How to Overcome Sugar Addiction Low-Carb

Just the sight of candy can trigger your sugar addiction.

According to the Radiant Recovery website, people with a sugar addiction have unstable blood sugar, low beta endorphin and low serotonin levels. Similar to drugs, sugar impacts the same brain chemicals that heroin, amphetamines and morphine do. Overcoming a sugar addiction will take more than a 12-step program, you will have to treat your sugar-sensitive biochemistry. Incorporating a low-carb diet can set you off on the right start.

Instructions

1. Cut all sugars out of your diet. Sugar and high fructose corn syrup are hidden in many packaged and processed foods. Eating sugar quickly raises your blood sugar level which increases your insulin level. Not only can this lead to weight gain by eating excessively, once you come down from the sugar high, you will have an increased craving for sugar and will be most likely to repeat the cycle.

2. Follow a low-carb diet plan that includes foods that contain sugars that are slowly released into the bloodstream. Choose complex carbohydrates over simple carbohydrates, eat lean protein and consume unsaturated fats over saturated fats. A limited amount of whole-grain and fiber-rich products are good to eat, as are fresh fruits and vegetables, fish and chicken and olive oil and raw nuts.

3. Drink plenty of water to flush your system. Avoid drinking sugar-laden fruit juices and alcohol since these feed your sugar addiction.

4. Read food labels when shopping for groceries. Examine the fat and calorie content of a product, and look at the amount of sugar per serving. Don't eat more than 35 grams of fructose per day.

5. Cook your own meals instead of going out to eat. When you cook your own food, you control the ingredients. Restaurants can use foods high in sugar without you recognizing it.

6. Resist sugar cravings. Think about the reason you want that sugary food and distract yourself by staying busy or taking a walk. A good exercise is to give up on eating your favorite sugary treat for three weeks. After three weeks, your craving for this treat will be significantly less, if not gone. Snack on protein since it makes you feel full and reduces the urge for sugary foods.

References

• Radiant Recovery: Are You A Sugar Junkie?
• Treatment Centers: Sugar Addiction
• Ask Men: Do You Have A Sugar Addiction?
• University of Maryland Medical Center: Low Carb Diets
• CNN: How Can I Break My Sugar Addiction?

Resources

• Read this Article in Spanish