#1: Keep sugar and sugar products (white and brown sugar, corn syrup, and maple syrup) out of your house.
#2: Eat enough healthy food to satisfy your hunger. Eat healthy, whole food snacks like fruit, carrots, red pepper, cherry tomatoes, dates, and dried fruit to satisfy your sweet tooth. Drink plenty of water, too.
Important: Once you have cleared sugar from your system, your taste buds will become more sensitive, and these whole natural foods will taste sweeter and more satisfying. If you slow down and eat mindfully, you'll enjoy these foods even more.
#3: Eat three regular meals each day that combine complex carbohydrates (vegetables, whole grains, and fruits), lean protein (poultry, fish, meat, dairy, tofu) and healthy fats (milk, cheese, omega-3's, olive oil and other cold-pressed oils). This will help you maintain a steady blood sugar level throughout the day and reduce your sugar cravings.
Important: Eating a diet high in fiber also helps to reduce sugar cravings.
#4: Take a multivitamin and mineral supplement.
Important: Chromium picolinate and l-glutamine help to reduce cravings for some people.
#5: When you go out, make sure you are not ravenously hungry, especially if sugary sweets will be the only food available. Bring your own healthy snacks with you, or eat before going out.
#6: Get regular exercise, plenty of sunlight, and adequate sleep to reduce sugar cravings.
#7: Learn to identify and manage cravings that are not a result of physical hunger, but instead are rooted in stress or anxiety.
Important: Develop alternative ways of managing stress: Take a walk, call a friend, read a book, play with your pet, watch a movie. Breathe, meditate, listen to music, or take a hot bath to activate your body's relaxation response. Relaxation helps to balance your blood sugar and reduce cravings.
#8: If you have turned to sugar to deal with uncomfortable feelings, learn to identify the specific feelings and respond appropriately to them. If you are tired, take a break or rest, rather than trying to persevere in the face of fatigue. If you are bored, find something stimulating to do. If you are lonely, reach out to a friend.
Important: Overcoming your sugar addiction involves really paying attention to what you are feeling, and giving yourself what you really need instead of using sugar as a substitute.
#9: If you do overindulge in sugar, acknowledge that you slipped, and get back on track as soon as possible.
Important: Let go of the guilt and shame. Eating sugar is unhealthy, but it's not a sin. As with other addictions, it doesn't matter if you need multiple attempts to quit, just that you keep trying until it sticks.
#10: Be kind to yourself. To end the struggle with sugar, learn to nourish your body well and respond compassionately to your own feelings.
Key point: The best sugar substitute is genuine self-acceptance.
By Jeffrey Rossman, Ph.D., Rodale.com
***
Very nice advice for all 'sugar addicts' out there.
No comments:
Post a Comment