Breaking a habit is a tough task to accomplish whether it be smoking, biting your nails, or drinking diet soda. Even though diet soda may seem harmless to the body, it turns out it is the complete opposite. Many diet sodas feature a common artificial sweetener called Aspartame. Aspartame, also known as Nutrasweet and Equal, is added to a variety of foods to create a sweet sensation meanwhile producing a product with fewer calories. Sweeteners like aspartame can be very detrimental to your body such as altering your brain chemistry. Since artificial sweeteners don’t contain calories, your body will still feel the need for calories after but in addition will begin to crave a sweet sensation. Therefore, many individuals will just grab another diet soda to subdue the sweet craving and so begins the cycle.
Here are some easy to follow steps that will help you eliminate your habit for good.
1. Cleanse your environment – This involves discarding any food that may contain artificial sweeteners such as flavored water, gum, or cereal. These foods may contain hidden sweeteners that could cause a relapse to your habit.
2. Find the reason for your problem – all habits have patterns. With every habit there is a trigger/cue, a routine, and a reward. If you are able to notice anything that triggers your behavior, try to understand what put you in this situation and what emotions you feel when participating in your habit.
3. Start a Cravings Journal – by starting a cravings journal, you will become more aware of your surroundings and it will be a lot easier to fight these eagers
4. Use fruit to satisfy your sweet cravings – fruit contains natural sugar that is combined with key nutrients that are beneficial to your overall health
5. Find another task to switch with your habit – the goal is to slowly progress to safe/harmless environment. For example, if you bite your nails, swap biting your nails with chewing some gum