You know that a sugar-free diet is best for your health and your body, but you don’t know how to do it? In this video I will teach you my tricks to eliminate excess sugar from your diet.
If you’re tired of diets that never work, you’re trying to lose weight once and for all, or simply need inspiration for a balanced diet for you and your family, subscribe to my YOUTUBE channel and press the bell to receive the notification when I post a new video every Saturday!
You know that sugar is the great enemy of your health but there are so many of its requests that you don’t even know where to start…
At the end of this video you’ll know exactly what the main sources of sugar are today; how to replace them; and also my planning tips and meal suggestions.
You’ll find it’s possible to reduce the amount of sugar you eat every day without making great sacrifices. I do this regularly for myself and suggest it to my customers, and now it’s your turn!
If you speak Portuguese, watch the video by clicking on the image below:
Benefits of a low sugar diet
The latest studies in nutrition conclude that sugar is the big culprit in the real obesity epidemic in the world. And with obesity come many other problems, some less evident than others.
First of all, reducing sugar in daily food has the obvious benefit of helping you lose body fat and visceral fat.
Body fat you know what it is, it’s what you see in the mirror…
The visceral fat is less easy to see with the naked eye… But it is as unpleasant or more than the other. Basically, it’s the fat that accumulates around the abdominal organs, particularly the liver, and that over time affects the functioning of the organs themselves and has an impact on your overall health.
But even if you obviously don’t need to lose fat, there are other very important reasons to reduce the amount of sugar you eat: excess sugar in the diet is now associated with permanent inflammation in the body and many unpleasant diagnoses like autoimmune diseases, attention deficit disorder in children, degenerative diseases like Alzheimer’s and even bipolar disorder and depression.
Furthermore, it is worth mentioning that it is now well established that cancer cells feed on sugar, and therefore a zero sugar diet is undoubtedly one of the first changes to be made in the presence of this type of disease.
Emotion and myths about sugar
I know it’s not easy to decide to eliminate sugar! And even after making that decision, it is not obvious to implement it!
There is a lot of emotion around sugar, favored by social marketing and even by the movies!
I love movies, including romantic comedies, but that invention that a woman who has a broken heart drowns her sorrows in an ice-cream packet can only have been a mistake or a covert terrorism maneuver! That image is for laughter, but not for imitation, please!
Then there is the myth of “you deserve it” – sugar as a reward… in my opinion, you deserve to be healthy! You deserve self-esteem; respect, tenderness, joy, affection… sugar and its consequences are not among the things you deserve.
Sugar as a celebration is also a myth to bring down. You can celebrate life in many ways, it doesn’t have to be with food or with things that hurt you.
Finally, the myth of “I really need sugar”! You may need food, you may need vitamins, minerals, a hug… you may need a lot of things, but believe me, if you really think you can’t live without sugar, you’re wrong.
Well, it’s worth making a parenthesis: there are studies that conclude that sugar provokes in the body a reaction similar to other (non-legalized) white powders. And it is addictive. It is addictive in the brain, where it stimulates sensations of pleasure and is addictive in the palate – when you get used to very sweet flavors you have difficulty appreciating other types of flavors.
And you, how do you relate to sugar? Comment below, tell me if you think you have an addiction-related to sweets and sugar.
The main sources of sugar nowadays
The most obvious sources of sugar are cakes, biscuits, and other treats such as candy, gums, and chocolates – of course!
But there’s a lot of hidden sugar that you don’t even think you’re ingesting and that’s there, and insidiously, it’s producing its effects.
The worst of all is soft drinks: not only do they have amounts of sugar that you would never, ever, add to any food of your own free will, but they also contain very harmful forms of sugar, such as corn syrup which contains a very high percentage of fructose.
Apart from soft drinks, all fruit juices are equivalent sources of sugar, and even freshly squeezed fruit juices have exactly the same impact on your body as a cola.
Breakfast cereals are in turn a small trap: even healthy ones have high percentages of sugar (in the order of 15%).
Along come yogurts: they have a healthy image, but most of them contain quantities of sugar equivalent to desserts.
Finally, let me remind you of the following: white flour, which is very refined, is basically starch. And starch is sugar. With a more complex molecular structure, but it is still sugar, and the body digests it as such. So even crackers and other biscuits should be cut from your sugar-free diet.
Small changes with a huge impact
My goal with these videos is to help you eat better every day. Life is very demanding and you don’t have time to study nutrition like I’ve been doing, nor to try out countless diets or even to spend a lot of time in the kitchen like I’ve been doing these last few years. That’s why what I’m going to teach you or suggest in this channel will always be very practical and simple to implement.
These three small changes are super simple but will have a huge impact on your health and your body.
Drink water!
The first thing you can do to reduce the sugar in your diet is to choose water as the drink of choice. Attention, I’m not telling you not to drink anything else ever! Life is all about balance. But choose water in your day to day life – stay away from soft drinks, forget about nectars, juices, the wine ‘just because’ … this little change will make a world of difference. Save the alcohol for special occasions and drink water in the rest of the situations. At meals and special occasions.
Eat a nutritious breakfast
The second big change happens at breakfast…
Get control of this meal, get it working for you! The convention that breakfast is a sweet meal is relatively new in food culture, and frankly only benefits cafes and restaurants – and now you know that even sweetened yogurts and the bread also qualify as sugar in terms of their digestive impact.
Try to eat eggs, to make sure you have protein in the morning.
Try a well-built smoothie, with lots of greens and healthy fats, for a nutritious boost of vitamins and minerals.
And when you choose bread, choose the best possible bread and think of it as a vehicle for other foods that have these impacts on your body. This probably means you’ll have to start preparing your own breakfast, but it’s worth it!
Snacks
The third – and last – change I advise you to make concerns snacks. You may not be aware of this, but what you eat between meals maybe doubling or even tripling the sugar you eat every day. Without any counterpart in terms of health, energy, or good mood.
So I advise you to do one of two things: either eliminate snacks once and for all, because let’s be honest, it’s possible and even desirable to spend 3 to 4 hours without eating between the main meals.
Or, if you have very long mornings and afternoons, if the meal breaks are longer than 4 hours, then plan carefully what you eat and when. And think about eating real food, don’t use processed foods whose sole impact on your body will be to produce fat in the case of sweets and promote fluid retention in the case of snacks.
Don’t be shy about taking your own choices with you, and don’t eat what someone just decided to produce in the office canteen or corner café. Don’t be ashamed of having trail mix in your pocket, or carrot and celery sticks, or cucumber slices. Or even take a portion of a homemade dip, made from legumes – humus or other – that you eat with these vegetables.
If Dr. Oz – super famous and, by the way, super-fit – takes his meals from home to work, then it makes sense, doesn’t it?
One more comment about snacks, which has to do with the way you eat: an American athlete, in a course I took a few years ago, said: “Have meals, don’t graze”. It’s an aggressive image, I agree, but it’s clear – the figure of the package of biscuits or chocolates in the office drawer, which you eat without realizing it, is a terrible trap for weight and health. By the way, let me say that the treats in your workmates’ drawers also have the same effect! And you can say no to what they offer you.
A little goes a long way: choose your treats very well!
Finally, choose your sweets very carefully: think intentionally, which sweet or dessert do you really love? The one who embraces and comforts your soul? When you know exactly what it is, choose one occasion a week and treat yourself. Taste it without guilt or distractions. And, in the end, say goodbye without regret until the following week!
As time goes by, these very simple suggestions will make a world of difference. After a few weeks you’ll look in the mirror and have the feeling that you’re in high definition – yes, no more bloating!
Meal planning: breakfast and snacks
As with everything in life, if you make plans about your diet, you’ll reach your goals more easily…
So I suggest you spend 10 minutes every Saturday or Sunday, as you prefer, thinking about what your week will be like and making a list of the meals you need to prepare.
I have two ebooks that can help you:
One is called “A week of healthy breakfasts”. It has recipes, practical tips, and planning, as well as zero sugar alternatives to vary your breakfasts in a healthy way and with really nutritious ingredients.
The second is called “Power Smoothies” and has recipes for learning how to make nutritious and varied smoothies. In each recipe, I also explain what to prepare the night before so you don’t waste too much time in the morning.
Here are the links to download them, they are FREE!
Suggestions for dealing with sudden cravings
Ah, the famous cravings…
How to deal with a sudden desire for chocolate, or ice cream, or cake or, as in my case, sablé biscuits?
Look, this is a vast topic that deserves to be covered in a forthcoming video. Tell me, comment below, if you would find it interesting to have a video on the subject of cravings!
But here are some first tips, consider this a trailer…
When you have one of these wishes, stop and watch, as if you were coming out of your own story and watching from afar:
- Are you in an unusual situation?
Did something negative happen?
How do you feel? Are you sad, or happy, or in celebration mode, or with nothing to do…?
Before going to the pantry, the refrigerator or running into the car, write down the answer to these questions in a notebook or in the telephone notes. And, please, write them without any judgments or feelings of guilt, just observing your feelings.
You will begin to understand what triggers these desires and that knowledge allows you to create resistance.
There are other practical tricks that help me to control, or even prevent, the urge to eat sweets:
Cinnamon
The first is to add cinnamon to a lot of things, especially for breakfast and a snack. Cinnamon is a very aromatic and sweet spice that makes a slice of apple or natural yoghurt sweet.
Cinnamon even helps regulate the blood sugar level, so it’s a great habit at all levels. Look, I even add cinnamon to coffee. And I often make a mint and cinnamon tisane after dinner, to avoid eating chocolates!
Sweet vegetables
The second trick is to regularly include sweetened vegetables in my meals. Carrots and pumpkins are excellent examples.
These vegetables balance the salty flavors of the dishes, comfort the mind, and eliminate the desire to eat dessert.
And, believe me, they’re much better for your health than any cake!
Healthy fats
Another way to stabilize your blood sugar level and stop the spikes in excitement and sudden power outages that lead you to run to crackers is to include healthy sources of fat in your daily diet.
Today we know that foods that are rich in polyunsaturated fats and omega-3s are beneficial to the body and help with many vital functions.
This will be the subject of a future video, don’t forget to subscribe to the Youtube channel so you don’t miss it!
In summary: you should reduce the sugar you eat!
Now you know exactly how to effectively control your number one enemy in terms of health. So, what do you think, did you find this video useful? Is this the time you’ll be able to reduce sugar too much? Write YES in the comments if you want to at least try!
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Thank you for your attention, I’m happy to help you!
See you next time!
