Why You Must Break the Sugar Habit to Lose Weight and How to Kick it

Most Americans consume triple the amount of added sugar than the recommended amount.

Where does all this extra sugar come from? Well, we all know the usual suspects: soda, candy, candy, cookies, cakes, ice cream…… But there are also a ton of hidden sugar in foods that you might not expect. Most prepared and processed foods have added sugar. Some food manufacturers add sugar to foods that you don’t consider to be sweet. Some breakfast cereals, yogurts, spaghetti sauce and salad dressings may surprise you if you look at the nutrition labels. Any food that has more than 6 grams of sugar per serving and/or more sugar than fiber is not going to help with your healthy lifestyle, so make another choice.

High sugar intake has been linked to diabetes, heart disease and breast cancer. This fact alone should be enough to make us all take a closer look at how much of this sweet stuff we are putting into our bodies But, what does too much sugar intake have to do with weight loss?

Sugar Encourages Our Bodies to Store Fat!

When we consume sugar, our brain releases a powerful feel good hormone that makes us feel calm happy and relaxed. Your brain remembers this feeling and associates it with sugar. The next time you need a pick me up your brain screams “SUGAR NOW” = instant craving that some say is as powerful as an addiction to drugs.

Your body uses sugar for energy, and you get a pick me up solidifying this connection. The sugar is turned into glucose in your bloodstream. Insulin is a hormone that moves glucose from your blood into cells for energy right away or stores it for future energy in your liver and muscles. There is not much room in these cells for storage so any extra is stored as fat.

Insulin is the fat storing hormone and it also blocks Leptin, which is the hormone that tells your body you are full.

Let’s take a look at how all of this might play together in the role of weight gain.

Conspiracy Against Weight Loss: Brain, Sugar, Leptin and Fat Storage

It’s mid afternoon and you have hit the dreaded mid-day slump. You need a boost of energy to get through the rest of the day.

Your brain yells, “hey, a candy bar will make you feel so much better!” It keeps nagging so you give in.

You ate lunch a couple of hours ago so aren’t really hungry, but you need some energy. Where do you think the extra calories will go that aren’t used for immediate energy? Your storage cells are already full from lunch so… yep, to your fat cells.

The sugar spikes your blood sugar levels and you do feel better for a short amount of time. Sugar is a simple sugar that your body processes very quickly and you will be hungry again soon.

It is almost time to go home and your stomach is already grumbling. It takes a while to get home and get dinner ready or you stop for fast food while you are starving.

Your insulin levels have blocked the Leptin, you don’t get the message that you are full so you overeat.

In the evening your metabolism naturally starts to slow down to prepare for rest. All those extra calories are going to go where? You got it- FAT CELLS.

So how do we get off this sugar addiction cycle?

Kick the Sugar Habit

Here are some simple ways to help kick your sugar addiction:

·         Get rid of all the sugar and high sugar processed foods in your home, car and office. If it’s not there, you can’t eat it.

·         Eat a good breakfast with protein and healthy fat. Sugar cravings often occur when you are deficient in one of these nutrients. Also, the protein/fat combo will help keep you full longer, so you don’t go looking for energy mid-morning.

·         Drink your water! If there is even a slight dehydration your body may send you a signal that you are hungry when you really just need some water.  Dehydration can also slow your metabolism and cause your body to store fat.

·         Always have healthy snacks with you so you are prepared when the snack attacks happen. Some easy to carry snack that will help keep you feeling full longer:

1.       Seeds- handful of sunflower or pumpkin seeds

2.       Raw nuts- handful of almonds, cashews, walnuts, pecans

3.       Dried low sugar fruits like blueberries (check sugar on nutrition label)

4.       Nut butter and celery sticks (check the sugar on nutrition label)

5.       Low sodium/no preservative jerky

6.       Tuna pouches (make sure to have a spoon or fork with you too)

7.       Few squares high quality 70% dark chocolate

8.       Homemade vegetable chips. These are so easy to make but take a long time to cook. Look up recipes but basically you just cut up veggies into thin slices and dehydrate on a cookie sheet in 200-degree oven for 2 ½ hours.

9.       Move your body- movement helps your body use up excess blood sugar as energy instead of storing as fat.

10.   Get enough sleep and rest so that your brain doesn’t start nagging you for energy.

Another thing to keep in mind is that a craving typically only lasts 15-20 minutes. Try to think of some ways to distract yourself if a craving hits and you are not really hungry.  Paint your nails, go for a walk, color or draw, work on a hobby etc.

If you really can’t shake the craving, which happens to all of us at some time…. Make a quick sweet snack with Stevia. Don’t use any other kinds of artificial sweeteners. They are toxic in your body and your system does not know how to process. Stevia is made from sugar but has no calories and does not raise your blood sugar levels like regular table sugar does. My go to quick sweet snack is freezer candy. Super easy- 1 tablespoon unsweetened cocoa powder, 2 tablespoons Stevia and 1 tablespoon coconut oil softened slightly. Mix quickly in a bowl before the coconut oil starts to harden again. Put into ice cube tray- normally makes 2 or 3 squares. Freeze for about 15 minutes. Very sweet and always takes away my sweet tooth. 

There are tons of easy Stevia recipes on Pinterest also.

Some experts say that using Stevia is not a good idea because you are not really overcoming the sugar addiction but for me, I am more worried about eating in a way that does not raise insulin levels and put my body in fat storing mode. You and your health care professionals should make your own decision.

Putting It All Together to Shake the Sugar Habit

You now have a game plan for how to battle the sugar habit and help keep your body for storing empty calories as fat. The trick is to be prepared ahead of time with healthy snacks and a list of things you can do to keep your mind off food until the craving ends.