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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 addition, the sugar-free candy didn't trigger my addiction. I got the flavor, but my body didn't get involved. it didn't clamor for more, more, more.This may vary a bit though, from person to person. I found that stevia works best in terms of not triggering addictive reactions. Many people have found aspartame more problematic. You'll just have to experiment -- and be observant and honest with what you find.
While it may seem like a lot of effort simply to decide what you really want, going through these steps at the beginning helps you find potential obstacles which previously stopped you from moving forward. For example, if you decide you want to join a gym and start exercising every day but you've forgotten you don't even own a car and just lost your job, that exercise plan might not work out right now. If you did join a gym, you'd end up not going and then you'd think you'd failed, yet it was the plan that failed, not you. You didn't think it through. A better plan in this instance may be doing exercises at home, or within walking distance (or simply walking for exercise). Later, when you do have transportation, you can rethink the plan and perhaps join a gym then. There are always options.It's better to look at what you want from every angle, then put together a plan you know can and will work. Then when you know what you want, you'll also know you can make it happen and begin by taking that first step toward making it a reality."Achieving a Well Formed Outcome" is one of the sessions in the Ending Emotional Eating 8-Week Workshop. You can also find more information on this popular and well known NLP process by searching for "NLP Well Formed Outcome" in your favorite search engine.
It took me most of my adult life to come to the realization that I was an addict - out of control, unable to resist a seductive, toxic substance. I used it daily and relied on it to make everything right. No matter how bad I felt after the buzz wore off, I did not stop. I had to have it. Was I hooked on cocaine, heroine, crack, or crystal meth? Nothing so obvious. In a way, my substance was more insidious because it is widely used, labeled by the Food and Drug Administration as "generally recognized as safe," and often invisible. I am talking about processed sugar.Unless you are consciously avoiding sugar, you eat it all day, every day of your life. According to the American Dietetic Association, the average American consumes in excess of 130 pounds of sugar a year; in other words, 6 ounces a day or 2.6 pounds a week. Over 70% of all processed foods contain some form of sugar because it is used as a preservative, flavor enhancer, fruit plumper, acid reducer, curing agent, fermentation medium, crust colorant, moisture holder, shelf-life extender, and provider of bulk, texture and body.
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.
This is different for different sugar substitutes though, so you may want to experiment. Stevia is the healthiest of the bunch, so whenever possible, choose that one. Also, try to reduce the sweetness of what you eat gradually when you have control, for example with coffee or tea. Learn to like it with less -- and eventually even without.depending on which sweetener you picked, you may find that you don't WANT to eat more than a small portion because eating too much of certain kinds, particularly sugar alcohols (maltitol, sorbitol, etc.) leads to major gastro-intestinal distress. So you eat just a little... That's what's called "self-limiting" in medicine, and it works great for sugar addiction as well.
Having had my first heart attack at 48, in 1985, and eventually having more attacks and trips to the hospital to have a total of 6 stents* inserted in my heart, I began a pilgrimage to improve my health.A stent is a small metal mesh tube that acts as a scaffold to provide support inside your coronary artery. A balloon catheter, placed over a guide wire, is used to insert the stent into the narrowed coronary artery.Presently I am 74, thankful for the stents to give me better heart health and for the extensive research I've done to learn about the power of food to heal. I've come to believe that good nutrition can increase all areas of your life such as energy, awareness, inhibit and/or delay Alzheimer's, and make living longer a joy filled experience.It isn't just about looking good, it's about living longer and healthier. It's about having healthier children and especially about not having your children live less years than you. Think about it.
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 addition, the sugar-free candy didn't trigger my addiction. I got the flavor, but my body didn't get involved. it didn't clamor for more, more, more.This may vary a bit though, from person to person. I found that stevia works best in terms of not triggering addictive reactions. Many people have found aspartame more problematic. You'll just have to experiment -- and be observant and honest with what you find.
While it may seem like a lot of effort simply to decide what you really want, going through these steps at the beginning helps you find potential obstacles which previously stopped you from moving forward. For example, if you decide you want to join a gym and start exercising every day but you've forgotten you don't even own a car and just lost your job, that exercise plan might not work out right now. If you did join a gym, you'd end up not going and then you'd think you'd failed, yet it was the plan that failed, not you. You didn't think it through. A better plan in this instance may be doing exercises at home, or within walking distance (or simply walking for exercise). Later, when you do have transportation, you can rethink the plan and perhaps join a gym then. There are always options.It's better to look at what you want from every angle, then put together a plan you know can and will work. Then when you know what you want, you'll also know you can make it happen and begin by taking that first step toward making it a reality."Achieving a Well Formed Outcome" is one of the sessions in the Ending Emotional Eating 8-Week Workshop. You can also find more information on this popular and well known NLP process by searching for "NLP Well Formed Outcome" in your favorite search engine.
It took me most of my adult life to come to the realization that I was an addict - out of control, unable to resist a seductive, toxic substance. I used it daily and relied on it to make everything right. No matter how bad I felt after the buzz wore off, I did not stop. I had to have it. Was I hooked on cocaine, heroine, crack, or crystal meth? Nothing so obvious. In a way, my substance was more insidious because it is widely used, labeled by the Food and Drug Administration as "generally recognized as safe," and often invisible. I am talking about processed sugar.Unless you are consciously avoiding sugar, you eat it all day, every day of your life. According to the American Dietetic Association, the average American consumes in excess of 130 pounds of sugar a year; in other words, 6 ounces a day or 2.6 pounds a week. Over 70% of all processed foods contain some form of sugar because it is used as a preservative, flavor enhancer, fruit plumper, acid reducer, curing agent, fermentation medium, crust colorant, moisture holder, shelf-life extender, and provider of bulk, texture and body.
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.
This is different for different sugar substitutes though, so you may want to experiment. Stevia is the healthiest of the bunch, so whenever possible, choose that one. Also, try to reduce the sweetness of what you eat gradually when you have control, for example with coffee or tea. Learn to like it with less -- and eventually even without.depending on which sweetener you picked, you may find that you don't WANT to eat more than a small portion because eating too much of certain kinds, particularly sugar alcohols (maltitol, sorbitol, etc.) leads to major gastro-intestinal distress. So you eat just a little... That's what's called "self-limiting" in medicine, and it works great for sugar addiction as well.
Having had my first heart attack at 48, in 1985, and eventually having more attacks and trips to the hospital to have a total of 6 stents* inserted in my heart, I began a pilgrimage to improve my health.A stent is a small metal mesh tube that acts as a scaffold to provide support inside your coronary artery. A balloon catheter, placed over a guide wire, is used to insert the stent into the narrowed coronary artery.Presently I am 74, thankful for the stents to give me better heart health and for the extensive research I've done to learn about the power of food to heal. I've come to believe that good nutrition can increase all areas of your life such as energy, awareness, inhibit and/or delay Alzheimer's, and make living longer a joy filled experience.It isn't just about looking good, it's about living longer and healthier. It's about having healthier children and especially about not having your children live less years than you. Think about it.
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Learn more about Sugar Addiction Treatment as well as How To Break A Sugar Addiction , now.
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