Cut back on sugar (28 day plan)

28 day sugar busting plan!

I want to talk about a chemically addictive substance that diminishes your health rapidly and decreases your vitality. No, I am not referring to street drugs, I am referring to Sugar. Most people do not know that there are many ingredients in refined sugar, even though there is usually only one listed on the package. Most of these are bleach derivatives to make it pearly white, and chemical agents to turn the liquid sugar into the table sugar we have today. While it goes by many names the effects on the body are the same.

Let us have a heart to heart. I have been a trainer for almost 22 years and have been an avid fitness nut for 27. SO, when I say these words to you, I say them from my personal and professional experience. Whether as an ingredient or in your coffee, nothing will ruin your physique like sugar. 

It is so much faster to tone your stomach with the absence of sugar then with its presence. When I say this, I do not mean the sugar found in natural fruits or foods found in its original form, I am referring to factory processed sugars. 

I realize that many of you know this yet have fallen under the physically addictive properties of this terrible substance. So, I present to you today, a strategy to break your sugar addiction, once and for all.


Cut Back Sugar: Week One 

In this first week your goal is to get an accurate idea of how much sugar you are currently consuming. You’ll act as a reporter on your eating habits for one full week, recording down everything you consume. 

This week is only for reporting. I don’t want you to change anything about your diet yet. Eat as you normally do, but tally sugar grams at each meal and snack. Yes, even your drink at the coffee shop and your wine or cocktail at dinner. Look up the sugar content of everything you consume and record it. 

By the end of this week you will have a clear picture of how much sugar you are eating and which items in your diet are most sugar-filled. 

Cut Back Sugar: Week Two 

In this second week your goal is to eliminate liquid sugar. It is all too easy to consume large amounts of sugar in beverages, often without even noticing. You know which beverages in your diet contain sugar, from your reporting last week, so target and cut out these beverages. 

Sweetened coffee drinks, smoothies, alcoholic beverages, sweetened sodas and teas should all be replaced with water or other healthier sweetened objects if you must. Try liquid stevia for sweetening beverages without adding sugar, it has a more pleasing flavor than powdered stevia. Avoid super processed sweeteners like splenda or aspartame as these may cause bloating, cravings for more sugar, possibly various diseases and also puts on belly fat by overwhelming the liver. 

A good tip is to drink 8 ounces of water before, during and after every meal and snack. You crave less sugar when you are hydrated. 

Cut Back Sugar: Week Three 

In this third week we are now going to focus on eliminating the food in your diet that contains refined sugars. 

What’s great about this gradual approach to cutting out sugar is that over the course of the first two weeks, while you recorded your sugar consumption and then cut out sugary liquids, you likely found yourself instinctively beginning to choose items that are lower in sugar. That’s great! That’s going to make this week all that much easier as you begin to pass on those sugar-laden snacks and desserts. 

This week target and eliminate the food items in your diet that contain refined sugars. These are packaged candies and snacks, dressings and sauces, desserts and sweetened yogurts. Read labels and check sugar grams. Swap these items out for naturally sweetened treats – sweetened with fruit or stevia. 

Cut Back Sugar: Week Four 

You are in the home stretch! As you enter week four you should already be noticing your clothes feeling a little looser, and your energy levels should be stabilizing. During this week I’d like you to once again record everything that you eat and drink. Tally up the sugar grams and take notice of anything that you’re still consuming that’s high in sugar. 

This week should reinforce the healthy changes you’ve implemented and keep you accountable. If you find yourself really missing a certain sugar-filled item then look for healthier, low-sugar replacement foods to enjoy instead of reverting back to your old habits. 

The key now is to maintain your new, low-sugar, habits. The first month is always the most difficult, as new habits are formed, so you’ve already done the hardest part! Going forward, whenever you find yourself getting hooked back on sugar then go through this four week process again to get back on track. 

Good Luck Guys
Written with Love
Trainer Joe ​

---

cut back your sugar

cut back your sugar