Having sugar cravings can become a psychological problem that can take will power to break. It's also one of the top reasons for weight gain. It can be a tough habit to break but once you get into a rhythm and learn how to balance out your sugar intake and diet, you will start to notice a healthier you within weeks. Below are a few tips on how you can curb your sugar cravings and intake and at the same time lose a few pounds the healthy way.
1. Improve your diet overall.
Incorporating more proteins and fats will make you feel more fuller and satisfied longer though out the day.
Never skip meals especially breakfast instead have smaller portion meals throughout the day to keep your blood sugar levels stabilized.
Taking a daily multivitamin - Some foods help keep your blood sugar stable, so make sure you are getting them by supplementing your diet properly by adding a multivitamin to it.
Make sure to drink plenty of water throughout the day, as this can also help curb your sugar cravings.
Visualizing yourself eating and tasting the sweet treat before doing so will ward off the urge to have it right then and there (This one has worked a lot for me).
2. Read labels
By now I'm sure most of you aren't shocked to find out the amount of sugar there is in most of our foods. Staying aware of the sugar content in foods can help you tremendously to curb any sugar cravings. Always read the labels on the foods you buy and make sure the sugar content is suitable to your diet needs.
3 . Replacing sweets with fruits
The sugars found in fruits aren't digested the same as found in your everyday table sugar or sugar in processed foods, this is due to processed sugar containing 50% fructose, which is hard for your liver to process. Fruits are a great source of minerals and fiber, all of which help counteract the bad effects of fructose and glucose being metabolized in the liver. The great thing about eating fruit is that the vitamins contained in them will slow the absorption of the sugar in your body causing you not to get as high off of a sugar rush or even experiencing a bad sugar crash.
4. Skip the artificial sweeteners
Saccharin or aspartame are artificial sweeteners that have shown not to curb cravings for real sugar intake and also have proven to cause cancer. Unlike their fake claims, artificial sweeteners have not shown any effectiveness in helping with obesity. These chemicals disrupt your hormones, this is a big one to stay away from!
5. Remove temptations
Go through your refrigerator and or pantry and get rid of the cookies, cakes and high sugar foods you know you shouldn't have if you want to make a change. Make a conscious effort when you go food shopping not to buy sweets and replace them with something healthier.
A great habit to get into after a meal is to go for a walk instead of eating dessert. If you are still craving sweets you can gargle an antiseptic mouthwash this will create a bad aftertaste which will not go well with sweets causing you to lose that craving for sweets very quickly.
If you want to try something more radical that will alter your taste buds, chew on some Gymnema Sylvestre leaves. After an hour anything that is not sweetened will taste a lot better than anything containing sugar.
6. Get distracted
By distracting yourself and focusing your attention elsewhere will cause you to forget about your cravings. Whether it’s taking a walk, reading your favorite blogs/books or exercising. The simple act of going out with your family or your friends will be enough to help you get distracted, even taking a nap will help you forget about that snack you want. If possible try not to be alone because this can cause you to over analyze and create cravings instead, stay active and motivated, remember slow and steady always wins the race.
sources:
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3139783/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2235907/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3772345/
I hope you enjoyed. Please Upvote, Resteem, and Follow me @road2wisdom
Sugar has become just as bad as tobacco for our health. There are so many hidden sugars that are in foods that people do not even realize. Such things as certain yogurts, tomato sauce, and some salad dressings are loaded with sugars.
So very true.
Interested in your comment about replacing sugars with fruits. For myself, I found that I had to cut back to almost no fruits at the time I stopped eating sugar, honey, agave, etc. Lots of veggies and some fats and proteins made a big difference in my health a couple of years ago. Now I do eat some fruits (and a little bit of sugars etc but not much) to maintain. For me it was really about re-educating my palate. I reached a point where sweets kind of hurt my mouth!
I would put you in a category where are you seem to have more willpower than most. a lot of people can't cut sugar is out cold turkey like that so I applaud you for doing that. Yes, re-introduce some sugars especially sugars because they are acidic can hurt the palate a little bit but after a couple weeks you'll get used to it. Seems like you are doing well,keep up the good work.
My mother was diabetic and what really motivated me was when an eye exam showed I was beginning to develop diabetic retinopathy... yikes! So I went pretty extremely low carb and when I went back for another eye exam 3 months later, there was NO sign of it!
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This is the main reason why it's best to grow your own food. Can't trust these corporations because they put processed sugar in almost every product now so their profits can go up. Thanks for sharing...peace!
I really need to fight my cravings. They're destroying my keto diet :(
Thanks for the info! I will follow for more!
You are welcome :)
easier said than done :)
🌞
Great post glad you are getting back into the health articles again
Yeah i will get back into posting more health again :)
No! No more health articles! More fly mating pics and wild musings from the @road2wisdom heart please!<3
Ok I'll do more NSA, no hope for security posts then!
Crypto-privacy geeks and anarchists love that kinda stuff on here - keep dat flowin' o' Queen of Snowden! :D
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Great article I look forward to more. I'm new here and I have to say you are so beautiful. With all due respect.
Thank you.
I drink mountain dew constantly. It's pretty much the only thing I drink.
A few years ago I made the decision to quit.
I couldn't do it.
I quit smoking cigarettes instead after 14 years at a pack a day.
Yes, sugar and caffeine are addictive.
Don't know if it's worth mentioning but certain alcoholic drinks can be unexpectedly high in sugar, and alcohol itself will effect blood sugar levels causing them to spike. Substituting mixers for soda water or simply cutting down may be beneficial to curb cravings also.
https://www.drinkaware.co.uk/alcohol-facts/health-effects-of-alcohol/effects-on-the-body/alcohol-and-sugar/
Come on lads and lassies, lets go save the world! ... DARN!! ... No sugar!! A calorie-controlled upvote plus resteem :)
You can start by stopping smoking! 👀 I lost my dad to lung cancer. You know how I feel about smoking😑
I think your dad poured a word in my ear ... next stop is my Wahl hair clippers on Amazon - I need to get this mop cropped ASAP - gel, mousse, wax etc ... nothing works to control it! My hair is waaaaaay too thick and wild to grow long!
There is this natural sweetener that can help sweet lovers, no calories to contend to.
The name is Stevia.
I tried to do a detox last month just to kick sugar and it was a huge disaster. I made it about 30 hours and then massive headaches kicked in. Mission failure.