5 Ways to Stop Sugar Cravings
I hear this more and more, the dangers of sugar, that sugar is a poison, it’s sugar that makes you fat, sugar causes diabetes. Sugar is ultimately the culprit. Correct on all fronts. We all know sugar is the culprit, so what are the solutions to beat it and stop those sugar cravings?
1. Ask Better Questions
Over recent years, having developed effective weight loss programs, helping hundreds of clients lose a lifetime of weight and some reverse their early onset of diabetes and metabolic syndrome, I have found that one of the most effective strategies to achieving any goal in life, not just in relation to health, training and nutrition, is asking better questions. Every time you are tempted by the sugar devil, ask yourself questions related to your goals.
“Will eating this food help me to achieve my goals?”
“How will I feel after eating this….. cake?”
“Am I prepared to sacrifice all my training I did today, just for this 2 minutes of satisfaction?
These are all just examples, you can see where I’m going with it.
2. Freeze Your Fruit
This is a great tip, and super easy. I hear you, yes fruit is sugar! After all though it is natural and if anything be aware of how much fruit you are eating and limit how much you eat. Freezing your fruit will help you to limit the total amount of fruit you eat. Now obviously throwing a bag of apples in the freezer isn’t going to be so effective. I find that certain types of readily edible fruit such as grapes and cherries work the best (Especially if when you dip them in dark chocolate) ;). The frozen fruit ensures you eat just a few, it services your craving, limits your sugar consumption and you learn fast if you eat too many too fast – Brain freeze!!
3. Go Sugar Free
This was a great tip from a client of mine, and it works really well. Sugar free gum is readily available and services its purpose. If you are still working on your mental mind set training, and still developing your strength of the mind, then this can help with your transition from being a sugar addict to being sugar free. Keep in mind though that chewing gum will trick your body into thinking there is real food coming and starts the digestion process. So don’t be surprised if you your tummy starts to grumble. To overcome this, chew for just a couple of minutes and throw it away. Limiting the chewing time will ensure you get your fix, and not start playing with your belly’s emotions and physiological responses.
4. Intermittent Fasting
The human body responds to sugar by increasing the production and release of insulin. Insulin’s role is to shuttle that sugar which is now circulating in your blood stream to the working muscles for energy production and to replace your glycogen stores. Intermittent fasting is becoming an increasingly researched topic. Not just because of its fad status, not just because top athletes and celebrities are doing it, purely because it takes us back to our evolutionary roots. At the end of the day, plain and simple, it works. Studies show that realistic and simple fasting even just once per week has a profound effect on your blood sugar levels. These various studies show different responses, and that there isn’t a one size fits all approach to fasting. There are lots of options out there, from 16 hours fasts to 20 hours fasts, and whole day fasts. The key is to experiment safely and gradually. Have your last meal at 8pm, and ensure your next meal is not until 12 noon the following day. That would be a 16 hour cycle which very easy to complete. Try that every alternate day for a couple of weeks and gauge your results. Keep in mind also that we are not talking about extreme fasting here, and this is very different from an extreme ‘detox’ of any kind.
5. Plan Ahead
One of the biggest challenges with eating clean and being inspired to get that sugar fix is ensuring we have the right type of food available at the time we need to eat. This requires very simple planning and only a short amount of food preparation time the night before. A better solution is to plan 3 days of meal in advance, taking into consideration your schedule, where you will be, what type of activity you will be engaged in and also remember to consider your current eating habits. Gone are the days where you need to eat every 2 hours. This in itself is a big myth, and although it works for some, this strategy doesn’t work for all, and it is essential that you find the balance of meal timing and frequency of your meals that suit your metabolism and lifestyle best.
About Dan Remon
Daniel Remon is the CEO of Fitcorp Global Group. A 20+ year veteran of the health and fitness industry, he has pioneered corporate wellness, executive performance programs and result driven health, energy and business systems for today’s busy executive. Author and speaker, Daniel is the creator of the 28 Day Challenge, Fit in 15 for Women, 30 Day Rituals, 42 Formula, Corporate Wellness Blueprint – Solutions to maximize productivity, optimize performance and develop highly energized and engaged clients to achieve incredible success in business and life. The driving force behind his inspiration is the ultimate purpose to Impact One Million Lives.
For more information, visit www.danremon.com
Sweetness is Killing You
With the growing awareness of the dangers of sugar, the culprit in many health related conditions such as obesity cancer, diabetes, many still continue to think that by consuming diet sodas and soft drinks, they are making healthier choices.
The strong marketing propaganda of food and soft drink manufacturers continues to be totally unregulated, and in fact supported by governments with little or no control over content, messaging and emotional sales campaigns.
What you need to know!!
It’s not just about sugar. The key point of this article is to explain to you that it’s not just ‘sugar’ directly – it is ‘sweetness’.
Sweetness IS the culprit.
Many are drinking diet soft drinks daily thinking it’s healthier, safer and zero calories. The key is that the ‘sweetness’ is what triggers the brain response to think its sugar regardless of the source of sweetness. Therefore reacting the exact same way as it does to sugar.
Leading to increased blood sugar response, increased release of insulin, and turning your body into a very efficient fat storage machine. Further increasing the sweetness addition and ensuring your body craves the same sweetness for energy and fuel.
Take a can of diet coke. With 125 mg of aspartame, this kicks your sweet tooth and your body into overdrive. That is not a good thing!! More sweetness, more chemicals, more dangers, decreasing health, energy, sleep and positivity.
You really don’t want to know the incredible amount of chemicals manufacturers are putting in those drinks. Well, actually, yes you do! Check out this short video, which is a short, detailed, to the point overview explaining what you’re really consuming and how the body reacts within 60 minutes of consuming that diet soda:
The interesting part though, is that like alcohol, drinking chemical based sweet drinks will also turn you and your brain into making poor eating decisions. It’s designed to do exactly that. So when your blood sugar crashes, and you need a ‘fix’ you will be much more likely to reach for an unhealthy choice – one that gives you instant gratification, a fast ‘hit’ and probably high in calories, which won’t leave you feeling satisfied for long. And here comes the never ending cycle of emotional eating, and impulse snacking.
So that zero calorie soft drink is actually going to cost 400-600 calories in additional crappy food, snacks and junk leading to… you guessed it, more fat!
Do you start to see the cycle now? It’s a death cycle.
To back it up, researchers found that just like with regular soda, the consumption of artificially sweetened beverages like diet soda is also associated with obesity, type 2 diabetes, metabolic syndrome and cardiovascular disease. Drinking just one can of diet soda per day is “enough to significantly increase the risk for health problems”.
The report explains that diet soda and artificial sweeteners trick the body into thinking that it is consuming real food and sugar even though it isn’t, which could lead to metabolic confusion and overconsumption.
Here is what happens:
- Artificial sweeteners are hundreds to thousands of times sweeter than regular sugar, activating our genetically-programmed preference for sweet taste more than any other substance.
- Artificial sweeteners trick your metabolism into thinking sugar is on its way. This causes your body to pump out insulin, the fat storage hormone, which lays down more belly fat.
- It also confuses and slows your metabolism down, so you burn fewer calories every day.
- It makes you more hungry, making you crave even more sugar and starchy carbs even when you don’t need them.
- In animal studies, the rats that consumed artificial sweeteners ate more, their metabolism slowed, and they put on 14 percent more body fat in just two weeks (even eating fewer calories).
- In population studies, there was a 200 percent increased risk of obesity in diet soda drinkers. FACT!
Now that’s scary. In addition, don’t think that drinks like Tonic Water are any better.
Bottom line, drink water, or if you want some bubbles, go for the best go-to source of soda water.
Rehydrate, replenish, refresh. Make smarter choices to better health, energy, performance and longevity.
To your success,
