5 Tips from a Former Sugar AddictWhy would I want to quit sugar? It’s delicious! Sugar is in nearly every good memory I have, from Easter to Halloween. From grandma’s purse to treats at the doctor’s office. As a mater of fact, what’s better than a pint of ice cream after your boyfriend has left you, or stuffing your face with M&M’s while veggin’ out to Netflix? What about Valentines Day? What about the syrup on my pancakes and the frosting on my birthday cake? I get it. So why would I be talking to you about sugar, when I so clearly love it? Well, I assume that heroin addicts became addicts because they… liked it. I’m pretty sure you don’t become an alcoholic if you hate the taste of liquor. So let’s get real with ourselves. Tip 1. Sugar is AddictiveSugar is addictive, and not in that cute, giggly kind of way. It’s a drug. The coca leaf is safe. The natural sugars in your fruits are safe. What’s not safe, and highly addictive is the extracted and chemically altered sugar we are eating today. Just like cocaine or heroin: an extracted, bleached substance that alters your brain and creates a user. Truth be told, studies say that refined sugar can be more addictive than recreational drugs. About a year ago Dr. James DiNicolantonio, a cardiovascular research scientist at St. Luke's Institute in Kansas City, spoke up on the issue and a few of his studies. "You get this intense release of dopamine upon acute ingestion of sugar. After you chronically consume it, those dopamine receptors start becoming down-regulated — there's less of them, and they're less responsive," he said. "That can lead to ADHD-like symptoms ... but it can also lead to a mild state of depression because we know that dopamine is that reward neurotransmitter." Read more HERE Once your neurotransmitters have been altered after years of chronic use, you suffer from loss of dopamine and when not consuming, sugar withdrawal symptoms. Services like our Mentoring Sessions, Grocery Shopping Assistance, and Eat2Live 101 Course can help our Members quit sugar. Step one is to admit we have a problem. And we do. Tip 2. It’s IN EverythingHere are a few common things I hear from folks. “I don’t eat a lot of candy.” “Sugar’s not that big of a deal for me, I’m more addicted to breads and pastas.” “I eat well, but I do like my sweet tea/coke/juice etc” You shouldn’t be eating more than 25 grams a day of refined sugar. But most people have no idea what that means or what that looks like. We found a GREAT chart online to show in pictures, what most people are doing to themselves. If the MAX in a single day is 25 grams, and 1 can of Coke has 39 grams of sugar… what are you doing to yourself?
All these awesome pictures came from DailyBurn.com is a great article. Read HERE
Tip 3. Fat isn’t making you fat. It’s the Sugar.As Jason Vale so beautifully put it; “you can label a pound of sugar as fat free but once consumed, it turns into fat”. Sugar is going to kill you, if you allow it. “ …there are two ways that sugar can sabotage your body and cause fat storage. Excess glucose is the first problem, and it involves a very simple concept. Anytime you have filled your body with more fuel than it actually needs (and this is very easy to do when eating foods with high sugar content), your liver’s sugar storage capacity is exceeded. When the liver is maximally full, the excess sugar is converted by the liver into fatty acids (that’s right – fat!) and returned to the bloodstream, where is taken throughout your body and stored (that’s right – as fat!) wherever you tend to store adipose fat cells, including, but not limited to, the popular regions of the stomach, hips, butt, and breasts. As an unfortunate bonus, once these regions are full of adipose tissue, the fatty acids begin to spill over into your organs, like the heart, liver, and kidneys. This reduces organ ability, raises blood pressure, decreases metabolism, and weakens the immune system.” - Read more HERE Tip 4. You’re Getting Sick From itMany of the problems you have with your body, you just assume are “normal”. But, as you heal your body, become more educated and experienced, you’ll learn that none of those things are “normal”. Here are my Top 3 health problems created by sugar you may not know about. (I’m excluding diabetes… because… that’s a given)
Tip 5. Healing Takes TimeAddiction means withdrawal, and withdrawal can mean suffering. First we need to understand and admit that you are addicted to sugar. We then need to come to terms with how we are going to get clean. Becoming a Member is the first step in this process. Our Apples & Oranges Membership is a full Year for a reason, because healing takes time. If you think you can just stop eating sugar cold turkey, you’ll find out just addicted you are, and more than likely, you’ll crash and burn. Putting together a plan with your MyCoach over a period of time helps ensure your success. You’ll do great and then you’ll fall horribly off the wagon and make yourself sick. That’s part of it. You’ll regain some weight, or get sick again, and at times you can feel like this is a cruel and evil trick played on you. Why can’t you just be like everyone else? The answer is more simple than you’d like to think. You can’t be like everyone else because you aren’t everyone else. If you do what they do, you’ll get the results they do. So you can’t follow the masses anymore; not when 1/3 of our population will be diagnosed with cancer. You can’t take the easy route anymore when 70% of the American population is being treated for some sort of health condition. You can’t follow that crowd, unless you want to be lulled to sleep and sickness with sugar coated lies. Having a solid support system in place during this process is essential. You are strong enough to do it, and the results are life-changing.
Many people’s first choice is to try and replace the sugar with something else. So let me ask you… would you replace a bullet wound with a knife wound? The alternatives to refined sugar are expensive. Some can be all natural like “raw cane sugar”, some can be deadly like “sweet n’ low” style alternatives. Stop trying to replace what’s killing you and ask yourself what you need the sugar for. Food needs to have a purpose in your life, not just be a fun time hook up. You need to marry the idea of loving your body by what you put in it. So before you indulge, ask yourself, “what will this do to me or for me?” Support is critical. We have free services, classes, events, and Membership Services to help you along your journey; and the best part is… it was all created by a Former Sugar Addict.
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