If your normal day starts with a bowl of cereal or white bread with jam and sweetened tea, progresses to coke with lunch, cookies in between and a bar of chocolate or bag of chips after dinner, you’re doing your body more harm than someone who doesn’t exercise and sleeps till 3 pm.
Even though you might not be seeing effects of a high sugar diet, consuming more than 3-4 teaspoons a day can increase your risk of diabetes, tooth decay, and heart disease, not to mention weight and fat gain. How can you end those intense sugar cravings once and for all? Here are some ways.
1. Avoid Processed Food
A bag of potato chips or your favorite cream wafers are just as addictive as cigarettes or alcohol. They’re high in sugar that hides under labels like high fructose corn syrup, sucrose, dextrose, honey, molasses, juice concentrate, etc. When you eat sugar, a region of your brain gets activated and starts producing dopamine – a “feel-good” hormone. So when you go without sugar for a few hours, you feel low.
2. Move
Do any sort of exercise that you like. Dance, do some yoga or some high-intensity training. Not only will this help burn calories and help break the sugars, but the energy boost will also keep you feeling fresh and stop you from reaching out to the jar of cookies.
3. Eat better; Eat frequently
Eat three meals a day with a couple of times for snacks in between meals when you feel or hungry. If you stay hungry, you’re more likely to crave sweet and sugary snacks.
4. Keep sugary snacks out of your way
It’s easy to reach for Oreos when they’re staring at you from the shelf in your kitchen. It’s even easier to add 2 slices of processed cheese to your lunch sandwich when it’s right in your fridge. Try to keep processed foods and snacks as far from yourself as possible. However, it’s okay to give in a little.
5. One step at a time
Trying to completely halt your sugar consumption is not realistic or effective. Taking small steps and giving yourself goals keeps you more motivated and time for your body to register the change in pattern. For instance, if you take 2 teaspoons of sugar for your shaamki chai, take one instead. Or if you like sweet yogurt, try to mix some plain yogurt in it and then gradually try to cut it out completely.
6. Stick to the plan
It might seem like an uphill struggle at first, but it pays off. Your taste buds and body will adjust and so will your brain. You won’t crave for cupcakes all the time; you might go for an apple rather than a doughnut without even thinking about it. Two bites of cake will satisfy you instead of the whole slice. The struggle is real but so is the payoff.
