I’ve been on my weight loss journey for 7 years, and started again just 3 months after having my first baby. My biggest struggle has always been sugar and how addicting it is! When I really got my mindset in the game to lose weight, I realized sugar was a big problem.
Sugar is Addicting.
Sugar is everywhere! Sugar and added sugar is honestly so hard to avoid in an American diet. And once your body is used to it and bloated from it, your body chemically has a continual desire for it. Before my health journey, I was certainly addicted to sugar. It’s actually been proven to be more addicting than cocaine in some studies, and has such negative affects on the body, including weight gain, obesity, insulin resistance, prediabetes, and diabetes.
Some people want to cut out sugar completely, and that’s so great. But that’s not what I wanted to do. I wanted to moderate. But there are helpful ways to do either one, so here are some great tips.
1. Monkfruit to Stop Sugar Addiction.
Monkfruit is a great natural-sugar alternative. This can greatly help your addiction to sugar, if you have been addicted like I have. Addiction is so hard, I know. The more you have Monkfruit, the more you will like it, and I like how natural it is. Lakanto is a great company that makes Monkfruit desserts and more. Check it out!
2. Switch Out the Sugary Drink Easily to Lose Weight.
What about sugary drinks? A 12-ounce can of coke contains 9.75 teaspoons of sugar, which is 39 grams of sugar. And fruit juice isn’t much better for you because it has a concentrated amount of sugar and calories. Both of these can lead to weight gain, obesity, and diabetes. And being addicted to sugar.
Luckily, you can easily swap out your normal sugary drinks with low-calorie and low-sugar carbonated beverages that taste awesome, such as Spindrift and LaCroix. I like to pretend I’m having an adult drink when I have one. It just makes it more fun.
Things like sugary coffees taste great with just milk or cream. I find I need even less cream with iced coffee. Try it! You’ll start to get used to it without the sugar and like it even better than when it did have sugar in it. That was my experience.
And again, I’m not against the occasional sugary drink if you think moderation is right for you. But for the most part, stick to drinks that will help you in the arena.
3. Exercise! It’s Fun and Distracts from Sugar.
The levels of chemicals in the brain, such as serotonin, stress hormones and endorphins, change when you exercise. This can help fight the feelings of addiction that you may have towards sugar. Exercise can improve your sense of control, coping ability and self-esteem.
If you’re new to exercise, start out trying a short workout, maybe 5-20 minutes. Find something that you may actually enjoy, because if it’s fun, you’ll keep it up. Some options for beginners: yoga, barre, karate, walking, biking, hula hooping, jump-roping, or dance.
And exercise will also help you lose weight! Win-win.
Consider getting introduced to fitness, nutrition & mindset all in one here. You’ll get everything you need for success in all of those areas. I’ve been doing this for 7 years, and now post-baby, going strong!
4. Consume your Dessert Earlier in the Day.
This is such a game-changer strategy!
If you opt to have dessert, try having it after lunch time. That way, you can spend the rest of the day burning off those calories.
Then, after dinner, you’re done. Sip your LaCroix and relish in your memory of the after-lunch dessert.
5. Have a Healthy but Sweet Meal.
This is my favorite tip. I’ve had My Healthy Shake as a nutrient-dense meal replacement for over 7 years, and I’m not stopping now. There are many cool recipes to make with this shake and plenty of flavors so you never tire of it. Café Latte is my favorite flavor. It’s full of protein, vitamins, minerals and all the needed nutrients for your day. It’s great for gut health, and more importantly, it tastes good!
Great-taste makes sure you’ll come back for My Healthy Shake each and every day. You can make this shake into ice cream, or chocolate cake. Have it for dessert.
6. Pray, Meditate and Mantra.
This takes addiction and losing weight on a spiritual path, but you can do it your way. These are just a few of my more spiritual tips.
- Include a daily prayer, or a simple “thank you” to your food or universe, each and every time you consume food. This opens gratitude in your heart which can be helpful in overcoming sugar.
- Meditate. This will concentrate your mind on your breath and calmness instead of the addiction. First, become comfortable. Close your eyes and focus directly on your breath coming in and out of your nose. When your mind wanders, calmly notice it, and bring your attention back to your breath. Even if you must do this a thousand times. I suggest to move your body before meditating, either through exercise, yoga, or simple stretching. This helps the mind to focus on the movement of the body, and then makes it so much easier to then focus on the breathing with so much mental activity going on.
- Mantra. You can come up with your own mantra in your own language to help. But because I study yoga, I’ve found the yoga mantras to be my favorite. You can try ‘Sa Ta Na Ma’ means ‘my true essence.’ My personal mantra for addiction, and then for life, has been: “om jitendriya namaha,” which helps you become one who has control over her senses so you can become The Observer. This has literally helped heal my addiction when I focused on this daily mantra. Sing or say your mantra. Repeat one of these mantras over and over as much as you can. In yoga, the magic number is 180. I find it best to repeat a mantra in the shower or when driving the car because there’s the extra time in the day. But you can also do it in a meditative position if you want.
Which was your favorite tip to help you cease sugar addiction which also helps you lose weight? I hope you’ve found some useful practice here.
Visit My Health Store for all of my recommended products. Especially the star of the show, My Healthy Shake. We can do this together!
~ Sarah Van Buskirk AKA Celestial K.