Check this out; I got rid of my sugar cravings!! My life long, die-hard, uncontrollable sweet tooth is GONE! I have a monkey off my back. I was actually perusing the candy racks at the supermarket for a small chocolate treat to have on the drive home last week and I was astonished to realize that nothing appealed to me! wh-what?!! If I eat something like those chocolate bells my mom always puts in my Christmas stocking (which I occassionally do eat) it tastes unpleasantly hyper-sweet to me now. ME! The one who used to eat all the candy in my Easter basket in one day! I’ve been known to eat nearly a whole box of cereal in the same sitting! You know what my secret weapon was for conqering my sweet tooth?It was Agave Nectar. It’s a honey-like sweetener made from the same plant (the agave plant) from which Tequila is made. It’s new on the shelves of the health food store, but I read that it’s an old sweetener that had been used by native Americans for centuries. Of course, it wasn’t only Agave Nectar…I did what all chocoholics do, and that’s quit chocolate for weeks at a time after my habit would get out of control. During those times I would notice how my cravings diminished, but they never disappeared for a whole month… for a whole cycle. They would come roaring back right before my period, in fact.

So I succeeded in shaking my sugar-cravings with a multi-pronged strategy. I was determined to do it and it was hard. It required a strategy shaped like a pitchfork that would slay my cravings once and for all.

First, I stubbornly refused to support the High-Fructose Corn Syrup Industry. I read all labels and got very bullheaded about not putting HFCS into my body. That essentially meant that I cut out all processed foods, even those scrumptious cheese danishes at French and Brawn. (if you find out those don’t have any in them, let me know!) HFCS is everywhere and once I started to take notice of it, I got offended when it appeared in places I never thought it would appear, like basic graham crackers for my son and “healthy” drinks like the green tea I like.

Second, I went on an elimination diet for two weeks. This was designed to uncover foods in my diet that were bugging my digestive system. I was pretty sure refined sugar wasn’t one of them, but I was clearly addicted to it and so I cut it out. I can do anything for 2 weeks if I have the right incentives. I was motivated to have less gut pain and more energy and that’s what I got! I had the opportunity to notice how refined sugar sent my energy on a roller coaster ride because I finally experienced a more constant kind of energy.

When I went off the elimination diet I fed my sweet tooth sweet vegetables (sweet potates and carrots, etc.) and whole grains (which turn sweet if you chew the hell out of them.) My biggest downfall, however, has always been my coffee and tea. I like it high quality, sweet and creamy, and that’s my comfort food. I get irrational about having it and petulant if I “can’t” have it. So I tweaked my hot drink until it was only mildly caffeinated, sorta creamy, and as sweet as I wanted it with Agave Nectar. That was the final pitchfork in the heart of my sugar cravings. I can have something sweet without a sugar rush any time I want it now, with no restrictions. That has been key to my psychological ability to do this; not restricting myself. I find now that I crave sweet things less and less and that my old favorite candies are not even appealing to me anymore. That blows my mind.

I’m proud to say the High Fructose Corn Syrup Industry would be appalled at my behavior.

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