Are you addicted to sugar?

So you’ve done it…you’ve decided to change the way you eat. You started eating better, whether that was incorporating real, whole foods into your diet or going paleo (you know, the caveman way of eating…meat, fruits, veggies, nuts, etc.) or **gasp** you started counting calories. Now, I won’t get into this in detail here, but counting calories is (in my humble opinion) one of the WORST ways to lose weight. Especially because most people eat those fat free frozen meals or the fat free desserts thinking they are good for you. Guess what?! They are chemical shit-storms (pardon my French). They are empty calories that are not nutritious!! How can you possibly be getting what your body needs from a frozen meal?!?! Anyways, I digress.

So you’re eating healthier, however that may look for you (remember, everyone is an individual and what works for me won’t necessarily work for you – it’s that beautiful thing called bio-individuality). But you’ve noticed you aren’t losing weight…you aren’t feeling any better, you aren’t sleeping better. What gives? You’re frustrated and about to throw in the towel. It can be SO disheartening to feel like you’re doing everything “right” and yet still not having any results…at least positive results.

But let’s stop and take a step back. First things first, are you keeping a food journal and being completely honest with yourself about what you’re eating? When I first started learning how to cook (i.e., broke away from the frozen meals and microwave dinners), I didn’t pay too much attention to what I was eating or when or how much…until I started keeping track of it. I kept a food journal for quite awhile, mainly to keep track of what was bothering me and causing me symptoms, but also to keep myself accountable to what I was actually consuming on a daily basis. If I didn’t write it down, then I didn’t have that piece of pie (or three), right?! This is the time to really hold yourself accountable and be honest with yourself!

Also, take a look at some of the “swaps” you’ve made. For instance, I used to be a sucker for no-bake cookies…you know, the oats, chocolate, peanut butter balls of goodness that you threw together when you needed a chocolate fix. OMG – I could eat those for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Have I mentioned I’m a sugar addict?!

So when I switched to eating healthier and focusing on real, whole foods, I also switched my sugar/”sweet treats,” as I called them. I would still make myself a “sweet treat” after dinner, but use the “healthy” ingredients. So it couldn’t possibly be bad for me! I would make a chocolate brownie in a mug with coconut flour and coconut sugar and cacao powder and all the other little ingredients that went along with it…or a pumpkin pie in a mug…or fruit “ice cream” with cacao nibs and coconut milk. It was all natural and not processed, so it had to be good for me! Right?!?!

Except I still felt awful…I was bloated and my acne wasn’t improving and I continued sleeping poorly and feeling exhausted all the time. Having these “sweet treats” became an every night treat for me…it was an after dinner treat that I couldn’t not have. It became a necessity. That’s when I took a hard look at what exactly these treats were doing to my body. Because the harsh reality is that our bodies do not differentiate between the highly processed sugar treats and the all-natural “good for you” treats. Sugar is sugar is sugar, according to your body.

So for me, being super sensitive to sugar and having reactions to eating a ton of it (think acne and mood swings and trouble sleeping), having these treats every night was extremely detrimental for me. And I have to be careful when I do have them because I tend to go a little overboard.

My point in all this is to be careful in making these seemingly healthy treats. Hop on google and there are countless ways to make desserts paleo or healthier or “better for you.” But be careful…because it is still sugar!! And your body will still react to it, whether it’s “healthy” sugar or not!

This one thing may be one huge reason you aren’t seeing any results. I know it was for me. So keep track of your food intake…are you eating too much sugar? Test it out…take it out for 14-21 days, and see how you react. Do you feel better? Are you sleeping better? Does your skin clear up? Are your mood swings better? Keep track of it! I promise, you will see results and you will learn so much about yourself in the process!!

Have a fantastic weekend! I’m in Boulder, CO for a doTerra conference :) I’ll fill you in about it next week.

With love and wellness,

Whitney