In working with women who wish to lose weight and control their sugar
addiction, the main focus is on weight loss. However, I am frequently asked
questions like these:
"Can I have a sweet fix everyday?"
"Am I allowed to have a sweet fix if I really need it?"
"If I have a sweet fix, will it negate my weight loss?"
My answer: It depends. I wish there was a really simple answer to any of these
questions. But the truth of the matter is, there are so many variables that affects
the right decision for each individual.
For example: Let's take a look at Martha and Kate. They both consider
themselves to be a sugar addict. Both love, love, love chocolate. But both take a
very different approach. Martha plans her chocolate into her day, every day. She
buys a bag of individually wrapped Dove chocolates and has one after lunch and
one after dinner. That totally satisfies her desires and she can limit it to the 1
piece serving.
Kate on the other hand, says she could never do that because she can't stop once
she starts. She tries to stay away from chocolate totally. She says about once a
month she winds up "giving in" and finds herself binging on something chocolate.
She hates herself for not having control and wishes she could live in a world
devoid of chocolate so her life could be easier. It has become a vicious cycle and
she wishes she could stop.
If this were a case study with Martha and Kate, it appears to be obvious that
getting a sweet fix in everyday is certainly possible. And it is. The deciding factor?
individual personalities and what drives them. You really have to know yourself
and what sets you off.
For Martha, the thought of being deprived of chocolate is so abhorrent that she is
willing to limit the portion size. She is satisfied with knowing she will have
another piece after the next meal. Whereas Kate is emotionally using chocolate to
soften her disappointments in life. When things are going good, Kate is able to
control her chocolate desires, but when things go awry, she turns to sugar to
soften the blow. And because it temporarily makes her feel good, she keeps on
eating it and winds up overdoing it.
I would suggest Kate have some tootsie roll pops on hand for those emergency
situations. They would satisfy the sweet fix she is looking for in a controlled way.
One tootsie roll pop is 70 calories and you can make that sucker last a long time.
Over time, Kate will be able to learn more behavioral techniques to help her with
her sugar cravings.
With 10 years experience in the weight loss industry, Gretchen shares her fire tested, reality based solutions to your sugar addiction problem. Because she believes: when you conquer the sugar, you conquer the pounds.
For more information from Gretchen, go to http://crushsugarcravings.com