Are you struggling with sugar cravings and want to stop eating sugar? Read out to know a few tips to reduce your sugar intake.

Basic steps to stop eating sugar

The first step would be to stop buying any sugary products at the store or anywhere else that they might be sold. The second step would be to eliminate a sugary treat once in a while, to reduce the urge for it. The third step would be to slowly work your way up so that you can slowly get through the detox process.

Well, you might think that sugar is present in many of our natural foods and wonder what alternative will be left to eat if we stop eating these foods too. Hold on!…before you take a sarcastic dig at me saying that- ‘should we be eating raw leaves and plants like animals? You might’ve heard from many bloggers, Youtubers, elders, some ayurvedic doctors etc who alarm you to completely stop eating sugar as it could be dangerous to your health. They may be partially correct but you don’t have to cut down completely. This is because natural sugar is still good as it contains vitamins and minerals. It is added sugars that we need to stop taking.

Eating a lot of refined sugar can lead to headaches, weight gain, low energy levels, and inflammation. Cutting sugar out of your diet may decrease inflammation. It will also increase your energy levels and help you concentrate better. It will help improve your skin condition as it strengthens elastin, and collagen and reduces the level of inflammation.

It is not easy to stop eating sugar. It may seem like a simple task but it is not. Here are some practical tips that will help you stop eating sugar:

1. Stop Eating Added Sugar on the First day

In order to break your addiction, you will need to stop feeding it. There is no better way to do this than not eating sugar on the first day.

On the first day, I recommend cutting sugar out of your diet completely. Make sure you keep up with this for a whole week before trying anything else! After that week is over, then start slowly adding some sugar back into your diet until you are fully addicted and have had a full week of sugar back in your diet. After doing this, try taking the same week off again and repeat the cycle. This is how you avoid yourself to become addicted to sugar and not gaining weight from it.

2. Drink lots of water

This will flush out the toxins in your body and help you feel less hungry, plus it will give you the added benefit of filling up your stomach and making you feel fuller (in the event that you are actually hungry due to a lack of nutrients).

3. Eat more protein

It will make you feel fuller for longer. Protein is essential for a healthy lifestyle. It gives you energy, builds and repairs muscles, and helps regulate hormones. Eating enough protein can also boost your metabolism.

4. Eat healthy, whole foods

You can start a list of alternatives that don’t contain sugar. Some possibilities are fruit and vegetables, oatmeal, low-sugar cereal, bread without sugar or honey (butter for flavour), ice cream without added sugars and dairy-free milk.

5. Take regular exercise

Exercising is the best way to stop eating sugar. It helps you maintain a healthy weight and keep your body in shape. It also increases your stamina for the day and helps with mental health. It’s important to work out at least 30 minutes a day in order to reap these benefits.

In addition, regular exercise can also help you reduce your cravings for sugar. It can help improve your mood and decrease anxiety levels too.

This will release endorphins which make you happy and less likely to crave sugar. Exercise also helps release tension and improves sleep quality, which can aid you with weight loss.

6. Change your environment

How many times have you walked past a cake or through the candy aisle at the grocery store and been tempted to indulge? People often find themselves struggling with food cravings because they are surrounded by temptation as they cannot stop eating sugar. The best thing to do is change your environment so that you can avoid these temptations. Especially stay away from places where there are temptations like candy jars or cakes on display.

7. Read the labels carefully

We never know how much sugar is excessive. Always make it a habit to read the label of any processed foods when you buy from a market. Look through the ingredients and try to notice words that signify sugar. or any words that end with -ose. For ex- Honey, corn syrup, brown sugar, glucose, fructose, dextrose etc. This is one of the effective ways to stop eating sugar.

8. Try not to drink your calories

One of the simpler ways to have too much sugar is to drink it. Because it doesn’t feel like we are having that much. And it’s very easy to overdo it. Hence be mindful before drinking anything sweet.

9. Keep a food diary

Write down what you eat in a day so that you can see what’s triggering your cravings. It’s very difficult. However, this is worth doing as it keeps you disciplined and gradually you get accustomed to the routine.

So what happens to your body when you stop eating sugar?

It may be hard to resist ordering an ice-cold coke with your meal or avoiding the chocolate/candy dish at parties. But as much as we love sugar, skipping it can have a major positive impact on your overall health. If you’re someone who regularly eats a dessert and has a cup of tea after dinner or has a store-bought granola bar with lunch, then changing that habit will be tough.

Know about withdrawal symptoms after you stop eating sugar:

After reading this, if you suddenly stop eating sugar, it can be detrimental too, as sudden stoppage of sugar could trigger withdrawal symptoms by acting on your dopamine receptors.

You may experience

• Low energy or fatigue
• Muscle aches.
• Nausea, bloating, or other GI symptoms.
• Brain fog
• Irritability
• Anxiety or depression

These are similar effects when people had to go cold turkey!

Many people may feel that their body is adjusting to the low levels of glucose, dopamine, and serotonin. After a week or so, your energy will begin to improve, and you will feel more vibrant and less irritable.

Follow the first tip to going to any extreme way and have a balanced diet with occasional munchings to satiate your cravings. There is no golden standard method to recommend to balance your cravings and withdrawal symptoms. Every individual’s response to sugar cravings, self-control, threshold limit and type of body etc is always different from each other. The best way I would recommend to stop eating sugar is to try it yourself with a wee bit of this information.