In India, sugar is almost everywhere.
Whether it’s a family function, national holiday, or prestigious festival like Holi or Diwali, from sweets to sugary tea/coffee and ice cream after dinner, we all Indians are consuming a high-sugar diet. While buying a new car, a new phone, or even some small victories, our culture is surrounded by excessive consumption of sugar and sweets. We all just look out for the reasons to allow our minds to relax and give our tongues the freedom to taste and enjoy sweet dishes.
Our day starts with excessively sweetened sugary milk, tea, or coffee, followed by sweets and desserts after every meal, and then late-night cravings for ice cream.
But it’s time to know how it’s impacting your life, both physically and mentally, and to consider the situation as a warning to cut out sugar from your life.
From early-aged wrinkles to weight gain, type 2 diabetes, and even fatty liver disease, there are various challenges and issues that one may face if he/she consume a high-sugar diet for a long time.
However, the harsh reality is that most of us are already aware of the side effects and consequences we all face. But it’s our so-called subconscious and weak mind that makes us uncontrollable.
People who have cut down sugar and desserts from their lives have shown that their life begins a completely new chapter after that. From more mental clarity to stamina and better skin quality, there are various benefits of quitting sugar for a lifetime.
But, for Indians, where culture is fitted with sweets and desserts, quitting sugar is a more challenging task than standing in elections or running barefoot for hours.
In this guide, we will simply show you science-based techniques and facts that you can follow to stop craving sweets and desserts all the time. This will not only help you to improve your focus and mental clarity, but eventually you’ll start feeling more energetic and young. We won’t just share basic facts or information; we’ll share with you the path that you can follow to throw the sugar out of your life.
The Science Behind Why We Crave More Sugar & Desserts
The human brain is so sensitive that it enjoys rewards every time. It’s like a kid; if you reward him, he will continue asking for more.
Just understand these three words: brain’s reward system. You just have to regain control over these to win the battle against sugar.
Whenever you eat sugar, your brain releases dopamine, a neurotransmitter associated with pleasure and satisfaction.
Consider dopamine your so-called selfish friend. The happier it makes you now, the worse it will make you feel tomorrow.
As soon as our brain releases dopamine, we lose control over all the negative impacts, our mood relaxes, and we start feeling happier.
You will definitely feel happier, but at the cost of ignoring what’s happening to you in the real world. This positive change in your mind will make you repeat the experience again and again, and over a period of time, you’ll end up stuck in the cycle of sweet craving. (That’s why we call dopamine your enemy. The more you stay away from it, the better it will be for you.)
Apart from the dopamine reward system, low blood sugar levels can also trigger cravings for sweets to bring your levels back up. In addition to this, if you’re consuming a high-refined-carb and sugary diet, then it may cause a sudden spike in sugar levels and instant crashes in the blood sugar, which eventually may lead to more intense cravings.
Lifestyle and emotional factors such as stress, emotions, nutritional deficiencies, and dehydration can also cause your brain to seek out different ways for your brain to feel pleasure in the form of sugar or balance out stress hormones.
In such cases, having a headache is quite common, especially if you’re one who eats desserts or sweets every day.
How to Stop Craving Sugar, Like You Never Ate It Before
That might be difficult, but not impossible.
Step1. (Day 1 to Day 7): Making the Impossible Mission a Possible One
Simply, start by controlling the portion for the first time. Craving sugar? Just eat it if you’d like to. But just like before, if you were eating a full serving of ice cream, cut it down to ½ or ¼. And for tea and coffee, it reduces the sugar intake to ½ of what you were already adding.
Step 2. (Day 8 to Day 15): Putting the Efforts Into Action
Don’t control yourself every time you crave it. Just set a target.
For example, if you were consuming sweets twice or thrice a day, then set it to only once a day. And, if you were consuming it once a day, then make it once every two days.
This way, you have already put the effort into action. You’re still eating your favorite sweets or desserts, but in smaller portions and with less frequency.
Step 3. (Day 15 to Day 21): Time to Lead the Game
After 2-3 weeks, you should look like a person who consumes sweets or desserts only once every 2-3 days, and in smaller quantities. Now, it’s time to cut down on the sugar in tea and coffee. Make sure to implement what we discussed in the first step: to cut the sugar intake in tea/coffee in half from day 1.
Step 4. Mastering the Game
Set yourself a target that you won’t eat a dessert or sweet for a week, and after successfully following it, give yourself a treat with your favorite dessert or sweet. Don’t think of a large, full-size plate. The more limited, yet small, quantity you consume, the happier you’ll be with it. Consume it with a happy mind without any guilt, but be in control.
Step 5. Enhance the Time Schedule
Make this single-week pattern into 2 weeks, then gradually increase it to further weeks and months.
If you follow this pattern, instead of stopping and eliminating the sugar from day 1, you will not only reduce the level of sugar intake but will also stop craving it naturally.
It’s all about how controllable and practical you can be in the initial days. If you totally cut down the sugar from day 1, you will end up breaking the challenge in just a few days.
By following this strategy, you can easily cut down the sugar from your diet without facing any side effects such as headache, mood swings, irritation, redness, or dullness.
How Will Your Body React When You Stop Consuming Sugar?
Stage 1: For the first few days, your brain and tongue will crave it. Every second and moment, your favorite sweet dishes will keep popping up in your mind, making it challenging to resist.
Stage 2: After that, you may feel headache, irritation, and mood swings; sometimes, anger issues can also be observed.
Stage 3: After 10-12 days, your glycogen and sugar levels will normalize, which will lead to fewer crashes and more consistent energy.
Stage 4: Body inflammation will reduce, which will lead to better skin quality and less acne.
Stage 5: Water retention will fall, and may improve your digestive system.
Stage 6: After months of consuming a no-sugar diet, you will feel better focused, concentrated, and mentally clearer. Your mood will stabilize, and you will sleep better at night.
Conclusion
Cutting down sugar entirely is a mental challenge that requires strong willpower and dedication. Instead of taking a strict action of cutting down sugar properly and ending up within 1-2 days, if you follow the steps covered above, you’ll surely stop consuming sugar and sweet dishes, without even craving them. Just make sure to have strong willpower for the initial few weeks. Thereafter, seeing the positive results will keep you motivated to stop consuming sugar permanently.