Giving Up Sugar and Junk Food

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Motova
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Giving Up Sugar and Junk Food

Post by Motova »

Does anyone have any tricks to give up sugar and junk food?

Thank you.
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Motova
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Re: Giving Up Sugar and Junk Food

Post by Motova »

I am thinking probiotic food and more water.

I don't have an addiction but a slight dependency that I want to squish.

I have chronic pain so sometimes I use it as a pick me up, but I don't want to do that anymore.
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justsit
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Re: Giving Up Sugar and Junk Food

Post by justsit »

"Sugar" and carbohydrate are the same thing. Some sugars are refined, like white sugar, aka "added sugar," and should be avoided. Healthy carbs are an essential part of a balanced diet. There are a number of threads from a few months ago on this topic in this forum for examples of healthy carbs.

Eliminate all soda and fast food first as a good start.

In general, if you are shopping in a US corporate grocery store, the food items are usually arranged in such a manner that many of the healthiest options are around the perimeter aisles of the store, and the canned/highly processed/high additive/junk foods are in the center aisles. So try to "eat the outside," as it were. Try to avoid pre-packaged meals, even if labeled "healthy" or "natural."

It helps not to have the sugary junk stuff in the house. Make sure you have healthy snacks so when you get a craving, you have something available. My go-to's are fruit and trail mix, plus some almond crackers, chickpea chips, or maybe plain popcorn for when you need salty/crunchy.

You really have to read labels, because sugar and excess fats and salt hide in some unexpected places, like soup.

It's a matter of re-training your palate, and it takes time. Just keep at it, and eventually you don't even want that crap.
Good luck! Your body will thank you.
Motova
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Re: Giving Up Sugar and Junk Food

Post by Motova »

justsit wrote: Sat Dec 09, 2017 10:43 pm "Sugar" and carbohydrate are the same thing. Some sugars are refined, like white sugar, aka "added sugar," and should be avoided. Healthy carbs are an essential part of a balanced diet. There are a number of threads from a few months ago on this topic in this forum for examples of healthy carbs.

Eliminate all soda and fast food first as a good start.

In general, if you are shopping in a US corporate grocery store, the food items are usually arranged in such a manner that many of the healthiest options are around the perimeter aisles of the store, and the canned/highly processed/high additive/junk foods are in the center aisles. So try to "eat the outside," as it were. Try to avoid pre-packaged meals, even if labeled "healthy" or "natural."

It helps not to have the sugary junk stuff in the house. Make sure you have healthy snacks so when you get a craving, you have something available. My go-to's are fruit and trail mix, plus some almond crackers, chickpea chips, or maybe plain popcorn for when you need salty/crunchy.

You really have to read labels, because sugar and excess fats and salt hide in some unexpected places, like soup.

It's a matter of re-training your palate, and it takes time. Just keep at it, and eventually you don't even want that crap.
Good luck! Your body will thank you.
Thank you for your contribution.

Yeah I mean added refined sugar.

I feel I'm really close, I've done it before.

Luckily I love dairy products.
To become a rain man one must master the ten virtues and sciences.
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Ayu
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Re: Giving Up Sugar and Junk Food

Post by Ayu »

Sugar is a bit like a drug. So, the good news is: the less you eat it the smaller becomes the appetite for sugar.
If you eat none, then there is no desire also.
But how to get there is another question. Everybody is his own child. One can find out the best ploys that work for oneself by oneself. :smile:
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Lindama
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Re: Giving Up Sugar and Junk Food

Post by Lindama »

justsit has some good suggestions. Agree, more water. Plan ahead what to eat when you get hungry, esp at night. Adding good quality essential oils will help to curb hunger.... coconut oi., olive, nuts and seeds ,.. not canola or fish oil. I like to soak a handful of raw almonds overnight, they are softer and slightly sprouted. carbs = sugar.... in moderation.
Not last night,
not this morning,
melon flowers bloomed.
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Motova
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Re: Giving Up Sugar and Junk Food

Post by Motova »

Also I think more fibre and protein, to get a more full feeling. I remember reading that somewhere.
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Kim O'Hara
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Re: Giving Up Sugar and Junk Food

Post by Kim O'Hara »

Another way to think about it is Cutting Down on Sugar and Junk Food, rather than Giving Up Sugar and Junk Food.
Why? Because the end result can be the same, if you just keep on cutting down, but the path is far easier because you're giving yourself permission not to go cold turkey. It means you don't have to make any radical changes to your lifestyle or eating habits - ever - but after a while, when you've been on the path for however long it takes, you will find yourself with a good diet. And, importantly, you will already be comfortable with it, not craving all the things you have dropped from your diet at once.

:namaste:
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daibunny
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Re: Giving Up Sugar and Junk Food

Post by daibunny »

Never shop on an empty stomach, that way you have a better chance of buying with your head rather than your appetite.

Eat sweet fruit as a substitute for sweet snacks. Right now im having a spoonful of pb with a quartered gala apple, its delicious.
Nothing remains
Of the house that I was born in--
Fireflies.

- Santoka, 1882-1940
Mountain Tasting: Zen Haiku by Santoka Taneda, 1980, p.48
Translated by John Stevens
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Lindama
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Re: Giving Up Sugar and Junk Food

Post by Lindama »

Agree with Kim.... it goes without saying, it's step by step, relax. I'd say no.... careful with fruit, only organic peanut butter, if at all .... and no fruit juice.
Not last night,
not this morning,
melon flowers bloomed.
~ Bassho
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Kim O'Hara
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Re: Giving Up Sugar and Junk Food

Post by Kim O'Hara »

daibunny wrote: Sun Dec 10, 2017 4:10 am Never shop on an empty stomach, that way you have a better chance of buying with your head rather than your appetite.
:good:
Someone near and dear to me falls for this one far too often! :rolleye:

:namaste:
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Pero
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Re: Giving Up Sugar and Junk Food

Post by Pero »

Motova wrote: Sat Dec 09, 2017 9:48 pm Does anyone have any tricks to give up sugar and junk food?

Thank you.
A lot of it is willpower. Just learn to say no. Disagree on cutting down instead of giving up for your first time. Although that may depend on the person. For me cutting down would not have worked for sure, cold turkey was the way. I stopped eating any kind of sweets, cookies, whatever that was made with sugar. I also stopped eating some fruits like bananas and raisins, perhaps some others.

The first two weeks were very difficult, sudden incredibly strong urges to eat something sweet and also my eyes would literaly target onto sweets and the like and follow their movements when people around me were passing them around. But after those two weeks it got a lot easier. I held to it strictly for 2-3 months. After that I stopped being so strict. At that time it became possible for me to think in terms closer to "cutting down". I could eat something sweet one day and have no problems with craving more of it the same day or the next. Even if I eat more sweet stuff now I can more easily stop doing it again, takes me about one to three days now (instead of two weeks), maybe a week at worst (and it's never as hard as the first time) - depending on how much and how long I've been eating.

Also disagree that it's your palate you need to retrain, it's your symbionts in your intestines. They're the ones really giving the orders on what you (think you) want to eat.

As for tricks, you can try products that use stevia or erythritol instead of sugar. They are generally more expensive though. Also for first two weeks probably better to avoid even this.

daibunny wrote: Sun Dec 10, 2017 4:10 am Never shop on an empty stomach, that way you have a better chance of buying with your head rather than your appetite.
Hahahaha, I've thinking that about myslef for quite a while. If I go hungry shopping I always want to buy five times as much as I do when I'm full.
Eat sweet fruit as a substitute for sweet snacks. Right now im having a spoonful of pb with a quartered gala apple, its delicious.
Careful about replacing sugar with fruits, it's actually not that much healthier.
Although many individuals in this age appear to be merely indulging their worldly desires, one does not have the capacity to judge them, so it is best to train in pure vision.
- Shabkar
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