Simple Tips for Lowering Your Sugar Intake This Month– Every Bit Counts!
The downsides of overeating sugar are honestly endless, but in summary, too much sugar causes significant stress and inflammation in your body. After overindulging, you might notice feeling more sluggish, your rings might not spin on your fingers like they should, and you’ll likely see an uptick in cravings for more sweet treats. These are all little signs from your body saying: help! I don’t like this!
It’s our job to listen, but I also believe that baked goods and holiday treats can absolutely have a place in your diet. The holidays are the perfect time to enjoy them with friends and family, but whenever we can lower the sugar we’re consuming–even slightly–I think we should. Our bodies will thank us!
Here are my favorite strategies for eating less sugar this time of year:
1. Take a look at your calendar for the next month and mark off the days you know you’ll want to indulge. It helps to get a visual for how many days your eating may be less than ideal. It can also help you prioritize healthy eating on all the other days of the month. Isolated moments of sugar consumption with friends isn’t where people run into problems. It’s when one party’s desserts stick around the house and are over consumed for a week and a half. Then you start craving dessert every night, and before you know it you’re baking for the next party.
2. On a related note, when the celebration is over, ditch the desserts. Don’t leave cookies, cakes, and pies hanging around to tempt you. Either give them away, throw them away, or freeze them so they’re not calling your name every time you open the fridge or walk into the kitchen. I have very little self control when it comes to sweets, so I employ these strategies for myself all the time! I don’t want to be in a mental battle with food.
3. Get creative with the treats you make and bring to parties. Can you switch up a super sugary cookie recipe to a big batch of chocolate covered nuts, candied pecans, or a homemade fruit bouquet? Get on Pinterest to find some fun, festive appetizers that are low in carbohydrates and sugar. One of my favorites is a candy-cane shaped board of mozzarella and tomato slices with garnishes of basil!
4. Get outside and get walking as much as possible. Even if you indulge, walking after a meal or dessert is a fabulous way to control and stabilize glucose. Plus, the time in nature relieves stress and is good for the soul. Check out this blood sugar graph by @glucosegoddess to see the impact of movement on blood sugar!
5. Don’t consume alcoholic drinks with sugary mixers. I personally steer clear of any liquid sugars because they are so dysregulating for our metabolism, but around the holidays, fancy beverages are a sneaky way your blood sugar starts to skyrocket. Plus, alcoholic beverages in general turn off fat burning for hours at a time and do our waistline, gut microbiome, and mental health no favors! Hydrate in between drinks with a pretty, low-sugar bubbly like Spindrift or Sound tea.
Get excited about this healthy lifestyle because you’re going to feel great. Celebrate every little win. One less drink at the party? Score! Tossed the leftover cookies after your holiday dinner? Great work! This lifestyle is never about being perfect. It’s about the tiny choices that add up to BIG results over time.
XO,
Kara
