I have some friends gong on an 8 week quit sugar program, so this one is for you ladies :)
When I was in my early twenties (some time ago now) I had a wonderful woman who was in her 70's at the time and worked full time in a heath food shop tell me that if sugar was introduced today it would be considered a drug and banned.
And if I look back on my own relationship with sugar I can certainly say maybe she was right.
Hi my name is Jo and I am sugar addict.
Its been over 7 years since I drank a bottle of coke, 4 years since I put sugar in my coffee and 3 weeks since I last ate chocolate (it was only 1 chocolate covered ginger bit and I didn't feel guilty at all).
I have been known to eat entire packets of biscuits in one sitting, keep eating all the lollies in the bag until they are gone and then go searching through the house for more (my wife always has a stash somewhere), drink 3 litres of soft drink and still be wanting more.......... anyway you get the picture.
As a fitness professional and body work therapist I have been taught the problems of overconsumption of sugar on the body, but also that our body needs sugar to function.
With all our 12 week challenge clients here at Good to Go we recommend no "junk food" and no alcohol whilst you are on the challenge (I am 8 weeks into my own 12 week no junk and alcohol challenge).
I think I may finally have come to a place in my life where sugar is no longer the demon it once was, it no longer calls to me in the night, or on the train or at 4 pm in the afternoon when I have low blood sugar and am Very Very cranky.
And this feels good, but what has changed for me to be able to come to this place?
without wanting to get too hippy dippy and deep n stuff, but there has been much personal growth and a want to finally look after myself and an understanding that sitting down to a 1kg bag of lollies after a training session is not going to help me achieve my goals.
My moments of letting go have been very different for me,
- with coke I decided one day that I simply had to stop drinking it and did, and I haven't looked back since.
- with coffee the big change for me was to move to Sweden, black coffee is readily available and much easier and cheaper than milk and sugar coffee, and well I really didn't mind the taste of black filter coffee. (it is always a struggle when I go back to Australia though, piccolo latte with 1 sugar is the only way to drink real coffee ;))
- and chocolate and lollies I am taking my own advice, will they help me achieve my goal? NO
So If you're struggling with letting sugar go here are a few tips I have used to help me on my journey.
- Define what it is that you are eliminating from your diet.
- this is important because it pre-sets your parameters and when you come to making decisions of whether or not you can eat that - the decision has already been made
- for example, my goal is to heat healthy nutrient rich food, and so I chose to eliminate processed and refined sugars from my diet, this means fruit is ok for me as it still contains much fibre and nutrients which help me move towards my goal, a chocolate orange is not.
- Make sure your inner talk is positive
- keep focussed on your goal
- know that you are worth the effort
- know that in 5 minutes this craving will pass
- be proud of your decisions no matter what they are
- Try to avoid trouble spots
- for the first 4 weeks of this challenge I couldn't go through the check out at the supermarket because its basically a candy alley and my whole body was craving that sugar hit, thankfully my wife Sofi was there and was happy to help me by taking over the trolley so I could by pass it all together.
- Do Not store lollies or biscuits or anything that may tempt you to bust in the house until you are comfortable with leaving them there and not eating them
- Plan
- if you are going to be somewhere that you know the worlds yummiest desert is being served decide in advance whether or not you are going to have some, and then if you are going to have some how much
- recruit help - ask someone to stop you if you are looking like busting or exceeding your limit
- if you do have some enjoy it guilt free, say to yourself I am allowed to eat this, and I am choosing to eat this, and enjoy every mouthful, and then be proud of the fact that you don't need to take another bit :)
- Get Help
- friends
- family
- coach
- people who will encourage you and help you to feel good about your decisions
- Educate yourself
- there is so much information out there of sugar and what's good for you and what's not
- pick up advice that resonates with you, let go of advice that does not
- at Good to Go we come from a place where we recommend a healthy diet moving towards whole natural unprocessed foods and away from processed and artificial foods.
And above all Have fun with it, food is meat to be fun and delicious, not a punishment, create new wonderful memories and feelings about food so that when you look back on this challenge you will smile and be proud of your accomplishment.
Be Strong
Good to Go Jo
