Likewise, with sugar, this way of gradually removing sugar from your diet will keep you from feeling any withdrawal symptoms by having you continue to eat the foods you crave. A more gradual plan is based on the understanding that it takes a month for the human brain to create a habit. So during a month, if you create healthy new habits—habits that you’ll start to cultivate long before you have to give up any of your unhealthy old habits! A gradual plan is accomplished through the two cornerstones: pitfalls and boosters. These foods are often hard to recognize as pitfalls, especially if we’re used to having them. But if you can let go of those pitfalls, you might be amazed at how much better you feel—and at how much better your life becomes. If one day’s diet includes organic, no-sugar-added yogurt, berries, salmon, and fresh vegetables, you have spent that day taking good care of your brain, helping yourself feel calm, optimistic, and energized. That said, there are two steps to the gradual plan process: Why don’t diets work? They didn’t free you from your addiction to pitfall foods. To make matters worse, they don’t address the withdrawal that you’re likely to feel if you try to cut back on pitfall foods abruptly, without addressing your brain chemistry. To make matters still worse, the outside-in approach is doomed to fail in the long run because, without addressing food addiction, you’re going to keep longing for pitfall foods that temporarily boost serotonin and dopamine levels. You may be able to resist those longings when things are going well, but when stress or major challenges inevitably reenter your life, you’re likely to turn to the old reliable pitfalls that pull you deeper into addiction. Adding food to your diet will tackle the root of sugar brain. Tackle food addiction through boosters that will help you balance your brain chemistry, so you can have the body, the brain, and the life you want. Suddenly, adhering to any dietary restrictions will be doable because you’ve worked from the inside out. Since you’re now feeding your brain chemistry, you’ll probably find yourself wanting to eat less in general. Nothing will be off-limits forever because, as the research shows, occasional exposure to pitfall foods doesn’t cause addiction. Not to mention that saying “I’ll never eat sugar again” sometimes can make you want it more! Excerpted from The Sugar Brain Fix: The 28-Day Plan To Quit Craving the Foods That Are Shrinking Your Brain and Expanding Your Waistline by Mike Dow (Hay House Inc., January 14, 2020) Mike holds a Master of Science (M.S.) degree and a Doctorate (PsyD) in psychology, is registered with the California Board of Psychology and the California Board of Behavioral Sciences, and maintains a full-time license to practice psychotherapy. He is very involved in charitable causes and volunteers for the Camp Comfort Zone, the nation’s largest bereavement camp, and served as a volunteer Trevor Project “Lifeguard.” Inspired by his brother who was diagnosed with a rare brain disease and suffered a massive stroke at 10-years-old, Mike made it his personal mission to understand and help others’ struggles. He began volunteering at various organizations as a hobby, before turning it into his career and becoming a licensed psychotherapist. Though he travels extensively for work, he resides in Los Angeles.
