How To Give Up Sugar When You Are Training

Diets that are high in sugar have long been linked to various diseases, such as heart problems, dementia, macular degeneration (a particularly nasty eye problem that can lead to blindness), and, of course, tooth decay. More recently, the direct link between sugar and obesity has been asserted by Dr Robert Lustig, who says, "We need to wean ourselves off. We need to de-sweeten our lives. We need to make sugar a treat, not a diet staple.”\n\nResearch published earlier this year in America, in the Plos One journal, puts the blame for the rapid growth of type 2 diabetes firmly at the foot of excess sugar in diet. With all the scientific evidence pointing at the need for a sugar free diet, wisdom would seem to tell us to cut out all sugars.\n\nBut that leaves a problem or two. First, many foods have natural sugars – cutting out sugar all together would require us to stop eating foods like apples, bananas, pineapples, carrots, yoghurt, prunes, and whole wheat bread. And that’s just for starters: there are plenty of foodstuffs, all considered healthy, that would need to be cut out to achieve a completely sugar free diet. And how boring would that be?
Second is the fact that, not only do foods taste better with sugar, but any amateur fitness fanatic or athlete training for the Olympics will tell you that sugar is necessary to maintain energy levels.\n\n

Turning to natural sugars

\nPerhaps the answer is to maintain the intake of natural sugars whilst cutting out bad sugars. But doing so makes many of our favourite foods bland and unappetising: which is where the use of natural sweeteners comes in.
Many people looking to give up sugar when training have turned to natural sweeteners such as stevia products and xylitol products. They buy stevia and buy xylitol because both look and taste like sugar, while allowing excess and unnecessary sugars to be removed from the diet.\n\n

Three ways to give up sugar while training

\nCutting out excess sugar requires will power, in exactly the same way as giving up smoking or drinking does. Different people will find their own way to give up sugar, but having a plan to do so will help you achieve your goal. Here are three ways to give up the sugars you don’t need when training:\n\n1) Wean yourself off sugar
Slowly but surely substitute natural sweeteners for the sugar you would have had. Keep a food diary as an integral part of your training regime, and eat more fruit. Gradually replace sugar by using xylitol products or stevia products in tea, coffee, and home-baking instead of sugar.\n\nSugar withdrawal symptoms will be less severe, and cutting out the sugar will help toward weight loss.\n\n2) Go cold turkey
Sugary foods give temporary highs that quickly dissolve. Cutting out all sugar immediately is not for everyone, but some can manage the effects well. Making the change from sugar to natural sweeteners is like a smoker throwing his last few cigarettes in the bin and vowing never to light-up again: for some it works, for others the shock to the system is too great.\n\nThe results will be quicker than by weaning off sugar, but there could be periods when you might feel lethargic and even more stressed than normal.\n\n3) Hypnotherapy
Hypnotherapy works on some people and not others. The idea here is to build a psychological dislike of sugary foods, perhaps combined with removing daily stress and removing the habit of seeking and eating sugary foods and snacks.
The benefits here are a complete change of mindset towards sugar.\n\n

Five steps to help you kick sugar

\nWhichever method of giving up sugar you select; there are five steps which will always help:
• Maintain a great positive attitude
• Give up sugar eating habits, such as snacking while watching television
• Get rid of your unnecessary sugars - chocolate bars, crisps, etc.
• Replace sugar for everyday use with natural sweeteners
• Restock your cupboards
Using stevia products and xylitol products as replacements for your daily sugar use will help to feed your sugar craving and keep all those drinks and desserts tasting great, while at the same time helping you to give up sugar while you are training.\n\n