I could harp on about all the negatives of sugar for days. Unfortunately sugar is not exactly great for us, although I know for sure you don’t need me to tell you that.

The thing is, I’m not a fan of constantly talking about the negatives. When it comes to changing your life and your habits, I’d much rather talk about the positives.

There’s a reason why I called my signature program “The Sweetness Beyond Sugar” instead of “Sugar Is Evil”, and it’s because life can be so sweet once you get rid of that tie to sugar cravings. And that’s what I want you to focus on when it comes to making lifestyle changes and choices… The good and not the bad.

Changing habits can be so hard! And the thing is, when it comes to sugar, there’s a lot more to kicking the addiction than just simply eating sugar-free food. And a big part of successfully changing your sugar habits is being able to picture your life beyond the nasty yet undeniably strong hold of sugar!

So with that in mind, to give you a little motivation to continue making those health changes (I know you’ve already taken the first step because you are reading this in the first place) here are some of the positives you can look forward to when you achieve that food freedom, which naturally happens when you move past sugar addiction.

Mind space to think about things other than food.

When you aren’t addicted to sugar, your healthy diet becomes a natural part of your life. Many people are completely consumed by what they are going to eat (and I can put my hand up that it used to be me too).

It may come as a surprise to you (given the nature of my work), but I really don’t think that hard about what I eat. And you know what? It’s been one of the biggest doors that I’ve opened up for myself, where I have the mind space to think about other things like work achievements, giving back to my family and friends, enjoying life and moving forward in the direction of my goals.

Seriously, there is so much possibility when you give your mind that space, where you aren’t constantly thinking about what are are or aren’t going to eat. And when you aren’t addicted to sugar, and you’ve developed a code of eating that you know works for you, the doors that will open up for you are endless.

Imagine if one of you is sitting on the cure for cancer, and instead of working towards it, you are stressing about what you are eating or what your next meal is going to be or what your last meal is. What a waste of potential! Ok the cancer thing is obviously a stretch but do you feel me?

The ability to taste real food.

Junk food is manufactured to be highly palatable, so palatable that it completely throws off our tastebuds to become accustomed to extremely sweet, salty and fatty foods.

Unfortunately, this means that good old whole foods suddenly become tasteless and bland. When you give up sugar, your tastebuds completely change (this is one of the best parts of quitting sugar), and you’ll be amazed and not only how good healthy food tastes (well, my recipes at least), but also how you’ll crave healthy food. If you don’t believe me, give up sugar for just two weeks and you’ll see.

With many of my clients I do a sneaky chocolate test using very dark 90% chocolate. I give them a square before we work together, and often they find it so bitter and disgusting, but after a few weeks of not eating junk, suddenly that same chocolate tastes rich and delicious and satisfying. It happens EVERY time. Even things like carrots taste completely different!

Freedom to travel and go out.

Invaluable! Life is here to be enjoyed, and for most people, socialising, travel and going out to eat is a big part of it. That’s just the world we live in.

One of the most common things I see in my clients is that they feel that in order to be healthy they need to prepare all their food at home! As much as I believe everyone should know their way around the kitchen at a basic level, eating well is absolutely not exclusive to being at home.

You can EASILY incorporate meals out and social events into your day without the idea you have to “break your diet”, which is also a common belief that is not true. When you quit sugar and develop your healthy eating code there is no diet rules to break, only life to live. I feel free just writing this.

Fluidity in your schedule.

This is kind of related to travel and going out. But I felt it needed its own point. Because this is another amazing part of quitting sugar.

Many people who try and eat well are so rules-focused, which works for some, but very rarely! Unless you live in a perfect world (which nobody does), you’ll need a little flexibility in your diet to allow for changing schedules, living situations, social events, work, family life and basically everything.

Life doesn’t follow a strict routine and if you try to make your diet a perfectly strict routine, you’ll only run into trouble. When you have freedom with food, you know what works for you, and most importantly you own it, it’ll allow for a lot more fluidity in your life.

And this in my opinion is the only way you’ll actually be able to change your life. If your diet doesn’t flow nicely within your lifestyle, you’ll never “stick” to anything.

The ability to enjoy sugar.

Bet you didn’t expect this one!

But it is undeniably true. When you get rid of sugar cravings, and more importantly emotional sugar eating, you can actually indulge in sugar when you really want it. But the difference is you actually want it, as opposed to just eating it because you are sad, angry, stressed or worst of all because it’s just there.

And when you do get to this stage, you can enjoy some classically “unhealthy” foods and feel great afterward instead of beating yourself up for caving (we’ve all been there and it’s not a fun way to live).

The other difference is you don’t overeat it, and you don’t binge on it, because you’ve made the conscious choice to enjoy it. Bingeing and overeating is actually the complete opposite to enjoyment.

You see, giving up sugar will open doors for you, not the other way round!

If you need a little push to head into the end of the year, finally getting on top of your sugar habits, I’d love for you to join me in my next round of Sweetness Beyond Sugar, click the link to see when the next round begins.