Four Ways to Beat Sugar After the Holidays
Do your New Year’s Resolutions include finally cutting out sugar once and for all? Curbing your sugar cravings can be incredibly challenging, especially right after the holidays. With a little discipline — and some good, clean, healthy food — you can put your sweet tooth to bed. Below we’ve shared four of our favorite ways to beat sugar and get your diet back on track.
1. Eat a well-balanced diet
Our brains are trained to crave sugar, and giving into sugar cravings is a slippery slope. Eating a well-balanced diet consisting of lean protein, complex carbohydrates, fibers, and healthy fats to help reduce sugar cravings. Prepping meals ahead of time will you give you more autonomy over what you’re putting in your body. Don’t have time to prep? Check out our healthy 500-calorie meal prep options.
2. Drink more water
Next time you’re thirsty, reach for a glass of water instead of a sugary soda or fruit juice. We’ve always heard that eight 8-ounce glasses of water a day is the minimum, but challenge yourself to go a little beyond that, especially if you’re active or live in a dry climate. Drinking water instead of sugary beverages will aid your body in flushing out toxins, muscle recovery, and benefits your overall health. Visit Healthline.com to learn more about improving your water intake.
3. Prioritize your snacks
We all crave a midday snack, but it’s what you eat that determines how the rest of your day goes. Stay away from the vending machine and the candy bar or the bag of chips. Instead, bring a piece of fruit full of fiber like an apple or a banana or plain Greek yogurt to fuel you through the rest of the day.
4. Learn to read nutrition labels
Nutrition labels are sneaky, and so is the packaging most food comes in. Learning how to read nutrition labels will help you avoid foods that are full of sugar. Keep an eye out for phrases like “contains real fruit juice” or “naturally sweetened” when grocery shopping. Instead, check out the nutrition label on the back to get a breakdown of the total sugars and added sugars. Added sugars are sugars added when foods are being processed, foods packaged as sweeteners, or sugars from syrups and honey. Visit the FDA’s website to learn how to read nutrition labels.
Bonus: Get more sleep!
When we don’t get enough sleep, it’s easier to give in to sugar cravings — grabbing a pastry before work in the morning or fueling up on a sugary coffee, for example. Create a consistent and relaxing bedtime routine to ensure you get a good night’s rest and have plenty of energy to conquer the day ahead.