Let’s talk about sugar. That yummy sweet substance that leaves us briefly satisfied and then wanting more as the cravings come back with a revenge. Sugar is bad for us; we’ve heard that, but why?
You’ve probably heard the term “empty calories,” right? Well, sugar is an anti-nutrient. What does that mean? When we take in sugar, our bodies have to expend energy to process the molecules, but the sugar doesn’t leave anything behind for our bodies to take from it. It has no nutritional value whatsoever. Thus, sugar is an “empty calorie.”
Feeling hungry after you’ve already eaten isn’t fun. When you consume sugar, your body receives a message to start digesting. But if we have calories to digest with no nutrients to absorb, we eat, but still feel hungry. That’s right, being satisfied isn’t just about the mass and volume consumed, the nutrients matter too. Nutrient-dense foods like protein sources, vegetables and fats will allow our bodies to digest the food and assimilate the nutrients, leaving us feeling satisfied. – [Diane Sanfilipp. Author of The 21-Day Sugar Detox. BS, Certified Nutrition Consultant, CHEK Certified. Holistic Lifestyle Coach & Holistic Nutritionist]
I've basically struggled
with sugar addiction for years and it truly is a vicious circle. And if I
binge, I'll get horrible acne a few days later. I've been a lot better in the
last few months. I seem to have found a balance. Here are a few tricks that
help me.
- Don't
buy any of it.
That helps A LOT. Because if it’s the house, you can be sure I’ll eat it! - Out of sight, out of mind.
If I do have some in the house, I try to store it somewhere I won't see it on a daily basis. If you need to, ask your better half or a friend to help when things get tough. - Remove processed food (as much as possible).
I've also completely altered my diet, removing anything processed. Even condiments and salad dressing so opting for an eat-clean diet as much as possible; it really does wonders! Its crazy the amount of sugar in EVERYTHING! - Keep snacks or treats close.
I do always keep gum or sometimes small candies in case I do get those urges but I rarely do anymore. I find also that I can satisfy those cravings with peanut butter or a bit of chocolate. I usually eat all natural peanut butter so when I get a craving, I'll have a spoonful of the crunchy or smooth one, non-natural one. As for the chocolate, I search online for healthy chocolate dessert recipes I can use, as much as possible, unsweetened chocolate in my recipes. I also always do the recipes double or triple and then freeze the leftovers. They come quite handy when the little urges come back. - Refined Sugar substitute
I try to stick to all natural sugar as much as possible, in small doses of course, like honey, molasses, pure maple syrup, agave nectar and stevia. - Stay away from artificial sweeteners
I avoid artificial sweeteners; they will do more harm than anything to my body. It comes back to eating processed food; our body doesn’t know how to process all those chemicals. - Failure to prepare is preparing to fail!
I plan my meals either the night before or sometimes a whole week ahead. I always think about all the food I will need and make a grocery list before heading to the store. This helps with saving money and my meal plans for the upcoming days.
Regardless of all those tricks, I still had days where I
would feel sluggish and tired. I would always say "I'm tired of always
feeling tired!" Sound familiar? Clearly something wasn't right with my
body and knowing the famous quote, "you are what you eat", I knew it
had something to do with the food I ate. And in the last three years I've been
fighting with my weight loss, basically hitting a plateau being stuck at the
same weight no matter what I try. So drastic measures had to be taken.
Back in the Spring my friend started doing the Yeast
Buster Diet (a.k.a. Candida Diet). She lost 10 lbs in one month and said she
felt amazing and had TONS of energy. I wanted that. Then another one of my
friends mentioned the diet and said she had reading material she could lend me.
So I read The Yeast Connection and Women's Health by William G. Crook book,
front to back. It was like I had finally found the answers to ALL my problems
I've had in the past 10 years.
Now finding the solution and applying it is two
completely different things. The diet is VERY strict and required a change in
my eating habit once again. Being diagnosed Celiac back in 2007, changing my
eating habit wasn't something new to me. It requires lots of research, test
runs (if we can call them that) and patience. I started doing the diet but
felt very overwhelmed with all the information. I was also going through a
rough patch in my career so emotions were running high. I ended up quitting
after 2 weeks or so. I always felt bloated and uncomfortable; I was eating too
many carbs instead of finding a balance between veggies, proteins and carbs.
Today, a few months later, I am ready to tackle this
challenge again. However, I did find this new diet called 21-Day Sugar Detox. It is very similar to the Yeast/Candida diet
but with slight modification and, in my opinion, less strict (you can have
fruits, limited of course). It also offers 3 different levels of diet you can
choose from depending if you are new to the detox or not. As I write this post,
I am on Day 5 and have never felt better! I have TONS of energy for my daily
workouts, I required less sleep, the grogginess when I wake up has completely
vanished, I've already lost a couple of pounds and best of all, the sugar
cravings are NO MORE! I am confident that I will complete my 21 days with
flying colours and looking forward of doing many more 21 day challenges!
The trick is finding a balance and knowing when the time
is right for you to tackle such a challenge, since its not easy. Change is
never easy but when you've reached your goal, all the hard work will be worth
it in the end! Obviously, back in the Spring, I wasn't ready and I failed. I
picked myself up and now I'm trying again. So, who will join me on a 21 day
Sugar Detox? Keep me posted on your results.
