What prevents most of us from achieving our ideal weight, even when we sweat regularly in the gym? Of course, the habit of overeating.
And not just overeating, but abusing sweets, cookies, cakes, drinking tea and coffee with sugar, pampering yourself not with ordinary water, but with cola and Sprite.
With all the sugar we consume every day, achieving an ideal weight is simply not possible.
Of course, giving up sweets is completely pointless and even harmful.
Our task is to learn to control the amount of treats and replace fast, high-calorie carbohydrates with healthy analogues.
Let’s figure out how to stop eating sweets and starchy foods forever, and what advice psychology has prepared for us in this regard.
Why do we crave sweets so much?
Of course, because this is one of the most easily accessible, albeit fleeting pleasures that is always at hand.
In addition, from early childhood we perceive all sweet food as a reward for good behavior - first for eating soup, then for doing homework on time.
And we transfer this feeling into adulthood, where relationships with sweets should also be adults.
Let's look at the reasons why we are drawn to eat not a bunch of salad and a bowl of porridge, but namely candy and a piece of cake:
Unbalanced diet
The main and main reason is an unbalanced diet with an insufficient amount of complex carbohydrates, which take a long time to digest and give a feeling of fullness.
All the sweet food that we throw into the body belongs to the simple ones - it flies by without a trace or benefit, but immediately settles on the sides and waist, and we want to eat again and again.
And all in larger and larger quantities.
Since childhood, we are accustomed to perceive sweets as a reward.
Habit of overeating
It is quite logical: the more we eat, the larger our stomach becomes, the more food it consumes, the more significant the numbers on the scales show.
Blood sugar rises during meals, and insulin lowers it. Such sharp jumps lead directly to an endless desire to eat and diabetes.
Active brain activity
If our profession requires us to think a lot, then the carbohydrate-eating brain will endlessly ask to feed it candy.
Following the lead, we give him what he wants, instead of healthy and necessary food - nuts, for example, or cottage cheese.
"Critical days
This point applies exclusively to representatives of the fair half of humanity.
Since during menstruation the level of production of the hormones estrogen and serotonin (the hormone of joy) decreases, in revenge he asks for tasty and forbidden things.
Women tend to overindulge in sweets during menstruation
Nerves and stress
And again, our habit is to eat them in order to quickly and easily get our portion of joy.
However, such pleasure is short-term - literally after 30-40 minutes you want to extend it.
Sport helps produce happiness hormones
If sweets serve as your usual way to distract yourself from problems and reduce psychological stress, you should try to use other sources of pleasure. Find a hobby, preferably something active - learn to roller skate, go to the pool, or just go to museums and exhibitions. Such events distract from food, give new impressions and pleasure.
Psychology and biochemistry answer the question of how to stop eating sweets: hormones that promote positive emotions can be obtained through achievements in sports. New successes, mastery and improvement of skills give a feeling of satisfaction and joy. And in addition, by performing constant physical activity, the body reinforces the positive effect by producing hormones - endorphin and serotonin.
7+ reasons why you need and how to stop eating sweets and starchy foods forever
- Sweet and starchy foods in large quantities mean excess weight, which is always more difficult to get rid of than to gain.
- It destroys teeth and inevitably ends in caries.
- It worsens the condition of the skin and accelerates the aging process in cells, since it is an ideal environment for the proliferation of pathogenic bacteria, which also provokes endless rashes.
- Leads to infertility - American scientists have been able to prove that notorious sweet tooths reduce the production of testosterone and estrogen.
- Worsens thrush if the disease plagues you on a regular basis.
- May cause cancer.
- During pregnancy, it can cause the baby to develop diabetes in the future.
- Significantly reduces life expectancy.
- Causes allergic reactions.
Sugar ages us
Are the factors listed above not enough to reconsider the menu now and stop buying sweets and cookies for the 3+1 promotion?
Symptoms of food addiction
Many people simply do not realize that they have problems. Sugar and baked goods are considered normal foods that are present in the diet of almost every person. However, food addiction can be identified by the following signs:
- without sweets there is no feeling of fullness;
- in the absence of sweets, drowsiness, a feeling of fatigue, and apathy appear;
- It’s impossible to give up chocolate or cake even while on a diet;
- a person cannot stop while eating any buns or sweets;
- the addict does not refuse sweets even when obvious problems with weight, digestion, or health in general appear;
- there is a feeling of fear, discomfort, nervousness if there is nothing sweet in the house;
- any image or mention of delicious things makes you want to eat.
The main feature of an addict is eating food not only when hungry. Everyone is familiar with the feeling of hunger - a churning in the stomach, salivation, a feeling of emptiness in the stomach. However, a food addict eats even when his stomach is full and his brain does not signal hunger. This means that food is consumed with the aim of obtaining psychological satisfaction, distraction or experiencing positive emotions.
How to stop eating sweets and starchy foods forever - what to replace them with, what to do?
You won’t be able to quit right now and forever - by the evening of the first day you will have found all the supplies in the house and, with the face of a naughty child, destroy them.
Therefore, start small and limit the amount of fast carbohydrates you consume - instead of three tablespoons of sugar, put 2 in your tea. After some time, go to one and a half, until you can give up completely and get used to the new tastes.
Remember that it will take you 21 days to form a new habit.
Find the right motivation
And constantly work through this topic in your head, like a mantra: “I want to give up sweets and starchy foods as much as possible, because it is harmful to my figure, health, and activity. When I eat sweets, I stop respecting myself and keep breaking my diet, etc.”
Find the right motivation
Look for adequate analogues
For example, berry sorbets in the summer, dietary baked goods, fruit smoothies or apples baked with cottage cheese.
You can also try diabetic desserts, which are easy to purchase at any large supermarket.
Before buying food, be sure to read the labels - sometimes even the most harmless products contain a large dose of sugar.
Manufacturers of low-fat, low-calorie dairy products especially like to sin with this.
Instead of candy and cookies, eat:
Honey - everyone knows about its beneficial properties. It simply must be in our diet in small quantities.
Dried fruits and nuts - 30 g per day are allowed even with a diet.
Find healthy alternatives to sweets
Dark chocolate will help the brain work fully. Buy the one that says 70% cocoa on the packaging.
This is serotonin, aka the hormone of joy, in its pure form. 30 g or a quarter of a standard slab is the acceptable daily intake.
Marmalade, marshmallows and marshmallows contain soluble fiber, also known as pectin, help regulate the amount of cholesterol in the blood and even have the ability to remove waste and toxins from the body.
And, of course, they have a relatively low calorie content. High-quality marshmallows are easy to make yourself - all you need is a little time and desire.
Tip: one half-liter bottle of Coca-Cola contains as many as 16 pieces of refined sugar. Do you still need reasons to give it up forever?
Marshmallows and marmalade in small quantities can be
Fruit instead of juice
Avoid freshly squeezed juices as they are pure sugar concentrates.
Better yet, eat one fruit and get a solid dose of fiber as a bonus.
Do not buy sweets under any pretext
In addition to those, the list of which we announced in the previous paragraph.
Get rid of all the stashes in the house - if it is still quite possible to resist the temptation in the store, then when sweets are constantly in sight, it will be difficult to give up the obsession with them.
Adjust your diet
Ideally, it should be fractional, balanced at the rate of a small portion - every three hours.
Choose the right foods with enough proteins, fats and slow carbohydrates.
Eat small meals
It is precisely too long breaks between breakfast and dinner that traditionally encourage overeating and abuse of flour products.
Features of attaractic motivation
Attaractic motivation is associated with the desire to drown out negative emotions with the help of tasty food. The opposite situation also happens, when a person begins to consume sweets out of joyful excitement. In any case, this is a reaction to your own emotions. If you feel that you are not hungry, but are excited to eat something tasty, try the following methods:
- inhale and exhale deeply, concentrate on your own breathing and let go of all thoughts;
- remember any good event in your life in detail and mentally hold this memory;
- take a sunbath if possible;
- go to aerobics, swim in the pool or just do exercises and move around;
- try meditating while listening to pleasant music.
Sometimes the stress is too great, and the thought of giving up starchy foods and sweets is unbearable. In this case, promise yourself that in the evening or in an hour you will treat yourself to your favorite cake. During this time, the body will have to cope with experiences in a different way. And most often there is a way out.
If after an hour (or even earlier) you still ate something sweet, there is no need to blame yourself. The problem must be solved gradually. Feelings of guilt and self-loathing will only make things worse and increase addiction.
A very important aspect of getting rid of addiction is healthy, full sleep. If you don't get enough sleep, your body has less strength to resist habits. An exhausted person craves sweets more in order to feel at least a short-term surge of energy.
Weakness that destroys health
Imagine that all we do is eat something delicious - of course, high in calories and high in sugar. What do we get in return? Many will answer - good mood! They will be right: chocolate and other sweets contribute to the production of serotonin, the happiness hormone that pulls us out of depression and helps lift our mood. But this is where all the benefits of treats end. But the harm caused to health by an avid sweet tooth is colossal:
- Destruction of tooth enamel.
- Disruption of the gastrointestinal tract.
- Deterioration of the skin condition - the appearance of pimples and blackheads.
- Obesity.
- Diabetes.
- Weakening of the immune system.
- Early atherosclerosis.
Flour is not far behind. Puffed products made from white flour can cause:
- Disturbance of intestinal microflora.
- Development of diabetes.
- Caries and gum disease.
- Cancer diseases.
- Weakening of the immune system.
- Overweight.
The list goes on. One thing is clear: a person who cannot live without cakes, sweets, muffins or sugar cookies develops a real addiction. And there is only one way to save it - by switching to the right diet.
It is important to remember that all sweets and baked goods consisting of refined carbohydrates are a time bomb. However, everyone’s carbohydrate metabolism is different – their susceptibility to harmful treats is also different. They harm some people more and others less. But experts agree: they are not to be trifled with. An adult can consume up to 80 g of sugar per day - no more.
The leading positions in the black list of products, the excessive consumption of which leads to obesity and serious health problems, were taken by:
- cakes;
- cakes;
- waffles and ice cream in waffle cups;
- cookies (especially those with a high sugar content and the addition of chocolate);
- glazed cheese curds.
The danger of these delicacies is that they contain both carbohydrates and fats - a cocktail that is dangerous for our figure, gastrointestinal tract, heart and blood vessels.
A little about the benefits and harms of chocolate
The benefits of chocolate are sung in advertisements and on many websites. Here are the most famous: improves mood, improves hemoglobin, contains magnesium. Eat our chocolate and improve your mood! Typical advertising in the zombie box and on the Internet.
Its benefits, as well as its harm, are undeniable for the average person. Before starting a healthy lifestyle, I was often “treated” with it; it calmed me down when I was nervous, saved me from low blood pressure and low hemoglobin. By the way, before the raw food diet, my hemoglobin was really very low - less than 90, now it’s 139 g/l.
Then I didn’t know that instead of chocolate and sweets, you can use alternative products that are no less healthy and tasty.
But let's look deeper. Chocolate, even the most natural (it is very difficult to buy, almost impossible) is made from cocoa bean powder, which contains narcotic substances.
Therefore, although it has little benefit, it also causes more harm to health:
- impairs normal blood flow in the body and weakens the walls of blood vessels;
- causes headaches and increases blood pressure;
- too high in calories and contains a lot of cholesterol;
- is highly addictive and dependent.
And I just described the harm of cocoa beans, which in powder form form the basis of good natural chocolate.
I'm not even talking about the dangers of regular chocolate, to which various cheap oils and many chemical additives are added. All this is done in order to sweeten this bitter product.
In most cases, it is because of chocolate that people have many difficulties when switching to any type of healthy diet. If you stop eating it, your head will stop hurting, the extra pounds will noticeably begin to disappear, and the most interesting thing is that more than half of your acne will disappear!
That's even my experience. After giving up chocolate, the acne on my back cleared up in no time! But I really was a “chocolate glutton” - I ate up on chocolates and candies just like that. I even wrote on the Internet about my love for chocolate.
