Whether its the holiday season like now or future holidays such as birthdays, anniversaries, or any other celebration, cravings for sugar can happen anytime and I would like to address that here. 🙂
Over this holiday season I received a gift of chocolate strawberries from a dear coaching client and friend of mine. I ate two chocolate strawberries and they were delicious and I craved MORE! To stop the craving I ate a couple handfuls of cashews and sure enough my craving went away.
How can you stop the sugar cravings?
I have a few ideas for you, but first let’s talk about what the cost of sugar consumption is for you and your body…
If I were to award a single food item with the title of “Fastest Way To Pack On The Pounds”, hands down the winner would be refined sugar. You know the deal – sugar makes you fat (fast.)
We have been eating more and more sugar over the past 200 years, which has led to rising obesity numbers. Back in 1822 the average person ate only 6.3 lbs. of sugar per year, compared to 130 lbs. of sugar in 2012. You read that right – from 6 pounds to 130! That’s more than 20 times as much sugar in our modern diet! No wonder we are fatter than ever…
One of the reasons that your diet is filled with so much sugar is that some form of refined sugar is included in virtually every single processed food. This is yet another reason that it’s important to cut those processed and packaged convenience foods out of your diet. Cutting sugar from your diet is easier said than done. Once it is a part of your daily diet, cravings strike, causing you to eat it even more frequently. Not only does it promote rapid fat storage, but here are sugar’s other dirty little secrets:
- Sugar Weakens Your Immune System
- Sugar Causes Insulin Resistance
- Sugar Speeds Up the Aging Process
- Sugar Raises Your Risk of Disease
- Sugar Is Empty Calories
But there is HOPE 🙂
Here are 7 ways To crave less of that sugar that you’re eating that’s killing your results and keeping you from attaining your goal weight:
- Eat More Protein & Good Fats
A diet rich in protein and fats keeps you full, satisfied and less likely to crave sweets. A great way to make sure that you are getting enough is to plan each meal and snack around a protein and fat source. Plan breakfast around eggs, lunch and dinner around chicken, turkey and grass fed beef, and make snacks hard boiled eggs, cheese, olives, avocados, coconut, nuts, seeds or leftover animal protein. For more check out the following three links: - Is Your Diet Healthy? – Blog Post August 8, 2016
- Paleo Diet Part One – Coaching Call April 5, 2016
- Paleo Diet Part Two – Coaching Call April 12, 2016
- Avoid Artificial Sweeteners
One of the biggest fitness myths out there is the idea that calorie-free, artificially sweetened beverages don’t impact your fat loss results. Sorry to be the bearer of bad news, but the truth is that the diet soda you’re sipping is making it harder for you to reach your goal weight. While the diet soda itself doesn’t contain calories, it has been proven to cause cravings for sugary foods. Put down the diet soda and instead pick up a refreshing bottle of spring water. A little lemon or lime enhances the flavor even more. - Steer Clear Of Saboteurs
The sad truth is that people in your life will try to sabotage your low sugar diet. You’ll run into that pushy person at the office who insists that you eat a donut, the well-meaning family member who dishes you up a bowl of ice cream, and the friend who comes over with a plate of her home-baked cookies. The best avoidance strategy is to sincerely thank the sugar-pusher for their gift, tell them you wish you could eat it, and then blame me – your trainer – as the bad guy who says that you need to cut back on sugar. - Try Dark Chocolate
For those moments when your sweet tooth is relentlessly badgering you for something sweet, ditch the super-sugary candies and stick with a small square of very dark chocolate. Chocolate that is 70% or higher in cocoa content should be the only candy that you keep on hand. The benefit of the cocoa, in addition to the lowered sugar content, makes dark chocolate an occasionally justifiable treat. - Stick With Fruit (although limit to no more than 2 servings per day)
What’s sweet, colorful and comes in hundreds of flavors? Organic, seasonal, fresh fruit, of course! As you remove refined sugar from your life, feel free to add in some natural sugar by way of fresh, local fruit. It’s amazing how satisfyingly sweet fruit is – it’s truly nature’s candy. My favorite are the lower carbohydrate fruits like strawberries and blueberries. More on fruit here: Limit Fructose or Fruit Sugar - Change Your Palate
As you begin to limit your intake of refined sugars, you’ll find that your tolerance for sugar decreases. This means that something that didn’t taste sweet before – say a green apple – now has uncanny depths of sweetness. What’s happening is that your sweet receptors are becoming more finely tuned, now that you’re not overwhelming your palate with sickly-sweet refined sugar. - Workout Like You Mean It
A regular, challenging exercise routine will not only get you into amazing shape, it also reduces your cravings for sugar. The endorphin rush brought on by vigorous exercise is an even more powerful feel-good-feeling than the pleasure gotten by indulging in sugary foods.
Hope these tips help! As always if you need I am here to help, email me at [email protected] or call me at 650-654-4604 anytime!
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Your friend & coach,
Brien
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