Sugar and Money

Hello!

Have you ever considered that what you eat might influence how to handle your money?    I believe that our diet massively influences all of our choices, including how we handle your money.  But the only way that you can know for sure; if how you eat influences your money habits, is to test it out, and see how your diet influences you.

More specifically I am talking about sugar.  Sugar is in so many things, and its incredibly addicting.   Sugar affects our health and happiness in all kinds of ways.  So if you'd like to test out this theory, I will share my experience, and how I cut out sugar.

Once I cut out sugar I had NO cravings,  which was amazing, and my skin got way better.  I noticed my allergies got a little better, I didn't have the constant congestion that I had grown used to, and just thought was normal, as well as many other things.  But my favorite was not having any cravings at all!

If you are going to embark on this experiment, have lots of compassion for yourself.  Cutting out sugar is not an easy thing to do.  You will "slip up" and that's ok, just get back up, and do your best.  If you keep trying to do your best it will naturally become easier and easier.  Here is what I did:

Keep a food journal.  Use google calendar or ical, or a little notebook.  This will be important for you to recognize any trends.  Its very hard to remember what you ate three weeks ago.  And record your successes!

Focus on breakfast.  Eating a huge meal in the beginning of the day is so much easier than at the end of the day.  Its when you naturally feel more ambitious that you will succeed.  Focus on eating high fat will keep the cravings away for longer.  If you eat bread and cereal then chances are you will be hungry again not long after.  High fat keeps you satiated for longer.  And you want to make sure to include something green in every meal.  I ate vegan keto for a while, its possible.  Things that are high fat and vegan are avocados, nuts, and coconut oil.  Its hard but it is possible.  I am not preaching vegan, I just want you to know that its possible.

And why high fat?  High fat will keep you more full for longer.  This is key in not craving sugar.  I'm not a doctor, but I believe that it helps to stabilize your blood sugar for longer.  I say this because I notice that when I do crave sugar its the first sign that I am getting hungry.  If I wait too long after that signal then I cave and eat something sugary.  Though this is really rare for me now.  And it just so happens that I am usually in the store at this time... that is when I will buy something I crave or want, and will rationalize before I even knew what happened.

Make sure you are fully hydrated.  I read somewhere that often we crave something because we are actually dehydrated.  Things that are hydrating is water, fresh squeezed juices, not store bought juices (though that's better than soda) and non-caffeinated tea.  Pay attention to your body and what makes you feel the best, as well as what is easiest for you to drink.  I love water, but I do notice that I drink way more water when I put a little something in it - an emergency packet, in a very large water bottle, a green juice supplement packet, a piece of fruit, mint...  If I do the packets, I will make them very diluted, so it almost tastes like nothing.  Also I think a water tracking ap is amazing, this really works for me.  There are plenty of free ones.

Compassion and Commitment.  These are both key to becoming completely sugar free.  You are not bad or did not make a mistake if you eat something sugary.  If you REALLY want that donut, eat it.  But be super conscious, really savor it, don't inhale it and then feel bad about yourself.  Do not go for the cold turkey approach.  I don't think this works with sugar.  It might work for you, but my process took me about 4 months before I was totally sugar free, and had no cravings.

I believe that eating high fat, lots of vegetables and drinking plenty of water are key to becoming sugar free.  But you could also slowly cut out some things.  You could eliminate sugar the last hours of the day, and slowly keep adding more hours.  For example.  No sugar after 8 pm, the next week, no sugar after 6 pm, then 4 pm, the 2 pm...  You could also do it a different way, maybe cut out all cakes, then all cookies, then all pastries, then all added sugar, then carbs, then alcohol...

Unfortunately carbs and alcohol turn to sugar when you eat them, so while doing the experiment, I would suggest to cut out both carbs and alcohol for a little while, so see how your body reacts.  And re-introduce it one at a time, again to see how your body reacts.

I think its much better to focus on what you want to add in, rather than resist.  For this reason I prefer to focus on eating high fat, lots of vegetables, and drinking lots of water instead of what you are trying to avoid.

So how will all of this benefit you financially?  You will see, it will be different for each of us.  But what you'll notice is a little more calm in your life, due to a more balanced blood sugar.  This will help with any extreme emotions like sadness, anger, anxiety, and stress in general.  We often make not as great decisions when we are in a stressed mood.  The desire is to feel better, for some of us spending money will perk up our mood.  Conversely, if in a stressed out mood, and you have to make a decision in that moment, you may not make the best decision.  Money can already be stressful for a lot of us, so we need everything we can to be supporting us.  You'll also notice your productivity go up, which could attract new opportunities!

And as far as food purchases go, you'll be spending your money on things that bring you greater health, once you have eliminated all cravings.  Greater health means more vitality, more life; and less medical bills!*  IF you have cut out sugar and you still have cravings, then most likely you are eating something that you are allergic to, or you might be depleted in a critical mineral.  You could do the fog map diet to figure it out.  You could also work together with a nutritionist.

*If you do have a lot of medical bills, and are looking to reduce them by changing your diet, a food journal or even a health journal is critical.  You'll want to include your overall emotional state, your hydration, maybe work with your doctor to have blood tests done.  Also make sure to record any natural sunlight you got each day, as well as exercise, and over all energy level.  Also any correlations that you think might be related.  Like if you saw someone that stresses you out, if you have mold in your home...  I believe making real change and seeing the results with medical bills will take at least a year, maybe a lot more, so this will take some commitment.

I hope that you enjoyed hearing about what worked for me to cut out sugar.  I love it.  I do not crave sugar at all, and I love that it saves me money!

Wishing you love, health and wealth!
Jessica