5 Key Behavior Shifts for Quitting Sugar by Joan Kent, PhD

 

1. Stop looking for a loophole.

If there were a loophole in this sugar thing – some sneaky sugar I could eat without any bad effects – believe me:  I would have found it. Nobody looked harder than I did.

 

For addicts like us, sugar is not food – even if everyone around you can eat it with no problems. And keep in mind that some people will eat sugar despite the problems they have with it. Do what’s in your best interest.

 

2. Set yourself up for success.

Prepare to win the sugar battle. De-junk your kitchen. Don’t keep sugary foods in the cupboard or refrigerator and tell yourself you won’t eat them. Just don’t.

 

Buy what you’ll need to stay on track: plenty of protein, liquid B-complex, vegetables. Drink lots of water.

 

Fight one battle at a time. For now, just get off sugar. Then fix other stuff in your life.

 

3. Work out no matter what!

Workouts change brain chemistry. Schedule them into your days consistently in whichever planner you use.

 

When things get busy, don’t skip the workout and vow to start tomorrow. Make your workout as important as any business appointment. Reschedule it in your planner and keep the new appointment.

 

4. Follow reliable instructions.

Don’t use “cures” offered by people who don’t understand sugar addiction. Anyone who suggests the following is out of touch with what’s going on for a sugar addict. Find help from someone who understands you.

 

• Eat fruit if you crave sugar.
  Terrible advice. Fruit IS sugar and won’t help you quit.

 

• Eat the sugary food you crave, then have something healthful. 
  Post-facto broccoli will not help you quit sugar.

 

• Eat the sugary food you crave slowly and savor it.
  Eating sugar slowly and voluptuously will not help you quit.

 

• Go for a walk. Change the scenery. Think of something else. Talk to a friend.
  None of these will help. Sugar cravings are neurochemical, so they’re physiological. Pretending they’re imaginary won’t help you quit.

 

5. Focus long-term. Quitting sugar is never over.

At my first fitness job, a woman joined the gym and said she wanted to lose 10 pounds and then quit the gym. We can see what’s wrong with that, but she couldn’t.

 

Don’t make that mistake with sugar. Staying sugar-free is a long-term commitment to you. It takes guts. Don’t think of it as a “diet” and treat yourself to a brownie once you’ve quit.

 

Bonus Tip: Do This Now

 

When I was quitting sugar, I wanted help many times but had no one. No one even believed sugar addiction was real back then, so how could they have had good advice for me?

 

I had to construct my own plan and test it in my doctoral research study. I’ve now used it successfully for 20 years with thousands (yes!) of clients. It works!

 

Sugar addiction is a real problem with real consequences, physical and mental. And we need a real solution. Implementation is the true power that makes a sugar-free life happen.

 

As G.K. Chesterton said, “I do not believe in a fate that falls on men [or women] however they act, but I do believe in a fate that falls on them unless they act.”

 

I’m dedicated to helping you conquer sugar addiction so you can transform your health, stay addiction-free, and blast your self-image off the charts. Just visit www.LastResortNutrition.com and grab your free Craving Crusher Consult. Find out how easy it is to make a few simple changes and start feeling great right now.

 

Brought to you by Dr. Joan Kent, best-selling author of Stronger Than Sugar:  7 Simple Steps to Defeat Sugar Addiction, Lift Your Mood, and Transform Your Health.