Today’s blog is on Sugar Addiction. I am quoting Dr Glen Livingston. Glen is the founder and creator of the “Never Binge Again” system of changing your relationship with food so that you can think and relate to food as a thin person does effortlessly. This is not a diet plan. We work with the diet of your choice and show you how to heal a corrupted lower brain (The Amygdala). Now I am quoting Glen. “THE #1 SIGN OF SUGAR ADDICTION: In my personal experience with hundreds of overeaters, the number one sign of sugar addiction is NOT getting “the shakes” or other withdrawal symptoms when you stop…it’s NOT having to ask some big dude named “Bubba” to put you in a straight jacket and lock you in a closet for a week until you’re “over the hump”…NOT obesity, type two diabetes, or some diet-reversible form of cancer, etc….
No, the #1 sign of sugar addiction among people trying to implement the Never Binge Again method is the unwillingness to encapsulate their relationship with sugar in ONE SIMPLE SUGAR RULE!
I find sugar addicts inevitably come to me with a very complex food plan, often with literally a dozen or more rules defining specific conditions in which they may eat sugar. Alternate Fridays but only if they’ve averaged less than 1500 calories per day for the week, but not on the third Friday of the month, unless it’s at a birthday party. Whenever their cousin’s child’s parrot curses while eating dinner over at their house. (I wish I were kidding). Holiday parties with at least five people attending. In meetings where their boss has eaten at least two donuts. Whenever dining out with their husband and asked to share dessert, but only after he asks twice and you’ve declined the first request.
Now, there’s nothing inherently wrong with clearly defining specific exceptions. After all, that’s the whole point of conditional rules, and very often people find themselves suddenly able to control themselves when they make these decisions and set specific boundaries in advance. But if you find yourself with a LONG list of exceptions, the odds are your Food Monster is just trying to get you to keep eating sugar more or less whenever you want to, and your Food Plan is only giving you “plausible deniability” (the illusion of “being good” while in fact you’re continuing your addiction.)
The solution? ONE SIMPLE SUGAR RULE. I advise people to use a special form of Never which is “ONLY.” Fill in this extremely powerful, concise template:
“The ONLY sweet tastes I will ever eat again are _____, ______, and _____.”
For example, “The only sweet tastes I will ever eat again are whole fruit, berries, and stevia in my coffee.” Or “The only sweet tastes I will ever eat again are whole fruit, one serving of cake at my immediate family’s birthday parties, and one serving of any dessert on Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year’s.”
The simpler you can make it the better. With one simple sugar rule, if it tastes sweet it doesn’t belong in your mouth unless it’s on the short list. Period, end of story.
Get it? Good!” I love this program, I personally have lost over 100 pounds and have either maintained or continued to lose the weight for three years. if you have a problem with food, we can help you solve that problem.