Mmmm - sugar! Who can resist those sweet, satisfying crystals of joy? Some people try to stay away from sweets, and some are quite successful. But for those of you who want to be a true sugar addict, here are my top seven strategies for increasing your sugar cravings.

1. Skip meals. You have only about four hours worth of blood sugar (glucose) stored in your body. And if you skip meals, your blood sugar level will steadily decrease, until you feel tired, depressed, and anxious, and you will do ANYTHING to feel better. And what's the best way to quickly feel better when your blood sugar is low? Eat sugar! A true sugar addict will make sure this happens by skipping the most important meal, breakfast. Skipping breakfast gives you plenty of time to get your blood sugar really low!

2. Eat lots of pasta and bread and white rice. When you eat pasta, bread, and rice (especially the "white" varieties), your body quickly converts them into sugar. The effect is basically the same as eating straight white table sugar. And the more you eat the white stuff, the higher your blood sugar level rises. When your blood sugar rises too high too quickly, your pancreas releases a lot of insulin, and the result (if insulin is doing its job) is that you then suddenly have very low blood sugar. And what's the best way for a sugar addict to quickly feel better when blood sugar is low? Eat sugar! (hmmm, that sounds familiar!)

3. Don't drink water. Yes, that's right, DON'T drink water. When we are dehydrated, we tend to crave carbohydrates. And when we crave carbohydrates, and most often we reach for sugary treats. So don't drink water and boost your sugar addict status.

4. Eliminate protein from your meals and snacks. Protein slows down the rate at which sugar enters your blood, which means you won't experience the high blood sugar - high insulin - low blood sugar phenomena described in point #2. So if you eliminate protein from your meals and snacks, and instead feast solely on simple carbohydrates, you will once again hop aboard the sugar-insulin train. And you know what that means - Sugar Addict!

5. Make sure your foods include hidden sugars, such as dextrose, fructose, and maltose. The true sugar addict will seek out ingredients that ends in "-ose." Don't let sugar hide from you! Find it by reading those labels carefully!

6. Tell yourself you are NEVER going to eat sugar again. Try to use willpower and deprivation to keep yourself away from the sweet goodness of sugar. It's like this - don't think of pink elephants! No matter what. Ok, did you think of pink elephants? In order for your brain to process that command ("don't think of pink elephants"), it has to think of pink elephants. This works for sugar too. So tell yourself you will never eat sugar. This is the sugar addict's favorite trick!

7. Distance yourself from friends and family. Family and friends are a great source of inspiration and warmth - don't let them get in your way. Don't let ANYTHING compete with your quest for sweet!

If you follow these simple strategies, you will be on your way to becoming a sugar addict for sure! If, on the other hand, you know being a sugar addict is not for you, contact me at 703.283.7810 or julia@innervoicenutrition.com for your free consultation. We can discuss the role sugar plays in your life, answer any questions you might have, and develop ideas for getting sugar out of your life!