Going sugar free – The Manifesto

Karen Thomas, the author of  Sugar Free – 8 Weeks to Freedom from Sugar and Carb Addiction shares her manifesto into the 10 principles to going sugar free.

I love the Sugar Free Manifesto and want to share its ten guiding principles with you.

These ten principles, outlined below, are the most important to me. They are also the key principles that I have identified over many years as being most important to all the people that I have helped beat an addiction to sugar and refined carbohydrates.

Beating a food addiction is so much more than just a nutritional intervention; it involves challenging the way we think, feel and behave, not only towards others, but towards ourselves.

These guiding principles are the core of the eight-week programme outlined in my book Sugar Free. Together, they provide the common thread that runs through the book, reminding us that a lasting lifestyle change needs to empower body, mind and spirit.

More importantly, this lifestyle change has to be sustainable, not just another diet that may work for a while, but will ultimately fail. This is why the book focuses on all aspects of being human, ‘feeding’ and nurturing them all equally.

Changing one’s lifestyle requires us to make the very best choices for ourselves every single minute of every day. It requires us to start standing up and showing up for ourselves in a way that may feel uncomfortable at first.

New behaviour can be daunting until it becomes a habit or second nature; until that point it may be necessary to ‘fake it to make it’. These guiding principles will provide you with a solid foundation and a strong framework for change.

I try to practise these principles in my daily life, basing my thoughts, behaviour and interactions on them. When I need to make an important decision, I see how it fits into the bigger picture and whether it supports these guiding principles. I am far from perfect, but find these principles both inspiring and empowering.

The Sugar Free Manifesto: 10 Guiding Principles

1. Quit all sugar one day at a time

One day at a time, you can do this!

2. Dream BIG

Have a vision for yourself and how you want your life to be. Treat life as an adventure and don’t settle for mediocrity.

3. Give your body the food it deserves

Think about what you put into your body and understand that you can’t ‘out-gym’ a bad diet.

4. Move your body

Perform some form of movement each day and love your body as the unique gift that it is. Believe in training smarter, not harder, and know that there is more to life than numbers on a scale.

5. See health as a lifestyle, not a quick fix

Choose at the outset to be in this for the long haul and embrace the journey of a healthy body, mind and spirit rather than treating it as a destination.

6. Our thoughts create our reality

Our internal world shapes our external world. Understand that negative thoughts can be replaced by positive thoughts and strive always to see the positive in any situation.

7. Surround yourself with the right people

The people we spend the most time with play a huge role in our success.

8. Express gratitude

Do this every day. Take time to be thankful for the things – no matter how big or small – and people in our lives.

9. Value experience over stuff

We know that happiness does not lie with material possessions. Rather it is experiences that make us happy.

10. There is no such thing as failure, there is only learning

In a similar way, the only ‘bad’ decision is not making a decision in the first place. It is better to act, observe and adjust than to be paralysed into indecision.

I hope these ten guiding principles inspire you to make a lifestyle change that empowers you in every aspect of being human. By focusing not only on our bodies, but on our minds and our spirtis, too, we are able to make changes that outlast those of the most successful diet.

Only you have the power to change your life. Sugar Free provides you with the tools you need.