If you’ve been following me for awhile, you know I have a major sweet tooth.
Ever since I was a kid, I’ve loved sugary foods, including candy, cakes, cookies, lemonade, iced tea – basically anything sweet!
On top of the sweets, I also ate tons of pasta, bagels, breads, and crackers for years…
I didn’t know it at the time, but these kinds of refined carbs have similar effects in the body as pure table sugar. It was sugar overload.
Over the years, I began to realize that my sugar habit had unwanted side effects.
I had rashes, breakouts, mood swings, exhaustion, brain fog, and more.
I finally decided to take action and attempt to quit sugar. I tried agave nectar until I found out it also behaves the same way as sugar in the body.
I tried stevia, and that worked out well at first. It’s an herb that’s naturally sweet, and is far sweeter than sugar so you only need a little bit…except it seemed to throw my hormones out of balance.
I tried giving up all sweets, and while that did help my symptoms, I didn’t want to never be able to eat sweets again.
Finally, I began to understand WHY my sugar habit was causing such problems. I finally found a solution that really made a difference, and it was deceptively simple.
It was eating a balanced meal in the mornings.
I have never been a breakfast person. I just don’t like eating a big meal as soon as I wake up.
What I didn’t realize was that I was going too long without food, which caused my blood sugar to drop. Then I’d eat things like donuts and coffee cake with juice for breakfast which caused my blood sugar to spike…then crash. Then I’d feel exhausted and hit the vending machine…
It was a vicious cycle and I didn’t even know it.
When I began starting my days with a satisfying, slow digesting meal, it set me up for stable blood sugar throughout the day. I wasn’t dragging to the point where I was grabbing anything to eat as a pick me up.
I was more clear headed and I didn’t feel like I was starving, so this set me up for making better food decisions throughout the day.
Even better, having small amounts of sugary foods stopped throwing me into cycles of blood sugar spikes and all of the issues that come along with that.
I had finally found a way to break my sugar habit – without giving up sugar for life or overdoing it with sugar alternatives that aren’t any better.
It’s amazing how things can change when you really start nourishing your body and being intentional about food choices. It’s easier said than done, but it’s well worth the effort.
