Managing Sugar

Managing Sugar

Managing sugar is a hit and miss problem for me. In the past, the more I eat, the more I want. When I’m not eating it, I don’t crave it, but when I am, I want more. It’s been addictive for me and I craved it constantly. I managed it by avoiding sugar all together.

But an interesting thing has happened since I’ve started my weight loss quest. Now that I no longer deprive myself of desserts and sugar because I’m on a “diet”, I find I don’t crave it like I used to. I know I can have it, so I don’t treat it like it’s taboo or that I have to be good on my “diet” before I can have it. Now, I will have it when I really want it, but I also use Rebecca J. Clark’s three bite rule from her book The Checklist Diet.

“Next time you have the craving for something amazing and sinful (like cheesecake), take the first bite and savor the deliciousness. Eat it slowly…” By the fourth bite the taste has diminished, Rebecca says.

Three Bite Rule

For the most part I adhere to this, and I only eat it when I want it, but there are occasions when I have it because it’s there. Again, I use the three bite rule, and I eat it slowly and savor every bite, rather than scarf it down like a starving wolf. The best part of this three bite rule is I come away feeling satisfied and I’ve filled my craving. I don’t wait until I’m off my “diet” because I don’t “diet”, so I eat it when I crave it.

Dark Chocolate Craving
image courtesy of (c) Gustavo Andrade/RF123

A few weeks ago I had a craving for dark chocolate—specifically a Sees Candy dark chocolate filled with dark chocolate. Unfortunately there was no Sees Candy store close by, or any kind of candy store that had what I was looking for. I looked at other dark chocolate, but it wasn’t what I craved, so I waited, and waited, and waited until I could find just what I craved.

Three weeks later, I finally found the candy I was looking for. I had two pieces and savored each one, enjoying the texture, the rich flavor, the sweet burst of sugar. I still remember how good it tasted and how glad I was that I waited to get just what I wanted. And the best part was, when I finished eating them, I didn’t want

more. I was satisfied, and that has been a major accomplishment in my weight loss quest.

How do you manage your sugar cravings?

 

 

 

 

The post Managing Sugar appeared first on The Klutzy Athlete Kathy Coatney & Kate Curran.