Kick the Sugar Habit - NOW!

The hardest part of fitness for me has been eating clean, especially in the beginning of a weight loss program. Eliminating carbohydrate cravings has been especially difficult – almost torturous. It’s like a war of will – me versus my craving.

I figure that eating a clean diet is something that just has to be done. You see when you eat something like a donut or even something seemingly harmless like a piece of bread an insulin response is triggered. Insulin is detrimental to weight loss. This hormone released by the pancreas stops all fat burning. Instead, insulin uses the carbohydrates you eat and pulls glucose from the blood into the cells, which in turn causes a dip in blood sugar and makes cravings for more sugar even stronger.

You can tell when someone has been eating too many carbohydrates or is producing too much insulin – they all store fat predominately around their bellies. So if you have a belly, just know that you are triggering a high insulin response. Avoid foods that trigger insulin – simple carbohydrates, fruit, sugar, processed foods, cookies, cake, cereal, etc. If you can avoid these favorites for at least two to three days, almost all carbohydrate cravings will disappear completely. You might even see a flatter stomach within the first week of avoiding all carbohydrates.

To keep my blood sugar at a normal range and to ensure there are no spikes in insulin, I will eat every two to three hours. A piece of protein with a complex carbohydrate is my most usual meal plan. This method ensures there is no overproduction of insulin, no hunger, and definitely no belly fat. For example, for lunch have a big salad with mixed greens and a piece of grilled chicken. This stops the hunger, but you are not getting a great surge of sugar.

If quitting sugar and carbohydrates cold turkey is not manageable for you, do it in baby steps. On the first day stop eating carbohydrates and sugar by 3pm. The next day, bump the deadline up to noon. The next day, only have these dangerous foods at breakfast. Soon, the cravings for sugar will stop.

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