It is my belief that sugar, in all its various forms, is at the root of every junk food craving. Every kind of junk food has some form of sugar in it: corn syrup, high fructose syrup, glucose, fructose, lactose, maltose, dextrose, etc. When most people say they are going to cut sugar out of their diets, they overlook the hidden sugars; so their addiction to sugar remains.I am going to strategically cut sugar-in every manufactured form-completely out of my daily diet for seven full days. This experiment will either prove or disprove my belief that sugar is the root of all junk food addictions. I will also document any physical, mental, and emotional changes that may happen as a result of completely cutting sugar out of my diet. This will take much planning and research, as many staples in my daily diet contain sugar.[]
So where exactly is this unneeded sugar found in? Milk, bread, rice, chips, candy bars, soda, fast food, processed foods and the list goes on and on.Milk contains lactose, a sugar that will be stored in your body as fat if you consume too much of it. Cereals, cookies, fast food, processed foods and soda contain high fructose corn syrup, which can be addictive. The more you eat, the harder it is to stop, and when you do stop, prepare to undergo a sugar withdrawal.
Condiments and Dressings.This is the "Sugar Free" age! There are plenty of alternatives to choose from! The only hiccup? Paying five dollars (or more!) for each bottle of sugar-free ketchup or sugar-free mustard! Again, I may resort to making ketchup and mustard myself if I think it's worth the effort.Checking my cupboards, it seems that my favorite instant oatmeal even has sugar already in it-12g to be exact! I cringe when I think of those unsuspecting people who add a little more sugar for added sweetness! In fact, just about everything in my cupboard contains sugar!
Anything that is canned, jarred, bagged, boxed, or stuffed in plastic tubing is processed and contains an insane amount of sugar. Nothing is sacred anymore! Even a cup of my child's breakfast cereal contains 17g of sugar! One cup! Pour some milk on that cereal and the poor child just ingested about 30g of sugar in one meal! That's assuming that the portion size is correct! Most people double-even triple-portion sizes without knowing it which means the amount of sugar consumption doubles or triples as well.
Keep notes on your sugar intake in your journal or Daytimer. How does decreasing your sugar levels impact your energy levels? Your mood during the day? Your ability to fall asleep at night? When do sugar cravings hit? It might be helpful to start with a Sugar Fast for a day or two. See how one day without added sugars affects you.Make easy substitutions. Buy brown rice instead of white rice, for example. Brown rice has a nice, nutty flavor, and takes just a bit longer to cook. The next time you go to the store, experiment with all kinds of whole grain alternatives. You might find some new family favorites.Keep healthy snacks readily available, and rely on a bit of protein in your snacks to keep your energy levels high. Keep a small bowl of nuts on the table, along with fresh fruits. When you are hungry for a mid afternoon snack, opt for lean protein and complex carbs.
But it is. Dramatically. There have been oodles of studies done and the overall message is that diet soda can and does contribute to sugar cravings and to weight gain. As much as if you drank a regular soda! Why you ask? The studies are showing that it will trigger you to eat more calories when you have a diet soda. Here is a typical scenario of what happens:When I use to go through Burger King I would buy a Whopper, french fries, and to cut back on calories, a diet soda. Pretty typical of how we all start to drink the diet rather than the regular. Your body becomes conditioned to look for calories when it gets that sweet taste ( as it does when it gets regular soda or a sweet). So now it triggers you to crave additional calories ( energy) when it has a diet beverage. And thus the vicious cycle begins.Put another way: Your body needs energy to burn, so now it is suddenly not getting it when you drink the diet soda. So your body starts to crave more food, more energy and more calories. And that 0 calorie beverage is creating cravings that cost you more calories in the long run. It's like a furniture store that charges you no interest for the first year but get you big time on the back end and you wind up paying more.
Eating sweets such as cakes, cookies and candy aren't the only way to add a large amount of sugar to your diet. Breads, pastas and snacks made with white flour are processed carbs that turn to sugar in your body. This type of diet can lead to all kinds of illnesses such as heart disease, diabetes, digestive problems and even certain cancers. There is also evidence that memory, concentration and focus may be affected.
Eat as much fruit as you can. Eat fresh fruit and dried fruit; drink fruit juices and smoothies. Just make sure that all are 100% fruit and have no added sugar or sugar substitutes. Read the label for this information. The natural sugars in fruit are healthful, and have been consumed by healthy people for thousands of years. Refined sugar, in contrast, is created in an industrial process and is inherently unhealthful.Also, fruit contains the vitamins, minerals, and enzymes necessary for health, while refined sugar has none. Thus, fruit increases your energy, while refined sugar ultimately drains it.Fruit and natural fruit juices do not have the addictive quality of refined sugar.
There is hope for stopping your sugar addiction. First, you need to admit to yourself that you have a problem. Something that tastes so good and makes you feel better will make it hard to for you to think there is anything wrong. Don't try to fool yourself into thinking brown sugar or raw sugar is fine to eat. Brown sugar is only made brown because molasses are added to it. It is still regular sugar. Raw sugar is crystalized and refined white sugar. It has a tiny amount of molasses added to it. These kinds of sugars are also unhealthy for your body.
Water is an important factor in total wellness; it contains many minerals and is needed for good nutrition. Water can help in controlling sugar cravings. Drink eight 8-ounce glasses of water a day.Begin your day by eating a balanced breakfast. Make sure you have protein and complex carbohydrates. This will keep up your blood sugar level and lessen your cravings later on in the day. Replace your caffeinated drink with juice or herbal tea. Caffeine will cause your blood sugar to go down.Eat small portions of complex carbohydrates during the day. This will keep your stomach satisfied. Fruits, vegetables, wheat, grains and rice are full of nutrients. You will feel fuller longer because they are assimilated at a slower rate.Think of an enjoyable option when you feel a strong craving for sugar coming on. Listen to your favorite music, work on a craft or do some exercise. It's impossible to give up sugar overnight. Take one step at a time and you will reach your goal.
So where exactly is this unneeded sugar found in? Milk, bread, rice, chips, candy bars, soda, fast food, processed foods and the list goes on and on.Milk contains lactose, a sugar that will be stored in your body as fat if you consume too much of it. Cereals, cookies, fast food, processed foods and soda contain high fructose corn syrup, which can be addictive. The more you eat, the harder it is to stop, and when you do stop, prepare to undergo a sugar withdrawal.
Condiments and Dressings.This is the "Sugar Free" age! There are plenty of alternatives to choose from! The only hiccup? Paying five dollars (or more!) for each bottle of sugar-free ketchup or sugar-free mustard! Again, I may resort to making ketchup and mustard myself if I think it's worth the effort.Checking my cupboards, it seems that my favorite instant oatmeal even has sugar already in it-12g to be exact! I cringe when I think of those unsuspecting people who add a little more sugar for added sweetness! In fact, just about everything in my cupboard contains sugar!
Anything that is canned, jarred, bagged, boxed, or stuffed in plastic tubing is processed and contains an insane amount of sugar. Nothing is sacred anymore! Even a cup of my child's breakfast cereal contains 17g of sugar! One cup! Pour some milk on that cereal and the poor child just ingested about 30g of sugar in one meal! That's assuming that the portion size is correct! Most people double-even triple-portion sizes without knowing it which means the amount of sugar consumption doubles or triples as well.
Keep notes on your sugar intake in your journal or Daytimer. How does decreasing your sugar levels impact your energy levels? Your mood during the day? Your ability to fall asleep at night? When do sugar cravings hit? It might be helpful to start with a Sugar Fast for a day or two. See how one day without added sugars affects you.Make easy substitutions. Buy brown rice instead of white rice, for example. Brown rice has a nice, nutty flavor, and takes just a bit longer to cook. The next time you go to the store, experiment with all kinds of whole grain alternatives. You might find some new family favorites.Keep healthy snacks readily available, and rely on a bit of protein in your snacks to keep your energy levels high. Keep a small bowl of nuts on the table, along with fresh fruits. When you are hungry for a mid afternoon snack, opt for lean protein and complex carbs.
But it is. Dramatically. There have been oodles of studies done and the overall message is that diet soda can and does contribute to sugar cravings and to weight gain. As much as if you drank a regular soda! Why you ask? The studies are showing that it will trigger you to eat more calories when you have a diet soda. Here is a typical scenario of what happens:When I use to go through Burger King I would buy a Whopper, french fries, and to cut back on calories, a diet soda. Pretty typical of how we all start to drink the diet rather than the regular. Your body becomes conditioned to look for calories when it gets that sweet taste ( as it does when it gets regular soda or a sweet). So now it triggers you to crave additional calories ( energy) when it has a diet beverage. And thus the vicious cycle begins.Put another way: Your body needs energy to burn, so now it is suddenly not getting it when you drink the diet soda. So your body starts to crave more food, more energy and more calories. And that 0 calorie beverage is creating cravings that cost you more calories in the long run. It's like a furniture store that charges you no interest for the first year but get you big time on the back end and you wind up paying more.
Eating sweets such as cakes, cookies and candy aren't the only way to add a large amount of sugar to your diet. Breads, pastas and snacks made with white flour are processed carbs that turn to sugar in your body. This type of diet can lead to all kinds of illnesses such as heart disease, diabetes, digestive problems and even certain cancers. There is also evidence that memory, concentration and focus may be affected.
Eat as much fruit as you can. Eat fresh fruit and dried fruit; drink fruit juices and smoothies. Just make sure that all are 100% fruit and have no added sugar or sugar substitutes. Read the label for this information. The natural sugars in fruit are healthful, and have been consumed by healthy people for thousands of years. Refined sugar, in contrast, is created in an industrial process and is inherently unhealthful.Also, fruit contains the vitamins, minerals, and enzymes necessary for health, while refined sugar has none. Thus, fruit increases your energy, while refined sugar ultimately drains it.Fruit and natural fruit juices do not have the addictive quality of refined sugar.
There is hope for stopping your sugar addiction. First, you need to admit to yourself that you have a problem. Something that tastes so good and makes you feel better will make it hard to for you to think there is anything wrong. Don't try to fool yourself into thinking brown sugar or raw sugar is fine to eat. Brown sugar is only made brown because molasses are added to it. It is still regular sugar. Raw sugar is crystalized and refined white sugar. It has a tiny amount of molasses added to it. These kinds of sugars are also unhealthy for your body.
Water is an important factor in total wellness; it contains many minerals and is needed for good nutrition. Water can help in controlling sugar cravings. Drink eight 8-ounce glasses of water a day.Begin your day by eating a balanced breakfast. Make sure you have protein and complex carbohydrates. This will keep up your blood sugar level and lessen your cravings later on in the day. Replace your caffeinated drink with juice or herbal tea. Caffeine will cause your blood sugar to go down.Eat small portions of complex carbohydrates during the day. This will keep your stomach satisfied. Fruits, vegetables, wheat, grains and rice are full of nutrients. You will feel fuller longer because they are assimilated at a slower rate.Think of an enjoyable option when you feel a strong craving for sugar coming on. Listen to your favorite music, work on a craft or do some exercise. It's impossible to give up sugar overnight. Take one step at a time and you will reach your goal.
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