This post may contain affiliate links which won’t change your price but will share some commission.
Change is hard.
Our bodies like equilibrium. It’s why we often stay at or around the same weight for years at a time. It’s why we get hungry around the same time each day, or prefer a certain temperature setting in our homes.
We get into habits of grabbing certain food. Breaking those habits isn’t easy. Set yourself up for success as much as you can and pay attention to places and situations that tempt you to slip back into habits you’re trying to change and avoid.
Change takes time.
You have to be patient and give your body and your mind time to adjust to eating less sugar and fewer processed foods. This is both a physical and a mental issue. Don’t expect this to be a quick fix. Avoiding sugar for a few days is great and it can help you become more aware of how much sugar you consume in a given week, but real change takes longer than that.
It can also help to start slow. If you’re eating a lot of sweets or are drinking soda right now for example, start to slow down your consumption for a few weeks. Start slow and keep weaning yourself off the steady stream of sugar into your body. It will make your actual sugar detox much easier to do.
And be prepared for this to take longer than you expect. It’s okay. You didn’t become addicted to sugar in a flash. Stick with it and you will see meaningful change.
Change takes patience.
After a few days or even weeks with little to no added sugar, you’ll feel great. You’ve established new habits. Your body has become fat adapted, meaning that it will easily switch from burning carbohydrates for energy to using lipids including stored body fat. You’re clear headed, have more energy and then boom…
Out of nowhere the craving hits. Maybe you’re tired, or sad, or disappointed. Maybe you walked by a bakery and smelled those sweet treats. Or maybe there’s no apparent reason at all. It happens. And it will happen to you. It takes time, patience, and grit to change your diet and your lifestyle. Expecting these stumbling blocks will help you overcome them and either stay on track or get back on it if you give in to temptation.
Change can be permanent.
To wrap it up, I want to share a bit of good news. Change can be permanent. Yes, it takes time. Yes, you will fall off the wagon. But then you’ll reach the day when the change to reducing your sugar intake has become permanent.
The surprising thing is that you won’t recognize that day right away. Only in hindsight will it become clear that both the physical and mental change has become permanent.
I started intermittent fasting over 5 years ago as of this writing and it is very much a long term part of my life. That was a permanent change I was able to make because I saw the value of the change both in what I learned about it and in the changes in made in my life. The same can be true for you.
Leave a Reply