How To Get Over A Sugar Addiction
Do you think about eating something sweet when you need more energy? How about after you eat a meal? Do you crave dessert? Do you find yourself getting cranky if you haven't had sugar for awhile? Do you your hands shake if you haven't eaten sugar for awhile like a drug addict who's gone too long without a fix? Well, that was me at one point in my life and it wasn't fun. Let me share with you my story. This is an excerpt taken from my book, The Magic of Living Nutrition.
... Concerned about my addiction to sugar, and food in general, I sought out the advice of a herbologist, whom I hoped would give me something to curb my cravings. He proceeded to tell me that I had a serious sugar addiction and if I didn’t get it under control I was going to get diabetes within two years.
He said sugar is an addictive chemical that affects the brain much like cocaine. It is in so many of the foods we eat, and that coming off of sugar addiction would be harder than cocaine.
I was shocked. Sugar like cocaine? I hadn’t really thought if it that way; however, when I started to research the similarities between sugar and cocaine I knew I had to make a change.
This newfound knowledge of the detrimental effects of sugar on the body and knowing that I had a food addiction overwhelmed me with sadness. I knew that if I wanted to make a change I would have to let go of all the yummy, comforting foods that had been there for me when I needed them to help me feel better. It was like they were my friends and I had to let them go so that I could have a better life.
This proved to be much more difficult than I expected. Every time I promised to give up sweets, or other comforting foods that were not good for my body, the cravings would kick in even stronger. Even though I knew the dangers these foods posed to my health I gave in time and time again eating until I felt sick, then would beat myself up for not having enough willpower to refrain. This, like any other addiction had a strong emotional component that I was not yet ready to admit.
Over the next few years I began to take my health a little more seriously. My job required me to take care of individuals who had various chronic conditions, including heart disease, high cholesterol, high blood pressure, diabetes and cancer, which were all the result of poor lifestyle choices. Seeing these people, and how much they suffered, scared me. I knew I needed to take things more seriously or one day I would be the one sitting in front of a young healthcare professional asking for help...
I was able to get off of sugar, or at least get to the point where it no longer ruled my life and you can too. Here are some ways to get off sugar:
1) Stop eating it. Get it out of the cupboards and just vow to not eat it again... or at least for a really long time until the body get rid of the bacteria that are causing your sugar cravings.
2) Love yourself. When you love yourself you will no longer do things that sabotage or health or harm yourself in any way.
3) Eat more whole food. When you flood your body with an abundance of whole food nutrition your cravings will start to go away. Please email me and i will share with you how I get the nutrition of over 40 different whole foods each day.
4) Drink a lot of water. Especially when you feel a sugar craving chug down as much water as you can. This will help curb the cravings.
5) Get more sleep. This will help the body process the food you do eat and clear the body of toxins so your cravings will begin to subside.
6) Exercise. When you feel healthy and strong you will be less likely to want to eat sugar.
7) Go do something. Half the time the struggle with sugar is an addiction that is taking the place of a lack of satisfaction in your life.
Hope this helps!
Rachel Joy Olsen, BSc., MBA
