10 Ways to fight sugar addiction

10 Ways to fight sugar addiction

Addiction.

We don’t like to use the word, it sounds like one reserved for “other” people. People with problems.

Hmm. I am totally, completely, fighting sugar addiction.

Perhaps the only addiction that might pass for acceptable.

Confession time:  I crave sugar like an addict craves the next hit. Like an alcoholic thinks of nothing else until that first sip comes again.

 Sugar has become love. My friend. My comfort. My drug. And, my idol.” 

It is disgusting, really.

Is sugar addiction a real thing?

Sugar and the unending draw for more, isn’t so different, that craving. I’ve seen many different addictions up close; sugar really serves the same purpose.

I’ve been sneaking sugar for as long as I can remember.

Mom caught me as a baby with a box of cookies in the bed. I became a professional at putting packages back together before I turned double digits.

What are the signs of sugar addiction?

Ever wake up in the night craving sugar?

When you are tired crave sugar?

When you are sick crave sugar?

When you skip regular food and only desire sugar?

Yep. Me too.

Acknowledging the truth beats keeping secrets. Well, for me, the honest truth is that I need to change. The time has come.

Mark Hyman, MD , a functional medicine expert, wrote an excellent article called “Beating Food Addiction” (Experience Life, March 2014).

“The GOOD NEWS is that if you can kick food addiction, then you can literally reset your biology and your metabolism. This will enable you to reverse chronic symptoms, break free of your cravings, lose weight, and find your way back to your natural state of health, energy, and well being.”

How do I stop sugar addiction?

1. Have a partner. This is critical. My youngest daughter is interested in health and nutrition and has tried for a few years to get me on board. To be honest, it made me dig my heels in. After decades of failed diets, I wasn’t interested in counting anything! Something clicked though, and I’ll be taking advantage of her knowledge and desire to be my partner. Find someone who encourages you, but will not take your excuses. Not the empathetic friend who invites you to partake in the very thing you want to avoid.

2.  Focus on the small changes. If you make any step in a positive direction, celebrate it!  Don’t stop there. Keep moving forward; rejoice in the little things. As time passes those little things will become a testament.

3.  Beware of temptation. If you are consuming unhealthy things, don’t keep them in the house.  Dr. Hyman says, “Out with the bad, in with the good”. Addiction doesn’t coexist with moderation. Know your specific challenge. Be realistic.  Buyer beware of things that say healthy, natural, wholesome and organic. Read the labels. Hyman encourages us:

“To put it bluntly, your hormones, taste buds, and brain chemistry have been hijacked by the food industry. It makes me furious to hear my patients blame themselves for their weight problems. Although personal empowerment and responsibility are important, they are usually not a strong enough defense against the steady stream of hyperprocessed, highly palatable, intensely addictive foods that the food industry churns out to claim the biggest market share—or what industry insiders call “stomach share.”

4.  Don’t diet. It is a lose- lose situation. You might lose weight, but most programs are not sustainable. A life is meant to be lived well, and that, I believe, includes delicious food. It is so much wiser to institute a healthy new stream of food. Instead of focusing only on what to leave out, spend time learning about what to put in. Did you know most of us don’t get near enough protein and fiber? 2 essential tools to rebuild and create a healthy body. The lack of those creates intense desires to fill the void with more crap.

5.  Stay away from things that are hard to pronounce. The simpler the food, the better for our bodies. Incorporate more whole foods. Eat less from boxes.  Processed foods are not our friends. If we do nothing else but focus on eliminating High Fructose Corn Syrup (HFCS) and anything resembling partially hydrogenated oils, the body will be better off than before.

6.  Create a positive place to speak words of life into the journey. Cut out photos of healthy (realistic, strong) people that inspire. Words, headlines,  and stories that we can come back to for quick motivation. Glue them into a notebook that becomes your visual partner.

7.  Time is not the metric for success. Use it as a friendly tool, to write down specific goals. There is nothing to gain by setting impossible timelines and inviting failure in. Every body is unique.

8.  Plan ahead. When possible, create a game plan for situations in advance. I’ll be taking a trip home in a few weeks. There are a few places that I LOVE to eat. And I will. With no guilt. I’ll have ONE of my favorite donuts in the world. ONE In-n-Out burger, minus the shake. When meeting up with friends, I’ll suggest outdoor activities that don’t involve food. I won’t be walking into a minefield with no plan of defense.

9. Own the fabulous you already are. Refuse to spend another day discounting the wonderful qualities that define YOU. Refuse to compare or insult your body. Your being.

10. Extend grace to yourself. We must learn to be kind to ourselves, seeing ourselves through the eyes of the one who loves us the most. Jesus wouldn’t kick us when we are down. He’d bend to our level with compassion, extend his hand and walk with us as we head out again. No shame, just grace. That is how we’ll have a life well- lived.

How long does it take to break a sugar addiction?

Psshh. I don’t have the answer. It takes as long as it takes, we just need to keep trying. ♥

How can I encourage you to pursue a life well lived without sharing the struggle that trips me up along my own path?

Listen; if we say we don’t have the discipline to follow through on changes, here is more good news.

We are disciplined already, just in the wrong areas.

What is discipline except for a practice?  We know how to practice.

I want to respect my body as the temple that God tells me that it is. That will require cleaning house.

My girl is helping me do a 10-day detox, oh how I dread it, honestly. But I know, deep down? It is going to feel so good. My body is, with time, going to be stronger and healthier…and I can’t wait for that.

It won’t be easy; in fact, it will probably be full of slip-ups and restarts.

Shoot, just writing about this makes me want to buy a big jar of Nutella and hide in the car. That is honesty folks, and I am trusting in faith that it is to be shared for a reason.  That you might need to know this and feel that your secret needs to be released.

One of the biggest lessons I’ve learned so far in life?

Shame is in the shadows. Freedom is found in bringing light to the dark places

Would you like to go on this journey with me?   Just say that you’ll be making strides toward a better you. Together we’ll push toward our best life.

“Better health begins with the conviction to seek it“, says Sue Ingebretson.  Let’s do this.

Resources you might like:

• 40 Days to Wholeness: Body, Soul, and Spirit: A Healthy and Free Devotional
• The 40-Day Sugar Fast: Where Physical Detox Meets Spiritual Transformation
• The Satisfied Workbook: A Spiritual Guide to Recovery and Food Freedom
• Grace Filled Plates: Ditch Diets and Find Food Freedom Through God’s Grace
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