If you tried before to follow a healthy eating plan, you probably decided then to cut down on added sugar and foods that have it like canned juices, sweets, and others. But have you ever decided to completely stop using added sugar? Maybe not, because you think that's impossible. But in this article, we'll show you 10 healthy ways to help you quit white sugar.
First way: Know the difference between natural sugar and added sugar
To be able to quit white sugar, first you have to understand the difference between it and natural sugar. Natural sugar is found in fruits, natural dairy products, and others. These have other nutrients that slow down sugar digestion, so natural sugar doesn't cause weight gain. But harmful sugar is the added sugar found in foods, drinks like juices, sweets, sodas. It’s a key factor in weight gain and getting diabetes.
Second way: Avoid canned juices and sodas
If you consume a lot of processed drinks with high added sugar, you should slowly cut back and replace them with water, natural fruit juices, or refreshing drinks like lemon, mint, or even herbal teas like green tea. Also, be careful, your body burns lots of calories from canned drinks compared to food. When you eat, you feel full, but you don’t get that feeling from drinks, so you might end up drinking a lot of these harmful drinks and taking in extra calories without noticing.
Third way: Buy foods that are sugar-free
Every time you go to the supermarket to buy a food product, look for a healthy alternative that is of course sugar-free. Don’t worry about this anymore because many people want to eat healthy and keep their health. So now, there are lots of alternative healthy food products for most items in the supermarket. You just have to carefully look for the healthy option.
Method four: Be careful when using healthy foods
Yes, what you read is true. Even though many warnings say processed light snacks like cookies and sweets have a lot of calories, and it’s better to use healthy foods instead, some healthy foods actually have more calories than regular ones, like dried fruits. So focus on nuts and fresh fruits as healthy snacks with fewer calories.
Method five: Eat foods rich in protein and fats
Sugary foods are known to make you want to eat more, which increases your body weight over time. But foods rich in protein and healthy fats, with less sugar, make you feel full after eating small amounts. They also give you a lot of energy. Good examples are fish, red meat, chicken, eggs, and nuts.
Method six: Get enough sleep hours
You might be surprised to learn that your daily sleep hours can affect your daily eating habits. Studies recently showed people who don’t get enough sleep tend to eat more fast food, sweets, and sodas than those who sleep enough. This hurts your health and causes weight gain. Also, lack of sleep makes you feel less focused, raises your risk of depression, and weakens your immune system.
Method seven: Keep sugary foods out of your reach
You need strong willpower and firm determination to completely stop eating snacks and foods with harmful sugar and high calories like sweets, biscuits, and chocolate, especially in the evening when you feel the most craving for sugary foods. If you don't have the full will to get rid of these harmful foods in your fridge, you can replace them with healthy snacks that have less sugar and fewer calories.
Method eight: Eat a tasty and healthy breakfast
You might find it strange to know this fact, but it's true. What you eat at the start of your day in breakfast decides what you'll eat later at lunch and dinner. If you eat sugary foods in the morning, your body will keep craving more. So start your day with healthy, nutrient-rich, filling foods that are low in calories like oats.
Method nine: Add natural sweet flavors to your plate
If you're used to eating foods high in sugar, it can be really hard to suddenly stop eating them. So you can use natural flavors to sweeten what you eat, like adding fresh fruit pieces to your yogurt. You can also try non-sugary flavors with health benefits like spices, especially cinnamon, which has been proven to boost metabolism and control blood sugar levels.
Method ten: Eat dark chocolate
Since chocolate is a favorite dessert for many, and you’re definitely one of them, we won't tell you to stop enjoying it. But instead of milk or white chocolate, which have high harmful sugar, choose dark chocolate. It has less sugar and also contains iron and fiber that make you feel full and less likely to want more than other harmful types of chocolate.
