How To Enjoy A Sweet Treat… Without It Taking Over Your Life
Thursday, 25 October 2018
For a lot of us, sweet treats are something we savour, and have once in a while. But for so many others, sugar is a substance indelibly tied with internal battles, whether we feel tempted to have it first thing in the morning for breakfast or have it little and often during the day. While there's a very lengthy list of what sugar actually does to us, it's also incredibly addictive. But, we shouldn't have to view sugar as something to be completely avoided, but something that should be enjoyed once in a while. But if you are one of those people who can't have just one cookie, how can you enjoy a simple sweet treat without it taking over your life?
Limit Your Choices
One of the first things they say when totally overhauling your diet is to get rid of the sweet treats from your store cupboard. That way, the temptation doesn't rear its head. But in addition to this, if you have a family where sweet treats are part and parcel, like if you have kids, or a partner that brings ice cream home every day, you need to limit the variety. The more variety you have of any food, the more of it you want to eat. So by that logic, limit your choices to one type of sweet food, and the temptation should begin to subside.
Know Your Kryptonite
If you are someone that polishes off a packet of cookies, or you can easily eat your way through a tub of Haagen-Dazs without even thinking about it, it's important to know what your specific sweet kryptonite is. We all have our favorites, and we know we can't have just one of these. So, by knowing what your downfall is, you avoid these sweets like the plague. We all have something we cannot resist, and if you have an unhealthy addiction to sugar, and you don't feel full unless you've had a sweet treat, it's better in the long run for you to go cold turkey. You are paying the price, not just in your health, but your teeth can get horribly discoloured, and while you can get affordable implants, the best course of action is to nip it in the bud.
Find Healthier Ways To Satisfy Your Sweet Tooth
And if there are some things that you love, are there ways to make healthier versions? Of course, we know they don't taste the same when we make them ourselves, but that's because of all of the unhealthy oils and sugars that are loaded into these calorie dense candies. If you feel like a meal isn't complete until you've had dessert, are there ways for you to cut down on your sugar intake, but still having that sweet craving satisfied? While fruit is one of those ways to do it, a lot of us can feel cheated by having fruit for dessert, so what is the solution? One of the best approaches is to fill up on that. Fat has got a bad rep nowadays, but, the tide is turning as fat can make you feel full, but without the carbs and sugar which lead to weight gain. A lot of people make fat bombs, which are, in essence, good fats like butter or coconut oil, mixed with high cocoa dark chocolate. Remember, if you are trying to beat your sweet cravings, dark chocolate could be a big help. Not all chocolate is made equal. And in fact, the chocolate on the shelves in the supermarkets are pretty low in cocoa content. The higher the cocoa content, the less sugar in it. And the other way for you to get complete control over your sugar intake is to make your own desserts at home. Nowadays, with sweeteners like xylitol or agave nectar, these are ingredients that can be added to mixtures to bump up the sweetness, but without the weight gain.
And the most important thing to really hammer home, especially if you've got a problem with sugar and can't stop eating it, is to take some time off it and see how you feel. Sure, the first couple of days detoxing from sugar are a killer, but once you get over that, you feel more energetic. Making sugar a part of your life without it being your life is something a lot of people struggle to come to terms with. Others are savoury in their food tastes, but for those with sweet teeth, they are fighting this battle each and every day.
