Anti-sugar and low-carb advocate Jimmy Moore — who shared his inspirational story last Thursday of how he lost 140 pounds — was kind enough to send me his 7 tips to kick sugar that he shared during our call. He also posted them at his Livin’ La Vida Low-Carb blog. Here they are:
1. Tell yourself that sugar is rat poison and avoid it entirely.
2. Read food labels carefully and watch for hidden sugars in the ingredients. Pay close attention to deceptive marketing tactics such as "no sugar added" or "all natural" foods.
3. Be prepared with sugar-free food and beverage alternatives when you go to parties. [This is a tip that I don’t suggest; I’ve written much here about the dangers of artificial sweeteners, and some recent research even shows that you could gain, not lose, weight from consuming these fake sugars.]
4. As you rid your body of the toxins from sugar addiction, learn to savor the natural sweetness in your food (i.e., I had no idea almonds were sweet).
5. Remind yourself of all the negative effects sugar has on your body by writing down a list of those things and keeping it handy when you are faced with temptation.
6. Recognize that your sensitivity to sugar will become more enhanced the longer you go without it (i.e. food and beverages with sugar in them that you currently eat will become too disgusting to consume in a short time after you kick sugar).
7. Commit yourself to a lifetime of sugar-free living and reap the benefits that this new lifestyle will afford you. Get it in your mind that absolutely nothing will derail you from getting off sugar and losing weight.