I can remember growing up how I loved that cup of hot chocolate in the morning or on a cold wintery night! Rich, tasty, sugar-sweet with that deep-rich chocolaty flavor. Boy that satisfied my sweet tooth…at least for a while. It never surprises me any more when my diet is filled with sugary carbs…my waist size has always bulged a bit. My blood sugar surges upward and I am no longer burning fat at the cellular level like I would be ordinarily. I am now accumulating fat around my belly just like all the guys who eat too much and rarely exercise. Your diet, including your daily calorie intake, and your exercise make a huge difference determining your body size.
Getting back to your food choices…how many people do you know that are addicted to or affixed to carbohydrates? You can include me in that group because the more bad carbs (refined and sugar added) I eat…the more I crave and it makes me feel lethargic and uninspired. When I limit my sugars and I am so much more balanced. (at least I would like to think so <smiling>) I just finished reading an article where the author Ryan Andrews stopped eating desserts and “extra sugar” for an entire year. That’s pretty amazing! I’m not sure I would want to do that, but I respect the fact that someone could resist desserts and added sugar for an entire year. Fruits and vegetables are good, but would you really want to go an entire year being so disciplined or restrained?
Needless to say, Ryan Andrews who wrote: Sugar Daddy: A Year Without Desserts says after the 1st month he wasn’t even missing desserts. So Ryan stayed on his path for 11 more months and turned down desserts for holidays, birthdays, and special occasions. Mr. Andrews also walked away with quite a few powerful lessons for saying “no” to desserts. The obvious lesson is that desserts are addictive. (Could have taken a wild guess on this one) But some of the other interesting take homes include: 1) We don’t eat sugar “in moderation.” Our society takes in primarily “processed garbage.” The majority is in the form of refined flour/sugar. Ryan says “nearly 90% of the carb-dense foods we consume are highly processed.” Not only do we eat crap…we are full of crap!
Another lesson Ryan shared is 2) “it’s hard to get fat on whole foods, particularly plant foods.” In fact after going a couple of months without desserts Ryan lost weight unintentionally. Ryan says he just wasn’t as hungry, so you might be surprised how your appetite changes if you’re giving up desserts for a while. Sugar is well-known to drive and stimulate appetite; I think we can all recognize that. When we open up the flood gates to sugar, we usually crave and desire more, right?
3) Ryan also noticed that some foods just became too sweet for him. His taste buds “re-calibrated” and Ryan didn’t want sweet food as much. I notice this myself when I curb sweets. Foods with “added sugar” tasted like candy, but his friends who were still eating desserts couldn’t tell the difference. “Sugar added” foods tasted perfectly normal to his sugar eating friends. Ryan’s point is that if you eat sugar all the time that is what you will become accustom to. On the contrary, if you eat fruits and vegetables all the time (for a month without desserts and “added sugar” like Ryan did) that is what you will desire.
Of course there are always exceptions for a few of us. Some people just don’t have any desire to eat sweets, but the large majority of the population love to indulge in decadent fashion. If you are taking the time to read this post, I imagine sweets and sugars might or could be addictions for you. I know carbs are my fuel of choice, but I have to admit I am so much more satisfied by protein. It takes those hunger pains away and I feel like I have sustained energy. I think it’s important to recognize our “weak links” and apply strategies that improve our current situation. Are simple and refined carbohydrates in control of your eating?
Every one of us can make improvements in our lives and hopefully you are practicing a lifestyle that is constantly evolving and improving. Sugar cravings and addictions along with excessive calorie intake is the reason so many Americans are fat and overweight. Most of us don’t learn how to eat properly from childhood, but that doesn’t mean we can’t learn and apply new strategies as we grow up. There is an abundance of good information at your fingertips, but you have to put down the milk chocolate. It’s processed anyway…no wonder it tastes so good! Sugar and chemicals is a potent combination…wouldn’t you say?
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