Healthy Habits: Conquering Sugar Addiction

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"Hello, my name is Candace, and I am a Sugar-aholic."

I'm not making fun. I'm quite serious, and like all "-alohics," I'm always recovering. 

Sugar IS addictive. 

Sugar IS destructive in our bodies. 

Adult Diabetes runs in my family. As a kid, I actually remember learning about family health histories and saying to myself, "Oh.... well then, I'll have heart attacks, arthritis and diabetes when I'm old." It was simple. I believed that's what was going to happen to me, and I was very matter-of-fact about it. I finally woke up to the fact that I have a lot more control over these problems. They don't HAVE to happen. I can choose to live differently to prevent them - especially diabetes.

This is my 6 step program to conquering sugar addiction.

1) Avoid Your Trigger Foods
I think Zingers are the most appropriately named food on the planet. I swear I can actually feel the sugar-high "zinging" to my brain if I eat them. I didn't even discover these cream-filled, fudge-frosted, devil's food cakes until I was an adult. I would buy a box of 10 to put in the kids lunch boxes. Three would go in the lunches, and I would find myself snarfing down the other seven over the course of a single day. I once joked to some friends that Zingers are "chocolate crack," and I'm a junky if they're in my house. My friends thought that was hilarious, and showed up on my doorstep with a box of Zingers that night. I ate the entire box! This is what you call a TRIGGER FOOD.

Everyone has different trigger foods - these are foods that you feel helpless against. Eat one and you'll eat 12 before you know it. You need to take a serious look at foods like this in your life. Once you identify your trigger foods you need to recognize them for what they are to you - an addiction. To tell myself I can eat just one Zinger in the presence of a box is like an alcoholic saying "I can have just one drink in the bar." It won't happen. I don't buy Zingers anymore because I KNOW they are a trigger food for me.  I'm not saying you can never have that food again, but save it for a special occasion, a birthday, anniversary, or specific holiday. On those occasions, buy or prepare enough for a single serving, so you don't find yourself going on a bender.

2) Identify the Sugar

Did you know that every 4 grams of sugar you see on a label is equal to 1 teaspoon of sugar. Understanding "grams of sugar" also helps you evaluate all kinds of foods including breakfast cereals. You can identify which foods have a lot of sugar and which ones don't. For instance, 1 cup of Lucky Charms has 12 grams of sugar - that's 3 teaspoons of sugar. If my boys ate lucky charms for breakfast they would easily consume 6-8 teaspoons of sugar before school. I hope you'll look at your food labels, and see how much sugar you're really eating. Next, find ways to cut it back.

3) Dial Down Your Sweet Acuity
It IS possible for you to change your taste for sweetness. For instance if you like to pour a 1/2 cup of syrup on your pancakes, you can gradually reduce this amount along with your appetite for sweet. Soon, you can be topping pancakes with only fruit. Likewise, if you like 3 teaspoons of sugar on cereal or oatmeal, you can slowly cut it back to 1. I've always loved honey-nut cheerios, but I wondered what would happen if I mixed a box of plain cheerios with a box of honey-nut cheerios. I'd cut the sugar in half, but would I still enjoy it? Guess what... I did! It tasted sweet enough to me and made regular honey-nut cheerios seem too sweet. Sprinkling cinnamon, raisins and other fruits on your cereal sweetens it while adding nutritional value. These are great strategies for both yourself and your kids. Leave the box of cookies off the grocery list, and put the money toward some strawberries for your healthy cereal!

4) Tame Your Sweet Cravings with Fruit:
How much fruit have you been eating? If you have a lot of sweet cravings, then chances are you've been missing the mark. Your brain really does require some simple carbohydrates to function. Fruit is high in simple carbohydrates. When you don't get enough your brain sends you a fruit craving. The problem is we misinterpret that signal as "sweets" or "chocolate" cravings. This is nutritionist Zonya Foco's "guaranteed" SWEET CRAVING CURE: eat a piece of fruit every 4 hours with a glass of water and NO more sweet cravings!

5) Create the Right Environment

This principle work for all weight loss, not just sugar addiction. Stock the fridge and pantry with healthy foods and snacks, especially fruit, and DON'T BUY TRIGGER FOODS at all. If your family wants a treat on hand then choose something that isn't remotely tempting to you. For instance, my entire family loves "gummies" of every shape and size, but I can't stand them. I could be in a room filled with gummies and not want a single one. So if I'm looking to treat the kids without tempting myself, then gummies are a great way to go. And you don't HAVE to keep supplies of sugary treats for the family. You're doing them a service by lowering their sugar intake too.

6) Find New Ways to Treat Yourself
I realized that I liked to reward myself with sweets. After a long hard day, or accomplishing a monumental task, I'd think, "I deserve a treat!"  The problem is that "treating" myself to sugar all the time wasn't treating myself well. I needed to find new rewards that made me feel good about my work without hurting me in the process. I now try a variety of rewards. Sometimes I'll treat myself to a magazine (and I enjoy it a lot longer than a candy bar.) Sometimes I'll treat myself to a new cosmetic, accessory, a movie or tv show, a good book, time out with my husband, family or friends. There are a thousand ways to reward yourself without sugar! Give yourself a reward that helps you KEEP feeling good about what you've done and about yourself!!!