I will be sharing the exact techniques and sugar replacement snacks I used in the past years to completely get over my sever sugar addiction which initially caused me to gain about 50 pounds in a short 2 years! If you are still trying to quit sugar and find yourself go back to it in night times or after a few weeks, then this article is for you!
What is Sugar?
First let’s understand what sugar is. Sugar is a soluble carbohydrate and is divided into 2 groups: simple and compound sugars. Glucose, fructose and galactose are simple sugars and compound sugars are basically the simple sugars bonded together. I don’t want to get into too much into the science here but the key to take away is that our bodies break down all carbohydrates/sugars to its simplest form: glucose. Your body is a machine and it doesn’t care weather you are getting your carbs from fruits, ice-cream or a homemade gluten free cake.
Sugar is glucose and it will create an insulin response. Now why do nutritionist suggest some fruits as replacements? Because 1. They know most people won’t quit sugar 2. fruits have fibers which slows down your insulin response. So if you trying to QUIT sugar you have to be aware that unfortunately having that banana smoothie in the morning will leave you craving more sugar through out the day and it's NOT going to help you!
1. Treat it like a real addiction
Listen I am gonna say this once and I hope you hear me. I know this is going to sound intense and you are so used to all of these skinny disciplined athletes on YouTube making you feel so warm and happy about your sugar addictions by telling you that "you need to keep a balance". I call B.S! If I knew how to keep a balance to begin with, I wouldn’t end up over 20 pounds over weight. This advice is not for people like you and me. People like us don’t need balance, we need serious help! I am not against balance. As a matter effect, I get to have balance in my life now thanks to the years I decided to stay disciplined and followed my diet plan EXACTLY. Now I get to enjoy the food I love whenever I plan for it. Now this doesn't mean I never consumed sugar. I will get into more details in this article.
SO SERIOUSLY STOP BEING NICE TO YOURSELF! Just like an addict doesn’t tell themselves: "oh I deserve a little bit of Heroine today I have been so good for the past few days" you shouldn’t say that either! A little bit of cake and a little bit ice cream IS NOT OKAY when you have a unhealthy relationship with sugar. It should be planned exactly for a cheat-meal and you need to plan for the post cravings very wisely. It is a real addiction and you are the only person who is ever going to help you!
take this very seriously before you have to have a serious conversation with your doctor. 2. Late night cravings?
Add healthy fats like the ones mentioned in my program 3-4 hours before your last meal and drink lots of water. Fats will slow down the digestion of food and helps you stay full.
Don’t be afraid to increase your carbs and fats intake for a while. If they are from healthy sources, you won’t gain any weight. We tend to do is that we lower our calories WHILE we are quitting sugar. This is very wrong. We need to make sure we increase our healthy carbs intake to ensure that we don’t crash. Lowering carbs and sugar together all of a sudden can really lower your blood sugar and you might feel like you are very low in energy or it may sometime feel like fainting. Make sure you measure your carbs and ensure a healthy diet you can consistently stick to. If you need help planning your diet, feel free to book a consultation with me, click here.
3. Change environment
This could be anything from re-decorating your room, kitchen, changing your hair colour, and the most important thing is the area where most of the cheating happens! Buy new cushions, couch, a new table in any way possible. Whatever it takes to let your brain know this is a new phase of your life and you are taking it seriously.
Write a little sticky note on your fridge or bathroom mirror to remind you of your goal everyday and remember if I could do it, you can too! No excuses!
4. Get in a habit of saying Say No
You have to get used to saying no NOT ONLY to sweet, but also to people who offer it to you. Saying no to unplanned sweet treats needs to becomes a habit to a point that people around you will just stop asking you. Not everyone around you will have the same goal as you and that's okay! If you treat yourself to every gathering you go to and I am sure that’s often, then guess what? You will never get out of that habit loop! Keep saying "No" over and over again and don't worry you will find your balance later!
There is this voice in your head you constantly have to fight but I am here to remind you you to put up a good fight and get used to winning! The problem with sugar is that you feel happiest before you eat it, a little less happy as you are eating it and unhappiest on the following day! You will 1000% have cravings on the following 2-3 days and most likely end up losing fight and all back into your habits. Treat every craving as a battle you HAVE to win to reach whatever goal you set for yourself. This will not only help you get the body of your dreams but it will also help you with everything else in life. Watch this video on how to get out of your habit loops, click here.
I used to be a party girl and I hung out with a lot of friends constantly and in order to win my fight, I had to stop hanging out with all of my friends and as a result I lost a lot of my friends. It was hard at the beginning but looking back, it was the best decision of my life. There might be similar decisions you might be facing right now and I promise you every decision you make towards bettering your health will be a decision you will be proud of for the rest of your life.
5. Don’t quit
Get the word "quitting" out of your dictionary. The more you tell yourself, you are never going to have sugar again the more you are going to want it. STOP following these none sense catchy YouTube titles telling you quit sugar for 1 month! Ok so what? Anybody can quit sugar for a while if they are in the right mindset. What happens after the 1 month is over? What if you are on your period? What if it’s late at night? Or what if you are going through a break up? If you think you are not going to go back to buying grocery stores candy more than you ever did before You are wrong! I have been there and I swear the God one time I had a break down, I walked to the convenience store 3 times to buy a 3 Ferro Roche chocolate pack. On my last visit to the store I just ended up with a 24 pack! I know some of us are ashamed to admit this but this a reality that most skinny girls will never understand. They don’t know what it feels like to finish a tub of ice cream and still want more food a few hours after, They don’t know what it means to have an unlimited appetite so please for the love of God stop taking advice from them. Is this something you can relate to? Let me know in the comments. It’s okay to talk about it because then it’s not just in your head, it becomes real and once you type it out then you can take action.
Don't Quit. Replace!6. Replace
If you guys have seen this video you know that I believe the only way to forever quit sugar is replacement. It is important to make sure you have these replacement available at all times but not in large amounts. I am going to talk about making your own recipes, fruits, fruit juices and I believe in making your own dessert at home.
To be honest when I was going through my weight loss journey, I wasn’t motivated enough make my own recipe, and that is why I want to share some of my ready to buy favorite snacks. I am coming up with a sugar replacement recipe book later this year and a video next week. Make sure you leave a blue heart in the comments if you want the recipe book and subscribe to my articles so you get notified when I post next.
Depending on what your diet is like now. If you are like how I used to be eating Nutella and Ben and Jerry, then you should start with reducing the size/amount.
Flavored Yogurts: ~13 grams of sugar. Chocolate banana is my favorite. They are not as tasty but still satisfy your sugar cravings
Pudding, Jell-O or smaller sized items.
Smart Sweets: Berry flavor is my favorite. The small ones are still 130 calorie and 40 grams of carbs however they are a little healthier and have less additives! Monitor your digestion and if it really messed up with your digestion try to eat less of it.
Lilly’s is also one of the healthier brands I still use on some of those days I am really craving sugar. The dark chocolate coconut is my absolute favorite specially because they use Stevia which is believed to be the healthiest sweeteners in the market right now. I am going to look in to how true that is soon They also have the best chocolate chip which I use in my pancakes or protein shakes sometimes BUT be careful because too much of it might give you some digestive issue I am pretty sure it’s because of the chicory root fiber.
Russell Stover: This sugar free product is perfect for those who like coconut and chocolate together! This brand also has other flavors like mint.
Zero sugar Jell-O's! This was the last step I took before becoming completely sugar free for a while! I wasn't a fan of them so after a while, it felt better just not to have it.
Remember 0 sugar sweets are not the healthiest options and I don’t currently use them, maybe once in a blue moon but is definitely a great bridging technique.
CoolWay formerly known as CoolWhey are THE best low calorie ice-cream I have ever had. If you have this, I seriously doubt you will have ice-cream again. They cave pint, ice-cream sandwiches and so much more!
Halo Top is also almost just as good as cool way! Try them both and let me know in the comments which one is your favorite?
7. Stop Eating Fruits
Berries are the best fruits to consume if your goal is weight loss. STAY AWAY from banana, grapes, mangos, pineapples. Basically any type of fruits that makes your mouth watery should be completely take out your diets and smoothies. They are very high in sugar, carbs and calories for such a small nutritional value which you can get from veggies and other macronutrients. Fruits are luxury, high in calories, and shouldn’t be consumed on daily basis specially if you are overweight.
Stay away from any kind of fruit juice. Nobody needs fruit juice. The only reason fruits are good for you is because of their soluble and insoluble fiber that helps with your digestion and it slows down the release of sugar in your blood. When you take out the juice, all you are left with is Fructose which is the number one cause of obesity.
Dried fruits: raisin, apricot, figs and apples are somethings you can consider if you are just starting out but again must be completely cut of your diet when you are finally very serious about quitting sugar.
At the end of the day, you have to really want to make a change and have a clear goal in mind of what you want to achieve. Make sure you are reminded of your goal and ask a friend or a coach to hold you accountable. If you enjoyed this article, Please don’t forget to hit the like and subscribe button.
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