Are you having a panic attack right now just thinking about giving up sugar?
You have to look at kicking the sugar habit as though you are ending an addiction. The key is to understand where your sugar is coming from and then find alternatives to eating so much sugar in your foods. Start by making yourself aware of everything that has sugar in it. First, you must know how to find sugar in your foods, as it is cleverly hidden in the labeling. Virtually everything we eat, especially packaged and processed foods – including diet and low-fat foods – has sugar in it.
You will want to read labels to determine the total amount of sugar in the products you buy and to check the list of ingredients for the names of things that are really just sugar in disguise. Refined white sugar, or table sugar, which is sucrose, is the form of sugar that is most familiar to people.
However, the other sugars that are commonly found in food are listed on labels as high-fructose corn syrup, glucose, fructose (fruit sugar), dextrose (corn sugar), maltose (malt sugar), lactose (milk sugar), corn sweetener, raw sugar, brown sugar, powdered sugar, molasses, and maple sugar. Begin by looking at your drinks and the packaged goods in your refrigerator and pantry. Get rid of those foods that have a high sugar content (5 grams of sugar or more per serving).
Sugar is measured in grams, and 4 grams of sugar equals one teaspoon. So if your soda has 40 grams of sugar, that’s about ten teaspoons of sugar in just one soda. You can see how so many people end up eating so much sugar every day. I used to think I was consuming a healthy breakfast by eating oatmeal. However, it wasn’t regular oatmeal but the sweetened, flavored instant oatmeal, like apple-cinnamon oatmeal, and it had about 20 grams of sugar per serving, which is way too much.
Remember, as a guideline, the best way to minimize the amount of sugar in your diet is to choose foods that have 5 grams or less per serving. When the drink or food item has 5 grams or less of sugar per serving size, the body doesn’t overreact to the sugar. This means your pancreas will not have to release too much insulin, which can cause fat storage in the body. (I’ll explain this concept in a later chapter.)
To sweeten foods, it is always better to use stevia or some equivalent herbal sweetener rather than sugar. Stevia is a natural sweetener made from a plant native to South America. Other countries have been using stevia as a sugar substitute for several decades since it is virtually calorie-free and does not affect blood glucose, which makes it a great natural alternative to sugar and artificial sweeteners.
How to use stevia as a sugar substitute
Stevia may be used in place of table sugar in your favorite foods and beverages. A pinch of stevia powder is equal to about one teaspoon of table sugar.
Tasty ways to use stevia include:
- in coffee or tea
- in homemade lemonade
- sprinkled on hot or cold cereal
- in a smoothie
- sprinkled on unsweetened yogurt
Some stevia brands, such as Stevia in the Raw, can replace table sugar teaspoon for teaspoon (as in sweetened beverages and sauces), unless you’re using it in baked goods.
You can bake with stevia, although it may give cakes and cookies a licorice aftertaste. Stevia in the Raw recommends replacing half the total amount of sugar in your recipe with their product.
Other brands aren’t made specifically for baking, so you’ll need to use less. You should add extra liquid or a bulking ingredient such as applesauce or mashed bananas to your recipe to make up for the lost sugar. It may take some trial and error to get the texture and level of sweetness you like.
Simple Plan to Stop Sugar Cravings
Sugar Cravings are driven by your brain’s need for a “reward” – not your body’s need for food.
Here are 11 more useful tips to stop sugar cravings:
- Drink a glass of water. Some people say that dehydration can cause cravings.
- Eat a fruit. Having a piece of fruit may help satisfy sugar cravings for some people. Bananas, apples, oranges work great.
- Avoid artificial sweeteners. If you feel that artificial sweeteners trigger cravings for you, you might want to avoid them.
- Eat more protein. Protein is great for satiety, and it may help with cravings as well.
- Talk to a friend. Call or meet someone who understands what you’re going through. Explain that you’re going through a craving and ask for a few words of encouragement.
- Sleep well. Getting proper, refreshing sleep is important for overall health and may help prevent cravings.
- Avoid excess stress. Same as with sleep, avoiding stress can help prevent cravings.
- Avoid certain triggers. Try to avoid specific activities or places that give you cravings, such as walking past McDonald’s.
- Take a multivitamin. This will help prevent any deficiencies.
- Read your list. It can be very helpful to carry a list of the reasons you want to eat healthy, as it can be hard to remember such things when you get a craving.
- Don’t starve yourself. Try to prevent yourself from becoming too hungry between meals.
When you crave sweets, try fruit as a better alternative. In fact, it is your best defense against insulin spikes and cravings. Facing these cravings is the beginning of detoxifying and re-balancing your body. The cravings will actually disappear after three to four days. And once you fight these cravings, your cravings won’t be as strong as long as you continue to keep high-sugar foods out of your diet.
Hypnosis is a natural state of mind and self hypnosis provides you with an ideal way of rewiring automatic behaviors. By unleashing the power of your subconscious mind you can adopt newer, healthier ways of thinking. Your inner mind can open itself to other options and sugar can then become a choice rather than an addiction. Moderation and self-control are within your grasp – you just need a little help in getting there.
Our professionally hypnotherapy sessions will allow you to calmly and quietly reach your goals. The aim of these hypnosis sessions is to help you regain control of your sugar habits.
With the added benefit of deep relaxation, you should also feel more energized and the physical reliance on sugar can then diminish.
Use hypnosis and say goodbye to your sugar addiction!