Sip sparkling water with fruit slices instead of fizzy drink and save 10
teaspoons of sugar. Or try these refreshing flavour combinations:
strawberry and basil, watermelon and ginger, pink grapefruit and tarragon.
Now, after what you’ve read so far, you want to give up the crisps, or you at
least know you should. But sit at your desk in the witching hour with nothing to
munch on, and you’ll still feel the magnetic force of the crinkly bag. The way to
counteract that very real pull is to find an adequate substitute. When you’re
ready to make the change, you fill a bowl with something else that crunches
(maybe a bag of air-popped popcorn with some sea salt or paprika sprinkled on
top). Now you’re off and munching away. Your stomach and mind are both
satisfied—and your body is better off for it. (Note: You also don’t need to go
cold turkey. You could start with a bowl of carrot sticks and half a bowl of
crisps, then steadily decrease the amount of crisps you have over a few weeks.)
Apply the same principle to any of your lightning rod foods. Fizzy drinks, for
instance, are a biggie. Maybe you sub in bubbly water with fruit, so you still get
some sweetness and the carbonation.
Remember that you’re not giving up your favourites forever; as I said in
chapter 2, you do get special-occasion sugar. But you are retraining your brain