Happy Humps Day!! It’s Wednesday and it’s time to tackle one of those issues that drive us ladies CRAAAZYYYY….sugar addiction! Cookies, cakes, brownies, icecream, candy, soda, frappuccinos, ahhh it never ends. We are haunted with high sugar…sugar is even hidden in foods we normally wouldn’t even consider…and I’m talking in buckets full making you crave sugar even more. So how do you combat the sugar blues?
Weight loss and fitness issues are usually one of the causes of depression for women who are having difficulty shedding off the unwanted fat bulges. And so what do we do when we get sad about our misfortunes? We binge eat especially on sweets when we feel down or when we encounter problems that we have difficulty coping with. Very few of us know that this is a deadly cycle.
If you feel down because you feel that weight loss and fitness is something that you cannot achieve, you should not resolve to eating sweets to make you feel good. Sugar is high on the list of the causes of weight gain, mood swings, and depression. It can create cravings that make the body wanting more.
How do you beat the sugar blues? Change your weight loss and fitness goals. If you will be able to permanently change your relationship with sugar then you will be able to change your lifestyle and eventually lose weight. How do you do this? You must answer the following:
1.Why do you crave for sugar?
2.How does sugar affect your energy?
3.What you can do to prevent cravings?
Weight loss and fitness problems are born out of this viscous cycle; you eat sweets that cause blood sugar spikes followed by an abrupt decline. When this happens, you tend to be more irritable, anxious, and lightheaded, which in turn causes you to crave for more sugar. Highly refined sugar is full of empty calories, by breaking down rapidly in your bloodstream, which causes insulin dumping.
Yes, Sugar or glucose, is a requirement for a healthy body; it provides energy to cells in the body. This, however, when taken in high amounts may lead to obesity and other life threatening diseases like heart disease and diabetes. Having weight loss and fitness goals that eliminates these cravings will help you achieve a body that is fit, healthy, and Fit Fem bangin’.
If you want to get the weight loss and fitness goals that you want, you should know that, a recent study shows that to prevent cravings, you must stock up on food with high protein and fiber to balance blood sugar levels. Changing the outlook of how you eat and approach to sweets does not mean having the dentist take out your sweet tooth. You just have to have more focus to address the root of your cravings, weed it out and when you do, getting the weight loss and fitness you want is easily achievable.
Here is my top 9 list to beat the sugar blues:
1.Identify your sugar trigger – answering this question is the most important first step to combating your sugar addiction. There are certain foods or circumstances that trigger you to eat sweets. Is it lack of sleep, depression, boredom, that time of the month? Be creative and find ways to deal with situations that cause these triggers. Also be careful of consuming too many foods that contain sugar free substitutes like sucralose, harmful chemicals, that actually triggers deeper sugar cravings.
2.Go ga ga for whole grains – enriched grains are highly processed foods such as white breads and pasta are simple carbs that are digested by your body really easily, making you crave more portions. Just because a package says whole wheat or whole wheat pasta does not necessearily mean it is a real whole grain, not enriched. Carbs, like we said, are not automatically the enemy – you just have to choose the right kind. Complex carbohydrates in fruits and vegetables are the way to go. Whole grain foods to try are quinoa, barley, spelt, rye, rolled and steel cut oats, buckwheat, couscous, basmati brown rice, and amaranth.
3.Eat your veggies – if you ever feel your sweet tooth coming on, try starchy vegetables like carrots, corn, sweet potato, beans, yams, butternut squash. These might satisfy your craving and they are super healthy for you. And if you fill up your plate with more leafy greens, you’ll most likely be too full to eat any candy. Just an observation…
4.Drink lots n lots of water – no surprise here. You hear this advice all of the time, so why don’t you follow it? All you need is plain ol’ H2O, and plenty of it. If you hate the taste of water, try putting in your favorite fruit, like a handful of strawberries or some slices of watermelon, with ice in a glass of water and refrigerate it. It’s absolutely refreshing in scorching hot summer days.
5.Fitness, baby – this one’s easy! If you are bored or stressed, go workout. Exercise has proven to release endorphins in your bloodstream, the happy hormone. Who needs chocolate? And you get to strengthen and burn fat in the process…it’s a win win don’t you think?
6.Sleep does matter – Ingesting sugar as you know spikes our blood sugar levels which in turn affects you energy level. Sooo that means high insulin level eventually leads to insulin drops which then turns into energy dumps. Now imagine coupling that we lack of sleep which causes you to look for more energy in sugary drinks and foods….uyyyy recipe for disaster. My advice – make it a routine to go to bed at the same time and wake up at the same time most days of the week. And get your 8 hours of sleep in.
7.It’s mental – can you get yourself to adjust your habits? For example, if you are used to putting a lot of sugar in your coffee and stiring endlessly till you get all the sugar to mix well, think you can maybe not put sugar in your coffee but still stir? Is it psychological for you? Maybe you can make a neurological connection there and slowly break the sugar habit. Just a suggestion.