How to Stop Eating Sugar: 11 Simple Ways

#30DaysOfSugar

Sugar Detox in 11 Steps: Cut Cravings and Get Healthier

Do you want to quit or reduce sugar from your diet, but are not sure how? You’re not alone! Many of us struggle to break that strong tie sugar has on us (especially if you suffer from sugar addiction), but it totally can be done! Learn the 11 simple steps you can use to effectively reduce or cut sugar from your diet that I used to break my sugar addiction (and say bye bye to pesky cravings)!

Do you want to quit or reduce sugar from your diet, but are not sure how? You’re not alone! Many of us struggle to break that strong tie sugar has on us (especially if you suffer from sugar addiction), but it totally can be done! Learn the 11 simple steps you can use to effectively reduce or cut sugar from your diet that I used to break my sugar addiction (and say bye bye to pesky cravings)!

So, you’re looking to cut your sugar intake, eh?

Well, the first bit of good news is that you’re not alone, and the second bit of good news is that it’s totally possible to do!

Before we get into that though, let’s talk a little bit about the reasons you might want to be cutting sugar - remember, knowing your reasons behind a goal is the first step to successfully doing.

Why You Should Reduce Your Sugar Intake

I’m pretty sure that most people around the world now know that sugar is simply bad for their health, and that they should avoid it when possible (and fake sugars - but more on that in a mo’).

And we have the right to be worried about sugar.

For starters, once we start eating it on a daily basis, we literally can’t stop craving it in all forms - crunchy, creamy, sweet, even savoury - and with research and studies mounting with evidence of excess sugar’s toxicity, it’s certainly an important topic to be informed about.

I mean, sugar is the primary factor in causing not just obesity, but also abdominal fat, high blood pressure, high blood sugar, unhealthy cholesterol levels, chronic and lethal health issues.

It’s crazy y’all!

Sugar is addictive

Plus… were addicted to the stuff, literally!

Studies have also shown that sugar is even more addictive than cocaine, and fires up dopamine and lighting up your brain in the same manners as drugs. Take a minute to let that sink in. 😱

To make it worse for you, when I'm talking about sugar, it’s not just sugar in the form of cake - it’s sugar in junky carb foods too. Sorry fries! 🍟

Junk foods like white bread and potato chips are addictive in the same way that heroin or cocaine is addictive, just like a sugar cube would be. Basically, foods that contain more sugar are addictive.

In fact, some of these junk foods raise the blood sugar even more than table sugar - including white flour, white potatoes and refined starch, all of which have a high glycemic index and trigger the same region in the brain that is ground zero for a drug abuse addiction.

Feeling spooked? That’s totally okay, this is serious stuff!

This is why we need to try to avoid sugary and junky foods when possible. Although, of course, I don’t believe we have to quit the stuff all together - an occasional treat won’t break the bank - but it is necessary that we balance our intake and control how much we’re eating.

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Chips and cookies are not the best choice for your everyday snacks.

To make things worse, manufacturing companies have starting hiding sugar in everything, so you could be eating way more sugar than you ever imagined.

Easy Steps to Reduce Sugar Intake

Which brings me back to my 11 sugar crushing tips.

Right now, I bet there is at least one simplistic thing you could do - something no hassle at all - that can cut a shockingly large amount of sugar from your diet. Something as simple as swapping a food brand or drinking an extra cup of water could make a LARGE impact in changing your relationship with sugar and finding your path to live with less of it.

One small change can make a big difference i, how much sugar you crave or how much of the stuff you accidentally eat!

As I love to say: SMALL CHANGES MAKE A BIG DIFFERENCE!

Trust me I would know, especially as someone who use to have no control over her cravings and binge eating habits - but today after making small changes, I have TOTAL control. 💪

If you’re ready to take some simple steps to get off the sugar wagon for good, then here are favourite ways you to cut extra sugar from your diet. Going low-sugar or sugar free doesn’t have to be hard y’all!

Get sipping… drink more water 🌊

Curb sweet cravings and hunger by staying hydrated.

Sugar cravings can occur as a result of being thirsty, so replenishing the water in your body is often a quick little trick to kick yo' cravings, so you don’t opt for that Oreo as snack to quench your craving!

Whenever you get a craving, sip on a cup of pure water to see if that helps!

Drinking about seven to eight glasses of water every day is optimal, and make sure your water is as pure as possible – no sweetened flavored waters please.

Look at the label

The best trick in a healthy 🐱‍👤 ninja’s arsenal (sorry I'm a bit of a geek) when buying packaged food is to simply check the label out!

When you buy packaged foods, make sure to thoroughly read the labels - even savory foods can still contain plenty of sugar, from bread to salad dressings!

Always check to see if sugar is listed as an ingredient - meaning it’s added and not just naturally occurring grams of sugar - because you don’t want unnecessarily added sugar. The earlier on in the ingredient list on the label that sugar is mentioned, the larger amount of sugar is in the food.

Also, food manufacturers use many sneaky ways to hide the amount of added sugar listed on nutrition labels. This can cause you to buy a food product with more sugar than you wanted, with knowing it.

Find the full list of ‘sugar under another name’ in my guide 27 Hidden Sugar Foods to Watch Out for Checklist + Shopping Guide.

You may have been told that some of these, like agave, are “healthier” forms of sugar. Sorry, but sugar is sugar and all forms break down during digestion and raise your blood pressure in the same way.

Eat up… the right foods… more often…

Hangry = unhealthy snacks!

If you get yourself over-hungry by skipping a meal, you’ll tend to go and eat (or binge on) a quick and ‘satisfying’ empty calorie and low quality food as a snack (which won’t give you any energy, by the way), instead of just having eaten a wise and quality meal earlier.

No matter how busy or hectic your usual day is, make sure you stick to a food schedule.

Fiber-rich foods are a great option for combating sugar. 🥕

Eating fiber will help slow the absorption of the foods you eat, and help to curb sugar and junk food cravings you have by keeping you full for longer. Whole foods like celery, carrots, and whole grain rice are all great options, as they are full of natural fiber.

Stay fresh, avoid processed 😉 I'm rhyming here!

Like I mentioned earlier, processed foods can be packed with hidden sugars and weird additives!

I always stand by the belief that fresh is BEST. Please try when possible to not eat packaged food. If you eat more whole foods and more home prepped meals, it will be way, way easier to lead a healthier lifestyle, and take control of the sugar content/avoid processed foods.

Let’s get a little spicy?

A good way to avoid craving sugar and sweeteners is to add a little spice to your diet!

I love spices like cinnamon, nutmeg, and turmeric - these yummy spices give food and drinks and extra tasty flavor, and are perfect for replacing a sweetener in a cup of joe. ☕

Bonus time: did you know these spices have GREAT anti-inflammatory acne fighting and anti-aging effects? I just love simple sugar free health bonuses!

Catch enough zzz’s

Sleep deprivation can cause you to eat more simple carbs.

This is because the lack of sleep causes you to have increased appetite and search for immediate energy, usually in the form of these bad simple carbs!

When you go and eat the tasty treat you’re craving (simple carbs and sugar), you only get a short energy spike, which leaves you feeling even more fatigued and causes you to crave food again - a vicious cycle. ⏰

Simply put, sleep deprivation causes sugar cravings and worsens sugar addiction.

Try going to bed just that wee bit earlier, and keep it on a regular schedule to regulate your hormones - it will really help.

However, I love my ‘couch time’ with my family watching Netflix; it's my way of relaxing, spending time, and winding down at night. If you’re like me, you can’t imagine skipping that time.

In this case, try adding some extra time to your alarm clock to squeeze in some extra sleep.

If you can’t (it coincides with school work, etc.) I’m afraid you should try and get to bed sooner. There’s no way around it if you can’t wake up later. Even 30 minutes will help!

If you’re not a great sleeper, check out my article on easy ways to get better sleep here!

Slow down when cutting back on sugar

It’s not a great idea to simply jump off the sugar wagon at once! Why? 🤨

If you consume excessive high amounts of sugar on a regular basis, simply stopping will cause your body to go into shock. When your system goes into shock, it will experience many different symptoms connected with sugar withdrawal.

These aren’t long term, and usually won’t harm your health, but they are seriously NO FUN to go through - they may make you feel miserable.

Actually, this is what breaks a lot of peoples’ minds when coming off sugar, which then leads them to eat sugar again in hopes of easing the symptoms.

So, going cold turkey with sugar can actually just end up making your sugar cravings worse.

It’ll be easier for your whole body and mind to just gradually reduce your sugar intake over a period of time. For example, slowly reduce the amount of sugar you add to your oatmeal at breakfast, until you’re use to not adding any.

For more on sugar withdrawal and its effects, check out my article on it here.

Don’t be fooled: avoid low-fat and non-fat

When removing the fat from their product, many food manufacturers add sugar to keep the food flavorful.

Basically, buying low and non fat food is pointless. You may think it’s fat free, but if you eat those simple sugars, your body will just convert them into bad fat anyway.

Plus, there are some fats you actually need: healthy fats! YES, you need fat.

The food industry intentionally went out to vilify fats to take the heat off the damage caused by their money-making sugar based products.

In fact, healthy fats are fantastic for you (olive oil, coconut oil, avocados, 70% or more dark chocolate), and your best, and I mean your best, friends in your journey to combat your sugar addiction.

Eating good fats help keep blood sugar levels under control, which helps keep you fuller longer - this helps you not feel as hungry as often, avoid cravings, and stave off energy crashes.

To get acquainted with the type of fats that you should be eating, check out this thorough guide on the 11 Best Healthy Fats for Your Body from Dr. Axe.

Snack on this, not that!

If you can’t snack of chips or fries, what sugar free snack can you eat?

Like I mentioned before, fibrous snacks like vegetables are a perfect choice.

Although if you tire of carrots, try healthy fats (like I said above) like avocado and nuts. Eventually you won’t crave the old foods as much, because your sweet tooth will fade and you won’t be as constantly hungry.

Say no to artificial sweeteners

Avoid sweeteners at all costs (think: Splenda, aspartame, Nutrasweet, etc.). 🍫

Okay, so we all know that any refined sugar isn’t healthy for you, but the problem with artificial sweeteners is that they are actually far worse for you because of the way they react with and metabolize in your body.

In a study published in 2010 by Yale Journal of Biology and Medicine:

‘[F]indings suggest that the calorie contained in natural sweeteners may trigger a response to keep the overall energy consumption constant ... Increasing evidence suggests that artificial sweeteners do not activate the food reward pathways in the same fashion as natural sweeteners … [A]rtificial sweeteners, precisely because they are sweet, encourage sugar craving and sugar dependence.’

Instead, I swear by pure stevia as my sugar substitute because it has zero calories and supports healthy blood sugar levels.

Great news right?! Quick heads up. It is super sweet, so you only need to use a tiny bit. Try sweet drops vanilla crème by Sweetleaf!

Cut High-Fructose Corn Syrup (HFCS) out completely

Let me just start with this: AVOID high-fructose corn syrup (HFCS) aka corn sugar COMPLETELY - like your life depends on it.

Put it this way, high fructose corn syrup is so bad for you, that not even the most ‘conservative’ of nutritional experts disagree about its appalling effects.

It’s scary that the ‘foods’ available to us are so commonly laced with HFCS. And it’s even worse that they’re often promoted as being suitable for a healthy lifestyle or weight loss!

Here’s the problem.

Your body processes high fructose corn syrup differently than it does ordinary sugar. The burden falls on your liver, which is not capable of keeping up with how quickly corn syrup breaks down. As a result, blood sugar spikes quicker. It's stored as fat, so you can become obese and develop other health problems, such as diabetes, much faster.

Just to underscore the point, when researchers tested brand-name sodas, they found that the high-fructose corn syrup content was 65 percent…

… so, a single can of soda per day can add as many as 15 pounds to your weight over the course of a single year… not to mention increase your risk of diabetes by 85 percent. Scary right?!

In a recent study conducted by Princeton University, two groups of rats were fed the exact same number of calories. One group was fed HFCS, while the other was fed regular table sugar. The rats fed HFCS gained significantly more weight. Oh my stars!

Awesome you made it to the end! To wrap everything up for y’all:

In order to help prevent sugar’s toxic effects and chronic health issues, avoid extra sugar in your diet when possible, and work to cut cravings. 🙌

Even the smallest steps to do this can make a big impact; something as simple as making sure you stay hydrated, get enough sleep, and stay away from artificial sweeteners and processed foods as much a possible can help you crush cravings and kick hidden sugar out - without forcing you to make a lot of disruptive changes!

Incorporating these tips can help you finally work through and break your confusing and/or addictive relationship with sugar, all while learning how you can live with less of its toxic sweetness. Amazing!

I can tell you this: once you’ve started decreasing sugar for a few weeks, you should totally start to notice the decreased cravings, and will be really surprised at just how much better you feel.

You have the power to control sugar - you control sugar; it doesn’t control you.

You ARE strong enough to bust this nasty habit and live a happy healthy lifestyle without sugar controlling your diet and sneaking into everything you eat.

I’m so excited for you to start cutting down on sugar and getting your balance! I want you to be able to occasionally enjoy sugar in your food without craving it and binging all the time - I'm so happy for you to become your happiest and healthiest self. 😀

Oh… and for even more help and results, I've even put together some complete, and really useful steps on cutting back sugar!

Check out my FREE ‘Ultimate Guide to Crushing Your Sugar Cravings’ Downloadable Guide.

Get started on effortlessly breaking your sugar reliance/addiction for good with help + support - and most importantly, while maintaining a healthy balance between your mind and your body #NoDeprivation

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It’s your turn: I would love to hear from you.!

Do you experience cravings for sugar and refined foods? What’s your advice for helping you avoid extra sugar in your diet? Do you really want to cut back on sugar?

That’s it from me, 👋

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