Sugar Addicts Diet by Nicki Waterman (Thorsons, £6.99)

8/10

REVIEW By WLR Dietitian

Juliette Kellow BSc RD

What’s the theory?

The Sugar Addicts Diet claims that by breaking your addiction to sugar you'll prevent massive swings in blood sugar that one minute leave you feeling euphoric and the next minute leave you craving another sugar fix. This in turn, will help you lose weight as you’ll no longer want to constantly snack on sugary foods. In reality, the theory for this plan is similar to diets based on the glycaemic index.

What does the diet involve?

There’s a comprehensive 21-day plan to follow, advice to help you prepare for the diet and information on what to do when the three weeks are over. Each day focuses on one particular goal, such as eating breakfast, identifying hidden sugars or staying motivated. The plan ultimately gets you to eat regularly and make the right food choices so that you eventually break the sugar habit.

What can I eat?

You’ll have to give up all sugary foods and refined carbs like white bread, white rice and chips and replace them with high-fibre carbs. But it’s not just obvious sweet foods like chocolate, cakes and fizzy drinks that need to be avoided. Many foods such as dips, cooking sauces, ketchup and yoghurts contain hidden sugars and so are off limits too. In addition, you’re encouraged to eat plenty of ‘good’ fats from fish, nuts and seeds to help burn the calories from carbs more quickly.

How much weight will I lose?

There’s no specific weight-loss promise but you can expect to lose a few pounds.

What else does the book include?

There’s a questionnaire to help you identify whether you’re really addicted to sugar or simply like sweet foods occasionally. Plus there’s a good explanation about why we crave sugar, advice for parents with children who are addicted to sugar, how to cope with tempting situations, a chapter on the importance of exercise, and menu and recipe suggestions.

Juliette’s verdict on the Sugar Addicts Diet

Unfortunately, the title is misleading. If you’re expecting this to be the diet that lets you get your daily sugar fix, prepare to be disappointed – it’s aim is to stop you eating sugary foods completely. It’s definitely biased towards helping you lose the sugar habit rather than losing the weight. Nevertheless, the advice is good and weight loss should be a side effect as you wean yourself off sugar. Even if you’re not addicted to sugar, this book encourages you to start eating more healthily.