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How to go sugar free

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If you’ve ever wondered how to go sugar free, this post is for you.

red and white old fashioned lollipop with pink background.

Our family made this transition a couple years ago and it was the best thing ever. But I do want to start off by saying this is very hard initially. Sugar is very addictive.

Recommended Read: Transitioning to a Sugar Free House

That being said, there are definitely ways to make this transition easier. You can quit cold turkey, you can phase out sugar, and you can also supplement with sugar-free, healthy alternatives to help cope with cravings. But I think the easiest way to cut out sugar is to understand why our body is craving it in the first place.

Why do we crave sugar?

One reason you could be craving sugar is due to a dopamine deficiency.

Dopamine is naturally produced by the brain and is largely responsible for stimulating your metabolism. Therefore, low levels of dopamine are directly related to a slower metabolism. A dopamine deficiency could come about due to illness, aging, previous weight gain, or even genetics.

When we’re dopamine deficient, our body will crave sugar as a way of self medicating.

Sugar initially floods our brains with dopamine causing a “sugar high,” but what most people don’t realize is that after that initial surge, sugar actually depletes our levels of dopamine causing us to crave that “high” again in an attempt fix the problem.

What’s worse, is the more sugar you have, the more you need. Your body gets desensitized to it after a while and you need more to create that same sugar high. So now, your metabolism is even slower and you’re eating more sugar and junk than before.

best tips for quitting sugar and hitting your weight loss goals

How crazy is that? It’s like if you were to buy a dandruff shampoo thinking it’d cure your dandruff and while it made your hair look great initially, it actually continued to cause dandruff! So you keep buying it wrongly assuming you’re fixing the problem and now you’re stuck on this terrible cycle.

Even if you cut out sugar your metabolism will still be slow, unless you do something to increase your levels of dopamine.

How to tell if you’re dopamine deficient.

Ask yourself these questions: are you always tired? do you have low energy? are you having trouble concentrating? do you crave processed foods? cake? chips? potatoes? pasta? candy?

Try these next few tips below to increase your dopamine levels naturally (ending your dependency on sugar and caffeine and increasing your metabolism) and just notice how much your energy levels rise!

Not only have I noticed that I feel less tired, but I can power through the toughest workouts with ease when I follow these tips.

How to go sugar free for good.

  1. First, eliminate simple carbs.
    • Think all white flour, high fructose corn syrup, candy, sweets, sweetened coffee drinks, full calorie sodas, any foods that contain lots of sugar
  2. Eat these dopamine building foods.
    • Beef
    • Chicken
    • Duck
    • Eggs
    • Pork
    • Turkey
    • Granola
    • Oat flakes
    • Wheat germ
    • Yogurt
    • Whole milk
    • Low-fat cottage cheese
    • Low-fat ricotta cheese
  3. Eat leptin-rich foods (leptin regulates appetite and increases dopamine production)
    • Broccoli
    • Apples
    • Unsalted almonds
    • Spinach
    • Carrots
    • Egg whites
    • Salmon
  4. Season your food- spices are nutrient dense, nutrients help our body metabolize food (another reason junk food isn’t metabolized well is because it is not nutrient dense)
    • Some dopamine boosting spices:
      • Basil
      • Bay leaves
      • Black pepper
      • Cayenne
      • Cumin
      • Fennel
      • Ginger
      • Garlic
      • Mustard seed
      • Rosemary
      • Tarragon
      • Turmeric
      • Flaxseed
  5. Eat fruit
    • Those cravings still just too strong? Use fruit to help curb them!
  6. Read your nutrition labels!
    • When you first make the switch, you’d be surprised by the foods that contain sugar! Be on the look out!
  7. Don’t skip meals
    • Skipping meals will obviously make you more hungry. The hungrier you are the more likely you are to reach for a quick snack. Anything quick is usually heavily processed and full of sugar, unless you remembered your weekly meal prep 😉
  8. Exercise
    • When you exercise you are statistically less likely to reach for that sweet treat.
  9. Be prepared for withdrawal symptoms and stay strong!
    • This means headaches, cravings, and irritability! Just stay strong, it gets easier after the first week!

Recommended Read: Clean Cheats for Movie Night

My experience.

When I keep my diet focused on these dopamine building foods, I crave less sugar. Most of the time I don’t crave any at all.

We aren’t 100% sugar free. In the house we are, but we do allow ourselves the occasional treat when we’re having a family outing, or it’s Halloween, etc.

We do our best to maintain this lifestyle for several reasons: it gives us more energy, faster metabolisms, it helps us sleep better, and we just feel great eating real, non-processed foods.

How to give up soda - That Fit Fam

Wednesday 29th of May 2019

[…] Eat more protein! It may sound strange, but sodas are loaded with sugar. Sugar causes an initial surge of dopamine to your brain followed shortly by a depletion of dopamine causing you to crave MORE sugar (soda) to replenish. It’s an addictive cycle. Eating protein can help cure that dopamine deficiency and help curb your soda cravings! (tips for becoming sugar free here) […]

10 Healthy Family Habits - That Fit Fam

Saturday 25th of May 2019

[…] less sugar! This is huge! (Check out our post on 10 tips for quitting sugar if you need help.) Really make an effort to read your nutrition labels. There are so many […]

Helen Vella

Wednesday 11th of January 2017

Great tips,sugar is so bad for your health and well being. I really try not to have too much but it is in everything. Thank you for the tips

Amanda

Wednesday 11th of January 2017

This is something I really need to do, I managed it in 2015 but fell off the wagon in late 2016 and need to get back on again thanks for all the tips.

Lauren

Wednesday 11th of January 2017

This is such a great post. Very helpful!

Lauren

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