I really believe that you can eat sweets, but making a pig of yourself is another story!
I want to teach you how to stop mindless overeating of sweets because they are simply at hand and start eating them when you make a conscious decision to do so.
Get ready for a lot of hard work. Building a strong association between sweets, dopamine, and feeling great did not happen overnight. Do not expect to change your lifelong habits in a few days.
The problem with sugar is deeper than you think. Sweets eaten in large quantities are usually the tip of the iceberg, which consists of:
- the all-or-nothing approach to a healthy lifestyle
- compulsive eating (including healthy products)
- eating chips, junk food and other things despite knowing they are bad for you
- low level of physical activity
These problems can be solved once and for all, but only when you eliminate their real cause and it is not your lack of willpower. Bad relationships with food and low motivation to change lifestyle have a lot in common. Make sure you work every day to find a root cause of all your behaviors sabotaging the weight loss process eg.
- low nutrition diet (a low-nutrient diet that does not give satisfaction is a very common cause of overeating sweets and it is not surprising - if you are hungry, the body gladly accepts a dose of sugar)
- chronic stress
- loneliness
- lack of sleep, fatigue etc.
You need to find another way, not necessarily related to food, to eliminate the cause or mitigate its damaging effects.
You can start making changes now!
Once you know the source of the problem it will be easier for you to find an alternative solution. This process will take some time. If you really want to change something, then a strong resolution will not have enough power to elicit change.
Develop a healthy replacement habit!
Since sweets give joy to the brain, we must find a worthy substitution. Consider what sweets can be replaced with to give you comparable dopamine kick. Don’t look for food substitutes, look for things you like to do, things that relax you, give you pleasure. Remember to choose a realistic substitute.
Do not assume that it is impossible to find a viable alternative, give yourself a chance. Draw conclusions from the mistakes made by observing the body. Carefully analyze situations when you feel an increased appetite for sweets, break them down into prime factors. Take a look at the emotions you feel at the time and a potential alternative that could help you meet the need you try to satisfy by eating sweets.
Keep observation notes – taking notes makes it easy to draw effective conclusions for the future. Make a list of other sources of quickly digestible carbohydrates. Is the reason for snacking on sweets often hunger or fatigue? Maybe this is not just another sweets craving, but the result of starvation from early morning until late afternoon?
Look for products that meet the healthy food criteria and can be easily carried around in your handbag. Is there any fruit that gives you a quick boost of energy (banana?).
One habit at a time
Tip: If you are serious about changing your approach to sweets, do not try to make radical changes in other areas of your life at the same time. Give yourself time to accept the new habits and devote all energy to understand mechanisms ruling your behavior and relation with sweets. When you know and understand the root cause, you will be able to influence the result!
Sweets are not the evil of this world provided you enjoy them wisely. Remember, it is the dose that makes the poison. Of course sugar, preservatives, and trans fats are unhealthy, but their worst effects are revealed when you eat too much of them.
There are many substances potentially harmful to health, but undoubtedly the most unhealthy thing is obesity itself. Our internal organs, heart, endocrine system and the rest of the body are not adapted to work with several dozen kilos of excess baggage. The performance of the body and all its components does not increase with the level of body fat.
Sugar is bad, but obesity is worse. If you choose eating sweets instead of making a pig of yourself, you can avoid their most negative effects.
500 calories chocolate means 500 calories less food. There should be room for everything you like in the reduction diet - for sweets if you want. Provided that the sweets will not start replacing real food.
Let’s assume that your reduction diet should provide 1500 kcal. By eating a whole bar of chocolate, you leave yourself only 1000 kcal for real food.
Is it possible to stop mindless sweets eating? YES, it is. Is it worth doing it?
Answer yourself.
We can help you to look for the source of the problem and stop the cravings in one of the lessons from our course.
Now that you have more time, invest in your health and boost your immune system by registering for our free 3-day No Sugar Challenge. The improved immune system is just one of many benefits you may expect from giving up sugar to let your body detox. Plus doing it with many other people makes it more fun and gives you the motivation to follow through.
You can find more information about the challenge and register at https://www.eorganic.com.au/nosugarchallenge.html
You may find more information on harmful effects of sugar below: