One of the biggest problems many of my clients face is reducing the amount of sugar in their diet to normal or manageable levels. When you have too much sugar in your diet the excess is stored as fat. Carbohydrates are broken down in the intestine and absorbed into the blood. As blood sugar levels rise, cells in the pancreas churn out more insulin, which signals to cells to absorb this sugar for energy or storage. As the cells ‘absorb’ the sugar the levels in the blood return to normal or minimum. All that sugar that you have ‘absorbed’ is now being stored as fat! By reducing the amount of sugars in your diet you can reduce the amount of fat storage and also encourage fat as an energy source for your daily activity. This will result in a change of body composition. You will loose body fat and be in great shape in no time.
So here are a few simple tips to reduce your sugar today!
1. Throw away your breakfast cereal! That’s right, throw it away! You will find that most breakfast cereals will have the equivalent of your daily sugar requirements in one serving. My recommendation is to try eggs, cottage cheese or Salmon for breakfast. Oats are al a better option than wheat as it is a slower releasing sugar, also there isn’t nearly as much sugar in it.
2. Drink water, and water ONLY! Diet or sugar free drinks are a joke! They have even been shown to increase your body fat!
3. Substitute your muesli bar for real fruit! Some muesli bars have extra sugar added to make them tastier and also make them more addictive! Although fruit has natural sugar, fructose, atleast it has natural vitamins and minerals. You will also find them more fulling and they have more fibre!
4. Make it from scratch. By making your meals from scratch you can be certain that there is no added sweeteners in the ingredients. This is especially relevant to sauces!
5. Minimise the white stuff. Yes bread, pasta and rice! These white foods will send your blood sugar through the roof! Eat salads and fresh foods for lunch.
Consistency is the key. It will take your body about three weeks to adjust to the reduction of sugars and for the cravings to go away. if you are consistant for the first three weeks you will notice a drop in body weight and body fat. Surprisingly too, you energy levels will increase and your mental focus will be sharp!