New Year Survival For the Sugar Addict by Joan Kent, PhD
New Year Survival for the Sugar Addict
By Joan Kent, PhD
January is, of course, Resolution time. But we all know obstacles are everywhere. Christmas candy will be on sale till mid-January. Then Valentine candy shows up and will be on display till February 14. February 15 it goes on sale. That carries us into March, when the Easter candy appears – even in years that Easter is late in April. After the Easter candy is on sale, Mother’s Day candy goes on display.
And so it goes through the entire year.
Everyone offers tips for sticking to resolutions. Tips for quitting sugar, for example, may be as dumb as these (don’t take notes here!):
– Having fresh fruit instead of juice or dried fruit
– Flavoring plain yogurt with fruit or honey
– Using artificial sweeteners
– Switching to dark chocolate from milk chocolate
– Limiting sugar to desserts
– Weaning yourself off desserts by reducing the weekly number
– Substituting wine or spirits for high-sugar mixed drinks.
Those poorly chosen tactics won’t – and can’t – work for those of us who have a sugar addiction.
Here are a few suggestions that will work for sugar addicts. Some of them are just common sense.
1. Keep sugar and other junk food out of the house. Totally. Don’t buy it and tell yourself you won’t eat it. Don’t buy it and tell yourself you’ll have just a small portion. Don’t make your kitchen a binge blowout waiting to happen. Just don’t.
2. Stop testing your willpower. I keep reading that we have only limited willpower and conscious self-control. It certainly appears to be true. Instead, look for ways to change the situation. Ask the waiter to remove the breadbasket from the table (white flour = sugar). Don’t even ask for the dessert menu. Reread Suggestion 1.
The fewer willpower tests you have each day, the fewer lapses you’ll experience later that day – or that week.
3. Train yourself to end meals without dessert. This holds no matter what time of day it is or what everyone else is doing, no matter what others think or say, no matter what habits you learned as a child. It takes practice, but it’s worth it.
4. Lie. (That’s fun to say because it grabs attention.) Don’t worry – I’m definitely not telling you to become untrustworthy and lie for no reason, especially about important matters.
Sugar is a need-to-know issue. Does everyone at the table need to know that you’re turning down dessert because you’re addicted to sugar? Or trying to lose weight? Both reasons will bring out every form of sabotage your “friends” can serve up:
“You’ll eat less tomorrow.”
“You’ll work out harder tomorrow.”
“Just a little can’t hurt.”
“But I made it myself.”
Harsh as it may seem, anyone who sabotages you is not a friend. If you must pretend to want dessert, try this. Claim to be full from the terrific dinner and ask for a doggie bag. On the way home, stop at the nearest trashcan and dump it.
Don’t take it home and tell yourself you’ll make it last several days. Reread Suggestion 1.
5. Learn to throw away food, especially junk. No compunctions here. The U.S. overproduces food significantly, every single day. Tossing unwanted food is NOT a sin, as you may have been taught. It’s survival.
6. Focus on short-term actions. What can you do right now to avoid sugar? A recent study showed this is a better approach for weight loss than focusing on a long-term goal.
It works for quitting sugar, too. Plan your next meal: how can you make it healthy? Buy nutritious foods when you shop. Skip the junk. Develop a ritual for the first 20 minutes after you arrive home to keep you out of the kitchen.
There won’t be any sugar in there, anyway, right?
7. Get real about motivation. As I’ve written before, motivation is not about enthusiasm. It tends to fade when daily life presents its daily challenges. But using the above suggestions consistently can be transformational.
Enthusiasm is entirely optional. In fact, enthusiasm often results from consistent action that leads to the results you want. There’s your transformation.
Brought to you by Joan Kent, PhD, dedicated to helping you conquer sugar addiction so you can transform your health and stay addiction-free. If you’d like support in changing your health, your weight, your image of “you” in the new year, just visit this page. My 2017 rates are going up, but you can still enroll at last year’s rates if you get in by January 15!