts weight gain:
Before you start cleaning your diet of sugar, it is helpful to understand why sugar is so potentially toxic.
First of all, sugar is not all bad for you. It naturally occurs in many healthy foods you eat because it fuels us with energy.
Here’s how it works:
- When you eat food, your body breaks down the digestible carbs into blood sugar.
- The blood sugar flows into your bloodstream and signals your pancreas to release a hormone called insulin.
- Ideally, you want to use this sugar as energy, so the insulin job is to help the blood sugar enter your cells where it can be used for energy.
- Any excess blood sugar will get stored in your liver.
- As the blood sugar leaves your bloodstream, your insulin levels will decrease.
- Once that happens, your liver will release more blood sugar to maintain your energy.
Here’s what happens when it stops working:
- An excess of blood sugar floods your bloodstream.
- Your pancreas starts working in overdrive, pumping out LOTS of insulin to get that blood sugar into your cells.
- Your cells start ignoring the insulin, making them “insulin resistant.”
- The pancreas gets confused and pumps our even MORE insulin in hopes of getting those cells to take the blood sugar in.
- The pancreas fatigues and the blood sugar levels in your bloodstream keep rising.
So now your body has too much blood sugar in your bloodstream, liver, and muscles. In hopes of clearing out the excess, the liver sends that blood sugar to your fat cells, making you…
Yup, fatter. Plus, now you are at risk for type 2 diabetes.
And if that’s not enough to demonstrate the detrimental effects of excess sugar, let’s understand why sugar sometimes kills your willpower.
The processed sugar you’re consuming shuts down the “fullness hormone” in your body. In other words, the signals your body usually sends out to tell you that you’re full shut down, making you think you are still hungry. Plus, the more sugar you eat, the less sensitive you get to the pleasure hormone dopamine. In other words, the more you eat, the more you’ll want to feel satisfied.
Read on to find out how you can make this critically-important adjustment in your life.
7 Tips to Cut Sugar Cravings
Tip 1: Get Enough Sleep
Fatigue makes us vulnerable to giving in to our sugar cravings.
If you haven’t slept enough and are suddenly reaching for chocolate to stay awake, try drinking water and taking a 10-minute power nap instead of eating.
Not only will you wake up feeling refreshed, but you will also no longer be craving sugar!
Tip 2: Eat Fruit Instead
Fruit is sweet and high in fructose, but because it is nutritious and high in fiber, it is not considered toxic or harmful to you like processed sugars. Fruit will help satisfy that sweet tooth when craving dessert without adding more refined sugar to your system.
Tip 3: Eat Greens to Help Heal Your Liver
According to traditional Chinese medicine, green is the color associated with the liver organ system. Eating greens will help replenish your liver, and in turn calm your sugar cravings.
Dark leafy greens such as kale, collard greens, watercress, and bok choy are great options. Sauté them with garlic, ginger, scallions, soy sauce, and some sesame oil for a Chinese side dish, or garlic, lemon, and olive oil for a more Mediterranean flair.
Tip 4: Exercise Regularly
Cravings are often your body’s way of telling you it needs something. For example, we typically feel food cravings when our bodies are restless or when we’ve been sedentary for too long. So, when a craving for sugar hits you, try using the opportunity to get your body moving instead.
Exercise will help you more effectively metabolize the sugar you eat and will also pick up your energy and mood, making you less likely to crave unhealthy foods.
Tip 5: Get to the Root
We all have issues, and many of us learn to deal with them with food. Some eat for fun, some eat for stress release, and some eat to fill a void in their life.
So if you suspect you are “using” sugar to self-medicate, get to the root of your problem and address it directly. I suggest doing some research into the different reasons why cravings appear, and considering how those scenarios may apply to your lifestyle and how you can combat them. For example, mindfulness-based meditation has been shown to be highly beneficial for dealing with emotional stress.
Tip 6: Drink Water with Lemon.
Sometimes, sweet cravings are a sign of dehydration. Before you go for the sugar, try drinking a glass of water and then wait a few minutes to see what happens.
Caution: remember that soft drinks are now considered America’s number one source of added sugar. Just because something contains water doesn’t mean it’s good for you – your best bet for healthy body hydration is plain water or a natural herbal tea.
Tip 7: Eat Balanced Meals
Make every meal a combo of fat, fiber, and protein.
Also, try to watch it on the carbs. For example, if you have a big bowl of pasta or lots of bread, remember that it counts towards a significant sugar intake.
Remember, nature’s antidote to sugar is fiber. If you opt for an apple rather than apple juice, the added fiber in the fruit helps slow the sugar down. If you have the juice instead, it goes right to the bloodstream and is more likely to be held long-term as fat.
Ready to quit sugar now? Get the free, 5-day, Quit Sugar Challenge!
Participate in a total sugar detox, and get off the addiction faster than simply cutting down your sugar intake.
Once you cut out sugar and replace it with “sweet” things in life, sugar will no longer be your boss. Instead, you will enjoy a flatter belly, a thinner body, more energy, fewer mood swings, and better overall health.
Join the challenge here: https://tyzenfit.com/free-quit-sugar-challenge
