A Step-by-step Guide to Completely Cut Out Sugar From Your Diet

If you are planning on losing some weight or even just making some healthy diet changes, then the first step towards that would be eliminating sugar from your diet. Since many of us have a sweet tooth, reducing sugar consumption can prove to be a difficult task. Sugar is also known to be addictive; the moment you consume something sugary, the brain rewards you with happy hormones. Here is an 8-step guide that can help you cut out sugar in no time.

1. Say no to added sugar

Stop adding sugar to any of your meals, be it your glass of milk or your early morning cup of coffee. Instead, switch refined sugar with healthier options such as stevia and jaggery initially and subsequently cut them down too.

2. Change your breakfast menu

It is very much possible for the cereals and granola bar you consume early in the morning to contain a lot of sugar. Instead of having these, you can switch to healthy alternatives like a peanut butter sandwich using whole wheat bread or natural steel-cut oats with no added sugar, along with a glass of fresh fruit juice.

3. Cut down the cakes

Most of us don’t have cakes and pastries in your refrigerator all the time, so avoiding them can be the easiest step in the journey. Often, you tend to start craving such food items when you happen to see them, so try not to order any (even for guests) and maybe unfollow some of those food bloggers on social media for the time being.

4. Swap the fizzy drinks

You can switch the fizzy carbonated drinks with more refreshing beverages such as lemonade, watermelon juice, homemade ice tea, coconut water and even infused water. You can add anything in the water that does not contain sugar and satisfies your cravings.

5. Read the label

Just step into your kitchen and read all the nutrition labels present on every packed food item. If any of that food contains more than a couple grams of sugar or is high in carbs, such as durum wheat pasta or potato chips, throw it out. Try to buy more food items which are high on protein and even healthy fats such as natural (unsweetened) peanut butter. Maintain the habit of reading labels every time you go grocery shopping.

6. Avoid simple carbs

Simple carbs are the foods which are used by the body as fuel to produce short-term energy. Foods like white bread, refined flour (maida), table sugar, white rice and candy are some examples of simple carbs that are high on sugar content. Instead of consuming these, you can switch to complex carb sources such as multigrain bread, millets or oats and whole grains.

7. Protein pack diet

A diet rich in protein would help you feel full for a longer period of time. Meat, poultry and fish are rich sources of protein. Vegetarians can consume tofu, legumes, nuts, nut butter, seeds, milk, cheese, cottage cheese, soy and yoghurt as they are also considered as great sources of protein.

8. Make snacks for yourself

Instead of eating sugary snacks, you can consume protein-rich snacks such as nuts (cashews, walnuts, almonds), yoghurt with hemp seeds, energy bars made with bananas and oats, and hummus with whole wheat bread. These snacks are not only sugar-free but also delicious.

For more information, read our article on Stevia.

Health articles on News18 are written by myUpchar.com, India’s first and biggest resource for verified medical information. At myUpchar, researchers and journalists work with doctors to bring you information on all things health.