How to Eliminate Bread & Sugar for Weight Loss

For crash dieters who reach New Year's Day and cut everything that's tasty out of their diet, the message is simple: There's no need. Starvation is not the way to lasting weight loss, nor is the deprivation and misery of cutting out all treats and tasty favorite foods. The real key is to be aware of the effect that "simple" carbohydrates (namely white bread and sugar) have on the body and to replace them with "complex" carbohydrates that the body can metabolize more easily.

Things You'll Need

• Agave syrup
• Brown rice syrup
• Brown rice
• Coconut milk
• Oat cakes

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Instructions

• 1

  Eat sugar-free oat cakes with a dip such as hummus and salad, instead of eating white bread sandwiches. Oat cakes help to regulate blood sugar levels so that you do not experience the spikes and dips that send you to the cupboard in search of sweet, starchy food.

• 2

  Replace all use of sugar with agave syrup or brown rice syrup. These can be found in health food stores and supermarkets. They are natural sweeteners that contain no refined sugar. You do not have to give up all sweet food. Get into the habit of baking your own treats at home and replacing the sugar content with agave or brown rice syrup.

• 3

  Puree a handful of dates in hot water and use the mixture in home baking, for a sweet, moist toffee flavor. You can use other pureed fruits for sweetness, such as apples, apricots, figs, pressed grapes, pears and ripe bananas.

• 4

  Replace white wheat flour with cornmeal, brown rice flour, buckwheat flour or oats in bread recipes. You can bulk out the recipe with a cupful of grated carrot for added moisture and sweetness.

• 5

  Avoid shop-bought "gluten free" flour. This tends to be very chemically processed and can still contain a flour mixture that raises blood sugar levels and causes weight gain. Stick to whole grains and whole grain flours instead.