How to break the sugar habit

When I was reading the newspaper from Las Vegas I came across this article and thought it would be a great article to post on my blog. I hope it will help with breaking the sugar addiction, I know I sure have it.


Break Your Sugar Addiction

Las Vegas Review-Journal
Q: Help! Quitting smoking was nothing compared with quitting sugar! I am addicted and can’t stop eating it. I want to eat a healthy diet, but seem to be unable to because of the sugar. What can I do to combat this? — Anonymous
A: Keep trying! You’re right that it’s tough: Recent research on rats found that they get the same neurochemical kick from sugar as from morphine, cocaine and nicotine. We think that this surge of pleasure is behind sugar addiction in humans, too. The good part: The principles we teach smokers to help them quit will help you kick your sugar habit. Here are six ways to set yourself up for success:

1. Make a pact with yourself to cut sugar out of your life. Studies show that making a serious commitment to doing whatever it takes to break an addiction is one of the most important steps toward beating it.
2. Set a quit date at least a month from today. Give yourself time to mentally prepare for the quitting journey and clear your pantry, car, desk and gym locker of sugar in all its forms, including food and drinks containing honey or rice syrup and high fructose corn syrup (that includes most ketchups, many sports drinks and even coffee creamer).
3. Start walking 30 minutes a day. Exercise, like sugar, releases mood-enhancing hormones. Later, when sugar abstinence causes a dip in feel-good hormones, you can add a tension-relieving five-minute walk to this regimen.
4. Gradually cut back. Begin by reducing the sugar you add to tea and coffee. Then substitute something healthy for two or three of the sweet foods you usually have.
5. Visualize a slimmer, healthier you going for a walk, sipping on water or practicing deep breathing when you’re stressed. A little role-playing helps you practice alternatives to eating under pressure.
6. Think of the three biggest reasons why you want to live a sugar-free life, write them on a card and read them several times a day.
In time, your brain chemistry will readjust and those cravings will stop.
Q: Will crunches get rid of my belly fat? — Theodros, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
A: Not by themselves. Combine ab work with other resistance exercises, aerobic exercise and calorie restriction, though, and you’ll lose the bulge and maybe even have a six-pack to show off. Traditional crunches strengthen and tone the muscles that connect your rib cage to your pelvis . But to lose the roll, you’ve got to empty those fat storage depots that sit on top of the muscles, and that’s what diet, muscle-building and aerobic exercise do. Raising your heart rate helps reduce the unhealthy, deep fat that lies beneath your abs — another storage depot that crunches don’t touch.