Sugar: More addictive than cocaine!

Hi Ariane,

I could use a little pep talk.  I have fallen off the detox but I’m going to try to start again tomorrow. I mentioned I have a huge problem with sugar, but I’d started to feel really good the first few days of the detox. I want to try to get through one whole week eating clean and I’m coming to your class at 6:30 after work.

Cheers, Monica
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Monica,
there is no need to ‘start again’. All you’re going to do is to continue what you started. This detox is not about being perfect.There is no such thing as perfection. I think you learned that eating sugar is neither making you feel good, nor does it help you get to your goal. That’s in important lesson you have learned and you wouldn’t have made that connection had you not had sugar. So, just move on, eat clean, drink  lots of water and don’t give sugar so much power over you. The more you demonize it, the more you place that ‘forbidden’ and ‘bad’ sign on it, the more you will want it. Why? Your brain simply doesn’t process negatives, so when you say “I don’t want…” you are actually telling your brian “I want….”, so the way you speak to yourself has a huge impact on your behavior. The more you say “i can’t eat sugar”, the more you’ll be drawn to it. Instead, make peace with it. Know that it makes you feel crappy, fat, unhealthy and creates cravings for more.
Next time you’re tempted to eat sugar, think about how you feel after eating it. Think about the consequences and then ask yourself if it’s worth it to you. If it is, then have a little. If not, then find something better to enjoy that actually makes you feel great and enjoy feeling the power you have over your own decision-making.
Sugar1
Also, try speaking to yourself positively. You definitely didn’t lose it or fell off the wagon. You just ate something that makes you feel ill, so let it be. You can try speaking to yourself in encouraging ways, such as “I don’t want sugar because it makes me feel awful. Sugar makes me sick. I crave veggies and lean proteins because they make me feel light, strong and healthy”, or something along the lines. The guilt trip you’re on right now is not conducive to establishing a healthy relationship to food. And, just because you had sugar doesn’t mean you’re a bad person or have no will power. Sugar sure is more addictive than cocaine (not even joking), so it’s a matter of breaking the cycle.
How you feel about food has a huge impact on how you respond to it. If you’re giving sugar so much power over you, you’ll always cave in when it’s in front of you. But, if you develop an aversion to it based on your negative response to eating it, you will no longer crave it.
This process takes time and certainly doesn’t happen overnight, so keep working on that. I’ll see you tonight!
Ariane
2 replies
  1. Liz says:

    This is very accurate, Ariane. Not only does science completely back this up… my personal experiences do too. I’ve been in your boot camp classes for two years (wait, three?) and whenever you’d get a glimpse of my food logs you notice the sugar-sugar snacks (tootsie pops, gummy bears) but other than that, I eat clean. I finally tried cutting them out and I don’t miss them. I feel immensely better and – you’re right – it’s how I think about that food. Once I learned how much better I feel without sugar (bye bloat! bye energy crash! bye craving for more and more sugar!) and that I won’t die of exhaustion at 3pm at my desk without the sugar snack, I was FINE. I find that drinking warm water with lemon helps with “sugar” cravings, might be random but it works. Sugar is a big deal. It’s like crack and crack is whack.

  2. BrookylnBB says:

    Thank you Whitney Houston for that comment :-)
    You’ve made huge strides Liz and it’s showing off. Not just in your title as Butt Kicker of the Year, but also when you come to class to up the ante! See you soon!

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