A sweet tooth makes weight loss even more difficult that it already is. A sugar addiction means that a person is physically dependent upon sugar. When a sugar dependency develops, your body begins building a tolerance and beating the addiction becomes more difficult. It's sometimes difficult to differentiate between a sweet treat from time to time and an addiction to sugar. Recognizing sugar addiction is a necessary component of stopping sugar cravings.
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These are some of the indications you can look for to determine if you have a sugar problem:
* An inability to go without sugar for more than a day
* Pastries, candies and other sweets are very appealing to you even when you're not hungry
* Mood swings affected by your sugar intake, whether too high or too low
* Irregular eating habits
There are wide-ranging ways in which a sugar addiction can impact your life, many of which aren't easily visible. Sugar affects not only your energy level, but your mood as well, influencing your ability to focus, your self-esteem and your relationships with others.
These tips should help you stop not only sugar cravings, but addiction as well:
How to Stop Sugar Cravings Tip # 1 Toss temptation
Sweets lurking in your pantry are just temptations waiting to betray you - get rid of them! It's easier to give in to your cravings Think about it - how willing would you be, when dealing with a sugar craving, to walk or drive to a store to buy a sweet to snack on?
How to Stop Sugar Cravings Tip # 2 Switch from Sugar to Whole Grains
It's often overlooked that sugary sweets and beverages aren't the only sources of sugar. When we eat whole grains, the body processes them into their components, which include naturally-occurring sugar. Experiment with whole-grain foods like bread, cereals and pasta. Before long, you'll like them as much as you currently enjoy their processed counterparts, and they're much more healthy for you!
How to Stop Sugar Cravings Tip # 3 Many foods are available with no added sugar or sugar-free - buy them!
Cutting sugar out of your diet immediately might be too difficult to accomplish. In that case, look for "no sugar added" and "sugar-free" alternatives to your favorite foods. There are other alternatives available, such as artificial sweeteners like Equal, Splenda and Nutri-sweet. While it's true that these products don't offer any nutritional advantage over processed sugar, they'll help satisfy cravings and reduce your dependence on sugar.
How to Stop Sugar Cravings Tip #4 Increase your daily water intake
One of the characteristics of people with sugar problems is that they don't drink enough water. You need to drink at least three glasses of water daily.
How to Stop Sugar Cravings Tip # 5 Get plenty of exercise!
Exercising is an excellent element of any weight-loss program. It's easy to adopt a simple routine to workout your body's various muscle groups. Paradoxically, once you get into an exercise routine, it'll actually be easier to resist temptations like sugar cravings. Exercise will help you reduce the level of stress and tension in your life, and may also help you to overcome the urge to eat whenever you're bored.
How to Stop Sugar Cravings Tip # 6 Don't give up the war if you lose a battle
It's not uncommon to have a hard time giving up anything you like, no matter how much you're aware that it's not good for you. Feeling guilty over having a sweet snack, especially if you've succumbed near the end of an otherwise successful day, is counterproductive. Try to keep in mind to take your sugar-beating program going one day at a time - if you stumble today, you can try again tomorrow!
Gaining control over sugar cravings and addiction is tough. You don't need to eliminate sugar from your diet - that's pretty much impossible anyway - but you have to control your intake and keep track of how your disposition is affected by sugar. After a while, you'll also notice that some things seem to spark a sugar craving. You may find that some events will induce boredom, depression or stress, and then a sugar craving will start. You can look for better ways of dealing with these emotions than eating sweets, and you can also try to reduce how often these emotions occur in your life.