10 Sugar-Kicking Tips To Curb Your Sweet Cravings

Like any other habit, sugar cravings can be a tough one to kick. It seems like the more sweets and desserts you have, the more you are waiting for the next hit. Where does the battle end?

There isn't a single cure-all to this problem, but in general, the less sweet food you eat, the less you'll crave them. So how do you get to that point?

A few hard facts you might like to think about….

• Diabetes is diagnosed when a person has too much glucose (sugar) in the blood. This happens because the pancreas cannot make enough insulin, which is required to transport the sugar into the body’s cells. When cells can’t get enough sugar they can’t function properly (insulin resistance). This can lead to serious health consequences.
   
• Over 225,000 New Zealanders have Type 1 or Type 2 diabetes. These numbers exclude pre-diabetic and undiagnosed people.
   
• Every day 50 more people are diagnosed with diabetes.
   
• Diabetes is now an epidemic.
   
• Too much sugar in the diet is a major contributing factor.
   

Here are our Top 10 Tips that just might help you to pull your own sweet tooth once and for all.

1. Remove temptations. Go through your refrigerator and food pantry. Get rid of the cakes, ice cream, cookies, etc. When you go food shopping, make a conscious effort to not buy sweets.
    
2. Put yourself in good situations and know when you’re most vulnerable. If you are someone who can’t go past the free biscuits at morning tea, use the vending machine at work, or will drive through the petrol station to fill up on snacks, then try to do things in a new way to prevent yourself from falling into old habits. Make the decision to take your morning tea at a different time, don’t carry change for the vending machine and go to the petrol station after a meal, so you don’t load up on unhealthy foods. There’s always a way. Get creative.
    
3. Wait out the craving. Most nutrition experts say that the cravings you experience will only last a couple of minutes. So if you can wait it out, they will pass and you will be better for it. Try to occupy yourself for a good 10 minutes when you get a craving. Call a friend, take a short walk or do something to distract yourself.
    
4. Increase your protein intake.  Often our bodies crave sweets when what they really need is more protein. Make sure you have protein at each meal, especially at breakfast and lunch. This helps to balance blood sugar levels.
    
5. Read labels. You might be surprised to learn how much sugar there is in a lot of the foods that you eat. Being aware of sugar content can help you avoid high-sugar foods and kick the addiction.
    
6. Eat regularly. Have small, frequent meals to help keep your blood sugar level stable and eliminate your body's need for a quick sugar fix. Avoid skipping meals (especially breakfast). Waiting too long between meals may set you up to choose sugary, fatty foods to satisfy your hunger..  Eating every three to five hours can help keep blood sugar stable and help you avoid irrational eating behaviour.
    
7. Set daily goals and reward yourself for meeting them. To a sugar addict, nothing is tougher than getting through the day without a sugary treat. The longer you can hold out, the easier it will become, so try to find a reward that would be worth holding out for rather than a sugary reward.
    
8. Get enough sleep – you don’t have to be a rocket scientist to know that when you’re tired, the first thing you want to do is reach for something sweet to give you a pick-me-up. Get the kids to bed, forget about the housework, turn the telly off and go to bed yourself. Research shows that poor sleep is related to weight retention and obesity.
    
9. Get distracted. By drawing your attention to something else you will soon forget about your cravings. Whether it's watching a television show, taking a walk, reading a good book, dancing to your favourite song, or taking a nap, you'll forget about that snack you want to munch on. Try to avoid sitting alone and thinking about your cravings. Recruiting someone to do it with you, making it a team effort, can also help to get through the sugar-craving times.
    

Take a daily supplement designed to balance blood sugar levels and in doing so you will reduce sugar cravings. Good Health Sugar Stop™ is a formula containing White Mulberry Leaf and Chromium, which is specifically formulated for those with a sweet tooth, to reduce sugar cravings. It also contains high levels of the active ingredient DNJ (Deoxynojirimycin) derived from Mulberry Leaf, which not only helps to balance blood sugar levels, it also works by eliminating added sugar from the body as waste. 

As hard as it might be to believe, you CAN quit the sugar habit. Not only will you probably lose some weight, but you will feel better and more energetic.