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I finally quit smoking 19 years ago. While it took years and years of false starts, I did it, eventually, and now I hardly ever think of cigarettes anymore.And when it came time to quit sugar, I looked back to what i had learned from my quest to become a non-smoker.Sugar is just as addictive as nicotine. And nicotine is more addictive than heroin, I've been told. So if it's hard to give up either substance, there's a good reason for that.[]
If you see a little of yourself in this message, you're not alone. Many describe themselves as sugar addicts. They believe if it were only for that one thing, then they could reach their weight loss goals. If you believe only one thing stands in your way of losing weight, consider this: What if that one thing (an addiction to sugar for instance) were gone? Do you really believe, "If I could get past this, there is no doubt that I will reach my goal," or is it an easy excuse to stay stuck?If I told you I could show you a way to stop craving sugar, would you want me to show you how? Think about that for a moment. Close your eyes and really think it through. You've said if only you didn't crave sugar, then you could lose weight, but is that really true for you? Ask yourself these questions:
Sugar tends to affect the same part of the brain that heroine, cocaine, and other hard drugs do when a person uses them. The two main neurotransmitters involved with sugar addiction are serotonin and beta endorphins. We think of serotonin as the depression hormone, but it's also responsible for concentration, attention, and impulse control. When your serotonin levels are lower, you may become less able to say "no." Beta endorphins are that feel good chemical that is released after exercise, but this neurotransmitter is also associated with self esteem. Those with lower levels of beta endorphins who have excellent insight and are well accomplished might still have great difficulty with self esteem.
Sugar tends to increase both of these important neurotransmitters, thereby altering the brain's biochemistry and correcting the deficiencies that may have been there. In other words, there are many people who are self medicating for specific deficiencies with sugar, and they are likely addicted to sugary foods for this reason. Even sugar replacements such as Splenda tend to trigger cravings for sweet foods, thereby feeding the sugar addiction.An excellent 7 step program for changing the brain's biochemistry and effectively treating sugar addiction is the book, Potatoes, Not Prozac. In this book, the author outlines and describes these seven steps, which have been highly effective in helping people considered "treatment resistant" in other treatment centers. I would recommend referring to this book as an excellent resource if you believe any of this information applies to you. You may find that all along, your problem was actually sugar addiction, not alcohol abuse and depression.
In addition, the sugar-free candy didn't trigger my addiction. I got the flavor, but my body didn't get involved. it didn't clamor for more, more, more.This may vary a bit though, from person to person. I found that stevia works best in terms of not triggering addictive reactions. Many people have found aspartame more problematic. You'll just have to experiment -- and be observant and honest with what you find.
While it may seem like a lot of effort simply to decide what you really want, going through these steps at the beginning helps you find potential obstacles which previously stopped you from moving forward. For example, if you decide you want to join a gym and start exercising every day but you've forgotten you don't even own a car and just lost your job, that exercise plan might not work out right now. If you did join a gym, you'd end up not going and then you'd think you'd failed, yet it was the plan that failed, not you. You didn't think it through. A better plan in this instance may be doing exercises at home, or within walking distance (or simply walking for exercise). Later, when you do have transportation, you can rethink the plan and perhaps join a gym then. There are always options.It's better to look at what you want from every angle, then put together a plan you know can and will work. Then when you know what you want, you'll also know you can make it happen and begin by taking that first step toward making it a reality."Achieving a Well Formed Outcome" is one of the sessions in the Ending Emotional Eating 8-Week Workshop. You can also find more information on this popular and well known NLP process by searching for "NLP Well Formed Outcome" in your favorite search engine.
It took me most of my adult life to come to the realization that I was an addict - out of control, unable to resist a seductive, toxic substance. I used it daily and relied on it to make everything right. No matter how bad I felt after the buzz wore off, I did not stop. I had to have it. Was I hooked on cocaine, heroine, crack, or crystal meth? Nothing so obvious. In a way, my substance was more insidious because it is widely used, labeled by the Food and Drug Administration as "generally recognized as safe," and often invisible. I am talking about processed sugar.Unless you are consciously avoiding sugar, you eat it all day, every day of your life. According to the American Dietetic Association, the average American consumes in excess of 130 pounds of sugar a year; in other words, 6 ounces a day or 2.6 pounds a week. Over 70% of all processed foods contain some form of sugar because it is used as a preservative, flavor enhancer, fruit plumper, acid reducer, curing agent, fermentation medium, crust colorant, moisture holder, shelf-life extender, and provider of bulk, texture and body.
Just make a real commitment to forego actual sugar and it becomes surprisingly easy not to fall off the wagon. You know you can still indulge, after all, just not then and there, unless you came prepared, which I actually recommend.Secondly, most of these sugar-free goodies don't quite trigger the physiological addiction the way sugar does. For me anyway, I was able to stop at a couple of candies when they were sugar-free, while sugar would have triggered the vicious cycle of eating more of it, and wanting it more often too.
There are studies that claim children today, because of their eating habits, might not have the life span of their parents. Don't let that happen to the ones you love.Are you and your family addicted to sugar and other refined products that can alter your health. If you and they are, I urge you to learn all you can about making changes in your daily eating routine.This makes me sad and of course I worry about my grandchildren and their friends. That's why I have spent the last couple years researching studies done about health and eating. I have been writing articles, studying reports, publishing information and gaining attention on the issue of changing eating habits. It's all in hopes people will become aware of how their daily food intake can effect their health.
By the end of the first week I actually began to feel "up." The knot in my stomach had untied itself in non-social situations. My outlook seemed brighter and my life felt as if it held promise. I have been off sugar for many years now and have experienced no recurrence of my previous condition except when I tested this potential cause-and-effect relationship. There is no question in my mind that, at least for me, sugar seemed to be an "addictive" substance (perhaps both physiologically and psychologically) and that this substance significantly increased not only my anxiety symptoms. To what degree my anxiety was related, in whole or in part, to the amount of insulin secreted to metabolize all the sugar was something I could not determine. If you experiences anxiety, you might wish to consider the possible negative impact of your sugar intake on your condition. The best way to test it is to gradually withdraw all sugar-related substances to see how your mood, emotions, thoughts, and behaviors respond. This is not easy or comfortable to do. However, if sugar is negatively influencing your anxiety, you will tend to see a more positive mood and a lessening of your anxiety symptoms as you eliminate more sugars. If so, you have what appears to be a correlation - that these two events happen to increase or decrease together.But that does not tell you if sugar likely "causes" your negative moods or anxiety. After you have been off sugar for a while, you need to test to see if a causal relationship exists. To do this you re-introduce sugar a little at a time to monitor your anxiety: if it reappears or worsen. When you are working to alleviate your anxiety, you need to look for all possible concrete, specific contributors, including your diet, and especially sugar.
If you see a little of yourself in this message, you're not alone. Many describe themselves as sugar addicts. They believe if it were only for that one thing, then they could reach their weight loss goals. If you believe only one thing stands in your way of losing weight, consider this: What if that one thing (an addiction to sugar for instance) were gone? Do you really believe, "If I could get past this, there is no doubt that I will reach my goal," or is it an easy excuse to stay stuck?If I told you I could show you a way to stop craving sugar, would you want me to show you how? Think about that for a moment. Close your eyes and really think it through. You've said if only you didn't crave sugar, then you could lose weight, but is that really true for you? Ask yourself these questions:
Sugar tends to affect the same part of the brain that heroine, cocaine, and other hard drugs do when a person uses them. The two main neurotransmitters involved with sugar addiction are serotonin and beta endorphins. We think of serotonin as the depression hormone, but it's also responsible for concentration, attention, and impulse control. When your serotonin levels are lower, you may become less able to say "no." Beta endorphins are that feel good chemical that is released after exercise, but this neurotransmitter is also associated with self esteem. Those with lower levels of beta endorphins who have excellent insight and are well accomplished might still have great difficulty with self esteem.
Sugar tends to increase both of these important neurotransmitters, thereby altering the brain's biochemistry and correcting the deficiencies that may have been there. In other words, there are many people who are self medicating for specific deficiencies with sugar, and they are likely addicted to sugary foods for this reason. Even sugar replacements such as Splenda tend to trigger cravings for sweet foods, thereby feeding the sugar addiction.An excellent 7 step program for changing the brain's biochemistry and effectively treating sugar addiction is the book, Potatoes, Not Prozac. In this book, the author outlines and describes these seven steps, which have been highly effective in helping people considered "treatment resistant" in other treatment centers. I would recommend referring to this book as an excellent resource if you believe any of this information applies to you. You may find that all along, your problem was actually sugar addiction, not alcohol abuse and depression.
In addition, the sugar-free candy didn't trigger my addiction. I got the flavor, but my body didn't get involved. it didn't clamor for more, more, more.This may vary a bit though, from person to person. I found that stevia works best in terms of not triggering addictive reactions. Many people have found aspartame more problematic. You'll just have to experiment -- and be observant and honest with what you find.
While it may seem like a lot of effort simply to decide what you really want, going through these steps at the beginning helps you find potential obstacles which previously stopped you from moving forward. For example, if you decide you want to join a gym and start exercising every day but you've forgotten you don't even own a car and just lost your job, that exercise plan might not work out right now. If you did join a gym, you'd end up not going and then you'd think you'd failed, yet it was the plan that failed, not you. You didn't think it through. A better plan in this instance may be doing exercises at home, or within walking distance (or simply walking for exercise). Later, when you do have transportation, you can rethink the plan and perhaps join a gym then. There are always options.It's better to look at what you want from every angle, then put together a plan you know can and will work. Then when you know what you want, you'll also know you can make it happen and begin by taking that first step toward making it a reality."Achieving a Well Formed Outcome" is one of the sessions in the Ending Emotional Eating 8-Week Workshop. You can also find more information on this popular and well known NLP process by searching for "NLP Well Formed Outcome" in your favorite search engine.
It took me most of my adult life to come to the realization that I was an addict - out of control, unable to resist a seductive, toxic substance. I used it daily and relied on it to make everything right. No matter how bad I felt after the buzz wore off, I did not stop. I had to have it. Was I hooked on cocaine, heroine, crack, or crystal meth? Nothing so obvious. In a way, my substance was more insidious because it is widely used, labeled by the Food and Drug Administration as "generally recognized as safe," and often invisible. I am talking about processed sugar.Unless you are consciously avoiding sugar, you eat it all day, every day of your life. According to the American Dietetic Association, the average American consumes in excess of 130 pounds of sugar a year; in other words, 6 ounces a day or 2.6 pounds a week. Over 70% of all processed foods contain some form of sugar because it is used as a preservative, flavor enhancer, fruit plumper, acid reducer, curing agent, fermentation medium, crust colorant, moisture holder, shelf-life extender, and provider of bulk, texture and body.
Just make a real commitment to forego actual sugar and it becomes surprisingly easy not to fall off the wagon. You know you can still indulge, after all, just not then and there, unless you came prepared, which I actually recommend.Secondly, most of these sugar-free goodies don't quite trigger the physiological addiction the way sugar does. For me anyway, I was able to stop at a couple of candies when they were sugar-free, while sugar would have triggered the vicious cycle of eating more of it, and wanting it more often too.
There are studies that claim children today, because of their eating habits, might not have the life span of their parents. Don't let that happen to the ones you love.Are you and your family addicted to sugar and other refined products that can alter your health. If you and they are, I urge you to learn all you can about making changes in your daily eating routine.This makes me sad and of course I worry about my grandchildren and their friends. That's why I have spent the last couple years researching studies done about health and eating. I have been writing articles, studying reports, publishing information and gaining attention on the issue of changing eating habits. It's all in hopes people will become aware of how their daily food intake can effect their health.
By the end of the first week I actually began to feel "up." The knot in my stomach had untied itself in non-social situations. My outlook seemed brighter and my life felt as if it held promise. I have been off sugar for many years now and have experienced no recurrence of my previous condition except when I tested this potential cause-and-effect relationship. There is no question in my mind that, at least for me, sugar seemed to be an "addictive" substance (perhaps both physiologically and psychologically) and that this substance significantly increased not only my anxiety symptoms. To what degree my anxiety was related, in whole or in part, to the amount of insulin secreted to metabolize all the sugar was something I could not determine. If you experiences anxiety, you might wish to consider the possible negative impact of your sugar intake on your condition. The best way to test it is to gradually withdraw all sugar-related substances to see how your mood, emotions, thoughts, and behaviors respond. This is not easy or comfortable to do. However, if sugar is negatively influencing your anxiety, you will tend to see a more positive mood and a lessening of your anxiety symptoms as you eliminate more sugars. If so, you have what appears to be a correlation - that these two events happen to increase or decrease together.But that does not tell you if sugar likely "causes" your negative moods or anxiety. After you have been off sugar for a while, you need to test to see if a causal relationship exists. To do this you re-introduce sugar a little at a time to monitor your anxiety: if it reappears or worsen. When you are working to alleviate your anxiety, you need to look for all possible concrete, specific contributors, including your diet, and especially sugar.
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Learn more about Overcoming Sugar Addiction as well as How To Break A Sugar Addiction , now.
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