Whether you want to go sugar free for a detox, to reduce your sugar intake in general, or completely quit sugar for good, trying a sugar-free diet is well worth the effort to improve your metabolism and overall health. I won't kid you though, cutting out sugary foods can be a challenge for some, especially if you are used to regularly consuming sugar. As a Nutritionist, I can honestly say though, it's totally worth giving it go! Let me show you how...
Why Go Sugar Free?
Ok, let's get the boring and obvious reasons out of the way first. As you may have guessed, excessive sugar in your diet is unhealthy and has been linked to an increased risk of obesity, the onset of type 2 diabetes, heart disease, an increase in inflammation in the body, and many other fully avoidable health conditions. By adopting a no-sugar diet, or at the very least reducing your daily intake, your risk for these health conditions significantly decreases.
Something else you need to consider, is that frequently consuming sugar, especially in the form of sweetened drinks and colas, can affect more than your waistline and blood sugar levels. Daily consumption can also slow down your metabolism, making it harder to lose weight, maintain your idea body weight, and keep off any weight that you do lose. If you are on a weight loss journey, the very first thing I would recommend is ditching is any and all sugar including sweetened drinks.
Going Sugar Free Can Help You...
Your metabolic health isn't the only thing that going sugar free can help you with, there are many more important health benefits. By reducing or eliminating the sweet stuff, you can regain better control of your eating habits and overall diet. In fact, simply by reducing the excess sugar in your diet, you could experience more effective and longer lasting weight loss, and even faster results. An excellent and worthwhile reason to go sugar free if you ask me!
Going sugar free can help you stop those mid-afternoon sugar and latte cravings, and put an end to energy crashes. Instead, you'll noticed better moods and more consistent energy levels throughout the day. Without sugar tiring your body's system, you'll experience improved mental clarity and better mental focus without suffering that sugar-induced brain fog. Functioning well all day, without the need for a coffee pick-me-up, TimTams, or lollies to get you through the afternoons is such an empowering feeling. And it's one that is totally waiting for you, if you follow a few key sugar detox steps.
How To Go Sugar Free
As a Nutritionist, I help clients detox from and quit sugar all the time in my consulting clinic. Most clients are pleasantly surprised to learn just how simple it can be if you master a few basic steps from the start. Here's my general advice for going sugar-free:
Read Labels Religiously
Put your detective hats on! Sugar hides under many aliases and can be tricky to spot if you don't know what you are looking for on nutrition labels. While you might be savvy enough to recognise corn syrup, golden syrup, fruit juice concentrate, and sucrose, less familiar names like barley malt, dextrose, ethyl maltol, maltodextrin, maltose or sucanat could trip you up. Educate yourself on the over 50 names for sugar, and whenever possible, avoid all products made with these ingredients.
Choose Natural Sweeteners
If you eliminate all the bad sugars, what is left? Well, the good news there are several wholefood-based ingredients that can be swapped or used to replace the sweeteners mentioned above. These options offer a much healthier alternative to processed sugars, and include natural sweeteners alternatives like stevia, monk fruit, or erythritol to sweeten your food and drinks.
Fruit-Friendly
When you quit sugar, you'll need to retrain your tastebuds and palate. This happens surprisingly fast if you go cold turkey or complete a month long sugar detox. Whether you complete a full detox or not, fresh fruit is a healthy substitute to satisfy that sugar fix.
Many fruits like berries (all types), cherries, kiwi, and mangos are deliciously sweet and naturally bound with many beneficial nutrients. One of these essential nutrients is dietary fibre, which is bundled with the natural sugars found in fruit. The fibre consumed helps to slow the impact of the fructose naturally found in fruit. When paired with a protein source such as Greek yoghurt in a fruit parfait, or a handful of nuts and seeds as a snack with berries, fruit can provide a very healthy substitute.
Prep Your Pantry
You've heard the saying, if you don't stock it, you won't eat it. Well, going sugar free is an excellent opportunity to spring clean and makeover your pantry. Remove any and all sugary snacks, sugar sweetened beverages, and baking ingredients. Replace them with more healthy and wholefood-based options.
Some healthy swap ideas you can use to replace sugary foods include switching from golden syrup for pancakes to a homemade berry compote, or a stevia-based maple syrup like this one from Nativa Sugar Fix'd. If you need a sweetener, you can also try one made from the purest of ingredients like locally grown, raw and organic honey over store-bought sugary sauces. Experiment with stevia, a plant-based sweetener that is 10x sweeter than sugar. You'll only need a few drops or granules to sweeten beverages, baking or dessert recipes, a little goes a long way.
Sugar Free & Healthy Fats
When you do a sugar detox or go fully sugar-free, it is important to adjust how your structure and balance your meals. Coming off sugar can be downward slide, so to make the transition easier, be sure to incorporate good, healthy fats such as avocados, nuts and seeds, fatty fish, and olive oil into your diet. This will help satisfy and crush those sugar cravings at the start until you get used them. I promise as your body adjusts, they will go away.
Plan Ahead
One of the best pieces of advice I can give you before you go sugar free is to plan ahead. Plan your meals and make sure they are providing you with a proper balance of nutrition at each and every mealtime. If meals are skipped, inconsistent, or contain an imbalance of macros, it can lead to sugar cravings for an energy boost or mental pick-me-up. Avoid this trap by meal planning and preparing meals and snacks for those days or times when you know you'll be rushed or tend to grab sugary foods. Invest in some insulated lunch bags or small containers to pack some homemade protein balls for when that mid-afternoon sugar craving hits. Nibble on a high protein, high-fibre snack to help you avoid grabbing an unhealthy cola or extra latte. This will see you through the work day helping you staying on track and in control.
→ For expert meal prep tips, and time-saving meal planning hacks, head over to my Meal Prep category and discover how to make nutritious and delicious meals in advance.
5 Day Sugar-Free Life!
Join this Nutritionist-guided sugar detox and finally free yourself from sugar cravings.
How To Stop Sugar Cravings Instantly
Sugar cravings only get a little bit more intense when you strip all sugary foods and drinks from your diet. The good news is that if you can withstand this challenging phase (and it is just a phase), you'll be able to successfully quit sugar for good. Here's my top hacks to help push through a sugar craving and come out the other side a stronger, healthier person.
Uncover The Trigger
First things first. Whenever a sugar craving hits, it is important to identify the root cause of the craving, whether it's from stress, out of boredom, or after eating certain foods. Once you understand the trigger, you can either replace sugary snacks with a healthier option to satisfy your sweet tooth, or choose a non-food related remedy.
Sugar cravings often pop up when the body needs a boost, either because you skipped breakfast or eat an imbalance of nutrition at your last meal. Consider planning a better balanced diet, one that includes complex wholefood-based carbohydrates, plenty of fibre-rich foods, and lean protein, which will stabilise your blood sugar levels and reduce the intensity of cravings.
Drink More Water
Sugar cravings can also crop up when your body is dehydrated. In many cases, its not sugar you need to boost your energy or lift that 2pm brain-fog, its water. Thirst often gets mistaken for hunger, and should be your first consideration when a sugar cravings hits. If you have consumed less than 3 litres in a day, chances are you're cravings are stemming from dehydration.
As soon as a craving hits, always have a glass of water or warm cup of herbal tea. Wait 10-15 minutes and see if your sugar craving has gone. I recommend to clients that they rate their sugar and food cravings from 1 (being mild) to 5 (being intense). After the 10 minutes, rate the craving again. For many, its considerably less after hydrating.
Fight Sugar With Protein
Protein is great for helping to rebalance and stabilise your blood sugar levels. Having a small protein-based snack helps to provide a healthy source of energy and regulate insulin release. When you eat foods high in lean protein, it slows down digestion and the absorption of carbohydrates, preventing rapid spikes and crashes in blood sugar. This slow and steady energy release keeps you feeling full and satisfied, reducing the urge to reach for sugary snacks to combat energy dips. The consumption of protein also triggers the release of hunger hormones that signal fullness to the brain, naturally helping to curb cravings.
Adding plenty of protein-rich foods into your diet can go a long way in both prevent sugar cravings and stopping them in their tracks. Eat a well-balanced plate and don't skip main meals to help keep your blood sugar levels in check. When a craving hits, try the water trick above and barring that, reach for a small, protein-based snack. Try 10 almonds and 2-3 strawberries, a homemade and sugar-free protein ball, or a piece of cheese with a slice of apple or pear. These small snacks ideas can give you that something something your body is craving but without creating a sugar crash 30-minutes later. Your energy should rebalance and you feel energised enough to get through rest of the day.
Force A Body Reset
This one is a food craving strategy that works with a 99% accuracy rate, but sadly one that most people dismiss. Next time you're hit with a sugar craving, jump out of your chair. Start running on the spot. Race up the stairs. Do star jumps or climb on the kids' trampoline for a bounce.
Exercise is a highly effective way to crush food and sugar cravings. This due is to the release endorphins, which are natural mood enhancers, and are secreted during and after you are physically active. Moving your body with short burst activity not only distracts the mind from the craving, but it also helps to reduce stress and anxiety, which can often trigger the desire for sugary comfort foods. Exercise also improves insulin sensitivity, allowing the body to better regulate blood sugar levels. As a result, the combination of endorphins, distraction, and improved blood sugar control forces a body reset and is a powerful strategy for reducing sugar cravings. I dare you to try it!
So, there you have it, the simple way to go sugar free and stop cravings in their tracks. By giving some or all of these strategies a go, you can feel confident you can complete your detox, or take that leap to a sugar-free life. Every step towards going sugar free is a step towards a healthier, more vibrant you. So, take that first step today, and savour the sweet freedom of a sugar-free lifestyle.
Join The 'Sugar Free Life!' Challenge
Working in nutrition for women, I know how difficult it can be to stick to a sugar detox on your own, that's exactly why I created a free guided sugar challenge to support your journey...
I regularly run this one-on-one in clinic to make the transition easier for clients. But for the first time, I am offering it to the greater public as fun and totally free challenge to help you break free from sugar. Anyone can join the 5 Day 'Sugar Free Life!' Challenge, and I invite you to seriously consider it.
Sugar Free Life Challenge
FREE and hosted by a Nutritionist. Includes a private challenge community, sugar-free recipes, healthy eating strategies, and sugar detox tracker.
Hope to see you on the journey and inside the 'Sugar Free Life!' Community!
Emma Lisa, Nutritionist & Women's Practitioner
Emma Lisa is a Nutritionist & Women's Health Practitioner with over 12+ years experience in wholefood nutrition, meal planning and health coaching. She is a published cookbook author, passionate food recipe creator and lifestyle blogger, and an advocate for women's health and anti-diet culture. When she's not in clinic, Emma is mum to five kids, in her test kitchen and a wellness digital creator. She lives in Sydney, Australia.
Healthy + happiness,
Emma Lisa xx
HEALTH & NUTRITION PRACTITIONER
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