Nothing can destroy the good intentions of a diet better than the strong undercurrent pull of sugary or salty cravings. Our reasoning and sensibilities go out the window at the whiff of baking sweets or the tantalizing lure of salty goodness.
Resistance is futile.
Many of us are addicted to sugar even if we think we are not. Our foods are often laden with high amounts of sugar and salts that keep them fresh, enhance flavors and look appealing. This in turn increases our sugar intake and leaves us craving more. We are surrounded by sugar every where from stores, television and our own beliefs and practices. Our dependency to sugar is often compared to that of an addiction where we cannot say no and our bodies and minds are set to expect and crave it.
Hansel and Gretel’s Sweet Tooth Was Their Downfall
Two young children lured to the woods by an evil witch giving them candy all the way to her cabin. She entices them with sweets and the children are overcome by those cravings that they blindly follow her into danger. When you think of how children are drawn to sugary snacks today it’s not hard to imagine this fairy tale coming true is it?
As children we were given sweets as rewards and special treats. Sweets were what we were given at church to keep us quiet or as a reward for good behavior. Desserts were rewards for eating all of our dinner and at special dinners like holidays. Sweets were what we looked forward to when visiting grandparents and other special relatives. We would walk down the candy aisle at the store and gaze upon all the chocolate, sticky, gummy and crunchy goodness that would make your mouth just water. Then there would be the ultimate candy holiday known as Halloween where we were sure to get a big haul of candy that would last for weeks!
We just have the second major candy holiday of the year known as Valentine’s Day where chocolate hearts are the most purchased food across the globe that day!
Candy is a childhood delight! As parents we try to redirect to fruit, veggies and proteins teaching children the fine lesson of moderation and healthy eating. However, managing a child’s sweet tooth can be an never ending challenge. It’s a balance that not many of us can succeed at consistently.
At the same time many of these childhood fond memories involving candy and sweets carry forward with us into adulthood. We can have whatever we want as adults, pretty much whenever we want it. This can be like a kid in a candy store if we don’t have that strong base control of moderation and interest in healthy eating.
Let Them Eat Cake!
What would a bride and groom cut if there were no cake?
Can you even have a birthday without a cake?
Food is deeply tied to our special occasions and holidays. Big feasts, casual cookouts or even just an afternoon together can all become special with the addition of a dessert or other sweet delicacy. We will never rid our world of these sweet moments and the sweet food that partners with them.
Moderation however is a tough road to navigate when you have a powerful sweet tooth. Being moderate in what you eat is a learned skill that takes time, patience and love to incorporate into your diet. There will be times it can be hard to say no or just have a small serving of a favorite dessert or treat. When we have a little we often want more. For many of us it is an all or nothing mentality of filling our cravings.
Breaking up with sugar is equally tough. Doing so can have addictive like withdrawal feelings and many of us cave in to the cravings that we’re used to having filled with sugar.
We all know though despite these challenges limiting or greatly reducing our sugar intake is often the only way to truly improve our health and realize things like weight loss and reduced risks for diseases like diabetes and obesity.
Support & Tools
Ask any emerging dieter what their top challenge is and they will likely say breaking up with sugar. It is the craving and taste that will more often than not result in a diet that is busted and a frustrated dieter not understanding how they could have done better.
When you decide it’s time to break up with sugar or significantly re-frame how much is in your average diet, you need to be armed and prepared. Your body and mind are going to need time to adjust and will fight you powerfully on the cravings for sugar.
Breaking Up with Sugar
The first step is to put in place things that will help curb your attention away from sugar. If we give our bodies and minds a swap that satisfies that sweet tooth we are less likely to reach for the sweet.
Fennel essential oil is key in this swap process. Known as the oil of responsibility, fennel helps us build up control to redirect our desires. We can feel encouraged, connected and strengthened from this oil to say no to the dessert. This licorice tasting oil in your water or under your tongue changes the messages in your brain that say you need sugar. Fennel helps regulate the blood glucose so you are less likely to cave into your cravings.
Grapefruit essential oil is the oil of honoring your body. This incredible citrus oil helps us appreciate where we are physically and work through our patterns of mistreatment. When we are overly judgmental about what we have eaten when we’ve had a slip in our eating strategy it can make us feel bad and less motivated to try again. Grapefruit helps us take responsibility for those feelings and put them in perspective so we can accept and move forward in a healthy relationship with food.
Developing the Skill of Moderation
Starting out just trying to moderate sugar intake I believe is the hardest way to break a sugar addiction. Ridding our diets of sugar and detoxing from the addiction to sugar lets us reclaim control. With that control we can choose and determine how much sugar we want into our lives.
Moderation is a learned skill that we can best master if we are clear of the restraints sugar puts us in.
Patchouli is the oil of physicality. That means it helps us see our whole self, physically, emotionally and spiritually as one being that is beautiful, perfect and complete just as we are. We can connect and align our thoughts and feelings to be more in sync so we can address what we feel and move in a positive direction. Patchouli helps us feel confident in our skin and increase our grace and love to ourselves. We can build towards achieving moderation when we accept ourselves in all that we are right now including the times we are less than perfect in our actions.
Interested in more?
Breaking up is hard to do in life and with food. It’s entirely possible though with the right tools at your side like the doTERRA essential oils I described in this post.
If you have questions or would like to explore other options to help with your sugar cravings, please reach out:
amyk@dragonspitapothecary.com
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