Breaking sugar addiction is not as easy as it sounds. Sugar is a drug, and like all other drugs it takes LOTS of work to kick the habit.

All changes in habits and lifestyle come with challenges, and the new way of life I’ve decided on was definitely going to be an uphill battle.

As a life long sugar addict this was going to be my biggest challenge yet. What did I get myself into agreeing to join my hubby on this healthy adventure.

You say, how can cutting sugar out be hard??

Sugar has been a very close friend in my life for many, MANY years – since early childhood. That picture above I could eat ALL that in one sitting – that is a great idea of a supper for me.

Sugar is a Drug – Breaking Sugar Addiction!

It’s just sugar right? NOT!! With the amount of sugar I eat, and the dependence I have on it – sugar is my drug! It is addictive, and you can become dependent without noticing.

Worse, it even comes with withdrawal. Sugar withdrawal comes with lovely extreme cravings, irritability, tiredness, and even the shakes.

But I’m in this for the long haul.

When I talk sugar, I do mainly mean the processed white gold goodness that is sugar. Natural sugars, like those in fruit are still sugar and should be moderated – they do not cause the chaos that the white stuff does.

Becoming Healthy and Living with Less Sugar

(not completely sugar free – that would be like asking a fish to live on land)

Why Ditch the White Stuff??

Sugar may taste sweet, but it is NOT sweet on your body and mind.

Without getting all geeky and scientific… Here’s a few of the side effects of consistent and excessive sugar intake:

• The first one is a biggie! Too much sugar will make your liver resistant to insulin and thus giving you a higher chance of diabetes with each morsel of candy.
• Mood swings – The jumps and dips in glucose will cause highs and lows.
• A vicious cycle – you get the “high” from the energy of sugar, which is followed by a crash. The high does NOT last long; so you are left looking for more sugar.
• It accelerates aging by creating certain proteins that make skin droop.
• Sugar causes high blood pressure. As well as more risk for heart disease.
• It makes you sluggish.
• It causes stress – when you have a quick spike in blood sugar (from a few candies) it is followed with that crash and when the blood sugar goes low stress hormones are released.
•  Mental fog, lack of concentration.
• There is a connection between sugar and cholesterol. And we all know cholesterol is not a welcome permanent resident in our body.

And so the adventure begins! Our healthy family is a about six months into our adventure and here’s our three top tips on getting started with a new healthy way of life.

This can apply to any new healthy life style change. If your kryptonite is salt, or carbs, this can still work on the same principles. Just substitute my word “sweet” with your weakness.

3 Things to Keep in Mind when Breaking Sugar Addiction:

#1 – Remove all temptation.

The cravings are real! They are intense! Will power needs to be strong. If not, temptation needs to be out of your reach. After a few days your body will turn against you and want everything sweet that it can get! Forget PMS cravings, forget pregnancy cravings – they got nothing on the power of sugar.

#2 – Be excited and ready for the challenge.

Don’t dread this adventure, don’t fear the challenge. Sugars are NOT your friend, you are doing this for the better of your health. The more you focus on what you are going to loose out on, the harder the transition is.

I found it so much fun to find ways to incorporate healthy friendly ways to have my favourite things. For example, I’ve made whipped cream, bread and ramen that are all delicious. With a near handful of carbs and no sugar.

I have found it even helpful to learn what havoc sugar wreaks on your body I promise you after the hell of withdrawal it will feel great. You will feel awesome.

#3 – Don’t just rely on removing one thing.

Sure, some say you can easily loose weight on a certain meal plan, but that’s not the goal. The goal is to be healthy, feel great and have energy to spare at the end of the day.

This is a permanent change, not just a six week plan to lose ten pounds. And remember, after the sugar is out of your system you can still have the odd sweet as a reward. But you will not be controlled by sugar; you will not be fueled by sugar – that is the goal.

Add exercise. No you don’t have to live at the gym, or run 5 km a day. Simply incorporate a brisk 30-45 minute walk every night. Step counters make you motivated to achieve more each day, or start an exercise challenge. Fitness watches are great motivators. I adore my Garmin Vito Active HR – it comes everywhere with me. **The link to a Garmin will result in a little reward for me, that I will NOT spend on candy!**

Be committed to a healthy lifestyle and breaking sugar addiction. 

Remember a new way of life will take some time to adjust to, but it is worth the short term struggle. You will feel awesome every day, and never miss those sugars!

Now that we have committed to breaking sugar addiction, let’s learn the way to get over the sugar addition and learn a great sugar addiction treatment plan. *Post coming soon – sign up below to keep up to date, I will send you a weekly email with all my new creativity & lifestyle fun. 

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Creative Lifestyle

It is important to incorporate creativity into everything you do. I do – including my everyday lifestyle. I also aim to stay as healthy as possible.

I will share plenty of lifestyle tips, experiences and great ways to be creative. As I mentioned above if you sign up to stay up to date you won’t miss a post! If emails aren’t your thing, there’s always Facebook.

Love,