Have you ever wished you could go back in time to the moment that a bad habit began – that very first decision that started you on the road you wished you’d never taken? Hindsight, as they say, is 20-20. But if we can’t change the past, can we correct our bad habits for the future?

Take our addiction to sugar (and yes, for some of us, it’s truly an addiction). The human brain is wired for pleasure, and sugar definitely fits the bill. It is also costing us our health, not just in obesity and diabetes, but in a whole host of inflammatory issues in the body. This shouldn’t come as news to any of us, and yet, knowing this, most of us still can’t stop.

There is a way to slowly wean yourself away from sugar, though, in a way that your neither your body nor your mind will take much notice. We can wean our bodies and our taste buds off of sugar using something I call “the 25% rule.”

Whatever you’re baking, eating or drinking, simply put 25% less sugar than what you normally use. If a recipe calls for 1 cup of sugar, use ¾ cup. If you normally put a full packet of sugar in your coffee, stop before you empty the whole thing – and then throw it out so you’re not tempted to add the rest. You will hardly notice the difference.

When I first came to Georgia, I adopted the same bad habit most Southerners have: sweet tea. I didn’t make it at home, but every time we ate out, I’d have my cup refilled time and again with that sugary caramel concoction. When my clothes became too tight to wear comfortably, I knew I needed to make a few changes. I started ordering my tea half and half – half sweet and half unsweet. It took a little getting used to, but the change came with a bonus: I could actually taste the tea for the first time. And it was good! Once I got used to half and half, I would ask for unsweetened tea with a splash of sweet tea. My drink still had enough sweetness to it that I didn’t miss the lack of sugar. One day, I finally took the plunge: 100% unsweetened tea with a wedge of lemon. That squirt of fresh lemon did the trick, adding just a hint of flavor that the sugar content had once fulfilled. This wasn’t about deprivation; I found that I truly enjoyed the taste of tea much more than I had when it was full of sugar. Not only that, if a server mistakenly gave me sweet tea, I immediately sent it back. I couldn’t stand the taste of it!

I made the same changes with my coffee. Once a mocha latte addict, I began to ask for less “pumps” of my favorite syrup. Three instead of four; then, two instead of three. And now, when I want a treat, I get a plain latte. Sure, I get strange looks from the barista when I refuse syrup, but the sugar content in the milk is enough to satisfy my newly liberated taste buds. (If you are a “Caramel Frappucino topped with whipped cream and an extra drizzle of caramel,” I apologize for my look of disgust at your choice of drinks. I don’t mean to judge; truly, I don’t.)

My sugar addiction has changed my eating habits in other areas as well. I was always an “eat the icing first” kind of cake eater. Now, if cake is served at a child’s birthday party (we never have it in the house), I find myself eating only a portion of the cake and tossing it in the trash before my fork ever touches the icing. If I do give in to my former addiction and scoop a few forkfuls of the fluffy stuff, I feel sick for hours. Sugar simply turns my stomach now!

Once you conquer “the 25% rule,” go a little further each time. See if you can cut that 1 cup of sugar down to ½ cup; try drinking your tea or coffee with just a few granules of sugar and then eventually, none at all. Small changes really do add up, and before you know it, this way of eating will become your new norm.

That said, I still have my lapses in judgment. Girl Scout mint cookies do me in every time (damn you, Girl Scouts!). But even those are losing their appeal as my body craves healthier options. To tell the truth, I don’t feel that I’m depriving myself at all; just the opposite. Sugar is no longer my master.

Turns out, I didn’t need a time machine after all.