Yep, It’s Possible! How to Clear the Sugar Out of Your Life During the Holidays

The days are shorter, the nights are colder and the snow has begun falling. We’re doing everything we possibly can to avoid that early-winter calling, telling us we desperately need a good dose of sickly sweet sugar. Between the warm “treat-yourself” drinks that contain upwards of 40 grams of highly processed sugar and unhealthy holiday treats at the office and home, there’s always something sugary around during this time of year. These sugar-filled goods can make us feel momentarily amazing—like summer vacation is back in full swing—but it never lasts. Instead, we “crash” and are left feeling worse than before. Yet, the cycle continues if only for that amazing moment that eventually leads to disappointment and major health complications.

The desire to continue eating sugar, even when you know it’s detrimental to your health, is nothing new. From the onset of the sugar boom it was clear, “the more you tasted, the more you wanted.”

So you see, simply “avoiding” processed sugar isn’t really an option: it’s everywhere, it’s relatively inexpensive and it’s addictive! So instead, we’ve got to get ready to clear it out of our lives for good. That’s the only way to avoid another holiday season of sugar highs and lows and take control of the situation once and for all.

Ready?

Step One: Get Serious

To start clearing processed sugar out of your life, you need to first clear it from your mind. Begin by replacing every sugary craving or thought with some hard facts about the sweet, snowy white stuff. For instance, did you know processed sugar has zero nutritional benefits? You need to ask yourself: why bother? Processed sugar adds nothing but health concerns to your life.

Feeling frustrated while working through cravings? Try some nutritious fresh foods to help you through. Remember, this is not a diet, but a move in a healthier direction.

Step Two: Avoid Substitutes–even “Natural” Ones.

Just because it isn’t white and grainy doesn’t mean it won’t act in similar ways to table sugar when it enters your body. Beware of “natural,” “wholesome,” “organic,” “sweeteners” as they too create blood sugar highs and lows. For instance, agave nectar, a perfectly “natural” sugar substitute derived from the agave plant, can be up to 97 percent fructose! Stop to consider here what that concentration of fructose is doing to your liver. If you want to quit the cycle for good, these sweet substitutes have to go, too.

Step Three: BYOSFT: Bring Your Own Sugar-Free Treats

When I’m hungry, my defenses against unhealthy foods come down. So chances are, even if I’m trying my very hardest to avoid sugar, if I show up to a holiday party empty-handed and hungry, something sugary is definitely getting eaten…again and again. Prevent yourself from making the same mistake by always having something nutritious to eat available: apples, oranges, nuts, etc.

Check out these great processed sugar-free recipes to impress with at your next holiday event:

Creamy Pumpkin-Coconut Pie

Orange Triple Chocolate Cookies

Step Four: Remember to Read ALL Labels

Sugar sneaks its way into nearly all processed commercial foods. So while the quick fix seems to be a complete avoidance of all things processed, I unfortunately know this is not always feasible. Instead, I learned how to read labels and find hidden sources of sugar. According to Food Matters, a nice trick for decoding labels and finding hidden sugars is to look for the suffix -ose: sucrose, glucose, fructose, dextrose, maltose, etc. However, this trick doesn’t work for all sugars because some, like cane juice, barley malt, molasses, corn sweetener and cane crystals, are disguised by sometimes even healthy-sounding terms. Thus, doing a little extra research on all the terms for hidden sugars is necessary.

These four tips will get you started on kicking your processed sugar habit for good this holiday season. Once you realize how amazing natural sugars from fruit taste and feel in your body, you won’t look back…much.

Happy and healthy holidays to everyone!

Image Source: Creamy Pumpkin-Coconut Pie (Vegan, Sugar-Free, Oil-Free)