Even Sweet Tooth can quit sugar! This is how!

There were a few things that I was convinced I could never change in my life. On the top of the list comes sugar consumption.

Maybe it's genetic, or I got used to it, but I love sugar in every format. Cakes were always my favorite, but sugar was also a must in my coffee. If I had to choose only one ingredient to put into a glass of water, I'd pick sugar instead of coffee. There is no exaggeration here: I mistakenly sipped a bit of unsweetened coffee a few times... It tasted awful.

Despite my beliefs, the day when I decided to set the sugar away from my daily coffee came a few years ago. So I'm sharing here my reason, strategy, journey, and results of that decision.

I'm talking about sugar today, but this strategy can be used for any other food you want to reduce.

Reasons for changing habits

We sometimes challenge things that we have accepted. You may start thinking that certain foods or habits are bad for you. However, if you eat or do them, you like them. And your head says: "I'm happy with this. Avoiding it would make me unhappy. So I'll continue doing it".

And that's right. It makes a lot of sense. The idea is not to suffer. But to change the habit while still being happy. In the case of sugar, my goal was to drink coffee without sugar and enjoy it as much as the sugar one.

The trigger, in my case, was health. And this is how it happened:

My blood sugar levels were always good. But they increased a few years ago, almost reaching the "pre-diabetes" limit. So I got worried and asked the doctor whether they were expected to keep rising. He asked me:

Doc: Do you have any history of diabetes in your family?
Me: Yes, my Father.
Doc: And what are you waiting to quit sugar?

It doesn't matter what. But to make these changes happen, we need some good reason. It's essential to keep us on track when things get tough.

I didn't buy the doctor's idea of cutting sugar off completely. But I agreed to reduce it. And the place where I used to consume it every day was in my coffee. That was the best place to start.

The process of habit changing

Once you have your reason, you need a strategy.

You know you will replace something you like with something you dislike. It doesn't seem like a great deal. But the ultimate goal is to get used to it and start enjoying it.

If this doesn't happen, then you need a new strategy. You can't rely on your willpower for long-term changes. A weakness period, and you will be in the habit again.

Studies suggest you need 66 days to form a new habit (others say 49, between 30 and 60, and even between 18 and 250). So there is no exact number. We only know that you need to repeat the activity consistently for some time.

How to do it?

There are two ways: Doing it radically, all at once, or gradually. It depends on you and what you want to change. I prefer entering at once into cold water but gradually into hot water… Who knows…

The secret here is making the decision only once. Then follow that decision. Let me explain:

Deciding how many teaspoons of sugar you want every time you have a coffee would be a nightmare. Instead, you must choose to put 2, and that's it. You are not going to question or doubt. You already know it and would repeat it without thinking.

I went through the gradual process. And this is how I did it:

1. Assessment: How many teaspoons do I use today? In my case, 4.
2. Planning the first step: I'll start putting 3 teaspoons next Monday.
3. Iteration: I'll check how I feel every two weeks. If I already like my coffee, I can remove one teaspoon the following Monday. If not, stay for two more weeks.

There are no fixed periods for this. Think about this: If you reduced 1 or 2 teaspoons, that's something. And you can stay there for some time. You don't need to push yourself to do the entire process in 1 week or month.

In my case, it took 2 weeks to get used to 3 and 2 teaspoons. And 1 month to get used to 1.

How hard is it?

In my case, it wasn't as challenging as I expected. And I attribute it to being patient and not being pressured to do it quickly.

Whenever I removed a measure of sugar, I felt it. I'm not here to tell you that the taste was the same, but it was still pleasant to have my coffee. A few weeks later, I usually got used to the new flavor. I then removed another one.

Today, I'm used to having it without sugar. I don't think it tastes the same as it did before. But I have no temptation to put sugar into it. It is effortless now.

I'm glad to say that I had an experience for the first time. I had a coffee at my mother-in-law's house. She sweetens the entire jar as per her taste. So when I drank it, I felt it disgustingly sweet. That indicates that my sensitivity to sugar has changed, and I'm happy with that.

Conclusion

This article doesn't intend to discuss the positive or negative impact that sugar may cause us. But its idea is to propose a strategy to change our habits.

I shared here the method I used and how it worked. But if it's not working, you can pivot to another plan. The keys are patience and awareness.

I hope you found it helpful. Let me know whether it worked for you and if you have other methods.