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Here’s an article I wrote to help you those of you, who are sugar addicts or junk food junkies, who need help to sweetly say, “No, thank you!” when offered those tempting, unhealthy “treats.”
Delay Away Your Sugar Cravings™: Creatively Procrastinate to Ditch Your Sugar Addiction & Excess Weight
By Connie Bennett, MSJ, CHC, ACC, CPC
Whenever people meet me, join my Sugar Freedom Now program or work privately with me or read my book SUGAR SHOCK!, they almost immediately ask me (either in person or via e-mail), “How can I overcome my sugar cravings?”
It can be challenging to say “No, thank you!” when your favorite, tempting dessert is right there, in front of you.
Because it’s what you do in that very first one or two minutes that can make or break your diet, I’m determined to help you get over that “Must-Have Sugar Now! hurdle.”
Let me share a tactic that helped me on many occasions (back in 1998) and that now helps my clients and Facebook Smart Habits Noww fans.
One of the most powerful and effective strategies is so simple that you’ll wonder why you never tried it in the first place.
It’s this: Simply DELAY before you put any sugar or dessert foods in your mouth. That’s right, DELAY before you something that you’ll later regret such as when you look at your scale a day or two later or when your pants don’t fit anymore or when you become edgy and unfocused after your Sugar High.
Let’s be honest: If you do mindlessly nosh on those fast-acting sweets or much-like-sugar carbs™ into your mouth, won’t you become feel headachy, wiped out, spaced out, moody, depressed or even angry at yourself (and maybe your loved ones)?
Let me introduce you to the Delay Away Your Sugar Cravings Method™ (also called Do Creative Sugar Procrastination™).
Think about it: Most of us excel at putting things off or procrastinating, right?
We have every good intention to clear off our desks, donate old clothes, organize our drawers, ditch (recyle) those not-needed papers, help kids with their homework, throw out the garbage, etc.?
Clearly, all of us have things we’ve been planning to do but we just haven’t got around to doing it.
Well, I invite you to take a positive look at procrastinating. It can be a wonderful, Won’t-Have-Sugar-Just-Yet Strategy.
I hit upon this incredible simple technique back in 1998 when I reluctantly kicked sweets and refined carbs on doctor’s orders. To this day, I continue to be amazed at how easy, effortless, and darn effective it is to just delay.
What’s so wonderful about this Delaying Now Method is that people of all ages—unless maybe you’re a tot—can easily cultivate this tactic.
So, here’s how to do it: Just promise yourself to delay eating that tempting “treat” for a certain amount of time, say 10 minutes. You can do that, of course!
In other words, you will Delay Away Your Sugar Cravings for 10 minutes at a time. Then, you can delay over and over again — for another 10 minutes — for a while, like an hour even. It’s that easy!
Now think ahead to the next morning when you’re so relieved and proud of yourself that you didn’t cave into your cravings.
Here are 7 ways Delaying or Creatively Procrastinating becomes your ally to help you pull the plug on your unwanted sugar addiction. (Delaying is one of the “7 D’s” that I developed to help “Sugar Kickers.”)
First delay 10 minutes before you eat that cookie, candy bar or brownie that’s calling out to you. When you do that, you begin to detach from your destructive impulses.
When you delay for 10 minutes, then another 10 minutes, and another 10 minutes, your cravings will subside while you get involved with other things. At that point, you’ll also be able to put your cravings into proper perspective.
When you Delay Away Your Cravings, you’re taking powerful, positive, health-promoting action by simple inaction. Yes, doing absolutely nothing can be pivotal when you kick or cut back on sweets and quickie carbs. See how simple this is?
When you delay, you turn procrastinating into a useful, proactive skill. Procrastinating becomes a good thing!
When you delay, you can take time to find out which foods—if any—you’re really craving. Is your body really needing cookies, cake, and pretzels? Of course not! Your Amazing Body might instead be begging you for water, fresh vegetables and fruits, high-quality protein or healthy fats?
When you delay, you can get in touch with your true feelings. By putting your sugar binging on hold for 10 minutes or more, you can figure out what the heck is really going. Ask yourself, “Why do I feel like I must have these sweets now?”
When you delay, you’ll be so proud of yourself! You’ll be filled with a longer-lasting joy than the very short-lived, self-defeating immediate gratification you’d get from a cookie. What is your real goal? Are you seeking to shed excess weight, get more energy, concentrate better, improve your health and boost your libido? So delaying gives you a chance to think about what you really want rather than suffer the consequences of your moment of weakness.)
In short, simple delaying or creatively procrastiating is one of the most effective tools a successful Sugar Kicker can use.
Tips to Delay Away Your Cravings or Creatively Procrastinate
It’s time to learn how to put this in action. Shortly, you’ll become a Delaying Artist or a Creative Procrastinator.
The next time you want something sweet (that’s processed) or something white (as in a refined carb), delay for 10 minutes. That’s it — just 10 minutes. You can do that, right? Feel free to set a timer or look at your watch, clock or cell phone to keep you honest, so to speak.
Now, imagine that you’re stepping outside and leaving behind your obsessive sugary thoughts. Now, get going with some project you’ve been delaying.
After 10 minutes, if you still want sweets or quickie carbs, Delay Away another 10 minutes. Be creative while you delay. You may want to do the dishes, put away your clothes, organize your closet, color your hair, organize your CD collection, meditate, work out, fix your nails, etc. Doing these things can help you pass the time and pull the plug on your food thoughts.
Then challenge yourself for even longer! Wait 1 hour or even 2 hours, or maybe even the whole evening. Do something really fun in the meantime. Jump into that project that you’ve been putting off doing. Fill your time with satisfying activites that help you “forget” about the sweets calling out to you. (If you pick going to a movie as a way to delay, do NOT stop at the concession stand! Bring along your own water or snack.)
Finally, write about your experience in a journal or notebook. Just jotting down your feelings can be eye-opening, as many of my Sugar Kicker clients have revealed to me, and as I personally discovered years ago.
Ultimately, when you just delay or creatively procrastinate, you can learn a lot about yourself and the power of a focused mind.
To this day, I’m thrilled that I hit upon this Delay Away Your Sugar Cravings Tactic back in 1998 so that I could learn that Life is Sweeter Without Refined Sweets™.
Copyright © 2011, Connie Bennett, Sugar Shock Blog, Stop SUGAR SHOCK!™
Connie Bennett is the “Sugar Freedom Now Coach.” She is a former sugar addict and author of the bestselling book, SUGAR SHOCK! (Berkley Books), which has been praised by Dr. Mehmet Oz, Dr. Christiane Northrup, Dr. Joseph Mercola and others. Her next book, The Beyond Sugar Shock Diet, will be published in 2012 by Hay House. Connie is also founder of the Break Free of Your Sugar Addiction in 6 Weeks Program (also called Sugar Freedom Now Course). Learn more at www.BreakFreeWithConnie.com. Connie’s Sad-to-Sour-Sugar Story began in 1998, when she reluctantly kicked sweets and quickie carbs on doctor’s orders, and all 44 of her ailments disappeared, including throbbing headaches, severe PMS, and mood swings. Nowadays, Connie jokingly dubs herself a “Sugar Shrew No More!” She has coached thousands of people around the world to Break Free of their sugar addiction and other unhealthy habits. Connie is a certified life coach, certified health counselor, certified vision board coach, popular radio host (Gab with the Gurus), journalist and essayist, who has contributed to many publications and websites and has appeared on numerous TV and radio shows, including CBS News Sunday Morning, Oprah & Friends Radio, and The Howard Stern Show. To get free kick-sugar tips and other updates, sign up for her free Motivating Morsels e-zine. This article first appeareed on the Sugar Shock Blog. Connect with Connie on Facebook in the Smart Habits Fans page or the Gab with the Gurus page.
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