Dietitian Tips to Cut Back on Sugar
How to Cut Back on Sugar Without Missing It
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You definitely don't want to eliminate all added sugar because restriction will only lead to bigger cravings, causing you to overeat it. Jackie said it's important to honour your hunger cues and give yourself unconditional permission to eat the foods you desire, two of the 10 principles of intuitive eating. "Normalizing sweets and including them regularly in your diet, when you want them, is the best thing you can do to prevent feeling deprived and end up binge eating those foods," Jackie said.
But if you know that eating too much sugar makes you feel crummy and you want to cut down, here are some tips to help you reduce your sugar intake without missing it:
Make small, realistic goals when it comes to cutting down on sugar, Emily suggested. If you drink three sodas a day, try cutting it down to two sodas in the first week. Then a week or so after, try cutting back a little more until you don't feel like you're relying on it.
You can do this with dessert, or chocolate, breakfast doughnuts, sugar in your coffee, or maple syrup in your oatmeal. Some people may do great cutting down on sugar cold turkey, while most will appreciate the gradual decrease so your body can adapt without really missing it.