By  Live Energized

Kick Sugar Tip #5: Have Healthy Snacks Available

I have a full series on healthy snacks coming up, with loads of recipes, ideas and the like…but for now…

Having blood-sugar dips and spikes, sudden huger, feeling tired, irritable and famished – these are all symptoms of sugar addiction and all lead to high sugar intake.

While you’re working on the sugar habit, a key ally is having healthy snacks available.

When you have healthy snacks within reach, 24/7, your chances of beating the sugar addiction go up massively.

Just think about the last 5 snacks you bought from the shops when you were running on empty.

Shop bought snacks are almost ALWAYS filled with sugar.

And as you’ll see below, you don’t necessarily want to over-consume fruit either.

So, here is my guide from a couple of years ago on the Ultimate List of Alkaline Snacks (plus recipes)

And here are a few more recipes I’ve posted just lately too:

Quick Delicious Kale Chips
Cauliflower ‘Buffalo Wings’!
Alkaline Wrapless Wraps
Coconut Chia Cream Pot

Kick Sugar Tip #6: Get Enough Sleep!

Sleep deprivation severely affects your appetite hormones. Fact. According to the amazing Dr Mark Hyman “You literally can sleep your cravings and your weight away.”

In human studies, depriving college students of just two hours of the recommended eight hours of sleep led to a rise in hunger hormones, a decrease in appetite-suppressing hormones and big cravings for sugar and refined carbs.

It makes sense. If you don’t sleep your body defaults to it’s easiest most frequently known energy sources i.e. quickly absorbed sugars.

An additional study found that when subjects were sleep-deprived, their reward activation centers in the brain were actually greater, thereby making it more difficult to say no to sugary treats.

The bottom line? Get more sleep :)

Kick Sugar Tip #7: Exercise

I know, I know. You didn’t want me to bring this one up.

Getting more sleep? Easy! Thanks Ross!

Getting more excercise?! Noooo.

The fact of it is, it can be simple, easy exercise – it doesn’t have to be 60-minutes of crossfit every day (although it can be if you like!).

Just getting moving and getting the blood pumping, oxygen flowing and lymph stimulated is what’s important.

If you’re starting from scratch, it can be something really simple like walking or light jogging (or rebounding if you have a rebounder!) – but make it something you can do every day – even if only for ten minutes.

Anyone who exercises on a regular basis will know that cardiovascular exercise is one of the best “cures” for food cravings.
It always amazes me how my appetite, especially for sweets, dramatically decreases after a good workout.

After exercise there is a dramatic reduction in insulin levels and raised insulin levels are a big contributor to sugar and carb cravings.

So get moving, get breathing and get sweating – it will ward off the cravings and make you look and feel amazing!