A client wrote, "Help me! I thought I was finally getting a handle on my weight issue but the sugar is killing me. I had an awful day. I won't even tell you what I ate today because it is just so unbelievable. All I will say is that 90% of my food today consisted of sugar! I really, really need some help getting past these cravings. I am no doubt a sugar addict. If I could get past this there is no doubt that I will reach my goal."[]
Most people don't realize that alcohol is actually the quickest acting sugar on the brain. In short, a "buzz" is actually a sugar high. The first research on sugar addiction in 2001 was conducted at Princeton University, and scientists have come so far since then that research is now focusing on how to address the problem (not whether or not it exists).
Eventually though, I managed to stay away. Among the last challenges: I really craved cigarettes when I was very stressed. And I was stressed a lot. And so I finally made a deal with myself. IF I simply HAD to smoke, I could -- ONE cigarette. And after that, it was back to all the Nicorette it took to get it back out of my system. It helped. Because, frankly, I didn't enjoy Nicorette at all.And finally, I started chewing a Nicorette instead of smoking a cigarette. And after a while, I stopped that too.Now with sugar, it's much the same thing. There's the taste, and then there's the physiological reaction. If you can manage to separate the two, it may take you along way on your path tame your sugar addiction.To eliminate the addiction factor, it was important to eliminate sugar completely, at least for a while. But would I really need to quit all the sweet stuff too?
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 NLP (Neuro Linguistic Programming) a good starting point is the exercise called Establishing a Well Formed Outcome. "Well formed" means it meets all criteria of a well thought-out end result.How to Create a Well Formed Outcome & Get What You Want.Here are the steps to creating a well formed outcome:State what you want (not what you do not want). "I want to weigh 135 pounds."Determine whether you can achieve it (do you believe it is possible?).What resources do you have and what do you need (time, money, gear, clothes, equipment, coaching, whatever).Check whether anyone else is involved and any potential obstacles that may come up regarding others. Think of everyone involved in your day-to-day life.Picture yourself "as if" you've obtained what you say you want and see if that picture fits. Do you like what you see? Put together a plan of action for the achievement of your outcome.
And with certain sweeteners, notably sugar alcohols (no close relation with the real alcohol), you may not WANT to eat more than a small portion because eating too much leads to major belly aches.And then there's another big step, to be taken gradually and eventually, as you get ready for it:Wean yourself off the sweet stuff altogether. Much like I eventually quit Nicorette, and became a non-smoker for real.Also realize that no matter what, the temptation will always be there, or return occasionally. That's normal. Just ignore it.
The reason why sugar needs to go is because it triggers a physiological addictive reaction. But there's no need to quit sweet stuff altogether.Here's what I did instead: I experimented with "sugar-free" goodies. In moderate doses. Now how would this help? First of all, the selection isn't quite as big as that of sugar-containing sweets, so temptation is reduced a bit. Few people offer sugar-free goodies in their office candy jar.
A study done by Sibylle Kranz, PhD,, a registered dietitian and assistant professor of nutrition sciences at Pennsylvania State University found that:On average, added sugar intake was 14 teaspoons per day for kids aged 2-3 and about 17 teaspoons per day for those aged 4-5. The highest level of added sugar for the younger kids was 23 teaspoons per day and more than 26 teaspoons per day for the older kids.
Then one day I chanced to see physician on television, talking about the controversy over sugar's hypothesized effect on mood and behavior. I began my research and found a description of my own health picture. With a glimmer of hope, I copied all the names in which processed sugar (simple sugar) appears: Sucrose,Dextrose,Lactose,Fructose,Crystalline fructose,Corn syrup,High-fructose corn syrup,Turbinado,Raw sugar,Brown sugar,Molasses,Malt syrup,Maltol,Maltodextrin.Immediately I eliminated from my diet all processed foods that contained any of the list. The only "sugar" I consumed was moderate amounts of fresh fruits (complex sugars) and carbohydrate vegetables, but only in combination with protein, to mitigate any minor sugar reaction, and with lots of water. The first several days without my precious sugar I was screaming inside my skull. Something down deep inside like a caged rat gnawed at my soul, eating me alive from within. I would find myself physically doubled over, hugging myself, rocking back and forth in psychic agony. Then, on the fourth day of my self-torture as I awoke and habitually reached for my analgesics, I realized I did not have a headache. Wow! This was the first time in 20 years.
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.
[Overcoming Sugar Addiction]
Most people don't realize that alcohol is actually the quickest acting sugar on the brain. In short, a "buzz" is actually a sugar high. The first research on sugar addiction in 2001 was conducted at Princeton University, and scientists have come so far since then that research is now focusing on how to address the problem (not whether or not it exists).
Eventually though, I managed to stay away. Among the last challenges: I really craved cigarettes when I was very stressed. And I was stressed a lot. And so I finally made a deal with myself. IF I simply HAD to smoke, I could -- ONE cigarette. And after that, it was back to all the Nicorette it took to get it back out of my system. It helped. Because, frankly, I didn't enjoy Nicorette at all.And finally, I started chewing a Nicorette instead of smoking a cigarette. And after a while, I stopped that too.Now with sugar, it's much the same thing. There's the taste, and then there's the physiological reaction. If you can manage to separate the two, it may take you along way on your path tame your sugar addiction.To eliminate the addiction factor, it was important to eliminate sugar completely, at least for a while. But would I really need to quit all the sweet stuff too?
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 NLP (Neuro Linguistic Programming) a good starting point is the exercise called Establishing a Well Formed Outcome. "Well formed" means it meets all criteria of a well thought-out end result.How to Create a Well Formed Outcome & Get What You Want.Here are the steps to creating a well formed outcome:State what you want (not what you do not want). "I want to weigh 135 pounds."Determine whether you can achieve it (do you believe it is possible?).What resources do you have and what do you need (time, money, gear, clothes, equipment, coaching, whatever).Check whether anyone else is involved and any potential obstacles that may come up regarding others. Think of everyone involved in your day-to-day life.Picture yourself "as if" you've obtained what you say you want and see if that picture fits. Do you like what you see? Put together a plan of action for the achievement of your outcome.
And with certain sweeteners, notably sugar alcohols (no close relation with the real alcohol), you may not WANT to eat more than a small portion because eating too much leads to major belly aches.And then there's another big step, to be taken gradually and eventually, as you get ready for it:Wean yourself off the sweet stuff altogether. Much like I eventually quit Nicorette, and became a non-smoker for real.Also realize that no matter what, the temptation will always be there, or return occasionally. That's normal. Just ignore it.
The reason why sugar needs to go is because it triggers a physiological addictive reaction. But there's no need to quit sweet stuff altogether.Here's what I did instead: I experimented with "sugar-free" goodies. In moderate doses. Now how would this help? First of all, the selection isn't quite as big as that of sugar-containing sweets, so temptation is reduced a bit. Few people offer sugar-free goodies in their office candy jar.
A study done by Sibylle Kranz, PhD,, a registered dietitian and assistant professor of nutrition sciences at Pennsylvania State University found that:On average, added sugar intake was 14 teaspoons per day for kids aged 2-3 and about 17 teaspoons per day for those aged 4-5. The highest level of added sugar for the younger kids was 23 teaspoons per day and more than 26 teaspoons per day for the older kids.
Then one day I chanced to see physician on television, talking about the controversy over sugar's hypothesized effect on mood and behavior. I began my research and found a description of my own health picture. With a glimmer of hope, I copied all the names in which processed sugar (simple sugar) appears: Sucrose,Dextrose,Lactose,Fructose,Crystalline fructose,Corn syrup,High-fructose corn syrup,Turbinado,Raw sugar,Brown sugar,Molasses,Malt syrup,Maltol,Maltodextrin.Immediately I eliminated from my diet all processed foods that contained any of the list. The only "sugar" I consumed was moderate amounts of fresh fruits (complex sugars) and carbohydrate vegetables, but only in combination with protein, to mitigate any minor sugar reaction, and with lots of water. The first several days without my precious sugar I was screaming inside my skull. Something down deep inside like a caged rat gnawed at my soul, eating me alive from within. I would find myself physically doubled over, hugging myself, rocking back and forth in psychic agony. Then, on the fourth day of my self-torture as I awoke and habitually reached for my analgesics, I realized I did not have a headache. Wow! This was the first time in 20 years.
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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