Uncommon Freedom

Overcoming Sugar Addiction: Kevin's 3-Step Strategy for Lasting Change

• Kevin Tinter

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Is a stubborn addiction or habit holding you back from the life you want? In this candid episode, Kevin Tinter shares his personal journey of overcoming sugar addiction and reveals the 3-step strategy that finally helped him break free after years of struggle.

Drawing from his own experiences and insights from "Atomic Habits" by James Clear, Kevin discusses:

  • The power of admitting you have a problem
  • Why public accountability is crucial for lasting change
  • How shifting your identity can transform your behavior
  • Practical strategies for navigating temptation and social situations
  • The importance of proving to yourself that you can change

Kevin and Bekah offer actionable advice on breaking free from addictive behaviors while keeping faith and personal growth at the center. They share personal anecdotes about family dynamics, vacation challenges, and the unexpected benefits of overcoming addiction.

Whether you're battling sugar cravings, another type of addiction, or simply feeling stuck in an unhealthy pattern, this episode provides valuable insights to help you take control and create lasting change. Join us for a conversation that will inspire you to approach your challenges with renewed determination and hope.

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Speaker 1:

Hey guys, welcome to the Uncommon Freedom Show. Kevin Tinter here with my lovely wife, Beck. Beck say hi.

Speaker 2:

Hello everybody, Becca Tinter here and glad to be with you for another episode of the Uncommon Freedom Show.

Speaker 1:

Yeah, we're really excited. So we are going to be hosting coming up in about a month and a half, uh, early december we are going to be hosting a workshop on, basically, how to thrive in 2025. We're going to condense our year-end reflection.

Speaker 1:

Year-end reflection guide and we actually have it being revamped into an awesome workbook instead of just a printable. Yes, um, and and we're really excited, so we're going to spend a couple hours. If you live in the Gilbert area of Arizona, you can join us. We'll be publishing details. We're still working out registration costs and things like that and all those details, but we're really excited. Basically, we're going to be walking our friends through the people who join us. We're going to be walking them through the process that we've really developed and used for the last several years to help us what we call design our life, Absolutely All right.

Speaker 2:

Let's get started on this week. We're going to talk about the three steps to overcoming addiction. So what brought on this topic?

Speaker 1:

Yeah. So I'm really excited because I'm sharing just the practical steps that I have implemented since really August 1st, or maybe a couple days before then, to finally overcome my sugar addiction, and so I know many, many people struggle with food addictions. There's lots of other addictions out there. I'm certainly not an addiction specialist, but I also know that there's a lot of crap and 12 steps and this, and that that work for some people and a lot of it is more academic or it's more kind of theoretical as opposed to what has actually helped me, because I've been working on my health journey for over 13 years and, without a doubt, the one thing for me has always been sugar.

Speaker 2:

We're definitely not suggesting you not get additional help if needed Absolutely sugar. We're definitely not suggesting you not get additional help if needed.

Speaker 1:

Absolutely, but I'm confident, because of how much I struggled with sugar addiction, that if this worked for me and you legitimately apply these three steps, I'm confident that you can have victory with whatever addiction you might be struggling with.

Speaker 1:

I'm pretty impressed Now there are some things that have medical need, medical supervision. So I believe that actually alcohol is one of those things that can cause. I'm trying to. I'm reaching back, you know, into my law enforcement days. I know that alcohol withdrawal can actually require medical supervision and there are some drugs that if you quit cold turkey, can have some pretty serious side effects Medically. I don't know what kind of supervision you need for that, so keep that in mind. But if we're talking about a more habit, lifestyle type addiction that you might have, I really think these are going to work.

Speaker 2:

Okay, so let's start with number one.

Speaker 1:

All right. The first one is to admit you have a problem. This is really crucial because acknowledgement is the first step in any recovery process. It's one thing to say I man, I really like it, or this is a weakness of mine. It's a whole nother thing to say I'm downright addicted Like. This is out of control in my life.

Speaker 2:

When did you realize this about sugar?

Speaker 1:

I think I've known it, for, I mean, I've known it for a very long time.

Speaker 1:

I mean I tell people that my grandmother, on my dad's side of the family, she spelled love with sugar. You know, the second my parents would leave when I was a little kid, she would bring a purse full of candy and it's just how she knew to love. She would start, you know, not force feeding me, because I was so sugar deprived as a little kid that it was like, oh yeah, sugar. But that's just. And when I look back, you know there's kind of like probably a generational sugar addiction in my family, and so I've known that I struggled with it. But just realizing that, coming to grips with the fact that, man, I have to make this change, it was probably the one thing holding up your health journey would you say, without a doubt you were doing so many other things well.

Speaker 1:

Exactly, exactly. And when I went 11 weeks without sugar, and just so people know, when I talk about going without sugar, I'm really talking about eliminating junk food. If there's incidental sugar in a recipe, whether it's, you know, pancake mix or bread or something like that, I'm not completely eliminating all sugar.

Speaker 2:

If he accidentally eats chocolate chip cookies because they have sugar in it Just kidding.

Speaker 3:

We don't do that around here, nope.

Speaker 1:

I've been very intentional to avoid that stuff, that's right?

Speaker 2:

I would say you grew up with so little sugar, right? I mean at least what you share, if I remember correctly. Growing up, I mean yogurt was dessert was kind of how you described it.

Speaker 1:

Oh yeah, yeah, I mean when my mom was in charge you know yogurt would actually, but actually the funny thing is we didn't read nutrition labels back then. Right, right and actually, if you were to look at the type of yogurt we used to eat, I think it was.

Speaker 2:

Dannon.

Speaker 1:

Dannon and Breyers, like the fruit at the bottom yes, it's actually loaded with sugar at the bottom was like the best part of the. It was it was, but it was actually loaded with sugar. But you know, when you're a kid you know, dessert is not yogurt, it's ice cream.

Speaker 2:

So when your dad was in charge, did you guys have treats way back?

Speaker 1:

when, um, there weren't a ton of times when my mom traveled or left, and my dad was responsible for us definitely he would splurge with sugar. You know, if we were doing a day with dad or something like that, we would definitely have um more sugar than we would, and I actually.

Speaker 2:

I saw the same type of probably the same thing in our house, wouldn't you say yeah?

Speaker 1:

I mean, I definitely like you know, when we, when we first started camping and I would take the kids, like it was s'mores and smacos and Chicago mix and things like that.

Speaker 1:

So anyways, we don't need to dwell on all of my bad habits, but one of the things I just want to talk about is that admitting the problem allows the person to face reality and recognize the need for change, and it's also the point where they can start seeking help and resources. Now I'm grateful that I didn't need help like professional help and resources, although I did use resources. I'm going to talk about the book Atomic Habits real quickly, which is a phenomenal book. It really kind of helped me make that mental pivot to implement all the steps that I'm talking about here in just a second. So the second step was to publicly declare your commitment to change and invite accountability.

Speaker 1:

So, once again, I think all of us know especially you think about your health. You think about maybe your financial situation, maybe in your relationships or your marriage. I think we all know what's that one thing. And maybe we just struggle in one area and so maybe it's an addiction to shopping or you know amazon or something like that. For me, I always knew that the one thing was sugar and I always hesitated. I would say I'm gonna in my head, say I'm gonna go without sugar, but without that public accountability it didn't have the same effect and I did 11 weeks without sugar in about two and a half years ago a little less than two and a half years ago, and one of the things I did is said I'm going without sugar in the entire month of I think it was April is when I kicked it off.

Speaker 2:

And that public decoration made a huge difference, and so definitely different than I think, cause you've told me before things before and it's it's not great, honestly, to have your spouse be your accountability partner in some of these areas. I mean, what happens with us is, you know, we tell each other we want accountability and then the other person steps into check-in and it's very nagging or it feels that way and, um, you know, as the spouse, it's also hard to watch, cause you're like, well, are you doing it or are're not doing it? But again, it's not the best role. It's better to have outside accountability to just protect the integrity of your marriage and yeah, so I think the combination is but when you go on public and you don't have to declare this to the entire world, right?

Speaker 1:

But could be a small group of people public commitment to a group that will hold you accountable. So, for me, what I did was and also people that you don't want to let down and so it makes me feel like crap, because it's just the familiarity of a marriage relationship makes it not the ideal.

Speaker 2:

I just had the epiphany that I should have used a different motivational tactic. I can just imagine if I had said to you no sex If you have any sugar that is not healthy for the marriage.

Speaker 1:

That wouldn't have helped. I mean, I feel like I mean that would not. That is not.

Speaker 2:

OK, it's not biblical. We're not going to hold back on sex.

Speaker 1:

The way that I did this is I told our like group of coaches that we work with and we train with on a regular basis that are also health-minded. I said, hey guys, I'm sharing something that I have struggled with that and.

Speaker 1:

I'm making a commitment and for me, my commitment was that I not have any sugar until I get either below 10% body fat which I'm still working towards but haven't reached yet or we reach a different business metric milestone like a specific goal that we've been working on Right, and there were two goals that I knew were going to take some time to get to. So it wasn't like a okay, I'm just going to do this for one week. It was like I knew I intentionally invited accountability and said I'm not going to have any until I do something that I knew was going to take several months to accomplish. And actually, you know, the interesting thing is I just kind of reflect on this is that I'm okay with how long it's taking me to get below 10% because now, granted, my, my mindset has totally shifted. Where in the past was like, okay, I'm below 10%, I'm going to have sugar, it was like I crossed the finish line.

Speaker 1:

My mindset has totally shifted. You didn't reset your structural tension when you exactly exactly, but I'm also okay with it taking me so long because I know the longer it takes me, the more I'm cementing the habit of not having sugar.

Speaker 2:

And you are microdosing adversity. I would say yeah, yeah, which you're really good at. I have to admire you for that.

Speaker 1:

But the key here was the public declaration to people that I didn't want to let down. I mean, the bottom line is the group of people I made the commitment to. We are kind of the figurehead leaders.

Speaker 2:

Right.

Speaker 1:

And there were times where I'm taking the kids out and they're having ice cream, or just you know. There's moments of weakness where I've been very tempted, almost without thinking, to do something, and then I'm like wait a minute, I promised, I made a commitment to my coaches and I'm not going to let them down, and so that key is really important, the public declaration once again, but the key is to a group that's going to support you not a group that's going to mock you and not a group that is not going to hold you accountable, Right, right.

Speaker 2:

And I feel like once you make that commitment, then you have to change how you think about yourself, right?

Speaker 3:

Uncommon. Freedom is a game changer, not only for the focused leader. Freedom is a game changer not only for the focused leader, but also for the rudderless sojourner seeking direction. When Kevin talks, I listen, I lean in and always leave a better man. As the wisdom of Proverbs 3.13 states, happy is the man who finds wisdom and the man who gains understanding. I want to warn you in advance to prepare your spirit for a heart and mind shift. As you read this book. I have learned that conviction comes when the heart is open to change. As I read this book, I was moved on several occasions to evaluate my personal life and make course corrections. This isn't just a book. It's a manual for creating godly leaders who we desperately need today and especially as our children walk the earth in, whatever it looks like 10, 20, 30 years from now. Who knows that? We need leaders who embody these things? Because not only do we need people who are healthy and wealthy and have the right heart, but we need people who know where the spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom.

Speaker 2:

So let's talk about number three.

Speaker 1:

Yeah, so this was probably. This was the one thing that I'd never done before.

Speaker 1:

I've admitted I have a problem before. I've publicly declared the commitment and invited the accountability. But this third step is something that really the Atomic Habits book helped me make this shift and that is switching my identity from an addict to the new person I want to become. So James Clear in the book talks about that. When and I think when I talk to people who have tried 12-step programs and I know that they can be helpful for some people, but I also know that their success rate is actually fairly low and my understanding is like, if you're an alcoholic and you go to aa, you say my name is kevin and I'm an alcoholic you're constantly identifying, you're constantly identifying as an alcoholic and the one the idea here is I, I think to say you know what they want you to be honest, I'm always going to.

Speaker 1:

Yeah, I have an issue with this.

Speaker 2:

Right.

Speaker 1:

But what James Clear talks about is your identity, when you identify as something you behave with what goes along with that you meet the expectations of that identity Exactly, naturally, and so in the past I said I'm a sugar addict.

Speaker 1:

I thought it was like this humble thing to say just admit the fact that I was a sugar addict. But what I realized is I have the power to change from being a sugar addict to actually someone who's no longer controlled by sugar, who doesn't celebrate it. I mean, we're getting ready to leave on our annual favorite family vacation where we have a chef available to us. They cook, you know, dessert, lunch and dinner, and I've already made decided like it's not, in fact, it wasn't even a decision but I'm not going to have dessert when in the past it's like well, this is a special occasion, I'm going to have dessert and I'll get back on track when I get back. But I've been, you know, our amazing.

Speaker 2:

I'm really impressed by this.

Speaker 1:

He was saying you know what I'm done being a sugar addict? Yes, I realized I've had a weakness with this in my entire life, but I'm done with it. Yeah, I have the ability to change it and I'm the type of person now who actually isn't controlled by sugar. So my identity has shifted and because of that, my mind is different. My behavior, behavior is different. I'm no longer like I make a fruit smoothie or I have an apple with some almonds or peanut butter or something like that, and it's amazing how delicious it tastes and that's my dessert now. And but the identity fact of saying I'm no longer a sugar addict, uh, is been an absolutely powerful.

Speaker 1:

That was a missing piece for me. So I you know this is going to be a relatively short podcast, but I hope I know there's other people out there that can struggle. And so you know the key is admitting you have a problem, make a public declaration and commitment and ask for accountability, but the key there being from people that will support you and encourage you and then switching your identity from what you don't want to be to who you want to be. So, once again, for me, even the last time I went 11 weeks without sugar. I was like I was still identifying as a sugar addict, right, and so eventually, like you know, it was actually Father's Day weekend.

Speaker 1:

I enjoyed some treats, had some sugar and I did a good job for a while of like, only having sugar once a week. And but it became this slow, kind of slow creep back to my old habits. And the other thing is it really it's amazing this is how I knew I was addicted is because when I couldn't have it, I thought about it a lot and I also realized, like man, I would go to it. B thought about it a lot and I also realized, like man, I would go to it bored, angry, tired. Yeah, hungry, angry, lonely, tired. I mean, it was just a way past time and just deciding like I'm now the type of person that I'm not an addict anymore and so my behavior because I'm not an addict, my behavior has changed, my mindset has changed.

Speaker 2:

so can I just say, as your wife, this is very sexy oh very very sexy and also I was cracking up inside because when I was a school teacher in okinawa, japan, um, I I was pretty healthy minded, like I would go running frequently. I ate, I think, pretty healthy, not like I know how to eat now, um, but I had committed to my fellow first grade teachers that I was only going to have sugar on saturdays. I think I kept up with it. I really can't remember. It was a long time ago, but one of the joke gifts they gave me one year for Christmas or something was a calendar that was all Saturdays as a joke, because they knew how disciplined I was about it or whatever. So it was something that just came to mind. I completely forgot about that.

Speaker 2:

Also, I wanted to, just as we kind of close, say what the power is in that word becoming. Because you might say like well, a lot of people want to be healthy, but they know they're not healthy yet. So it feels like cognitive dissonance to be like I'm a healthy person but maybe you're a hundred pounds overweight or you have the behavior and habits that are not healthy yet. But when you say becoming, it's that transition process of like I'm starting to make those decisions. Now I hear you saying you're, you're kind of there Like you've arrived from this standpoint of your mindset has completely shifted. But when you're in the process, at the very least you're saying I'm becoming the type of person who doesn't consume sugar anymore. So I guess that's a helpful, maybe step people to take so that overnight, you don't become this and james clear talks about.

Speaker 1:

Every decision you make becomes a vote. It's a vote person. You want to be so while you're voting at the beginning especially.

Speaker 2:

Yes, you have to have the becoming absolutely.

Speaker 1:

yeah, um, and there's. It's not like I don't have this awareness in, like I realize that I'm I'm now. You know, my identity has changed, I've overcome this addiction, but I also realize it was a weakness in my life in the past, and so I'm not going to be reckless with the fact that, if I go back to old habits, that the addiction couldn't come back number one, and then I was going to say something else and it just kind of lost my mind. I think the power, though, of making decisions ahead of time, I mean I've made through some events. Like you know, I went back to Ohio one little about a one month into this, and Ohio has, I think, the best ice cream in the world.

Speaker 2:

It is my kryptonite.

Speaker 1:

I go there once, maybe twice a year. Mitchell's ice cream unbelievable ice cream.

Speaker 2:

And you wouldn't go and normally just have a scoop of ice cream. I always get the largest.

Speaker 1:

It would be like a scoop waffle largest and I would get one to go and have one while I'm there or get up, you know a slightly appalling to go yeah, I mean it was uh just being honest with people and the truth was sugar didn't really affect my weight. I mean I kept my weight still for the last several years like the worst I ever got was in the 14% body fat.

Speaker 2:

Which is pretty amazing.

Speaker 1:

It is, and so the reality is like I was, like I could, I could manage my addiction, right, but it was impacting my life and you know I mean, if you looked at what I spent my cash on, you'd say you're not a health coach.

Speaker 1:

You know, you're not a healthy person. I mean, I even looked like it. But if you actually looked like what, looked at what my habits were, at least in you know different slices of time. So but when? When? I made it through the entire weekend, I mean dinners and all kinds of stuff, my aunts also homemade gelato, which is amazing, and it was just like I'm not going to have it, I'm not going to have a taste. Those making it through events like that were huge boosts in confidence. Those were some major votes.

Speaker 2:

They're like okay, like you're not addicted to sugar anymore. A lot of times, we just need to prove to ourselves that we can do something.

Speaker 1:

And I want to just encourage us all Like we will hold other people people accountable, far more accountable than we'll hold ourselves. We quit on ourselves much quicker than we quit on other people so, anyways, I hope this encourages you guys. Um, I know and here's the thing is that sugar I've heard this over and over is far more addictive than cocaine so this is why we have not tried cocaine for the record.

Speaker 1:

But this is why I know that if I can beat sugar, you can be just about anything in your life that you're struggling with. And just want to encourage you guys, do it If you're if you're going to take something on, please, you know, comment either on the podcast or in the video. Um, send us a message and I'm going to root you on. Um, and you know, shoot me your stories, cause I want to cheer for you guys.

Speaker 2:

Love that so excited. And again, just another step towards creating a life of uncommon freedom. You know again, common is to be addicted to things that don't serve you well. Uncommon is choosing to break some of those chains, create those habits and become the best version of yourself.

Speaker 1:

All right, let's go on vacation. Amen, see you later.

Speaker 1:

All right, friends. Please subscribe to the podcast for more insights on blending entrepreneurship and the entrepreneurial mindset with intentional living. You can follow us on social media. We are on instagram, primarily, and facebook, and you're going to find daily tips and inspiration from us there. You'll also find us on YouTube lots of shorts as well as our video podcast. And then please, if you enjoy this podcast, please leave us a five-star review and share us, and remember to subscribe on YouTube as well as whatever podcast platform you're listening to us on.