Hi, I have just joined. Does anyone have any tips on how to start the break from sugar - besides just avoidance and toughing it out?
Hi coconut: My wife and I bought a book regarding sugar addiction, (title forgotten.) We started by simply following the book's directions and removed every offending food item from our cupboards/refrigerator. Through our reading of the book, we learned to read food labels. If sugar was within the top three ingredients of the food label, we chose to not buy the food. For sure, we eliminated any food that included "high fructose corn syrup" on it's label as it was a power of ten in sweetness. It's hard work getting started, i.e., clearing out offending foods from the house, reading labels when food shopping but like anything new, we found that after the initial discomfort from new learning, it quickly gets easier. You'll be amazed of how good things really taste. For instance, the natural sweetness or an orange or apple etc. Good luck to you. You're on a positive track for your life.
1 Heart
@certifiedangus Thanks. I would be very interested in knowing the title of the book. Congrats on your success.
@theriverbends Thanks. Looks like I’m going to have to clean out the pantry and remove all temptation - sigh…
@coconut09006-- The start for me was just gathering information about sugar. Anything you can read about what sugar does to the body and how other people have changed their lives by letting go of sugar in their diets. Also, gather information from your experiences too. Experiences are the most powerful form of information as long as we are present enough to fully experience them. So, what I mean by that is think about how the food you eat tastes and feels and how it makes your body feel (even if, ESPECIALLY if, that food is sugar). Then, how do you feel 30 minutes later? An hour later? A day? Then you can start to see the differences between a day of eating sugar and a couple days without sugar. Which foods are worth eating for you? This information will help arm you against temptation. Then it's a process of getting information about what triggers your temptations, etc. It's all a process of gathering information, just be present in these moments and be open to learning! You are already on the right foot by being here, I know you will just get better and better :)
@jcrosser Thanks, you have given me a lot of good information. Do you have any recommendations for books, articles, etc?
Here are some links to good stuff on you tube... Robert H. Lustig, MD does a really good talk about sugar specifically in this link https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dBnniua6-oM and anything from Michael Pollen is interesting, but here is one very good one using this link https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AEUxk12U9ZQ&index=3&list=PLPmK9axJjDH7LUJJNWM2o5QLJMqwB8FYd
Let me know if you have trouble with that and I'll try to repost it. As far as books, the most recent one I've read that has helped me is The Willpower Instinct, by Kelly McGonigal. Not specifically about sugar but about how to tap into that ever elusive willpower that we all have but have but sometimes forget how to turn it on. That book has been a HUGE help!
@jcrosser Thanks. I’m able to access the links, very informative.