Beating The New Year's Resolution Slump - Quitting & Reducing Sugar
#SugarBalancedLiving
Is cutting back on sugar one of your new year’s resolutions this year? Well, it’s late February, and if you’re like most of us you may be experiencing some lagging in reaching those goals you planned out earlier this year - the New year’s fire has burned out, and usual routine and sweet junk food cravings are taking their toll on those well-intentioned plans. You’re not alone; 80% of New Year's resolutions fail by February - so here’s how to beat the new year’s slump and finally make that goal of reducing or quitting sugar stick - for good!
I have a question for you: are you sticking to your new years resolution of reducing sugar in your diet?
We’re now in late February, and after all the initial craziness of New Years resolutions, where you started off running around like crazy with a passionate new year fire to start the year off right, how are you doing?
Did you fall into the New Year trap when trying to break your sugar habit?
You know what I mean… you start off strong by ridding yourself of all sugary, junky foods and successfully cut back that sugar intake, maybe even reducing excess calories in the process… but then you hit a speed bump.
We then fall into the trap we’ve fallen into too many times before: starting off too hastily without a clear plan to help you adjust your lifestyle and prepare for the mental and physical side effects, triggers and addiction cravings that cutting sugar brings with it?
Maybe you’ve hit road blocks, perhaps binges, and you ended up burning yourself out, eventually losing motivation, and by now, here in February, are you feeling overwhelming disappointment that your New Years resolutions are a bust?
Well I get that, I really do; I’ve been there myself, and you and I are definitely not alone. In fact, fewer than 25% of people actually stay committed to their New Year’s resolutions beyond 30 days.
Yes! You read that correctly! Less than 25% of us are still sticking to those well intentioned resolutions - yikes!
Good news though, it's not the end of the world; there are no rules for self-improvement timelines. You can still bounce back and continue on a journey to sugar freedom at any time and I think the end of February is just as good as January.
I used to be sugar obsessed (I suffered from an awful sugar addiction), and my health hit rock bottom, so I really know sugar’s negative effects.
And they can get scary. It’s so important to commit to this goal of sugar reduction and get back on track.
When my health was at its worst, out of despair, I started researching sugar and how to reduce it in my diet, but no matter how hard I searched I couldn’t find anything that could really help. Out of desperation, I set about developing my own system that would help me heal myself and my sugar addiction and I eventually cured myself, helping loved ones with their health along the way. That’s why breaking up with sugar addiction is so personal to me.
If you’re in need of some help to get you back on track to living your sugar balanced healthiest lifestyle, then you’re in the right place. I’ve put together the top list of ways you can actually achieve your New Year’s Resolution of cutting back on sugar:
1. Know The Steps
Without actionable steps, a goal is just a dream.
Reducing the amount of sugar in your life is one of the most challenging things you can do, especially if you have a large dependence on it - an addiction even. So, don’t get so hung up on the outcome that you forget to plan out how you’re actually going make reducing sugar a long term achievement.
Be specific, do your research and list out your normal routine.
When do you go out with friends, where do you normally eat, what do you snack on, look at the different times you eat sugar or junk food, when do you crave sweets or junky carbs and be prepared for those moments, find out what you can order, or when you need to bring a healthy snack?
Opt for a healthy filling and sweet option instead, like good fats and whole fruits.
Also, look at incorporating some smart supporting steps, like not buying processed foods or drinks anymore and replacing them with delicious but healthier alternatives, including more fiber with each meal, and reading the label for everything.
Now, the most crucial step you’ll need to incorporate will be working on your mindset, because you can add and swap out as many healthy options as you want but at the end of the day it all comes down to your decisions and what your mind tells you.
When I set about working on my diet, carefully weeding out the hidden sugars and committing to a super-healthy eating plan, I would still hit a lot of road blocks (binges after a while or endless cravings) and I wondered what I was doing wrong.
Just cutting out sugar from my diet alone wasn’t enough.
I realized I needed to live harmoniously with sugar. A lot of articles and/or influencers out there never seem to mention this, but I realized that my mind and body connection had a lot to say!
I needed to shift my mindset from deeply ingrained negative patterns and deal with the root cause of sugar and junk food cravings, which would release addictive routines and create new behaviors that would last a lifetime.
So the first thing you need to remember on your journey to get control back over your sugar reliance, is that it’s not just about what you do and don’t eat, it’s about treating the problem as a whole, look at triggers and emotions.
Write them down and find steps to work on them.
If you’re not sure where to start, then don’t worry. If you want to create lasting and positive habits with long term success, but you’ve been held-back and frustrated by the lack of information out there on how to systematically get it done…
2. Train Your Inner Coach
We as humans are strong. Everyone has an inner coach and an inner critic, and they're both competing for your ear. We have our own ability to both trigger and calm ourselves.
If you have a constant voice telling you you’re going to fail and eat that sugary treat, odds are you’ll end up giving into that self fulfilling prophecy.
This is simply because your mindset and current habits don’t allow (or support) you to believe that you have that power and ability for transformation - notice I say power, NOT will power?! This is because willpower is not a lasting tool and technique; instead you need to step into, ignite, and empower your inner strength, and trust in yourself.
This is achieved by creating a strong mindset. And do you know what the most incredible side effect to this? While tackling your mindset towards sugar you’ll discover that in doing so, inadvertently you’ll have put yourself on the path to becoming the best version of yourself.
Your inner coach will have evolved, and you’ll feel actually excited to overcome other doubts and blocks in your life. Finally, you’ll feel like you can take on projects that you’ve always wanted to do but talked yourself out of.
But, firstly, you’ll have to liberate yourself from fear and self-doubt.
You’ll need to decide whether you want to listen to your Inner Critic or your Inner Coach.
Start by thinking of your inner voice as your truest friend who wants the best for you, and when it starts talking negatively, simply say, ‘Stop!’, and ask your inner coach to tell you how ‘I can!’,. In other words, it’s time to ditch the ‘I can’t’!
Next, make a point each morning to affirm this intention. Just say to yourself:
‘Today I can, and today, I will!’
To reaffirm this constructive habit, and reinforce your mind’s positive base reading (you know like when you turn your computer on and it boots up!), take time at the end of the day to tell yourself you’ve done a good job, and think about something you can make easier or do better tomorrow.
Keep a journal and write it down.
3. Support Group
Sugar cravings, reliance on sugar, and sugar addiction are all real problems, and for the majority of us they’re seriously tough to break, and extremely hard to work through.
After all sugar is such a staple support mechanism-- it cheers us up, it’s there to celebrate with, it’s there when we’re bored, and it seems to literally be in everything we eat and drink!
So let’s turn it on its head. Why don’t we use moral support and accountability in the same way to break it?
The whole experience of pushing past barriers and reaching milestones will be more fun when you’re doing it with someone. You can share victories, stay accountable and motivate each other when that New Year’s rush wears away.
Since sugar reliance is very connected to mindset, behavior, and unconscious patterns that are formed, it is a formidable weapon to have a supportive shoulder to lean on when breaking through, unraveling and pinpointing any fears, struggles, and anxiety you suffer when clearing out those negative thoughts, feelings and emotions connected to sugar.
A support friend can help you begin the process of shedding negative habits, attitudes and patterns and work through with you replacing them with positive ones that will take you forward.
A supportive community helped me, and if you’re dealing with the same issues, it WILL help YOU! That experience even inspired me to create a private free Sugar Balanced Living support group so no-one has to go through it alone!
In my support group, I focus on topics like:
Low sugar living.
Effortless zero sugar living (yes! It’s possible!).
Balanced sugar living (enjoy sugary treats on your own terms and without the fear of falling back into the vicious cycle of out-of-control sugar cravings.)
Your mindset transformation- from negative enabling sugar addictive habits to positive sugar-free habits and behavior.
Steps to create your supportive sugar reset environment.
How to tweak my food and beverage choices (without the overwhelm!).
4. Learn from Your Previous Mistakes
You will now see an interesting pattern developing when we’re talking about the methods to once and for all breaking the vice like grip of sugar-- maybe you’ve noticed that we keep circling back to mindsets and triggers?
And quite honestly, understanding this is the difference between those who succeed and those who fail.
You can do all the sugar and junk food detoxes you like: you can do them for 7 days, 30 days, whatever-- it literally doesn’t matter, because if you don’t deal with ‘the why’ and the trigger you’re set to repeat the same old patterns.
And this my friend is why you always need to look back at your previous mistakes. You need to examine the ‘why’ in why you fell off the wagon!
Breaking your sugar habit is hard, and the job gets harder when the item you want to avoid is everywhere, and it’s intertwined with emotion triggers and long established comfortable habits.
Take a piece of paper, deep dive and write down the reasons why you fell off the wagon, so you can avoid those same mistakes this time round.
Remember what was going on: was it something happening in your life, was it slip ups, what caused you consume that sugary food? Was there extra stress in your life- perhaps from a relationship, or your work schedule? Or maybe you were eating the wrong things? Is it because SUGAR IS IN EVERYTHING!!!!!!!!!!? Did you not read all the nutrition labels when you should have, causing you a craving cycle?
Pinpointing what tripped you up triggering that craving will navigate you to success and help you to continue heading towards your goal.
5. Be Patient and Ditch Guilt
Remember, if you get setback, that’s normal. It's not a failure, just a bump. A setback is normal, banish the guilt you feel if and when it happens.
Think of this processes like a beautiful tree. Many trees take many years to grow up to become big trees. Goals which are big and tough will need time, and so you need patience and forgiveness. Think of yourself just like a redwood tree.
Of course it is totally okay if you don’t currently possess enough patience, most of us don’t, you just need to develop it. It is a skill that you can be learned and refined naturally.
Did you know that patience is closely tied self-discipline? If you work on strengthening your self-discipline, patience will follow and vice versa.
Everyone meets obstacles, but only those who go through obstacles with strength, confidence and patience will ultimately win and succeed.
5. Celebrate The Small Successes
It's important to reward yourself and celebrate even the smallest of successes. Even if you fail focus on the fact that you started (and that even just starting is AMAZING), the fact that you’re starting again after a bump is a huge win.
Celebrating small wins is a great way to track incremental achievements and continue with confidence and pride towards much larger goals. Plus, it’ll make you feel happier more often, and if you reward yourself as soon as you complete a task or objective your brain will elicit positive emotions, connecting your efforts with results and positive reward.
Obviously if you decrease sugar you’ll naturally receive reward in the form of more energy, better skin, etc., which feels great, but you can also boost motivation by giving yourself additional non-food related rewards.
When you’re first starting out removing sugar, it can take some time for you to reap natural reward, or the loss of (addictive) sugar can seem worse than the reward of better health, so be sure to get ahead of it by knowing exactly what you’ll do to celebrate each small step of success.
For example, if you skip dessert for a whole week or skip your daily soda, reward yourself with a manicure, or for a simple reward simply pat yourself on the back, thank yourself, maybe stay up a little later to watch an extra episode of your fave TV show or treat yourself to a hot bath.
Rounding it up: quitting sugar and new years resolutions
If you fell into the New Year trap when working on reducing sugar and becoming your healthiest, most energized and happiest self, it’s okay! You still got this, with some minor adjust, mindset changes, and organization you can easily get back of track to successes - except this time this will be a life long change.
Remember you’re not just cutting down on sugar to drop a pant size - you’re helping your allergies, decreasing lethargy, healing your skin and improving your overall health. That’s what’s important, and that’s why you’re doing this.
Many people actually fail because they may feel guilty about taking the time to tackle the sugar in their diet and moving focus to their own health - I get it. You may have family, obligations to friends, work, study, the list goes on - but now is the time for you to work on some self care, health and happiness.
And remember before you go to pick up your FREE ‘Ultimate Guide to Crushing Your Sugar Cravings’ Downloadable Guide. This guide will help make your process of removing sugar way easier, with steps lines out and a free worksheet, this guide will help you systematically get it done…
Check out my FREE ‘Ultimate Guide to Crushing Your Sugar Cravings’ Downloadable Guide.
Full of my ‘essential’ steps to help you crush that frustrating and annoying sugar craving once and for all. This guide + worksheets will allow you to learn exactly how to live with a positive and not overly restricted sugar balanced diet. AND, most importantly, while maintaining a healthy balance between your mind and your body - because low-sugar living shouldn’t feel like deprivation.
See you there!
Ready to get started on breaking your sugar habit for good?
Download my free cravings crusher guide to help you effortless beat that addiction WITHOUT restricting your diet and while maintaining mind + body balance.