How to minimize your sugar intake

I have a major sweet tooth and if I could, I would eat something sugary sweet every day. Of course, I try not to, but that doesn’t mean I’m always successful. So from time to time, I find it is time to reset myself and do a doublecheck and reevaluate my sugar intake. It’s not an easy task trying to steer clear of all things added sugar, but when you do it is for the best. Here’s how I do it!

How to minimize sugar intake

Now this blog will talk much more on how not to binge on chocolate and other sweet things. I have weened out sugar in all other aspects of my life. I don’t take sugar in my tea or coffee, don’t have sweet condiments with on bread and I can count the glasses of soda I drink in a year on two hands. So this isn’t about how to cut out sugar from your diet to begin with. If you haven’t embarked on that journey yet, then I suggest you start there first. Because it is best to start by eliminating the things you do on a daily basis and then get on with the stuff that makes life a little… sweeter. (pun intended)

Don’t buy it – the easiest way to not have any sweet things is to simply not buy it. If I have it in the house, I will eat it so I try not to have a supply of cookies and chocolate in the house. I even go as far as to not bring any money with me to work. My weakest moment is at the end of the day before I get on the train home. That’s when I crave a sweet kick and I easily can forego it but it helps when I don’t have anything on me. I just try to avoid all temptation.

Substitute snacks – Ask yourself when you eat snack. For me it’s on the train, when watching TV: aka those idle moments where you are in fact mostly bored rather than hungry. But why snack on something sweet? You could easily have some cheese or a handful of nuts: they are much more difficult to eat too much off and they are much better for you too.

Fruit is your best friend – If you do want to go for something sweet then opt for fruit instead. If you ween yourself off of sweets, you will find that fruit starts to taste sweeter and can be as satisfying as that bar of chocolate. My favorites are berries, but apples, bananas and pears are all regular standards in my cupboards. I use fruit a lot as a snack. And while it doesn’t fit a low carb diet, which can be great to give you a sugar free boost, I find that fruit is simply the best way to have something sweet, but without much of the guilt.

Allow a sweet moment – One cannot be strong all the time. So it doesn’t pay off to battle with yourself because you cannot have something you like. That is why I like to plan my ‘bad moments’ carefully. When you stop eating sweets, having that one moment a week where you have something you truly truly enjoy, makes it all the more special and satisfying at that.

The less you eat, the less you crave – Truth is however, that the fewer sugar you eat, the less you will crave it. I went into the supermarket the other day thinking: let’s by some chocolate. I came out with crackers and cheese instead. I find that the less I eat sugary things, the less I crave them and I opt for more savory options instead.

How do you cut sugar from your diet?