Watch For Hidden Sugar
Cough syrups, chewing gum, mints, tomato sauce, baked beans, and lunch meats often contain sugar. Even some prescription medications contain sugar. For a week, be particularly vigilant and scan every possible food label. Given that 1 tablespoon ketchup can contain about 1/2 teaspoon sugar, buying sugar-free condiments can help cut your sugar consumption. Here are some other sneaky sources of sugar.
Why Is Sugar Addicting
What’s wrong with sugar, you ask? Everything. Outside of making things taste better, sugar has no nutritional value and is full of empty calories. These calories can create weight problems and, in turn, heighten your risk of heart disease and stroke.
That’s only the physical downside. The psychological component is real, too. Sugar releases dopamine and can increase serotonin production, a hormone that can boost your mood.
In reality, sugar isn’t any different than comfort food or a satisfying fast food meal loaded with simple carbohydrates. These carbohydrates are high on the glycemic index, meaning it takes less time to turn them into glucose. During this quicker digestion process, you may feel good in the short term, but hunger will quickly set in since sugary foods lack nutrients and leave you unsatisfied.
It can turn into a vicious cycle. At first, the sugar you eat tastes good, bringing on a “high” when your brain initiates the dopamine release. Then, the sugar causes your insulin levels to increase, leading to a drop in blood sugar levels. As your blood sugar falls, your appetite and hunger levels increase. Your body then craves sugar again to fix any hunger deficiencies or feelings of unease, even if the fix is only temporary.
Does Fasting Break Sugar Addiction
One of the most effective ways to eliminate sugar cravings and shed unwanted weight is intermittent fasting, as this will help reset your body to burning fat instead of sugar as its primary fuel. When sugar is not needed for your primary fuel and when your sugar stores run low, your body will crave it less.
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It Was About Stopping The Act Of Self
Today, I touch my skin and marvel that this is the body I get to house my soul inside. The soft skin that allows me to touch and connect with another human being. The same skin that used to feel foreign and strange to me.
I look into my own 2 eyes and see respect, respect for my spirit to fully live in all its glory. The same two eyes that used to look in the mirror and pray to be different prettier, thinner, more perfect.
I see my wild, brown curls and I embrace them. The very same curls I spent 10 years straightening so I could be like everyone else.
When I look at myself and truly drink up all I am and all I see, I know I am not perfect. Perfection does not exist. Yes, even the Victoria Secret models you may admire from afar, I can guarantee even they look at themselves and see imperfections.
You see, its all relative and your thighs that touch, your little belly pouch, the pimple right on your nose, is YOU and you are beautiful.
There are still times when I feel less than stellar, confused, stuck, and uninspired but I know that is not who I am.
Who I AM is love.
Who I AM is beauty.
Who I AM is an all-encompassing being put here to grow, learn, and discover.
And from this place of being, how could I possibly ever inflict harm on myself?
I choose how the game gets played and I can choose to play the victim, choose to be stuck, choose to self-destruct, choose to compare and envy, or I can choose love.
Ive been through it, Ive learned, grown and am better for it.
How I Beat My Sugar Addiction
Ive been meaning to write this post about how I beat my sugar addiction for awhile now since I finally feel in control of my sugar addiction and crazy cravings. I guess you could say its been a long journey to breaking my sugar addiction once and for all. It definitely didnt happen overnight. In fact, it took me a solid year and a half to truly overcome it.
If you look back at my old posts, the first time I shared my sugar problem was in December 2010. I had a rough few days of bingeing on desserts around the holidays, so I vowed right then and there to get it together. As I said in that post, if you dont like something about yourself, change it, and thats exactly what I did. I was sick of being controlled by sugar, so I set out to kick my habit for good.
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Keep Your Blood Sugar Stable
Eat breakfast, eat protein with every meal or snack, eat low GI foods, and eat at regular intervals. Why? All of these things will stabilize your blood sugar, so that your moods and energy are at an even keel. Much of the time, I craved sugar because I was hungry . Eat enough so that you feel satisfied, and regularly enough so that you feel stable, and you wont crave as much junk. As this is not my area of expertise, you can learn more about what and how to eat from the sugar addiction reading list. Try the work of Mark Hyman, I Quit Sugars Sarah Wilson, and Diane Sanfilippo for different approaches to low sugar eating. For help with traditional foods cooking, try the Traditional Cooking School.
Sugar Addiction And Alcoholism
There is a surprising genetic link between children of parents who abuse alcohol and sugar addiction. A recent study confirmed dopamine receptors in the brain light up when sugar is consumed, similar to the receptors lighting up in the brain of someone who abuses alcohol. This can encourage people who struggle with sweets to develop alcoholism.
Alcohol-dependent individuals have a higher preference for sweets and experience sugar cravings and sugar withdrawals. The genes in parents who abuse alcohol, as well as their preference for sugar, can be passed down to their children. As a result, the child may have a predisposition to both of these compulsions.
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Why Is Sugar Addiction A Problem
From cupcakes to pies to iced coffee drinks, sugar is found in many foods and is almost impossible to avoid. Emotional or psychological dependence on sugary foods and drinks, also known as sugar addiction, is a very real cause for concern among health officials in America. Processed foods and refined grains create additional sugar in the body once the body metabolizes the food. Sugar in moderation is not harmful however, many overdo it. A recent study suggests Americans eat far too much sugar. To be specific, approximately 75% of Americans eat excess amounts of sugar many of whom could be classified as having a sugar addiction.
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Simple Ways To Break Sugar Addiction
Sugary sweets are a guilty indulgence for most of us. As young children theres little that matched up to the thrill of reaching into that candy jar for an illicit treat. As adults giving in to that decadent dessert or second piece of chocolate was the allowance youd make once in a way. But when that turned into a routine pattern or habit, you probably knew something was wrong. Youve may initially have joked about how sweet your sweet tooth is. But this frequent indulgence can actually turn to addiction. So if youre already hooked on sugar, how do you let go?
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Hydrate The Right Way
Green juices can be deceiving. Yes, they have fruits and veggies in them, but that green drink youre grabbing from Jamba Juice may be loaded with more fruit and sugar than actual greens!
Read those nutrition labels carefully. If youre consciously consuming the fruit for the benefits of the fruit itself, why not grab a whole apple or banana instead? Whole fruits provide nutrients as well as fiber, which helps slow the digestion of natural sugars.
When it comes to hydration, I suggest carrying around a 32-ounce water bottle. Fill it up twice per day and youve hit all, if not more or close to, your hydration needs.
If plain water doesnt excite you, make your own spa water by adding fresh mint and lemon slices.
If youre having a tough time fighting the soda habit, go for bubbles, just make them chemical and calorie-free. You can also try adding frozen or fresh fruit to plain club soda for a refreshing alternative.
And Make Rules Around Trigger Foods
That means cookies, cake, or ice cream. A half-gallon of ice cream in the freezer is temptation defined. Our rule? No ice cream kept at home. Ice cream should always be a treat worth traveling for. If you find yourself making a dessert run too often, consider all the ways too much sweet stuff can harm your health.
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Sugar Addiction And Anxiety
Anxiety and sugar craving have a direct relationship. Eating disorders like binge eating or anorexia occur for underlying reasons. Often times, the person suffering from such disorders is struggling for psychological and emotional reasons. Stress eating is common example of the relationship between eating disorders and anxiety, and sugar consumption is commonly associated with stress eating.
Anxiety causes the stress hormone cortisol to be released in the body, which can suppress appetite in some. On the other hand, the stress may encourage people who already like sugar into more cravings. When sugar addiction co-occurs with eating to soothe anxiety, the end result is typically weight gain. Despite sugar initially boosting serotonin levels in the brain, sugar can worsen anxiety as sugar lows create feelings of fatigue and depression.
What Are The Signs Of Losing Belly Fat
10 signs youre losing weight Youre not hungry all the time. Your sense of well-being improves. Your clothes fit differently. Youre noticing some muscle definition. Your body measurements are changing. Your chronic pain improves. Youre going to the bathroom more or less frequently. Your blood pressure is coming down.
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Why Is It Called A Sugar Addiction
Sugar is of little to no value to the body. In fact, it can potentially be problematic even for those who arent addicted, raising the risk of cardiovascular problems, obesity, and metabolic disorder, among other things. Which is why the American Heart Association wants the United States to cut down how much sugar it is consuming.1
Researchers have said sugar can actually be even more addictive than certain drugs. Sweets and sugar cause cravings and are associated with rewards by your mind and body. Some have compared it to cocaine and said sugar is actually even more attractive and perceived as more rewarding, as far as neurobiological responses to it are concerned.2 This has been attributed to the dopamine and opioids released by the body when sugar is consumed. And thats why sugar addicts exhibit compulsive uncontrollable behavior typical of addiction like craving, bingeing, and even withdrawal.3
A Sugar Addict From The Beginning
Sugar withdrawals can be hell, I know. Ive fought that battle many times before. I think I was probably born with a candy bar in my hand. As far back as I can remember, I have always favored munching on something sweet over real food.
At that time, sugar was a normal part of being a kid and it was everywhere. I dont remember anyone seriously setting limits on our sugar intake. In fact, inhaling the white powdery stuff was practically required anywhere we went.holidays, birthdays, movies, school events, church events, rewards for being good, etc. I remember one Halloween as a teenager, my cousin and I found an up-scale housing development to trick-or-treat in . We carried pillow cases that year, seriously.
At Christmas time, my mom would always make homemade fudge, which was amazing. I actually remember taking it with me to the morning bus stop and sharing it with my friends. Not exactly the breakfast of champions. I really did love sugar, though.that was, until I realized the devastating effects it was having on my health.
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How Do Buttermints Stop Sugar Cravings
A few weeks ago, I explained the miraculous effect of these Buttermints to my mom, a dietary-fat-phobic in the early stages of recovery. I attempted to warm her up to these buttermints by explaining how they stop sugar cravings:
Its amazing, Mom. You just have some of these buttermints, 3 or 4 of them, and they taste delicious and satisfy your sweet tooth. And then, its like you eat it and then you are really full. You just dont want more food I explained, in awestruck reverence of this miraculous food.
Isnt that how any food works? she asked, skeptically.
Nope, not every food! You know that when you have lettuce with low-fat dressing for dinner, you are hungry for cereal or ice cream just 30 minutes later. Thats because fat fills you up. The healthy saturated fats in these buttermints dont make you fat. As a matter of fact, it supports weight loss by because it provides profound satiation and energy in relation to the amount of calories.
The Start Of Many Sugar Free Challenges
The last two years of grad school, my husband Antonio and I would do a sugar free January. The very first time we tried this, we ultimately just got rid of the blatant sugars we were consuming such as sugar in our coffee, dessert, trail mix with m& ms, etc. The first time around we didnt dive much into the hidden added sugars that are in peanut butters, salad dressings, other condiments and so much more. With each year we refined our January challenge, eventually getting rid of anything with sugars, including honey and syrup. However, we always allowed ourselves to have several servings of fruit a day, and still do.
Added sugar is in a majority of foods. If its not a plain fruit or veggie, then you should check to see what sugars are in this. This includes yogurts, deli meats, bread, and balsamic vinaigrette
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How I Finally Broke My Addiction With Sugar
I have been sugar free for over a year now and the sugar cravings, along with the temptations are long gone! Honestly, it is possible, though in the beginning it really does seem quite impossible.
Most everything we eat, especially as Americans, has sugars in them. From a book I recently listened to on audio called Year of No Sugar reported, 80% of the processed and packaged foods have added sugars. No wonder we have such a hard time getting rid of sugar from our lives. It is in so many things we eat and is extremely addictive.
My journey with breaking free from the chains of sugar started about four years ago. I always knew sugar was not the best thing for the body, but as I went through graduate school, I learned more about nutrition and I became a lot more intuitive with my body. I was able to recognize what foods didnt make me feel well and overtime the cost of eating those foods was far greater than the joy of consuming them. I highly encourage you to learn more about what sugar does in the body before completely shoo shooing the idea of taking it out of your life or at least finding ways to limit your intake overtime.
Sweet treats surround us everywhere from bake sales to the coffee counter to the bank to even rewards at school from teachers
What’s Wrong With Sugar
And all that time, I thought sugar was a food! After all, I’d tell friends, it’s sold in grocery stores! What else could it be?
Refined sugar is a chemical, distilled from sugar cane or sugar beets, that contains no vitamins, minerals, or any other nutrition. In fact, it is an anti-nutrient: to metabolize it, the body has to draw on its own nutrient stores. This eventually causes malnutrition, often combined with obesity.
Refined sugar causes spikes and wild swings of blood sugar, insulin, and adrenaline it causes major stress to the body. Eventually the blood sugar system malfunctions. Endorphins, the body’s feel-good chemicals, are disrupted. The immune system is adversely affected.
Along with white flour, refined sugar is thought to be the ultimate cause of many “Western diseases,” such as diabetes, heart disease, and cancer. This stems from historical observations made when traditional peoples began eating Western food.
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Cut Out Obvious Sugar
Next, cut out the obvious sugar. For me this was sugar in my coffee, candy, and sugary drinks.
I absolutely allow myself some sugar now and then, but my ultimate goal is to have almost no sugar in my diet except for fruit
If you usually sprinkle sugar on your cereal dont.
If you coat your cereal in honey like I did, stop.
All of the obvious sugar youre adding to your diet is a really easy one to cut out as a second step to beating this addiction.
Cut Back On Sugar In Drinks
Skip the sugar you have in your tea or coffee. If you drink milk, avoid adding syrups or flavors to them that contain sugar. You may not be able to quit the sugar in your drink all at once, so try cutting back a little. Go from two spoons of sugar to one, then half, then to a quarter, until one day when you wont miss having any in that cuppa anymore! It goes without saying that you should skip the sugary sodas. A 12 ounce can of cola can contain as much as 10 teaspoons of sugar.5
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