Many people struggle to get off the sugar-starch-artificial sweeteners a challenge, and the challenge is usually greater when we think we can get off everything “EXCEPT”…meaning a few things we really don’t want to give up. The process can be fairly easy if you take care with hydration and realize it will soon get better. A long trip for a vacation is unpleasant in many ways, but we see the travel as the price to pay for the joy. Thinking this way will help us travel through the transition to a craving-free, fit life.
But as a general approach, keeping in mind we varying in our metabolisms, and so on, these are the things I did, and a few more besides.
1. Clean the house of all the problem foods, including the things like sugar and flour for creating them.
2.Get some staples that keep pretty well, like frozen/canned chicken, frozen/canned fish/shrimp/crab, coconut milk/0il/butter, eggs, hard cheeses, 85% or greater dark chocolate, and such, so you always have an acceptable food on hand.
3. Keep track of what you eat for a couple weeks. Tracking food has been repeatedly shown to help people not over-eat or eat the wrong food.
4. Don’t overly focus on food. Try to keep meal planning to right after a good meal, so you don’t start making yourself hungry. Tests have shown that the sight or thought of food (ala Pavlov’s dogs) raises insulin, and makes us hungry. Avoid cooking shows, wandering food aisles, etc. These are all trigger behaviors for our bad habits.
5. Shop only at stores where you know what/where to avoid things that might be temptations; and it’s best to shop when you have recently had a meal.
6.Drink at least 1-2 quarts/liters of water, mineral water is great at this time, plain tea/coffee.
7. Take a good multi-vitamin, and add potassium and magnesium if you are inclined to cramps. Also, make sure to salt food adequately, since one of the causes of headaches or light-headedness, is sudden drop in your normal salt intake. Plus, if you drink adequate amount of liquids, you flush excess salt.
8. Most people do better if they eat first thing in the morning, especially plenty of protein and fat, like ham/bacon and eggs. Eat in whatever way the keeps you from over-eating and feeling hungry. Most people do perfectly well on 2-3 meals a day and no snacking. This is how humans ate historically. Adaptation takes a few days, then becomes your new normal.
9. Preplan meals, at least generally; always include protein, fat, lots of low starch vegetables, and only berries for fruit if you are trying to lose weight. (Fruit is high in fructose and can trigger binges.) I always eat better if I even loosely plan for the next day.
10. Get plenty of rest; cut out the electronic gadgets, caffeine, and/or alcohol at night which interfere with normal transition to sleep.
11. Know that any change takes effort, and doesn’t need to be painful if approached thoughtfully.
12. Find a buddy. We are known to work harder if we believe our actions are helping another person with our goals. Conversely, avoid people who say: Oh, come on…a little dessert-alcohol-bread won’t hurt. These people do not understand the intensified and even addictive quality of many of these for some people.
13. Get some kind of light exercise: walk, swim, do weights; any good habit translates to other aspects of our lives.
14. Treat yourself with non-food items: a day trip, clothing, book, whatever is an affordable, but real treat for your efforts.
15. Don’t be discouraged by blips, but be determined to have them be few and very far between.
16. Make your own list of things that you think will be helpful, and remake it often.
Yours in the challenge,
Nan aka Sugarbaby
Sugaraholics 