Psychology for weight loss, or how to give up sweets and starchy foods forever

State the motive

Everyone must decide for themselves why they want to stop eating sweets and starchy foods. Someone dreams of fitting into their favorite dress or attracting the attention of the opposite sex. Some people prefer to monitor their health and prolong their youth. For some it is important to have healthy children. The goals can be anything. The main thing is that they are so important to you that you don’t leave the race halfway.

Formulate a motive in your head and constantly work on this topic, like a mantra: “I want to give up sweets and starchy foods as much as possible, because it is harmful to my figure, health, and activity.”

If this is not enough, then literature and the media work great, which are simply full of headlines about the dangers of obesity and the terrible consequences of excess weight. For some, reading a couple of lines will be enough to motivate themselves for the rest of their lives.

Counting calories is also a good help. Sometimes, after comparing the number of calories allowed by nutritionists to consume with those that a person actually absorbs per day, he once and for all gives up sweets and starchy foods.

How to give up sweets and starchy foods: the psychology of food addiction

Food addiction, on a par with alcohol, drugs, and nicotine, is not officially recognized - there is not enough scientific data. In addition, recognizing refined sugar as a drug means removing responsibility from those with a sweet tooth and transferring it to the product and its manufacturer. Imagine what losses the food industry would suffer if the packages of cookies, sweets, ice cream, and soda had the following inscription: “The Ministry of Health warns: eating sweets is dangerous to your health” or “Sugar kills.”

To understand whether you are a food addict, note the symptoms of sweet addiction that you have:

• you feel sleepy, deprived of energy, have difficulty concentrating until you eat something sweet;
• in the absence of the opportunity to snack on sweets, irritability, anxiety appear, the body trembles, and a headache appears;
• never refuse a sweet treat;
• a meal seems incomplete to you if it is not completed with dessert;
• eat flour for dessert regardless of the feeling of hunger;
• you feel psychological discomfort if you know that you don’t have a single piece of candy left in your house or purse;
• unable to stop until you destroy all your existing supplies of sweets;
• you feel the need for sweets every day or even more often;
• eat sweets and starchy foods, despite existing signs of deteriorating health (extra pounds, allergies, gastrointestinal problems);
• While reading the article, I felt a desire to eat dessert.

The easiest way to find out if you are addicted is to test it practically. Try to completely avoid foods containing refined sugar. And it's not just sweets and baked goods. Sugar is found in large quantities in packaged juices, alcohol, quick breakfasts, store-bought yoghurts, sauces and mayonnaise.

When you fall off your diet, don’t attribute everything to weakness. It’s just that you’ve been gradually poisoning your body with sugar-containing foods since childhood. Withdrawal when quitting sugar is real and painful. Often, people with a sweet tooth need the same professional psychological help as an alcoholic or drug addict. For example, hypnotherapy is used not only in the treatment of chemical addictions, but also in overeating.

Wean yourself off gradually

If you have formed a motive and decided to give up sweets and starchy foods, remember: do not rush. Otherwise, there is a risk of falling into depression. Reduce your sugar and flour consumption gradually. For example, on the first day of your new life, instead of two spoons of sugar, put one and a half spoons of sugar in your coffee, instead of three sweets, eat two, instead of five cookies, eat four.

Each subsequent day, reduce the dose of harmful foods by one serving. By the end of the first week, the body will get used to it and stop demanding sweets.

Do the same with bread: instead of white, take rye, then bread with bran, and then eliminate it from the diet completely.

An approximate scheme for gradually giving up flour products, sugar and all kinds of sweets looks like this:

Why does such a strong craving for sweets arise and exist?

First, identify the reasons why you crave sweets. Perhaps it is enough to eradicate the source of attraction to get rid of it forever. Let's start with the term “sweet” itself.

Sweet is something pleasant to the taste that improves mood and gives pleasure.

Of course, who wouldn’t want to experience these feelings for themselves! But the catch is that the effect of “doping” is short-term, which cannot be said about cravings, which will only grow with a new piece of sweets. And this craving is growing for a number of reasons, which we will discuss below.

Energy function of sugar

All sweets in the form of pastries, candies and cakes are fast carbohydrates, one of the functions of which is to saturate the body with energy. Fast carbohydrates have one feature - they are instantly broken down into glucose, which in turn provides a person with energy. In emergency situations, for example, when preparing for an exam, such doping is quite acceptable. But is it worth eating sweets if there is no stress for a long time, but the cravings are getting stronger?

Health status

Fact: For some people, eating sweets relieves headaches. This is connected not only with physiology, but also with psychology. Glucose deficiency can cause circulatory problems and pain, and an influx of energy can eliminate it. In addition, the sweet taste lifts the mood and the person no longer focuses on pain symptoms.

Lack of chromium in the body

Chromium maintains normal blood glucose levels, therefore helping to reduce sugar cravings. But its lack just leads to even greater consumption of sweet foods. Moreover, the more we eat delicious things, the more we want. Such is the “chrome” arithmetic.

Hormonal imbalances

The sources of cravings for sweets can be two areas of hormonal disorders:

• insulin resistance, i.e. cell insensitivity to insulin: insulin is produced, but glucose does not penetrate into the tissues, and, as a result, energy hunger in the form of an irresistible desire to eat something sweet;
• malfunction of the thyroid gland, which is responsible for regulating metabolism, which also leads to excessive and uncontrolled consumption of sweets.

Psychological reason

This is a common habit. A cup of tea with colleagues with a piece of pie brought in, leftover tea that you can drink along with some candy, an interesting movie accompanied by the crunch of corn flakes. A seemingly harmless childhood habit turns into a real addiction, getting rid of which is problematic, but still possible.

How to force yourself to give up sweets?

First, it’s worth understanding what risks this entails:

• Accumulation of fat. The resulting glucose goes to the liver, where it is either used as an energy source, converted into glycogen for muscle function, or stored as fat.

Which path is chosen depends on the individual. Do you eat a lot of sweets? Leave your glucose in the gym or do mental work. Otherwise, not a trace will remain of the beautiful figure.

• Health problems. Excess sweets lead to weakened immunity, problems with intestinal microflora, teeth and skin, and the development of many diseases.

If you are still in doubt, take a look at the composition of the products you consume. Manufacturers add sugar almost everywhere. The psychology is simple: sugar awakens the appetite, so you want to eat more and more. You definitely won't be left without energy if you give up sweets.

Replace unhealthy foods with healthy ones

In order to help yourself overcome sweet cravings, you need to replace them with protein. The fact is that eating protein will reduce your need for food. To prepare the drink, simply dissolve protein powder, which is sold in stores, in regular milk.

People often consume sweets to combat depression and lift their spirits, so to speak, to “eat stress.”

If your life is full of such situations, replace sweets with fruits or nuts, include honey in your diet, and enjoy diabetic desserts. However, remember that here you need to know when to stop. At the initial stages, you can simply replace harmful foods with healthier ones:

Give up rituals

Give up all rituals associated with eating sweets: for example, tea with colleagues, visiting a theater buffet, going to pastry shops and cafes, and so on. Don’t flatter yourself with the hope that you can refuse candy, for example, during your usual tea party at work. It is necessary to generally replace the consumption (or purchase) of sweets with something completely unrelated to them.

Also, stop rewarding yourself with sweets. This forms an unhealthy habit.

First you complete an important project and buy a cake, and then you start eating cakes when you are stressed because you associate sweets with success and joy.

It’s better to reward yourself with something inedible or put the money you were going to spend on sweets in a piggy bank.

Drink water

Stop quenching your thirst with sugary carbonated drinks. Remember that one can of lemonade contains about 39 grams of sugar, which is more than half the daily requirement. Don't think that juices are much healthier than soda: a glass of orange juice, for example, contains about 33 grams of sugar.

There is no sugar or calories in water. Therefore, this is the best drink for maintaining water and electrolyte balance in the body.

Do not forget to drink enough ordinary water (daily intake: 1.5-2 liters, excluding other liquids).

And as soon as you feel the need for something sweet, take a few sips and eat a slice of apple. This will help overcome harmful cravings.

Adjust your diet

Cravings for sweets and starchy foods are sometimes inextricably linked with poor diet. So try to stick to proper schedule and rules.

Ideally, meals should be fractional and balanced at the rate of: a small portion every 3 hours.

It is precisely too long breaks between breakfast and dinner that traditionally encourage overeating and abuse of flour products. Your ideal eating schedule should be like this:

• 7-8 a.m. – breakfast,
• 11 a.m. - snack
• 13:00 – lunch,
• 15 o'clock in the afternoon - snack,
• 18 pm - dinner.

Eat even the healthiest sweets before 3 p.m., or even better, for breakfast. This will make it much easier for you to refuse temptation during the day. In addition, in the morning you will be charged with energy and will be happy to spend it, and all carbohydrates after 15.00 will certainly transform into excess weight. In general, choose only healthy foods for the menu with sufficient amounts of proteins, fats and slow carbohydrates.

How to stop eating sweets: the psychology of additive behavior

The psychology of additive behavior explains the formation and strengthening of psychological dependence on sweets by the predominance of the following motivations in the personality structure.

Traditional motivation

If in your microenvironment it is customary to often eat sweets and baked goods (cakes for another colleague’s birthday, the whole family eats incorrectly), it will be more difficult to avoid temptations. At first, avoid certain triggers—events or places that make you crave sweets. For example, skip gatherings with relatives, avoid your favorite bakery.

The beauty is that not only does your social environment influence you, but you can change your environment. Try to inspire others with your example, try to offer interesting alternative options for snacking and spending time together that do not involve filling your stomach (board games, bowling, an ice skating rink, an excursion to a neighboring city).

Submissive motivation

Sometimes the inability to stop eating sweets and starchy foods is associated with personality conformity—the tendency to change one’s opinions and behavior under pressure from other people, a pronounced tendency to submit. If you feel uncomfortable refusing treats from your beloved grandmother or hospitable hosts, sticking to a healthy diet will be difficult.

Show strength of character. Don't let anyone make you feel guilty or like a black sheep for your choices. Maybe someone can’t imagine life without flour and sweets, but that’s not your problem. If someone starts arguing with you about the harmlessness of sweets and baked goods, try to tactfully direct the conversation in a different direction. If you understand that you are going to have dinner with very categorical people, use a lie to save yourself without a twinge of conscience. Lie that you have allergies, indigestion, and you are unlikely to risk eating anything more substantial than salad.

Hedonic motivation

Eating sweets and starchy foods is associated with a thirst for pleasure, the desire for sensual pleasures, and epicurean inclinations. At the same time, people who are prone to overeating often do not know how to truly enjoy the taste of food. Sweets and baked goods are consumed in a hurry or in parallel with other activities that distract attention from the source of pleasure.

Train yourself to eat only the highest quality and most expensive sweets. Eating a small amount of delicious dessert will give you true pleasure. And high prices will stop you from wanting to eat the supplement.

When starting dessert, turn off the TV and exit social networks. Don't be in any rush. Try to experience all the flavors of your favorite food. You can always eat the leftover treats later.

How to stop eating sweets and starchy foods: the psychology of a hedonist

Besides food, there are other ways to please your body. When you want something sweet, do something very pleasant. For example, do a self-massage, take a bath with aromatic oils or a slightly hot shower. After standing under the streams of hot water, you will feel slightly “high”, like after a sauna. It is unlikely that after this the desire to eat something sweet will still torment you.

Physical training and vegetables are also the “candies” of hedonists. Believe me, it only seems to you that you don’t like sports and broccoli. Exercise stimulates the production of happiness hormones - endorphins and dopamine. That is, changes occur in the brain similar to those observed when consuming chocolate and opiates (morphine, heroin). How to get hooked on sports?

Find an activity that brings you pleasure in itself. Before you claim that the sport that interests you doesn’t exist, try taking classes in exciting Latin American dancing, yoga, kickboxing, rock climbing and trampolining. You will definitely like something! Don't aim for some final result in the form of a cherished mark on the scale or a clear six-pack. Don't turn sports into work.

Sugar, just like salt and spices, has too strong an effect on the taste buds, disrupting the ability to perceive the taste of simple natural food. Therefore, many unprocessed vegetables and fruits seem tasteless to us. But once you give up artificial flavor enhancers for at least a week or two, you will discover a whole new world of flavors in natural food. On the contrary, your favorite sweets will seem too cloying, with a taste of chemicals.

How to give up sweets and flour for a sweet tooth: psychology for weight loss

Sweet taste is a natural need when consuming food. Even breast milk has a sweet taste. Therefore, scolding yourself for the desire to feel sweetness in your mouth after eating is pointless. Instead of candy and baked goods, use natural sources of glucose and sweet taste - honey, sweet fruits (grapes, bananas, cherries, peaches) and licorice tea.

How to stop eating sweets and starchy foods forever: the psychology of ataractic motivation

Sweets are consumed by many to soften or eliminate emotional tension. Appetite increases not only in moments of disappointment and anxiety, but also in high spirits. In an effort to escape from experiencing strong emotions, people try to artificially change their mental state.

It is important to learn other ways of self-regulation:

• slow and deep breathing;
• bathing (real or imagined) in the sun's rays;
• memories of pleasant events;
• physical activity (if you get angry - walk quickly or jog);
• meditation.

When it seems that life without sweets is not sweet, delay the moment of breakdown for a day. Promise yourself to eat the forbidden food in half an hour, in the evening or the next day. Sometimes this trick is enough. The psyche will find a way to cope with stress differently. And after a delayed period of time, you will realize that you no longer feel the urgent need to eat something delicious.

Never scold yourself if you couldn’t resist the temptation and ate too much flour or sweets. Feelings of guilt lead to a deterioration in mood and provoke another breakdown. If you eat sweets, eat with pleasure. Otherwise, what's the point?

Since childhood, we have become accustomed to perceiving sweets and starchy foods as a reward or consolation. (“Don’t cry, eat the candy”, “You will only get the chocolate if you behave”). As a result, by denying ourselves sweets, we feel that we are depriving ourselves of something valuable and begin to feel sorry for ourselves.

Remind yourself that giving up sweets and starchy foods is taking care of your health and beauty, and not asceticism and martyrdom. In addition to food, you can please yourself in a million other ways: buy new clothes, get a beautiful manicure, go for a massage, listen to your favorite music, buy fragrant soap made from natural ingredients, start planning a vacation.

Have fun and exercise

Do something interesting to take your mind off thoughts about sweets and starchy foods. It doesn’t matter what you do (walk down the street, watch a movie, visit the theater, read a book, knit, sew), the main thing is that it brings you pleasure, which will take all your attention. In order to suppress thoughts of sweets, you can engage in physical activity or breathing exercises, after which the craving for heavy food disappears.

What techniques do you use to limit your intake of sweets and starchy foods?

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Carbohydrates: simple and complex

Fast or simple carbohydrates are found in sugar, including other sugar-containing products - for example, cakes, jam, honey, sweet sparkling waters and store-bought juices, white rice, white bread, sweet vegetables and fruits. If these products are consumed in increased quantities, extra centimeters will soon appear in the waist area.

Products that contain fast carbohydrates lead to the development of serious food addiction. Sugar contained in flour and sweet treats helps the body receive the happiness hormone or endorphin. You get used to it very quickly and giving up a delicious bun becomes extremely problematic. As a result of giving up sweets and starchy foods, a feeling of depression and sadness appears.

After the habit has become a serious addiction, excluding baked goods and sweets from the diet leads to the person becoming irritable and constantly lashing out at loved ones. He gets very nervous over various trifles and gets angry for no apparent reason.

You can find a way out of this difficult situation - to support the energy potential of the body, you need to use complex carbohydrates, which will be an excellent replacement for simple ones. Only complex and healthy carbohydrates will allow you to feel full without increasing the permissible daily limit.

The time required to break down complex carbohydrates is significantly longer than the time required to consume simple carbohydrates. If healthy carbohydrates are consumed in moderation, weight gain will not occur. However, if such products are consumed in significantly larger quantities than nutritionists advise, the harm to health will be much less than from fast carbohydrates.

Proper carbohydrates are found in vegetables (tomatoes, carrots, different types of cabbage), beans, buckwheat and oatmeal, wholemeal bread, potatoes, etc.

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