Help with sugar cravings

So I wanted to give you a few more tips on helping you along the path to reducing or eliminating sugar from your diet.  This is something I have been working on for 25 years or more so don’t beat yourself up if it doesn’t happen over night.  Every day is a new beginning and you can restart your day as many times as you want to 🙂

Sugar can be an addictive substance.  I would have to say by looking at the level of obesity in the US that more people have an issue with sugar than don’t.  So what am I talking about.  I mean sugar is a caloric form of food that is quickly absorbed into the blood stream and is especially important for brain function.  But that was before the pounds of refined white sugar that we consume each year.  So if we look at sugar as an addictive substance I think it helps make some of the solutions to reducing our consumptions easier.  And it also validates why people have so many problems cutting back on sugar.   We all see the guy smoking a cigarettes and know that he know’s what he is doing but he can’t stop himself.  Sugar might not be causing lung disease but it is causing many severe health problems and no body is petitioning to ban it from schools or all of the other places it is handed out.

Alcohol is a sugar and so people who have problems with alcohol also have problems with sugar.  Thankfully there is a lot of research now about nutrition and alcoholism and this research can also help people who aren’t waking up with a hangover again but waking up and saying I can’t believe I ate all of the ice cream again.  The first thing to keep in mind is that we are about 80% emotionally driven and %20 physically driven.   That means that underlying our cravings are usually emotional traumas or areas that we are stuck in.  I know that whenever I detox it’s not just the physical toxins that come out but I also have a lot of a ha moments.  It’s like the body is flushing out all of the old gunk and that is cleaning out the stuck emotional areas of our lives.  This can be a painful process but it can also be a rejuvenating one.  There are a couple of tricks that I like to use in this arena.

1  HALT:  This is an AA term for hungry, angry, lonely, tired.  Most cravings are strongest when you have one or more of these feelings.  If you are a parent you know that kids melt down at these times and guess what so do adults we just have developed strategies for getting us through them.  The problem is that a lot of these so called strategies that we have are damaging our bodies.  Studies have shown that alcoholics that can eliminate sugar and caffeine in their diets have less struggles with cravings.  Keeping your blood sugar level consistent is a huge part of reducing cravings.  It is especially important to increase protein and fiber in your diet as these will help.  This is yet another way that Bamboo Leaf Tea can help with cravings since it is high in soluble fiber and will aid in balancing blood sugar levels.  So if the afternoon is a struggle for you make sure you add some beans to your lunch.  This also means cutting out fruits fresh or dried and white flour.  It’s not that in moderation these items are bad it’s just that moderation seems to be a problem.  If you can take out as much as possible at the beginning then eventually you can add items back in.

2  Just for today:  I know when I thought to myself I want to stop drinking coffee a little voice in my head says “forever, that really seems a bit over the top, I mean it’s not that bad for you”.  You get the idea.  This helpful voice will go on and on until you feel overwhelmed enough to say “what was I thinking, I can’t do this”.  And then it’s all over.  So just for today or just for a week or just for a month is a better way to approach anything.  Giving yourself a finite period of time is a way to say I am trying this out and having this experience and I’ll see where it goes from there.  I can do anything for one hour or one day.  I encourage you to pick a time frame that doesn’t trigger an overwhelming feeling and start with that.  When you achieve your goal gift yourself with something fun (no food treats) and try for a bigger time frame.  You will begin to feel more confident in your ability to stick with something and your body will learn new strategies for getting through stressful times.

3  EFT:  If you don’t know what EFT is this is exciting for you.  EFT stands for emotional freedom technique.  It is a way that you can clear emotional energy in your body while it is happening.  I have been using this for many  years and I encourage you to check it out.  A great site that has lots of resources is The Tapping Solution  I have taught my kids how to do tapping and sometimes I just do it for them.  At the very least it is like a moving meditation and for me it’s a whole lot more.  You can use this for help when you are really struggling with not having sugar and the relief will be immediate.

I hope that some of these tips help you to successfully cut down or eliminate sugar in your diet and if you are struggling with alcohol addiction or know someone who is check out this book 7 Weeks to Sobriety.

As always I wish you many blessings in your journey,

Shanti