Self-Help for Sugar Addiction

more on sugar addiction
and your health

Have you ever wished that you could stop worrying about everything you eat, stop buying diet books, and just relax and enjoy food - but still lose weight and keep it off? Maybe you can...

Would you be interested if I told you there's an easy way to train your mind to ignore sugar and other food cravings? Would you be even more interested if it didn't involve any drugs, surgery, or diet books? And if it not only helped you lose weight, but also improved your health, without making you feel deprived or picked on?

If your diets always fail because you don't have enough will-power, you've found the right web site. Just as the right physical exercises can build strong muscles, the right mental exercises can build strong will-power. And believe me - learning how isn't rocket science!

Hello Jonni, I just want to thank you for your support and this great program of renewing my life both mentally and physically. I must admit, I've had some real tough times especially in the evenings, but I was able to make it through. My biggest fear is breaking down and giving in to the withdrawals.... Just to let you know how positive this process is, I only read a few pages, .. [they have] given me so much motivation, that I changed my diet, and I have noticed my clothes fitting looser today, I will continue and again thank you so much for all your support. Deja

Dear Friend,

There's one simple fact that diet book authors don't really want you to know.

Most Americans, (and that probably includes you), could lose weight safely and quickly just by giving up sugar.

It isn't rocket science - you'll lose weight if you work off more calories than you eat. Most of us, however, eat more calories than we burn, so we gradually gain weight.

What is making America so fat?

In America, many of our extra calories come from sugar and other simple carbohydrates, which pack a wallop in calories but provide no real nutrition at all.

Many of these sugar calories are hiding in soft drinks and processed foods, so we may not even know how much sugar we eat every day. Each year, 120 pounds of added sweetener is consumed in America per person - that's 1/3 pound of sugar per person every single day! That's an added 630 calories.

Imagine giving up just one candy bar a day and losing 1 pound every two weeks, without making any other change in your diet! That's 22 pounds a year.

Imagine giving up two giant Costco muffins a week and one Starbuck's Caramel Cappuccino a day, and losing 4 pounds a month, without making any other change in your diet! That's 48 pounds a year - the easy way!

The problem is - many Americans try to give up sugar, and can't! In fact, many people try (and fail) to give up sugar as often as smokers try to quit smoking. If you're really hooked on sugar, it isn't all that easy to give it up.

And the problem includes more than just sugar. The bad news is that just a few minutes after it hits your stomach, your system can't tell the difference between sugar and white flour. America's love affair with pasta and Wonder bread (and yes, fancy hearth-baked French bread), means lots of extra flab around your middle, on your thighs, and wrapped around your internal organs and arteries.

The Atkins folks figured this out, and built an entire industry around telling us to give up the carbs - but they went overboard and included all carbs instead of pointing their fingers at the real problem - simple carbs like sugar and white flour.

After all, how many books could they sell if it was that simple?

"Hi Jonni - Thanks for your support. I feel great with out white sugar and white flour. I enjoyed your book and your emails. I guess it has been about a month I have lost 10 lbs and my whole family is eating better."

What are simple carbohydrates?

Simple carbohydrates are highly refined calorie bombs just waiting to make you fat, and make you sick. Unlike complex carbohydrates, found in vegetables and whole grains, simple carbohydrates cause an almost immediate rise in your blood sugar. Over time this can affect your insulin response and cause a higher risk of cardiovascular disease, diabetes, and some kinds of cancer.

But it isn't easy to let go of simple carbohydrates. If it was, America wouldn't be so fat.

We all know that gaining weight is easy. Unless you're Renee Zellweger, and you're getting ready for your next Hollywood role as a fat girl, you probably didn't have to struggle to eat a few extra calories each day in order to gain weight. You didn't go out and buy special diet books that listed every morsel of food you could and couldn't eat in order to gain a pound or two before your class reunion. You probably didn't go out and buy expensive bland-tasting "snacks" with the texture of cardboard because they promised to add a few extra globs of fat to your thighs.

The flab "just happens."

But when we decide it's time to start getting rid of all the extra pounds that "just happened," Americans reach for their wallets. This country's obesity rate has become a huge business opportunity, and many of the products now available to help us lose our extra weight are sold with the fervor (and lack of candor) that would do a snake-oil salesman proud.

But let's take some personal responsibility, here. We set ourselves up for the false promises, the shady advertising practices, and the questionable pharmaceutical studies of the obesity industry because we don't want to see how obvious it all is.

We want to believe that it's hard to eat healthy food, because the alternative is facing the fact that the foods we most enjoy and crave are the very foods that are making us fat.

From Linda (personal details have been edited out to protect her privacy): "Hello Jonni I enjoyed reading your book as it was written in a manner that made me feel like I was reading a letter from a friend. You made many valid points and I do agree that we need to be responsible for the choices we make. I found your method of thinking about our thoughts quite interesting. I read your book through all in one sitting and so hope to be able to read it slower next time. "

Let's look at some of the numbers:

One Milky Way candy bar has 270 calories.

If you're a woman with a normal (meaning fairly sedentary) American lifestyle, you can maintain your weight with about 1800 calories a day. Any more calories than that, and you gain weight, any fewer calories and you'll lose weight. This is the basic information that makes any diet work (or not).

Your Milky Way is, therefore, about 1/6th of your daily caloric needs. More importantly, one Milky Way and one Hershey's bar a day will add a pound a week to your butt, unless you reduce the calories you get from real food by the same amount. If you just eat one candy bar a day and don't cut back on real food, it will take you two weeks to gain a pound. But don't worry - you will gain weight.

One Costco giant muffin can add up to more than 600 calories - three muffins a day would give you enough calories to maintain your weight, while clogging your arteries from all that fat..

Imagine it - the three muffins would maintain your weight if you ate absolutely nothing else. Fat chance!

Is it any wonder that fewer and fewer people can crowd into an American elevator?

Few people eat a candy bar or a poppy seed muffin or a piece of chocolate cake with vanilla ice cream instead of real food. We eat these things in addition to real food.

Which is good, in a way, because these sugary "food" items contain almost no nutritional value. You can survive, for a while, on a diet made up almost entirely of simple carbs. Many people through the centuries have had to do just that during times of war or famine. But this type of diet will severely damage your long-term health.

( I have had emails from readers who say (often in all caps) that they can't give up sugar and white flour because there wouldn't be anything else to eat! I always suggest that these folks need to make an immediate appointment with their doctor - they're living on borrowed time.)

From Anthony Jonni, I'm a pretty slim guy. I was overweight up until my senior year of high school. I lost the weight and have been able to maintain my physical appearance thru exercise and eating right most of the time. Although I've never gained the weight completely back there was always a layer of fat around my waist that has never gone completely away. My downfall had been sugar ladened sweets, white flour, and high fat foods. Since reading your site and book. I've finally started becoming the leanest I've ever been in my life love it. I'm an independent songwriter/music artiste. I'm gonna look great for my shows now*smile* I actually have not had to do the meditations that often to control my behavior or cravings but when I need to I call on them and they do work.

So why is it so hard to give up sugar and other simple carbs?

If you look at the numbers given earlier, it seems like a no-brainer - give up your candy bar, your Starbucks latte with Italian syrup, your morning bagel, and you lose weight.

What's so hard about that?

We all want to lose weight, and nobody really needs any of those items to stay healthy. Plus they cost money that could be better spent.

So just give them up.

We all wish it was that easy.

What would happen if we did?

For most people, (and that probably includes you), what would happen is a nice gradual and healthy weight loss, back to the weight your body is supposed to have.

Your chronic blood sugar level would go down, reducing the risk of heart disease and some kinds of cancer.

Your clothes would fit better, and you'd soon have an excuse to go buy some new ones to show off your new, healthy body.

Your color would improve, you'd sleep better, and your mind would be sharper.

You may even have fewer mood swings.

For many people, these important changes would also be accompanied by cravings, daydreams about the snacks they can't have, a feeling a deprivation and abuse, and, in the beginning, lightheadedness and mild nausea.

The cravings, daydreams and unconscious behaviors eventually bring almost all of us back to the sugar trough. Aunt Betty's famous apple pie and mom's oatmeal chocolate chip cookies don't help, either.

This is why there are several thousand diet book authors who tell us that we need to eat less and exercise more. This is why so many people build careers around telling us to eat more vegetables. This is why a successful industry exists to sell you bland frozen diet meals that cost more money for smaller portions. It's why hundreds of people are getting rich selling you "low carb" substitutes for the bread and snacks you crave.

And it's why the World Health Organization has listed obesity as one of the world's top causes of preventable disease and death.

Kay wrote (some personal remarks have been edited out to protect her privacy): "This more positive approach which looks more closely at the reasons we eat offers a fresh avenue of hope because you offer definite ways to re-think and cope. I take vitamin supplements each day and have never been on any type of medication. My faith is strong and each new day is full of blessings. The walking meditation is wonderful - for some reason, I think a form of this has always been a part of my life. I tend to give my mind plenty of vacations and keep positive thoughts alive by thinking "stop" before a negative can take hold. It is a personal decision when we decide to think 'in the moment' about all the wonderful things life has to offer. Nutrition and health are subjects that I truly enjoy and had I known this early enough in life I may have pursued a career in that field. As the PR/Membership/Program Development Director at our local Racquet Club and Fitness Center, I enjoy helping members learn the basics of tennis. This also gives me the opportunity to stress to new players the importance of fitness, nutrients, water and fresh, wholesome foods. ....the book is wonderful because the approach is about so much more than just the food.

What's really going on here?

The will-power we are all so sorely lacking has a very specific cause. And it may not be your mother.

Are you an "emotional eater?" Do you "eat when you're nervous?" Then tell me this - Have you ever once had a craving for broccoli when you were feeling blue or lonely? Does a detailed fantasy of a lettuce and tomato salad (with lemon juice, no dressing please) dominate your thoughts when you feel a restless urge to eat? Do you get quickly bored with veggies, but always have room for chocolate cake or a plate of lasagna? Can you even imagine feeling picked on if you weren't allowed to eat your spinach?

Simple carbohydrates are obviously in a complete class by themselves.

We eat the simple carbohydrates because these "foods" make us feel better. If you think about that statement for just a second, you'll understand how this next statement relates:

Heroin addicts use heroin because it makes them feel better.

We also continue to eat simple carbohydrates after we know they're killing us, because it feels bad when we stop.

Heroin addicts go on using because it feels bad when they stop.

Substitute alcohol or cocaine or tobacco, or even gambling, in the statements above, and you'll understand what I'm getting at.

Simple carbohydrates have been proven to be addictive; they are readily available; they're relatively cheap; and there are few social pressures to give them up. How could America not be overweight?

It's all up to the individual. It's all up to you and me, all by ourselves, to fight the cravings that plague us when we try to change to a healthier diet.

We're talking about will-power - the ability to look a vanilla latte in the eye and say "no thanks." The ability to smile while you pass the pumpkin pie without taking your share. The pleasure of walking past the candy vending machine without even checking your pockets for loose change.

Jessie wrote this: "Jonni, I wanted to write and let you know that I really learned a lot from your book. You really made me see that what I always thought of as a personal failing was really just my own natural human nature, trying to live of a world that doesn't exist any more. I have a bachelor's degree in psychology and an ongoing interest in general science, and your points seem valid and well researched to me."

It's about building a stronger will-power, so you can succeed

If you've ever failed at a diet, you know what I'm talking about. You know that your commitment goes up in smoke, a little piece at a time, as the cravings and pressures slowly pull you back to your unhealthy lifestyle. You try to fight it, but one day you wake up and discover that you gave up your diet last week, almost without thinking about it.

Even though you really didn't want to.

In the beginning of this article, I told you that it's possible to use simple mental exercises that will build a strong will-power.

It is possible, and it isn't rocket science.

Will-power is a matter of mind, so only mental exercises can make it stronger.

That makes sense, but in America, we don't learn the necessary mental exercises in school. Our schools may do a good job of teaching the multiplication tables, but we aren't taught any mental exercises that would help us pass up a tempting morsel of cheesecake.

So, when the cravings strike, we're defenseless against them.

I consider this to be one of the primary problems facing America in this decade. I even strongly believe that our continuing slide into ill health may one day become a national security issue, as more and more of our obese children reach adulthood.

Something has to be done.

And something can be done.

Quite by accident I discovered an ancient, yet incredibly simple mental exercise that worked to strengthen my own will-power and free me from sugar cravings.

I found this exercise in a book by a Tibetan monk, and I admit that I didn't actually finish the whole book. I don't pretend to understand any of the ancient philosophy that created this exercise, or even to understand exactly why it works.

But it does work, and that's all that matters to me.

This super-simple exercise helped me to lose 38 pounds, and I've stay sugar-free for the last three years. If that sounds impossible in today's society, I'm proof that it's not.

I know that many other people can be helped to overcome their cravings. In fact, in the last year or so since my book came out, I've received many emails from people thanking me for sharing what I've learned.

As you can see from several of the emails I've printed on this page, once you know the simple mental exercises, you don't even have to work all that hard to do them - this process just seems to be "natural" once you know how to do it. What a gift- to be able to give up the struggle, and still lose weight.

I work for a large health insurance company, so every day I see how much our dependence on simple sugars is costing Americans - causing a higher risk of diabetes, cancer and heart disease - so you can understand why I think it's so important to teach other people to build their own will-power and regain their health.

I'm not a nutritional expert, I'm not a doctor, and I'm certainly not a great writer. I decided that I couldn't let any of that matter - too many people need to know how to take control of the way they eat.

A lack of will-power can destroy your commitment to your own long-term health, so I named my book Weight Loss: How to Keep Your Commitment.

In my book you'll learn how I stumbled across this simple answer to my life-long struggle with my weight. I'll even share how it helped me in my struggle with mild depression and helped me be mentally stronger while recovering from chemotherapy for breast cancer. Once you know the secret, you will feel mentally stronger - all the time, and not just when you're faced with a plate of donuts.

I share what I learned about recent studies in neuroscience, evolutionary nutrition and addictions theory, and how it helped me understand why food cravings can be so powerful. You'll learn how cravings can cause you to make bad choices, even when you don't want to.

I explain what researchers have discovered about our unconscious choices, and how ancient teachers helped their students stay awake and in control.

I'll show you how to use one of these simple techniques without needing to know anything at all about meditation or Eastern philosophy. You'll learn to strengthen your will-power effortlessly.

Once you begin to use the mental exercise I teach you, (you can do it while driving to work), you will learn why your own instincts often work against you -and how to rise above them to make good, healthy choices,

You'll learn why chronic stress can add to our food cravings, and what to do about it.

You'll even learn the easy methods I use to make my own home healthier, so that my environment doesn't encourage snacking and grazing on fattening food.

You'll learn the importance of social support, and you'll be encouraged to find others who can share your progress and goals for health.

And I'll offer a reading list, in case I whet your appetite for more learning about mental exercises that put you back in control.

I'm telling you - this isn't rocket science. Build up the strength of your own will-power, and the fact that you are faced with potentially fattening foods everywhere you look will no longer matter.

Is this the only way you can build the self-awareness that leads to a stronger will-power?

Goodness, no. There are actually other methods that also work. Two of the most well-known are journal-keeping and writing down everything you eat. Both of these methods are basically mental exercises that make you more conscious of your choices. You may have tried one or both of these methods, and realize that they work, for a while.

Unfortunately, most people stop using these methods because they require a major change in your habits.

You know how it happens - perhaps you've used the notebook technique for another common American problem - overspending. You buy your little notebook and keep track of every cent you spend. It's an easy project, and it's fun at first. At the end of the month you discover that you've almost miraculously saved money without even really trying to.

And then you put the little notebook in the desk drawer, never to be seen again.

Or you've done the same thing with your food - you pull out the notebook at every meal, write down everything you eat, and discover that you've lost 3 pounds without making any other conscious change in your diet. And then you lose the notebook, regain your 3 pounds and one extra for good measure - and kick yourself for it. It's human nature.

These methods work to create self-awareness, but stop working as soon as you lose the notebook or stop writing in your journal - and for some reason we always lose the notebook or stop writing.

However, if you learn a simple mental exercise that creates the same awareness, and which can be practiced at any time without writing anything down, keeping track of anything, or doing anything that would be noticeable to others, there isn't anything to lose or give up. You can't unlearn something once you've gained the skill. That's why this simple program is so powerful, and why it keeps on working, even when you stop thinking about it.

There are other methods that show great promise, but which cost more money. A trained hypnotherapist who understands food cravings and who works closely with your doctor may be very helpful. A counselor who has been trained in addictions theories (and who accepts the concept of sugar addiction - many don't) or who has been trained in Motivational counseling may help you change your ways.

If you can't take control on your own, I highly recommend seeking help from a qualified professional.

I also recommend that you learn as much as you can about good dietary habits, especially if you now balk at the idea of eating vegetables.

If you do build up your will-power and give up some or all of the sugar in your diet, imagine what would happen:

Imagine giving up just one candy bar a day and losing 1 pound every two weeks, without making any other change in your diet! That's 22 pounds a year.

Imagine giving up two giant Costco muffins a week and one Starbuck's Caramel Cappuccino a day, and losing 4 pounds a month, without making any other change in your diet! That's 48 pounds a year - the easy way!

Once you've learned the secret to building your will-power, you can easily reduce your daily calories by giving up the unhealthy sugar and simple carbohydrates that make us fat. You begin to lose weight gradually, without feeling deprived or picked on. Your friends may not be able to understand how you're doing it, but it doesn't matter - because you'll be keeping your commitment to your health!

To order the eBook for Instant Download: As soon as you fill out the secure order form and hit the "submit" button, you'll be taken to a page that gives the download instructions for saving the book to your computer.

Order Now for Only $12.95.

Weight Loss: How to Keep Your Commitment takes approximately 3 minutes to download, and is in PDF format using Acrobat Reader - a free program which works on all computers. (It is probably already installed on your computer, but you'll receive directions for getting your free copy on the download page, just in case.)

This eBook comes with a three-month no-questions asked guarantee!

You're anxious to get started, and you need to make healthy changes in your life now. But you may be uncomfortable about committing yourself to an eBook that's sold over the Internet. For that reason, I'm offering you an easy way to make a decision. All financial risk is mine, so all you have to lose is the addictive behaviors that make you eat fattening food.

Our orders are processed by ClickBank, the leading online service for downloadable products. Your personal and financial information is secure with them.

Order the eBook now, so you can get started right away. You'll learn it's truly possible to change your body, by changing your mind, one teaspoon of sugar at a time!

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From Faith (the first person to read the book after it was finished) wrote: "Exactly what I needed. Most of us know what we should be eating. But I spend a lot of time running in circles unable to concentrate on decisions at hand. Jonni's book showed me how to be in more control of my thoughts and make more conscious decisions about what I eat."

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Jonni Good studied addiction theory and has worked in the health care industry for years. She is the author of this self-help-book on sugar addiction, and has also written a cookbook with recipes and ideas for easy frozen diet meals. Her newest website concerns national health insurance, concenrning the need for universal access to health care.

And for fun, Jonni built a website just for kids who love to draw animals.

Contact Jonni at jonni@howtothinkthin.com

© 2002 - 2004 Jonni Good
Published by Wet Cat eBooks
4820 SW Greensboro Way, Suite #46
Beaverton, OR 97007

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