Sugar has been proved to have several negative effects on health. You can gain excess fat, feel full without adding any form of nutritional value to your diet, and gain those extra inches around your tummy that will take you ages and hours of working out to lose. It has also been known to hamper the immune system.
But knowing its several adverse effects on health is not enough to make one strong enough to quit sugar. It takes a lot of hard work and determination. This post discusses seven simple strategies you can use to cut sugar out of your life.
1. Throw away the table sugar
Replace it with a healthier alternative like honey, molasses, and syrup. Cutting it out of all dishes you use it for will help you reduce your intake of sugary foods.
2. Stop having canned drinks
Soda, cola, or other sweetened drinks have a tremendous amount of sugar content. You can save yourself from all that sugar by simply cutting these drinks out of your life and only drinking water when thirsty.
3. Choose fresh fruit over processed sweets
Processed fruits are often canned in syrup or sugary water, which only adds to your calorie intake without adding any nutritional value to your diet. Replace the canned food by choosing fresh fruit, which will have many health benefits instead of simply filling your tummy.
4. Take smaller portions
If you’re in a party or social gathering that requires you to have sugary food or drinks, choose to have a smaller portion size. You can also refuse the extra serving to ensure you remain on track with your goals to delete sugar from your life.
5. Read labels
Reading the nutritional information on the labels of every processed food item you pick up from the supermarket will go a long way in reducing your sugar intake. The labels will also help you make healthier eating choices and only pick the food items best for your body.
6. Learn from experts
If you’re finding it hard to delete sugar from your life, learn from the experts at Better Humans. They write the best, most in-depth pieces on how to live a better life. You can use their experiences to fuel your life towards a healthier direction:
Everything You Need to Know About the No Sweets Diet
Getting Started with Lift’s Quantified Diet
How To Begin a Sugar-Free Life
How I cut refined sugar out of my family’s diet for improved health
Does Sugar Cause Heart Disease?
Does sugar cause heart disease? Evidence points to it.
7. Hold yourself accountable
Get a friend to track your progress or hire an accountability coach from the list of certified coaches on coach.me. They will support you on your journey and help you get back on track if you sometimes fall off the wagon and miss your habit for a few days.
You can also download a free habit tracker to track your progress and make sure you can build and maintain an unbroken streak of healthy habits.