When it comes to sugar, what works best? Moderating the intake? Or cutting it out all together?
Without regards to the health aspects of sugar, the answer is: it’s up to you. You get to choose to either moderate the intake or learn to cut out sugar completely. Of course reduction in sugar is good for your health. I don’t need to cite all the research for you to know that the only thing in your body that benefits from sugar is your taste buds. (Your brain gets a little dopamine hit as well, which it likes. But you can reduce that reaction through your behavior as well.)
You can easily find people who have moderated their sugar intake and swear by it. They tell you to answer the craving and then it will go away. They tell you that you can easily “fit it in” with a calorie deficit. You can also find people who cut it out altogether–they abstain. They say the only way to eliminate the cravings is to eliminate the sugar.
Here’s the truth: you have to decide.
Because no matter what you decide, you will still have to manage the urge to eat sugar.
When you moderate and have a small serving, your brain will tell you it was very yummy, there was a large dopamine response and we for sure should do that again, preferably right now. You will then manage that urge to have eat more sugar.
When you abstain from eating sugar, your brain will remind you that it was very yummy the last time and there was a large dopamine response last time and so we for sure should do that again, preferably right now. You will then manage the urge to eat sugar.
What is the easiest way to for you?
You have to experiment. Test it out with your brain and body. Is it easier for you to manage the urge to eat sugar after having a small serving that you pre-planned? Or is it easier to just say no all together? Notice I said “easier” not “easy.”
If moderating flares up that desire for sugar even higher, then you may decide moderating is even harder than cutting it out all together. You may notice that the next day sugar cravings are more intense than days when you don’t have any. For other people, the opposite is true. They may find that if they eat just a little bit it quiets that primitive brain and then they can move on.
You’ve got to experiment with it.
They key is to plan. Plan whether you will have the sugar or not. When you use your pre-frontal cortex to make decisions ahead of time, you will always be making decisions from the best possible place. Keep your commitments to yourself. Remember: willpower pushes down an urge. Commitment acknowledges the urges, is present with it and allows it to go unanswered.
Not sure which way is right for you? Jump on a call with me and we can set up a plan for you to experiment with moderating and abstaining. Click below to get on my calendar today!
