A beginner’s guide to Carbs pt 5 — How to remove sugar from your life!

This is my last section on carb basics. Make sure you read the first 4 parts by clicking on the links here: Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4.

Before we begin this article, there is something I need to say one more time: Sugar is a highly addictive substance, 10 times more addicting than cocaine.

It is also very normal that we want to eat something sweet, however, craving sweets all the time is not normal and may hint at an underlying dopamine problem.

Trying to fully cut sugar out cold turkey can be a huge mistake and this is where everyone fails in their approach. Our first target should be limiting its usage and take it from there.

15 steps to limit and eliminate sugar from your life

So here are 15 basic steps to eliminate your sugar consumption and get on the right path to a healthier nutritional plan and life.

Eat more veggies

Focus on getting your majority of carbs from veggies and fruits. Be careful not to overdo it with fruits though.

Not all fruits are the same. Very sweet fruit such as bananas, oranges etc can cause a higher insulin spike which should be avoided for better hormonal health and better body composition.

Stick to berries and citrus fruit which are as equally full of nutrients, vitamins and enzymes without hurting your hormonal profile.

Eat more fat

Instead of eating a lot of carbs, try eating more healthy fats instead. Healthy fats will support your hormonal health (testosterone production for men and progesterone for women), keep you full for longer and also support your dopamine and energy levels.

However, a diet that is higher in fats may not work for everyone right off the bat so this is something to experiment with to get the right amount of fats in your diet.

Remember that if you go high fat you must minimize your carb intake.

Good ways to up your healthy fats are:

• Use organic coconut oil to cook with,
• Prepare salads with raw olive oil,
• Eat more fish, avocados and nuts.

Eat more protein

Instead of carbs, focus on eating more protein (along with extra fat).

Great protein based foods are:

• Organic beef,
• Organic (not farmed) fish,
• Free range chicken,
• Free range eggs.

However, if you are a vegan, you should focus more on nuts and legumes (just stay away from soy or fake protein products such as tofu).

Focus on foods with low glycemic index values

The Glycemic Index is an indication or measure of how each food affects our insulin levels (and therefore the glucose levels in our blood).

This will allow you to better understand what is harmful and full of sugar.

The goal here is to consume foods with the smallest amount of glycemic index.

Some exceptions do apply as some very nutritional foods have a higher glycemic index.

If you check below you will see that white sugar has the same glycemic index as sweet potato. We have already discussed the dangers of sugar, however, sweet potatoes are perhaps one of the best foods you can have in your diet (and is one of the few carbs that I personally consume on a regular basis).

GI FOOD Examples