Most people know that sugar and flour are bad.
You know that sugar spikes blood sugar to the extreme and forces the pancreas to work extremely hard over and over again to produce enough insulin in order to keep your blood sugar in check. Which can eventually lead to diabetes.
You may even know that sugar and flour are both highly inflammatory and the people who eat it on a daily basis are in a chronic state of inflammation. Which leaves them with a weakened immune system and more susceptible to life-threatening diseases like cancer.
Not to mention their contribution to the obesity epidemic.
And finally, if you ever tried going on a diet and removing sugar or flour from your daily intake, you know that it can be extremely difficult to stay on track. And the majority of us crave some type of sweets or processed carbs when we’re dieting.
Well, here’s what you might not know…
The reason why so many people crave sugar and flour when dieting isn’t only because they’re byproducts are delicious. It’s because you are addicted! Yes, you.
This is difficult for many people to believe, but just hear me out for a sec.
Sugar and flour are extremely addictive on both the psychological and physiological level. First let’s talk about the psychological end…
So since we were little kids we’ve consumed massive amounts of both sugar and flour. Especially during birthday parties, a fun day at the beach or when we were feeling down our parents gave us some ice cream or pizza to cheer us up. Due to the instant gratification we received as children, these substances are now built into our reward system, which plays a huge roll in our adult life. Now, when we have a shitty day we might tend to say “screw it” and go for that piece of candy, whether that be a conscious or subconscious decision.
On the physiological side, we have actually conditioned our gut flora (good bacteria of the gut) to crave flour and sugar, since we’ve been eating it consistently for years. Our gut actually craves it when we remove them, making it extremely difficult to stay on track.
So since you’re getting hit from both the physiological and psychological end, you need to recondition both your gut and mind to break free. It’s important to understand that the instant gratification you receive from eating these substances is only self-sabotage and not rewarding at all. Aside from the few minutes of deliciousness that is…
In order to recondition your systems, you need to remove all processed, refined sugars and flour from your diet for anywhere from 8-12 weeks.
I know, easier said than done. But here is what I have found to be extremely helpful over the years.
- Understand that you will crave both sugar and flour.
Now you know why.
- Have a goal.
When you have a transformation/health goal keeping this crap out of your diet becomes much easier. Know what your goal is, write it down and read it out loud every day.
- Have a start date and end date to accomplish your goal.
If you simply say “I’m going on a diet tomorrow” then I guarantee that you’ll be stuffing your face with Twinkies by Sunday. Put your plan in place and then have an exact start and end date. This way you’ll know when you can earn a cheat meal and it won’t seem like you’re just “dieting” all the time.
- Stay disciplined as a motherf*cker.
At first you need to be extremely disciplined. There’s no way around this. However, once you get a few weeks in you will start to develop good eating habits. Once you develop good habits it becomes much easier to stick to your plan.
So you may be asking yourself how you keep from eating sugar and flour for the long haul, and not just for 8-12 weeks. Well, the answer is by removing it for 8-12 weeks first! This process will help you lose body fat, look better and feel better. You’ll be healthier and have more energy than before. Once you see this in full effect you start to realize the negative impact these substances have made on you in the past. When you tie all of that together your cravings for sugar and flour will be significantly reduced.
I tell you this firsthand because I am a true fat kid at heart. I grew up in an Italian family eating pasta all the time with all the desserts you can imagine. If you ask any of my closest friends they will tell you about some of my epic cheat meals that even I don’t know how I got down. But now I only eat sugar when I choose to. Not when I simply want it. And to tell you the truth from eating well for the majority of the time I rarely crave it these days. So trust me, if I can do it you sure as hell can too.
I hope that you realize how the over-consumption of sugar and flour is an epidemic. Obesity and disease are at an all-time high, regardless of the fact that fitness is more popular than it has ever been! If we can reduce the rate of heart disease, cancer, obesity and diabetes by removing two things from our diets for the majority of the time, why wouldn’t we do it?
It just takes a conscious effort and a little discipline. Let’s take a stand and do this shit together.
Here’s to your health.
Be sure to drop a comment below if you have any questions!