Yes, I’ve got a sugar addiction, just like many of you smart readers of Fearless Fat Loss have told me that you do, too. In fact there are more of us out there than you can imagine, and I actually agree with the information in William Dufty’s book, Sugar Blues (which I highly recommend) that the human body is just not built for refined sugar.

In my experience, refined sugar (includes white flour, which converts quickly to simple sugar) leads to a greatly reduced life experience, clouds my thinking, makes me tired and lethargic, and does not lend itself to living a life filled with joy.

Update 2013: Note the date on this article, 4/21/2008. This is an old article that I wrote 5 years ago. At that time I had the thought that I had a sugar addiction and today it’s not true. Fact:  90% of your problems with food and your weight are due to your Mindset. Only 10% are about how you eat and exercise.

Find out more by grabbing my FREE 5-Day E-course to discover the answer to, “Is Your Mindset Fit or F.A.T.?“. Get it while it’s still available!

So What Can You Do to Kick Sugar?

Here’s the simplest thing I can suggest to you, something that you can start doing right now even if you are severely struggling with getting off sugar: always eat lean protein with it and eat the protein first.

Yep, that’s the best thing I can pass along to you – make a pact with yourself immediately that from now on instead of eating a candy bar, bag of candy, piece of pizza (remember, white flour = simple sugar in the blood stream), or piece of cake alone, that you will first eat a lean, broiled chicken breast, a lean piece of char grilled turkey breast, a piece of fish, or a couple of egg whites. Does this turn you off? It might, and I’ll tell you why.

You Won’t Get As Much of a Sugar High

When you commit that from now on you will not eat that sugar or white flour filled confection or anything that has refined sugar as an ingredient (check your labels), you’ll immediately notice that you won’t feel as much of a sugar high.

The reason is because when you eat the lean protein with the sugar-filled item, you won’t incur as much of a spike in your insulin level – the protein will help keep your blood sugar more even (not as even as you’d feel if you completely eliminated the refined sugar, though), and you should find it much easier to let go of your sugar habit.

Kicking the Sugar Monkey takes a Commitment

I cannot say that you are going to eliminate your sugar cravings only by eating lean protein with anything that is sugar or white flour filled because in order to completely eliminate the cravings, you need to eliminate the refined sugar and white flour from your diet. Also, when you eliminate the refined sugars, you very well might still have lingering emotional cravings. In order to eliminate those, you may need to take an inner journey to release yourself from the ties and beliefs you have about sugar in your life.

It also takes a personal commitment to your own health and well-being to diligently read every label because sugar is in processed foods that you might not have even suspected (and included in almost all fast food). Additionally, sugar is not always listed as “sugar”, but as high fructose corn syrup, crystalline fructose, corn syrup solids, maple syrup, honey, cane sugar, and more (this is only a partial list of the many names of sugar).

Yes, it takes a commitment to get the refined sugar monkey off your back and release your sugar addiction, but what I am offering you today is a start. It’s a start towards freeing yourself of the sugar high and loosening the reigns that sugar has over you.

Don’t be surprised if you recoil at the thought of always eating a lean protein with your bread, pasta, donut, bag of candy, cake, pie, cookie, or salad dressing (yep, check your labels, most contain sugar), because you won’t get the sugar high that you’re used to and if you’re a heavy sugar user, using it to avoid, distract, numb, evade, or for any other emotional reason, you might miss your high. However, if you really want to get off the sugar, this step is a start for you. 😉

Where Did I Learn This?

Very briefly, Michael Thurmond’s 6-Week Body Makeover (the plan I mention often) taught me how to cook and eat, not only to lose weight but also to feel great. What’s really great about the 6-Week Body Makeover (you can learn more in my post here) is that even though it’s a plan for weight loss and body shaping, for me it works wonderfully as a sugar-free lifestyle because refined sugar and white flour are not a part of the plan.

Let’s Get Cooking!

So get out to the store today, buy some fresh, lean chicken breasts, turkey breasts, tuna steaks (or another fish), or even some very lean red meat and fire up the grill when you get home.

If you do this and start eating lean protein every time you eat foods that contain refined sugar and/or white flour, please leave a comment and share the difference you feel compared to how you feel when eating those sugar-filled foods alone.