How to Finally Kick Your Sugar Habit Forever

Three Strategies to Finally Kick Your Sugar Habit Forever

I have a sweet tooth…a HUGE one. Sugar is my biggest weakness. Sometimes I think of myself as client and tell myself, “You really need to kick your sugar habit.”

This has been a struggle for a really long while. About 15 years ago, I tested positive for Lupus, and my doctor wanted to discuss treatment plans. I wasn’t interested in taking more medications, so I went to someone else for a second opinion. That physician suggested an elimination diet to determine if my symptoms were the result of what I was eating. He told me to eat a diet that consisted of no meat, no grains, no dairy, no caffeine and no refined sugar. I literally said, “Umm…sugary substance is my main food group.” (He didn’t think that was funny.)

As I’ve gotten older and have learned of some major health issues that I have, I’ve come to see the need to kick my sugar habit forever. I wanted to share my strategies with you.

Quit Cold Turkey

Sometimes the best way to kick your sugar habit is to just stop eating sugar. Don’t schedule a day to start a sugar detox. Or have one last sugar binge. Just stop.

I’m sure the people close to you are aware of your love of sugar, so you might want to let them know of your recent decision. Feel free to ask them to hold you accountable.

I actually did this a few months ago. I let my family members and co-workers know that I was not allowing myself to eat any candy other than peppermints. I was really surprised at how successful it was. Knowing that people were going to ask me about my candy consumption really motivated me to stay away.

My only regret was that I didn’t include baked goods in that phase of kicking my sugar habit.

Stop Buying (and Baking) Treats

This strategy for kicking your sugar habit seems pretty obvious, right? I mean, if you don’t buy the cupcakes, they won’t be in the house, so you won’t eat them! And if you don’t bake the cookies…well, you get the idea.

I don’t know what happens to you when you bake or buy treats, but I can tell you what happens to me. I’m fortunate in that I have food allergies. Why is that GOOD thing? I don’t have as many options for baked good and sweet treats as the average person. Unfortunately, I still have plenty of options.

After giving up candy for a while, I bought a package of my favorite gluten free vanilla sandwich cookies. That package should have last me at least a week, if I only consumed one serving size a day. Sadly, that’s not what happened. It pains me to say this, but those cookies were gone within 36 hours. The same thing happens when I bake cookies.

Whether I bake them or buy them, I plan to eat a few and give the rest away. However, once they make contact with my taste buds, it’s like my brain can’t stop. I’ve learned that it’s just best for me to stop buying them and stop baking them.

Consume Natural Sugars Instead

All sugars aren’t created equally. Eating a banana and an apple every day can result in amazing things happening in your body. However eating banana laffy taffy and caramel apple suckers everyday, might not be so good for you.

I’ve discovered that switching that my brain and taste buds don’t know the difference between natural sugars and refined sugars. To them sweets are sweets. So when I make a smoothie out of frozen fruit, pineapple juice and a tablespoon of honey, I’m able to satisfy that sugar craving in a way that’s actually helpful for my body.

Sometimes I freeze blueberries and pop them in my mouth like their skittles. My brain may think that I’m tasting the rainbow, but I’m loading up on antioxidants that are going to help reduce inflammation in my body. It’s a total win-win.

Choose What Works for You

I hope this post doesn’t make you think that I’ve conquered my sugar habit complete. It’s still a work in progress. I’ve been doing this in three phases as outlined above.

Do I still eat candy? Not often. I know that when I have a piece of candy – any candy – there’s like a little trigger in my brain that need more and more and MORE. If I really want some candy, I opt for sugar free gum. It’s sweet and only about 5 or 10 calories, so it’s not terrible for me.

What about baked goods? I can’t remember the last time I baked something. Come Christmas, I know that I’ll bake my signature peppermint sugar cookies, but I may do that a family members home, so the cookies can stay with them. On occasion, I may buy a slice of cake or a cookie from a local gluten free spot. However, I’ve noticed that my tastes are changing, and I don’t really care for those treats any more.

Natural sugars seem to be my sweet spot. (No pun intended.) I’ve even discovered lemon blueberry muffin Greek yogurt that’s delightfully tasty and much better for me than any muffin could.

If you need (or want) to finally kick your sugar habit forever and you don’t know where to start, pick one the options and try it. Doesn’t matter if you try it for a day, a week or a month. Just put it to the test. You might be surprised with your results.

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