You know all that added sugar you’re consuming isn’t good for you. How would you like to stop eating it and change your diet in less than a week? Best of all, how would you like to stop craving candy and sweets and eat healthy, real food instead? It is possible by following this simple step-by-step plan.
Each day you’ll focus on one specific item and before the week is over you’ll have broken that sugar habit. Let’s start.
Day One – Keep Track Of Your Daily Sugar Intake
For the first day, simply keep track of how much sugar you’re consuming. Write down everything you eat and drink and start adding up how many grams of sugar you’re consuming. Add it all up at the end of the day.
- Grab your calculator and use this formula to figure out how many teaspoons of sugar you’ve had. Each teaspoon of sugar has about 4 g of sugar in it.
- Take your total grams and divide them by 4.
How many teaspoons of sugar have you had today?
If you need a visual aide, grab the sugar jar and measure it out into a bowl. If you’re anything like the average American, it will be quite a lot of sugar. Seeing the amount in front of you will help you make it through the next five days and work hard at cutting back on the sugar you consume.
Day Two – Cut The Sugar From Your Favorite Beverages
Today I want you to focus on cutting out the sugar of everything you drink. That means no more soda, no sugar or fancy creamer in your coffee, no sugar or honey in your tea, and no fruit juices. Pay attention to everything you drink and if it has sugar, skip it. Stick to water, club soda, black coffee (with milk or cream), and unsweetened tea. (if stevia doesn’t trigger you, you can add that to your beverages)
Keep up this habit of sugar-free drinks throughout the rest of the week.
Day Three – Change Your Breakfast
Today we’ll change up breakfast. Instead of grabbing a bowl of sugary cereal, a breakfast bar, or a donut, go for something without sugar. Fry up some eggs, or fix a bowl of oatmeal sweetened with stevia or add grass-fed butter and a touch of salt instead. Unsweetened yogurt is another great choice. Check out the sugar-free breakfast recipe below instead of sugary breakfast options.
Day Four – Skip The Sweet Treats and Snacks
It’s time to give up your favorite sweet treats, snacks, and desserts. That also means no more cookies, candy, or ice cream. Yes, this is going to be hard, but you can do it.
Instead, focus on eating real food and bigger portions during your main meals.
Without the blood sugar spikes and dips that your favorite sugary treats cause, you’ll find you won’t be as hungry in between meals. The first few days will be hard, but it will get easier.
Day Five – Find Healthy Replacements For Your Favorite Treats
When you really crave a little something sweet or feel like you must have some sort of dessert choose a natural option. Have a piece of fruit (2 servings per day tops) instead of cake or try one of my favorite treats here. Fruit smoothies are also naturally delicious, sweet treats that don’t have any added sugar.
Find a few things you enjoy. If you’re craving chocolate, grab a bar of dark chocolate with little added sugar and allow yourself one or two squares a day. Moderation is key with these healthy sweet treats.
Day Six – Watch For Hidden Sugars
Last but not least start watching out for hidden sugars. Start getting into the habit of reading labels and avoiding things like low-fat salad dressing and ketchup because the fat is replaced with added sugar. Words like glucose, fructose, and high fructose corn syrup – pretty much anything ending in -ose will alert you to added sugar sources. Cook what you can from scratch to have control over what goes into your food. Follow this advice and you’ll be free of that sugar habit in less than a week.
Each day you’ll focus on one specific item and before the week is over you’ll have broken that sugar habit. Let’s start.
[RECIPE] Very Veggie Scramble
Serves 2
1 tablespoon coconut oil
2 large pasture-raised eggs
1 cup organic spinach, chopped
1 teaspoon turmeric powder
1 teaspoon garlic powder
Sea salt and pepper to taste
Instructions:
Heat the coconut oil in a skillet. In a separate bowl, whisk the eggs. Add chopped spinach and spices to the skillet. Cook until slightly wilted. Then, add whisked eggs. Sauté until the eggs are firm.
To Your Health,
Patti
