In America today so much of our food is filled with sugar. Do you know that the average American consumes more than 150 pounds of sugar every year? Cavemen used to consume 20-30 teaspoons in a lifetime! Sugar is everywhere in our society. Not only in the traditional baked goods but companies also slip it in to things like ketchup, salad dressing, breads and soups. The more you sugar you eat, the more you typically want.
So many of my clients are addicted to sugar. They want to stop eating it, but they don't know how. They seem to assume that sugar addiction just comes along with the triathlon training! Well, it's true that you need a lot more energy when you're training. And sugar is one quick, easy, tasty way to get this energy. But sugar isn't the best choice in the long run. It makes you tired, it messes with your blood sugar, and it depletes your nutrient levels. HERE's a link to all the different ways that sugar can harm your health... check it out for some fun reading.
To help you beat your sugar cravings, I put together a list of my top hints. You will find that you will have more energy to do your workouts, you will be able to sleep better, and you will feel like you have a much better sense of what's going on in your body.
1. Reduce or eliminate caffeine. The ups and downs of caffeine include dehydration and blood sugar swings, which make sugar cravings more intense.
2. Drink water. Often, sweet cravings are really just a sign of dehydration. Before you give in to the sugar craving, have 2 glasses of water and see if your craving still exists. Caution: soft drinks are now America’s number one source of added sugar.
3. Eat sweet vegetables and fruit. Try making a big batch of baked sweet veggies like sweet potatoes, carrots, butternut squash or beets. Eating these veggies in the late afternoon (when most sugar cravings hit) will help you get through the afternoon without a trip to the vending machine.
4. Use gentler sweeteners and start reducing the amount you use. Avoid chemicalized, artificial sweeteners and foods with added sugar. Use gentle sweeteners like maple syrup, brown rice syrup, dried fruit, stevia, barley, malt and agave nectar. You can find these natural sweeteners in your health food store, next to the baking flours and chocolate!
5. Use exercise to curb cravings. If you find that you crave sugar in the afternoon, you may want to try working out in the afternoon. This will even out your blood sugar and reduce tension.
6. Get more sleep and relaxation time. When you are tired or stressed, your body will crave energy—in the form of sugar. These cravings are often a result of being sleep-deprived, going to bed late or waking up early, sometimes for months and years on end. You may also find that you are simply looking for sweetness in your life. Your body doesn't biologically need sugar, but it does need baths, hugs, and massages. How many of those do you allow yourself every day? Probably not as much as you allow yourself sweet foods!
7. Eliminate fat-free or low-fat foods. These foods contain high quantities of sugar to compensate for lack of flavor and fat, which will send you on the roller-coaster ride of sugar highs and lows. Foods that contain a lot of sugar have a greater chance of getting converted into stored fat. Plus, when your body is busy bringing blood sugar levels back to normal, it can't take fat out of storage and release it to be used for energy. So, fat-free foods will not help you lose fat!
8. Watch the amount of salt you're eating. Because salt contracts the body, you may find you crave sugar after eating salty foods. This is because sugar has the opposite effect - it expands the body. You may notice that after you eat pretzels, you crave something sweet. After eating a salty frozen diet entree, you usually want something sweet. After a soy-sauced based Chinese meal, you reach for that fortune cookie. After a steak dinner you want dessert or wine. In the opposite manner, after drinking a lot of alcohol (with a high sugar content), you usually want bacon, eggs, or something relatively salty for breakfast. This is your body's way of balancing itself out. Take notice of this "balancing act" and see if you can even it out a bit for yourself.
9. Evaluate the amount of animal protein you're eating. Eating too much can lead to cravings for sweets. So can eating too little! A good health counselor will help you sort this out. Experiment. Respect your body’s individuality.
10. Experiment with spices like cinnamon, nutmeg, coriander, cardamom, and cloves. Add these spices to vegetables, grains, and cereal for a sweet taste, without the side effects.
Bottom line: the more sugar you eat, the more sugar you'll crave. So, try to fill your cupboards with healthy foods and make sweet-tasting meals. Check out the amount of sugar in your cereals, crackers, cookies, yogurts, and fruit juices. See if you can find versions with less sugar. I always try to buy foods that contain less than 5 grams of sugar in each servings.
Delicious, Healthy and Easy Thumbprint Cookies
Ingredients:
1 cup rolled oats
1 cup almonds
1 cup spelt flour
1⁄2 cup olive oil
1⁄2 cup maple syrup
Fruit-sweetened jam of your choice
Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Combine oats and almonds in a blender or food processor and blend until they have the consistency of flour. Add to a large bowl with spelt flour.
In a small bowl mix together the oil and maple syrup. Combine wet and dry ingredients and mix well. Make 1-inch balls with your hands and press flat onto a cookie sheet. Make an indentation with your thumb into the center of each cookie. Fill each cookie with a teaspoon of jam. Bake at 350 for 15 minutes. Cool and enjoy!
Editor's Note:
This great advice, recipe and the article are brought to you by Liz Stein (our holistic nutrition partner). Liz is a Certified Holistic Health Counselor. Please visit her web site www.appetiteforhelthyliving.com for some great nutritional programs for triathletes.