10 Ways To Quit Sugar In 5 Days
Do you crave for sugary
treats late at night or when you are happy, heartbroken, working, or bored?
Then you are addicted to sugar – well, most of us are! In fact, sugar addiction
is the reason why there’s a rise in diabetes, obesity, cardiovascular diseases,
and obesity-related diseases around the world. The World Health Organization
(WHO) recommends 6 teaspoons of sugar per day. But according to the American
Heart Association, most of us consume more than 22 teaspoons of sugar per day.
That’s about 16% of total calories consumed! So, let go of your sugar addiction
to lose weight, feel happy, stay active, and stronger than ever. Wonder how?
Worry not, that’s what you are here to find out. I will tell you ways to get
there. Here’s how you can quit sugar in just 5 days.
1. Positive Approach
Giving up sugar doesn’t
mean you are going to be deprived. If you want to quit sugar, it is important
that you have the right attitude. It is just like quitting any other addiction.
Abandon it to get better and live longer. Sugar addiction is similar to the
urge to have alcohol or nicotine – unnecessary, unhealthy and perilous yet we
crave for it. So you don’t have to feel you are missing out on something – you
are just taking responsibility for your health, which is not only commendable
but inspiring too.
2. Banish Sugar From Your Kitchen
The next step towards
achieving your no-sugar goal is to take sugar off your kitchen shelves. That’s
the only way you can prevent yourself from binging on sugar-loaded foods. In
fact, you should also be careful about the “invisible sugar” in various
processed foods—get rid of them as soon as possible. Fruits also contain fruit
sugar, fructose, which is also the reason for sugar addiction. Keep only a few
fruits stored in your fridge, eliminate milk chocolate, packaged fruit juices,
flavored water, honey, cow’s milk, processed grains, dry fruits, breakfast
cereals, ready to eat foods, alcohol, and biscuits.
3. Kill The Trigger
Sugar craving is associated with the habits you have developed over the years. For example, watching a movie at the theater means a large bucket of popcorn with aerated drinks (high on sugar). Try to figure out what habits are associated with your cravings for sugary foods. Do you feel hungry in the middle of the night and crave to have ice cream or chocolate? Do you feel the need to eat fruits right after lunch or dinner? Write down the triggers for your sugar craving so you can use a healthy substitute.
4. Say No
The next thing you should do is
say “no” to that meddling voice in your mind. Politely refuse to your friends
and family members who offer sugary treats. You cannot escape sugar, especially
when there are so many new dessert places mushrooming around the town, and
parties are thrown to mark birthdays, farewells, new beginnings, etc. But hey,
you can celebrate and indulge without overloading your body with sugar. So, be
courteous and refuse sweet in any form from your loved ones but say a strict
“no” to that voice in your head. When you do this again and again for few days,
you will be able to control yourself even if Willy Wonka offered you a piece of
chocolate!
5. Cook Your Meal At Home
You can cut back on the sugar by avoiding outside food. Most restaurants add sugar and salt in various forms to enhance the taste, flavor, and color of the food. So one of the best ways to quit sugar is to cook your meals at home and use ingredients that do not contain sugar in any form.
6. Careful With Your Tea/Coffee
Can’t do without tea or
coffee? Not a problem. You can continue drinking tea and coffee but avoid the
use of refined sugar and/or artificial sweeteners like aspartame, sucralose,
acesulfame potassium, and neotame.
7. Eat Veggies
Vegetables are loaded with
vitamins, minerals, phytonutrients, and dietary fiber. When you are trying to
break your sugar addiction, consuming lots of veggies will keep you full for longer
and improve your health. This would gradually curb your sugar cravings at odd
times of the day.
9. Eat Less Sweet Fruits
Fruits contain fructose and can
also give you a sugar high. Eat fruits that are not very sweet such as
strawberries, gooseberry, blueberry, cranberry, raspberry, apples, oranges,
lime, lemon, tangerine, avocado, muskmelon, and honeydew melon. Avoid eating
papaya, mango, grapes, pineapple, peaches, pear, plum, etc.
10. Drink Water
The last and the most important
step is to drink plenty of water to keep yourself hydrated and flush out the
sugar from your system. Drinking water also helps to curb appetite, lose
weight, reduce skin rashes, chapping of lips, and improve brain function.
So
those were the 10 ways in which you could quit sugar in just 5 days.
Benefits
Of Quitting Sugar
Here’s
how you can benefit from it.
·
Boots will power.
·
Your energy levels will increase.
·
You will lose weight.
·
Eases joint pain.
·
Your brain will become more active.
·
No insomnia.
·
You will save money.
·
You will learn to cook delicious food at home.
·
Your skin problems will vanish like magic.
This
seems fabulous but quitting sugar doesn’t go smoothly for most people. Here are
the sugar withdrawal symptoms that can affect you.
Possible Side Effects Of Quitting Sugar
These are scary, but I am letting you know that these are normal for anyone who wants to quit sugar. If you can endure these initial symptoms, you can quickly break the habit of consuming too much sugar.
To conclude, millions of people have benefited from quitting sugar. So can you. Use this article as a guideline and get your life back on track for a better and healthier life. Cheers to quitting sugar!
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