What happens when you give up sugar in your life? It's what I have been working on as a goal in the new year because of my love for desserts like release peanut butter cups, dark chocolate, and cheesecake! I'm still dreaming of cheesecake, but only because I want to create gourmet ones that are meant for a goddess.
I grew up knowing sweets were available around every corner in my childhood home. We had doughnut or dessert pastries for breakfast, peanut butter, and jelly sandwiches for lunch, and ice cream after dinner for dessert. My diet growing up was a heavy carb-based diet because it was all my family could afford.
And let's not forget the disguised sugar ingredients we commonly ate in foods like bread, ramen noodles, and ketchup, growing up.
Sugar is in almost every product you find on the store shelves and is more addictive than cocaine. Yet we as consumers don't realize that addiction can lead to obesity, diabetes, heart disease, and other chronic health conditions, including death.
Kicking the sweet stuff out of your life won't be easy, but it is a doable goal. Sugar unfortunately is in everything, which makes it hard to give up. Yet, the result of removing sugar from your lifestyle is tremendous.
Giving up the sweet stuff can result in steady energy, instead of those up and down energy levels you were once experiencing.
Once you have kicked the sugar habit, you may notice extreme sensitivity to the sweet stuff. That's because our bodies weren't meant to digest fake substances with no nutrients in them.
You will also find yourself irritable during your sugar detox for a few days, but it will pass. Once the mood swing phase has passed, you will find your sugar cravings easier to manage.
You will still need to watch your labels and get familiar with other names for sugar, or simply avoid anything processed all together. Because sugar isn't illegal, manufacturers are allowed to use the sweet stuff in their products to make it taste good. They will even go as far as hiding sugar under another name like corn syrup, cane sugar, and brown sugar.
Also, keep an eye on hidden sugars if you choose to go out to eat. If you are opting for fast food, do an ingredients check on their company website to learn which of their meals are sugar-free friendly. If you are planning to visit a restaurant, you'll need to ask your waiter what dishes are or can be prepared without added sugar. And when in doubt, stick with a house salad or similar with the dressing on the side. Or better yet, simply avoid dining out altogether and cook at home.
If you are planning to accept that invite to a family or friend's celebration, bring your own dish and explain to your host or hostess that you are on a sugar detox. It's always better, to be honest rather than simply avoiding why you are not eating their homemade desserts or delicious meals.
If you need an alternative to keep you going when the sugar detox brings your energy level down, GO from Mantra Labs is a great nutritional alternative that is all natural and no sugar!
GO contains natural caffeine from tea leaves, oceanic electrolytes, recovery herbs and vitamins. Nothing but pure goodness to help kick start your work day slump!
Finally, if you are already experiencing health issues that may be a result of sugar in your diet, please consult with your doctor to be sure it's safe to eliminate the sweet stuff from your diet. He or she may suggest slowly weaning yourself from the addictive substance, and that's perfectly okay!
