Table of Contents
1. Reduce sugar step by step
Humans are creatures of habits. If we break habits too quickly and change them radically overnight, we will rarely benefit for long. In order to reduce sugar in the long term, you should start small and change small habits slowly but regularly. At the beginning, for example, only put one sugar lump in the coffee instead of two.
2. Reduce stress
Especially in hectic situations, we quickly reach for sweets. Because: “The more stressful it gets, the more susceptible we become to the feel-good mechanisms that sugar triggers in us,” explains nutritionist Dr. Riedl. Take countermeasures with mindfulness exercises: close your eyes, breathe in deeply and breathe out again. Count all the sounds around you for about three minutes. This is how you ensure deceleration.
3. Cover vitamins and nutrients
Cravings are always a sign from the body that it is lacking in vitamins and/or nutrients. Eat 3-5 meals a day that include carbohydrates, protein, healthy fats, and fiber.
cravings? – What is the defect behind it?
| Cravings for… | What defect? | This helps! |
| candy | zinc, magnesium | Peanuts, sunflower seeds, rolled oats, Gouda, oysters, Brazil nuts, cashews |
| salty | Natrium, Vitamin D, B1, B6 | olives, salmon, mushrooms, eggs, |
| meat products | Requirements | Pumpkin seeds, beetroot, legumes, liver |
| Fast Food | fatty acids | Walnuts, macadamia, flax and chia seeds, avocado |
4. Cooking fresh instead of ready-made products
Cook for yourself as often as possible and eat your fill for the three main meals. Plan on high-fiber vegetables (500 – 800 grams daily) and rely on protein from soy, lentils, quark, nuts, organic meat or organic eggs. Protein keeps blood sugar levels stable and prevents cravings. About 1.5 grams per kilogram of body weight daily is ideal. Athletes building and dieting can consume up to 3 grams of protein per pound of body weight.
5. Check drinks
Sugar isn’t just hiding in lemonade, but also in fruit juices, iced tea, smoothies, wine and energy drinks. The calorie- and sugar-friendly variant are diet drinks. They contain no sugar, but the sweetener aspartame, which is not harmful to the body in commercial quantities. Fruit juices, wine and smoothies should only be served as exceptions.
6. Replace sugar
Sweeteners and sugar substitutes such as agave syrup , stevia or coconut blossom sugar are relatively easy to replace table sugar .
7. Find allies
Quitting sugar alone is often more difficult. Maybe your partner also wants to reduce sugar in everyday life? Or you ask a good friend if she would like to take part. If you become weak, you can motivate each other – and of course celebrate successes together. Online courses are now also available to help.
8. Register special requests
Ask the restaurant which dishes contain sugar. So you can decide for yourself what you want to eat – and what not. It is best to always order sauces or dressings, which often contain (a lot of) sugar, separately. So you can dose the amount yourself. Another way to save on sugar: refine the salad with oil and vinegar.
9. Make sweets yourself
Making your own sweets is very easy. Delicious energy balls can be conjured up from nut butter, dates and oatmeal. There are more recipes for chocolates here. >>
10. Leave sweets
What is not at home cannot be eaten either. When shopping, stay strong and skip the foods with a lot of sugar on the shelves. True to the motto: out of sight, out of mind!
