8
CYCLE 1: TAPER
The Sugar Impact Diet will end your sugar cravings, help you regain control of your appetite, create steady elevated energy, and sharpen your focus. But to make the move, you have to become a sugar sleuth. This isn’t just about exposing hidden sugar in processed junk food. It’s about where the sugar hides in all your food, because all sugar will have an impact on you, and you want to be in control of that impact. By the time you shift from high-SI foods to mediums and then down to lows, you’ll have lost weight fast and reclaimed your sugar sensitivity without feeling a thing. Except better.
So here we go! I am beyond excited to welcome you to Cycle 1—the taper cycle. During this 1-week cycle, you’re going to begin to let go of your dependence on sugar. It’s just the beginning, just a slow push back from the table. And get ready, because you’ll feel so good, so fast!
Unlike other diets, you’re being set up to succeed—nothing is left to chance. I’ve provided you with clear “eat this, not that” categories, but you’ll also learn how to make choices that keep you on course, if you’re someone who prefers a little freedom. Either way, you’ll have tons of support! The grip sugar has on you is going to disappear fast. Your sensitivity to sugar could reset in as little as a few days, your energy will come roaring back, your moods will stabilize, and you’ll kiss the extra weight goodbye.
SET YOUR GOALS
The most important gift you can give yourself before your Sugar Impact (SI) journey gets under way is to take a quiet moment, look inside, and ask yourself what you really hope will come of it. What are your goals? Three weeks and 2 cycles from now, what do you hope to have achieved? How do you want to feel? Do you want to lose weight? Have higher energy? Improve your focus? Get rid of bloating? All of those things?
Identify the simple things that you want to see change quickly, because that’s exactly the way it’s going to go for you. And fast change is the best change, especially when it comes to pounds. Research shows that people who take weight off fast lose more and keep it off. That could be you!
Your goals should be realistic, measurable, and trackable. Those are the keys to lasting change. In the next couple of weeks, you’re going to prove to yourself what’s really possible. I’ve created a simple goal-setting worksheet that you can download at http://sugarimpact.com/resources.
SUGAR IMPACT TOOLS
I’ve reviewed all the other diets, and I know what works. I’m going to give you every tool you need to succeed. I want that for you just as much as you do!
There’s some housekeeping to take care of before you get under way, which we’ll explore below. You can only change what you can measure, and I want you to really get how far you’re about to go. You won’t have any idea where you’ve ended up if you don’t know where you started.
SNEAKY SUGAR INVENTORY
By now you should have done your Sneaky Sugar Inventory (see here or download it online at http://sugarimpact.com/resources) to help you identify how much sugar you’re actually eating. Don’t you just love surprises? Even I had a Whoa! moment after I went through that list. It’s evidence of where sugar is hiding in your diet, and it will serve as your baseline. You’ll get a much more pleasant surprise when you take the inventory again after Cycle 3.
Once you take a hard look at all the sneaky sugar-laden food you’ve circled, you’re going to have to face your kitchen and get the enemy out of the house. Before day one of the Sugar Impact Diet, toss any food that tempts you or that you find irresistible. You know your own triggers—just admit that you’re going to rip it, cut it, or twist it open in a weak moment if you know it’s under your roof. Personally, I can’t bring popcorn into my house… there’s no such thing as a “little bit” of it for me—the bag becomes my serving, and when that’s gone I have to fight myself not to drive back to the store for another. I know you can relate!
You can’t rely on willpower. Do not keep something you’re addicted to nearby while you’re trying to quit. No one is superhuman. Cold sweats and clawing at the walls do not win any extra points, only getting yourself to the finish line does. So set yourself up for the win.
Next, make a run to the grocery store to stock up on low- and medium-SI rations (shopping lists are provided on my website at http://sugarimpact.com/resources). That shopping trip is so much fun! I hope you’ll feel puffed up with pride when you look into your cart at checkout. Health is a process, it’s a journey, and you’ve begun.
SUGAR IMPACT QUIZ
You should have also taken the Sugar Impact Quiz (see here or download it online at http://sugarimpact.com/resources)—it goes hand in hand with the Sneaky Sugar Inventory. They’re connecting-the-dots companions. With them side by side, you’ll see where sugar is hitching a ride into your diet and the impact it’s having on you.
Your body had a slew of warning signs that you’re heading down a dangerous path. It’s just like the little car light that goes on when you’ve got low fuel or you need air in your tire. Your body is blinking and dinging and flashing like crazy, trying to get your attention to tell you you’re about to crash. I designed the Sugar Impact Quiz to expose these signs and their cause: sugar.
When you take a close look, you can see that sugar is really at the forefront of almost every disease. It suppresses your immune system and sets off an inflammatory response, and we know inflammation is the precursor to most chronic diseases. Disease doesn’t happen overnight. It happens over time, often because of poor lifestyle choices.
After you take the Sugar Impact Quiz, you’ll have a very clear picture of how your body is trying to tell you that sugar is leading you down that path. There are seven common symptoms of sugar sensitivity—low energy, cravings, gas and bloating, unhealthy weight or weight gain, uncontrollable appetite, moodiness, and an expanding waistline, and you’re going to track each of them during your journey.
As you now know, the Sugar Impact Quiz is also a serious eye-opener. Don’t be discouraged by what you see. What you measure, you can improve. Up until now you might’ve been willing to brush off your bloat or power through your fatigue, thinking this is just what happens when you get older or when you’re stressed. Well, it isn’t, and when you take them all together, rate them and realize what you’re dealing with every day just because of the foods you’re eating and the beverages you’re drinking, you’re going to resolve to beat this thing.
The symptoms on the Sugar Impact Quiz will also be used as a benchmark as you move from one cycle to the next. There’s room for improvement for everyone, so if you start with a good score of 2 or less per symptom, and less than 12 overall, you’ll still see a benefit, and the commitment to this new low-SI lifestyle means you’re warding off weight gain and disease down the road.
If you score 20 or more, or a 4+ in any two categories, you may have to extend Cycle 1 by a week or more to ease your transition (and consider using one or more of the Speed-Healing Techniques in Chapter 13 here). Take that time if you need it. It’s much more important that you don’t move on before you’re ready, or you’ll set yourself up to fail. Do what you need to do to get yourself to your goals—you’re not in competition with anyone. This is for you!
SAY CHEESE
Yes, the dreaded before picture. Don’t fret and don’t hide behind a planter, or your cousin. You’ll be documenting a very big moment—you’re on your way! Out with the old, in with the new. You’ll thank me later.
WEIGH AND MEASURE
Just as much fun as the picture! But denial and snubbing your scale aren’t tools for change—measurement is. Take your weight and measure your waist and hips. Write your results down and keep track of them each time you check in with these numbers throughout the program. There is also a tracking sheet available online at http://sugarimpact.com/resources if you want or need it. I can’t wait for you to see them come down (and fast!). So exciting!
JOURNAL PAGES
Your daily journal will be the single most important tool in your arsenal. It’s essential that you write down everything you eat! So keep your own pages or use the journal I have online—you can download it at http://sugarimpact.com/resources. Your commitment to this (or lack thereof) will make or break your success. As simple as it sounds, writing down what you eat is instrumental. A 2008 study of nearly 1,700 participants published in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine found that it was the number one factor in predicting weight-loss success. People in the study, who were also asked to follow a diet rich in fruits and vegetables and exercise at least 30 minutes a day, lost twice as much weight if they kept daily food records compared to people who kept none. So this is non-negotiable, and you’ll actually find that that journaling becomes a welcome new habit.
You’ll see that your journal paints a fascinating picture pretty quickly. If you tried to play a speed round of what you had for meals over the last week and a half, how do you think you’d do? Not a chance of remembering, right? That’s how we get ourselves in trouble—we don’t see the big picture, and how meal after meal, day after day, the sneaky sugar adds up.
But glance at that little journal, and there’s no missing that you haven’t eaten enough today (that’s why I don’t have any energy!), you went too long between meals (that’s why I have a headache!), or you didn’t drink enough water and you were hungrier than ever.
Food is information. Connect the dots between what you’re eating and how you feel. Your fork is the most powerful way to impact your weight, your mood, your energy, your joint pain, and the rate you age. Tune in! It’s really easy to do when you have a journal.
SHOUT IT FROM THE MOUNTAINTOP
Publicly proclaim your intention and circle the wagons. Stay away from anyone or anything that will sabotage your efforts. Steer clear of sugar pushers and situations you know you can’t handle (holiday cookie parties and school bake sales come to mind). There are just some situations where sugar is impossible to avoid, and you don’t need to make this hard on yourself.
Find an accountability partner, recruit a friend or coach to help, or join a support group. Surround yourself with love and lots of cheerleaders. You’ll want to do some high-fiving in a couple of weeks!
WELCOME TO CYCLE 1
The Sugar Impact Diet is built around the Sugar Impact Scales, which were introduced in Chapter 2 and covered individually in Chapters 4 through 7. The scales are based on the impact a food has on your body. They consider a food’s fructose content, glycemic load, nutrient density, and fiber, as well as serving size. In Cycle 1, you’ll use the Sugar Impact Scales to swap high SIs for medium SIs in each of the seven food categories: grains, roots, packaged fruit, low/no-fat dairy and diet foods, drinks, dressings and sweeteners, and added sugar. You’ll be slowly tapering from a high-SI diet to a medium-SI diet. The key here is to transition over time, so you don’t experience sugar withdrawal in Cycle 2.
It’s critical that you don’t go cold turkey and try to eliminate sugar completely and immediately. That’s a recipe for disaster, even for me. When I took my Sneaky Sugar Inventory and realized that Trojan horses like balsamic vinegar and sun-dried tomatoes were sneaking extra sugar into my diet, I couldn’t believe it. It meant that I couldn’t dive right into Cycle 2, either.
So take this one step at a time, and don’t hop over medium-SI foods; Cycle 2 will take you low. When you taper and trade your way down, you’ll hardly notice the huge shift your body is making into fat-burning mode.
THE SUGAR IMPACT PLATE
Let’s get into the Sugar Impact Plate in more detail. It’s a tool with giant training wheels to keep you steady and strong. The beauty of the plate is that there’s no guesswork, no trial and error, no deprivation or starvation. Just a straightforward, healthy, happy way of eating—until suddenly, you’re 10 pounds lighter and much healthier thanks to your low-SI lifestyle.
PORTIONS
The plate portions are not arbitrary. I want you to strive for them at each meal. They’re the right balance you need to keep the SI of the food low and to prevent as much sugar as possible from being stored as fat. You want to burn, baby burn. So pay careful attention to portion sizes to ensure you’re eating the right amount of food in each of the four categories in your meals and your one optional snack.
The Sugar Impact Plate
The Sugar Impact Plate is designed specifically to keep your blood sugar balanced. It’s part of a master plan to crowd out sugar, reduce its impact on your weight and health, and help you reclaim your appetite awareness (so be sure you include notes in your daily journal about your level of hunger as you go through each Cycle).
Here’s a breakdown of the plate and what each meal should include.
Clean, Lean Protein
1 serving of clean, lean protein:
- Animal proteins: fish, beef and pork, seafood, turkey, chicken, game
- Approved protein powders (see Resources online at http://sugarimpact.com/resources.)
Protein Serving Size
- Women should eat 4–6 ounces at each meal; larger or more athletic women may need 6-8 ounces
- Men should eat 6–8 ounces; larger or very athletic men, up to 10 ounces
- Remember—those ounces are not necessarily pure protein, depending on your protein source. Most animal protein includes protein and fat. So the leaner the cut of meat, the fewer ounces necessary.
Healthy Fats
2–4 servings of healthy fats per meal (1–2 for snacks)
- Serving size: 1 tablespoon olive oil, ½ small avocado, 4 ounces cold-water fish or grass-fed beef, 5–10 nuts, 1 tablespoon nut butter, 5 olives
- Be sure to count fat from protein. Grass-fed beef and fatty fish count as a fat serving.
Non-Starchy Vegetables
2+ servings of non-starchy vegetables per meal
- Serving size: ½ cup cooked or 1 cup raw
- More is better! Ideal is 10+ servings a day
- You can always increase the portion size of your non-starchy vegetables
Slow, Low Carbs
1–2 servings of slow, low carbs per meal or snack
- Serving size: ½ cup cooked beans, quinoa, wild rice, or legumes, or 1 cup fruit or tomatoes
- 2–3 servings if larger male or more active female
THE MEAT-FREE PLATE
For you vegans and vegetarians out there, the challenge is getting enough protein without overdosing on carbs or fat. Ideally you’ll get the protein you need by combining nuts and seeds with grains and legumes. See how they’re incorporated in the plate below. Vegan protein powder is also an easy way to get optimal protein at one of your meals.
The Sugar Impact Plate for Vegans
When it comes to protein, you should strive for:
20–30 grams of protein per meal
10–20 grams per snack
This will vary depending on your size and gender, and whether you’re doing heavy training or recovering from an injury, surgery, or under high stress.
HOW VEGAN PROTEINS MEASURE UP
Here are some average grams of protein, along with corresponding carb counts.*
Almonds—1 ounce
6 grams protein
6 grams carbs (5 grams fiber)
15 grams fat
Chia—1 ounce
9 grams fat
12 grams carbohydrates (11 grams of fiber)
4 grams protein
Quinoa—1 cup
4 grams fat
39 carbohydrates (5 grams fiber)
8 grams protein
Black Beans—1 cup
1 gram fat
41 grams carbohydrates (15 grams fiber)
15 grams protein
Lentils—1 cup
1 gram fat
40 grams carbs (16 grams fiber)
18 grams protein
Vegan All in One Protein Powder*
2 scoops
5 grams fat
14 carbohydrates (6 grams fiber)
22 grams of protein
PROTEIN BOOSTS
Here are a few simple things you can do to crank the protein:
- Toss some pepitas into your quinoa
- Make “power oatmeal” by adding in protein powder
- Add lentils and almonds to your salad
- Snack on hummus with crudités
- Have lentil soup and celery sticks with almond butter
Remember: count nuts and seeds as fat and protein, and quinoa and legumes as slow, low carbs and protein.
One Size Doesn’t Fit All
You may need to tailor these general guidelines to fit your goals or lifestyle. Here are some tips:
If you’re very athletic, have significant weight to lose, or are recovering from surgery or injury, you may need to increase your protein intake by 10–20%.
If you’re very athletic or are trying to gain weight, you may need to increase servings in each plate category by one or stay at the higher end of the recommendations.
If you’re focused on weight loss, stay on the lower end of the slow, low carb and fat categories.
YOU SHOULDN’T BE HUNGRY
As you taper in Cycle 1 and transition in Cycle 2, you’ll be adding food. That’s not a typo. I want you to eat more, so you’ll never be hungry. I like to add food before I take any away because I want to support your success, not contribute to your suffering. Snatching away your high-carb foods without giving you any crutches would just be mean! So here’s how I aim to help, step by step. Paste this to your fridge or your forehead, whichever will make it a constant presence to guide good choices and help keep you on track, especially if you’ve been overdoing the slow, low carbs:
- Follow the recommended portion sizes—eat by the Sugar Impact Plate
- Increase non-starchy veggies to at least 5 servings per day; ideal is 10+
- Trade your high-SI foods for medium-SI foods
- Replace one meal a day with a Sugar Impact Shake
- Limit fruit to 2 servings per day maximum
- Eat by the Sugar Impact Clock (see here)—eat every 4–6 hours; eat 3 meals and one optional snack per day
- Drink up—water, that is; get your 8 glasses in between meals
Notice, too, that item 4 is to “replace one meal a day with a Sugar Impact Shake.” This one simple little trick makes all the difference in jump-starting your metabolism for fast fat loss, and for setting the stage for a successful transition to a low-SI diet. And it’s so easy!
Most people have dessert for breakfast, usually without the pleasure of knowing it. And it wreaks havoc on their metabolism the whole day. If you start your day with sugar, you’ve set your body’s expectation for the day, and that’s what you’ll crave—and eat—all day long. But with a shake, you give your body a low-SI treat that delivers the protein you need to fuel a fat-burning metabolism and fight cravings until it’s time for your next meal.
Cycle 1 gets your conversion from sugar burner to fat burner under way with intentionally measured tapering and the introduction of swaps. These will not necessarily be exact trades—you’ll swap from high-SI to medium-SI foods in this cycle, but you may also trade high-SI foods for protein, fat, and fiber! Fat and fiber help you feel full more quickly—and longer—because they slow stomach emptying and engage your satiety hormones. They also keep your addiction-inducing reward system from firing off the charts, as it does in response to sugar.
As I mentioned here, if you suspect you have a food intolerance or sensitivity to dairy or eggs (or any other food), avoid them and pick a different protein option. That includes dairy products like cottage cheese and yogurt.
Cycle 1: Foods for the Plate
Protein
Choose free-range, cage-free, grass-fed, wild, and no-hormone-added sources whenever possible.
Lean chicken and turkey
Lean, grass-fed red meats
Cold-water wild-caught fish and shellfish—wild salmon, Alaskan halibut, sole, scallops, sardines
Game
Lamb
De-fatted beef, pea, rice, chia, cranberry and/or chlorella protein powders
Pastured pork
Bison
Pastured eggs
Organic dairy, including cottage cheese, goat or sheep cheese, ricotta cheese, and Greek-style yogurt (grass-fed and raw whenever possible)
Healthy Fats
These include oils, butters, nuts, and seeds—and remember to count the fat from fish and meats.
Dehydrated or low-roasted nuts (not peanuts)
Grass-fed ghee and butter
Avocado and avocado oil
Fresh ground flaxseed meal
Olive oil, olives
Coconut milk or oil
Chia seeds
Hemp seeds
Coconut wraps
Malaysian palm fruit oil
Tahini
Sunflower seed butter
Coconut flour
Almond flour
Non-Starchy Vegetables
Artichokes
Arugula
Asparagus
Bamboo shoots
Bean sprouts
Beet greens
Bell peppers (red, yellow, green)
Broccoli
Brussels sprouts
Cabbage
Carrots
Cassava
Cauliflower
Celery
Chicory
Chives
Collard greens
Coriander
Cucumber
Dandelion greens
Eggplant
Endive
Fennel
Garlic
Green beans
Jalapeno peppers
Jicama
Kale
Kohlrabi
Leeks
Lettuce
Mushrooms
Mustard greens
Okra
Onions
Parsley
Radicchio
Radishes
Shallots
Spaghetti squash
Spinach
Summer squash
Swiss chard
Turnip greens
Watercress
Zucchini
Slow, Low Carbs
Grains, winter squashes, legumes, and fruit
Squash (acorn, butternut, winter, kabocha)
Lima beans
Pumpkin
Turnip
Legumes
Black beans
Adzuki beans
Chickpeas (garbanzo)
Cowpeas
French beans
Great Northern beans
Kidney beans
Lentils
Mung beans
Navy beans
Pinto beans
Split peas
White beans
Wild Rice
Groats
Oatmeal (steel-cut or rolled)
Quinoa
Persimmon
Star fruit
Peaches
Nectarines
Passion fruit
Guava
Berries (blackberries, blueberries, boysenberries, elderberries, gooseberries, loganberries, raspberries, strawberries, acai)
Tomatoes
Grapefruit
Oranges
Lemons
Limes
Cranberries
85–100% dark chocolate (count as 1 carb and 1 fat serving)
Good Gut Feelings
Cycle 1 will probably introduce more beans and legumes into your diet than you’re used to, and Cycle 2 will introduce even more. Condition your gastrointestinal tract in the first cycle by eating 1 tablespoon of beans every day so you don’t slam into a gastrointestinal nightmare next week. You’re welcome! If you’re still struggling, try adding a little Beano as well or one of these other tips to fight gas naturally from my pal Donna Gates, nutrition expert at Body Ecology:
Re-inoculate and restore your inner ecosystem. Gas is produced by the microbes—the good, the bad, and the neutral bacteria—that live deep down in your gut. When you balance the ecosystem of your intestines by re-inoculating it with good bugs, you get rid of digestive issues like gas. To do that, eat probiotic-rich foods or consider taking a probiotic supplement.
Ferment your veggies. Many plant foods, such as cruciferous vegetables, onions, garlic, and legumes, contain simple sugars that easily ferment in your gut and feed the microbes living there, causing gas. To safeguard against this, ferment them ahead of time. Fermenting your foods pre-digests them and reduces your risk of gas.
Cook your food. Cooking helps kill dangerous microbes hanging out on food, and it breaks down vegetable fiber, leaving less for intestinal microbes to munch on. Make the switch from raw salads to lightly steamed or sautéed veggies. Also consider browning onion and garlic in a little coconut oil before you eat them or add them as an ingredient to other recipes.
THE SUGAR IMPACT CLOCK
If you’re a snacker and can’t go too long between meals, that’s a sure sign you’re a sugar burner. Your habit means you’re probably used to eating every 2–3 hours. There are schools of thought that will tell you that’s a good thing for your metabolism, but I don’t go to those schools for all the reasons I explained here!
On the Sugar Impact Diet, you’ll eat by the Sugar Impact Clock. You’ll begin to slowly stretch your time between meals and snacks and shift your eating routine to a solid three meals and one optional snack a day. Adding fiber, fat, and protein to your meals will help keep you full longer, as will having more water between meals. And getting off sugary, salty manufactured snacks and replacing them with healthy, whole, low-SI snacks will have a dramatic effect on your energy, blood sugar levels, and fat-burning. Bye-bye fatigue, headaches, and mood swings!
You can also help yourself de-snack by brushing or flossing your teeth when you’re done eating. You’ll first work on getting yourself to 3 hours between stops for food, then 4. If you’ve trained yourself to eat every 2–3 hours, it may take you 2 weeks to make this shift, especially if you scored higher than 20 on the Sugar Impact Quiz. But honestly, I’ve seen this issue get fixed in a matter of days. So don’t despair, it will happen for you.
If you get up at 7 a.m., here’s what your eating schedule might look like:
- 8 a.m.: Breakfast
- 12 p.m.: Lunch
- 3 p.m.: Optional snack
- 7 p.m.: Dinner
Crunch, Crunch, Crunch
At Home
Here are some easy snacks to enjoy at home:
Hummus and veggies
Tapenade on endive
The Sugar Impact Shake—try different flavors! Yum!
Turkey rollup with guacamole
Black bean soup
Celery with almond butter
Goat cheese and tomatoes (if no goat-dairy sensitivity)
On the Go
Find new treats and carry them with you! Always have an emergency stash on hand to prevent the crash and burn that comes with cravings and chaos on the run.
Turkey, beef, or wild salmon jerky (no added sugar)
Aseptic-packed wild salmon
Slow-roasted nuts (put in a baggie with raw cacao and coconut)
Virgin Diet Bar or other approved bars (see Resources at http://sugarimpact.com/resources)
Pastured hard-boiled egg (ensure that shell isn’t cracked so it won’t spoil)
BREAKFAST
The clock starts with breakfast. I want you to eat within an hour of waking up. I’m not a fan of skipping breakfast. Your body has to eat, and it needs fuel. When you’re not eating, your body is eating you, and it’s not snacking on your belly fat. It’s snacking on your muscle. The last thing you want to do is break down muscle, because muscle is essential for maintaining insulin sensitivity.
Breakfast sets your metabolic tone for the day. A lot of mindless mistakes are made first thing in the morning, and sugar comes rushing in through cereals and muffins (with juice!). Once you’ve set your blood sugar in pinball motion, it’s a roller coaster you never get off.
A big, protein-rich, high-fiber, low-SI breakfast is the best way to prepare you to take on the world. A recent study published in Obesity followed two groups of overweight and obese women with metabolic syndrome for 12 weeks: one group ate high-calorie breakfasts and low-calorie dinners, while the other did exactly the opposite. The researchers concluded that a higher-calorie breakfast can be beneficial for fat loss and help you eat less overall.
My go-to breakfast at home and on the road is my Sugar Impact Shake. It serves up everything that’s good—it’s packed full of flavor and nutrients, it’s filling, and it tastes great! Check out the basic recipe (here) and then tweak to your taste. I want you to look forward to breakfast!
What to Look for in a Shake Mix
Replace a meal a day with a healthy shake to support fat loss, optimal nutrition, and ideal body composition. Check out my shake recipes beginning here. You can also buy great shake mixes—see the Resources on my website at http://sugarimpact.com/resources for more information. Here are some guidelines:
Protein sources. I recommend a blend of vegan proteins: preferred sources are pea, chia, cranberry, chlorella, or rice. The new kid on the block is beef protein (look for de-fatted with no antibiotics or hormones added). Avoid soy, egg, or milk protein powders.
Go natural. Look for GMO-free and hormone-free (no recombinant bovine growth hormone, or rGBH).
Go low SI. Look for 4–5 grams of sugar per serving, max. Stick with a very small amount of natural sweetener or sugar alcohol (i.e., stevia, xylitol, erythritol, rice syrup, evaporated cane juice syrup, dextrose). Avoid artificial colors or sweeteners and high-SI sweeteners such as fructose, agave, aspartame, and sucralose.
LUNCH AND DINNER
Eating by the Sugar Impact Plate ensures you’re always getting some clean, lean protein and healthy fats at every meal. In Cycle 1, you’ll have medium- and low-SI slow, low carbs.
When you eat with the balance the Plate gives, you should be able to go 4–6 hours before you need to eat again. If you can’t, stop and remember that food is information. Go back to your journal and review your choices. Did you get enough clean, lean protein and healthy fats? Did you choose the right slow, low carbs from the medium- and low-SI columns only? Or did you cheat and now are paying the price?
We talked about fructose’s impact on your appetite-control hormones. Clean, lean protein and the fiber from slow, low carbs work together in precisely the opposite way; they engage insulin to suppress ghrelin, the hormone produced by the stomach to tell your body you’re hungry. You want to keep ghrelin low. Fat supports the effort to control your appetite from the small intestine, where it triggers the release of certain neuropeptides to tell your brain you’re full.
So, when you eat by the Sugar Impact Plate, clean protein, healthy fats, and slow, low carbs send the message to your body to keep blood sugar stable and insulin low. That in turn gives you steady, sustained energy so you’re not hungry for hours, and you can think clearly and allow your body to heal. That’s a very different message than the fat-storing message from fructose, huh?
STAY AHEAD OF SUGAR WITHDRAWAL
Sugar is a drug, and getting off a drug is never easy. But the fact is, you’re putting yourself through withdrawal hell, little by little, every day. Each time your blood sugar crashes, you’re taken over by cravings, you’re irritable, you have headaches, and you’re shaky and hungry. There’s no way you can get over that. Your body is set up to survive. The symptoms of withdrawal are biologically designed to be diabolical, so you’ll go right back to the drug to which you’re addicted to make them stop.
So resolve to be done with your addiction once and for all, and do this right. Take the time to move through medium-SI foods. It’s only a week! At most, two. You shouldn’t be feeling any of those symptoms of withdrawal if you’re tapering. If you experience fatigue, headaches, irritability, or cravings and hunger, slow down—this isn’t a race! And use every resource, strategy, and support system at your disposal. Have them in place right from the start, and don’t be shy about pulling out the stops with every one of them to get you through moments of weakness.
HUNGER AND CRAVINGS
Attack any issues with your appetite head-on by increasing your protein and fat and the amount of fiber in your meals and snacks. Set an end goal of 50 grams of fiber every day, but don’t add more than 5–10 grams a day as you work your way there. And remember to increase your water as you increase your fiber to keep things moving along.
Cravings are the very first thing the Sugar Impact Diet targets. There’s no way forward with cravings. If you don’t pull the nail out of the tire, you can never patch it up and go, right? The good news is that cravings let up quickly as you lower fructose, because doing so down-regulates the enzymes that help you absorb fructose. If you’re better at absorbing fructose, you’ll be hungrier and store fat easier—this is not something you want to be good at! Plus, eating less sweet means you’ll crave less sweet.
BE A BOY SCOUT
If you’ve moved a little too quickly in swapping out high-SI foods and find yourself getting a little irritable or having headaches again, it usually means your blood sugar is low. So return to the basics: eat by the Sugar Impact Plate and control your snacks.
Even though I would prefer you not snack at all, you’ll probably have a stretch of time during which you’re relying on your optional snack in addition to breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Don’t let that snack own you. You never know when you’re going to get stuck, and if it’s in a meeting where the only food lying around is biscotti, you’re in trouble. I always want you to have emergency food with you—don’t go anywhere without it! See here for some smart options.
FATIGUE AND STRESS
Yep, it’s that obvious. Make sure you get enough deep, restful sleep at night. I know it seems impossible, but it’s not, no matter how busy you are. Take a 30–60 minute power nap in the early afternoon if you need one. And don’t overschedule yourself, especially in Cycles 1 and 2.
You may also want to try a little green tea or coffee for a mild caffeine boost in the morning or afternoon. (See here for more on caffeine.) Green tea has theanine in it, which is calming, good for your adrenal glands, and helps support a focused mood. If you prefer coffee for your jolt, make sure you’re having clean, organic, mycotoxin-free coffee. Caffeine can be a double-edged sword, though, so be careful that you’re not working against yourself. If you drink it, find your happy place—let it help you burn fat for fuel, sharpen your focus, and bump your energy—and stop there.
Stress lowers your dopamine and serotonin, amps up your hunger, and sends your sugar cravings through the roof. A good quality B complex vitamin can really help with low energy and stress. Check out the Supportive Supplements online at http://sugarimpact.com/resources for more ideas.
WATER
Sometimes cravings are just dehydration, and you’re misreading thirst signals for hunger. When you get your fluids up, your hunger will back off. That makes water worth trying first almost every time you feel a craving coming on. Another major reason to love water is that you need it to burn fat.
To get the most bang for your water-drinking buck, drink according to this schedule. Yes, a schedule for water! No guess-work—it’s all figured out for you. Just follow it and reap the rewards of fast and lasting fat loss.
And remember, what you measure, you can improve, so be sure to track how much water you’re drinking every day until it becomes such a solid habit you couldn’t imagine life without it.
If you’re bored and want to sass it up a bit, make it sparkling mineral water, unsweetened coconut water, or Hint water. And don’t forget about Lemon-Aid (see here). It’s hydrating and there for you if a craving hits.
HELP! I HAVE ISSUES
If hypoglycemia is an issue, or if you’re insulin-resistant or diabetic, there’s a little more to talk about.
When you’re dealing with hypoglycemia, you really can’t go more than a few hours before crashing. Believe it or not, this program should help you with that, and one of the key ways is with the addition of more fiber to your diet. You also get a special dispensation to have 2 snacks and 3 meals a day, but I still want you to work on stretching out the time between each meal. And always carry emergency food with you, as a preemptive strike.
The same is true for you if you’re a diabetic and on medication, but you’ll need to be vigilant about monitoring your blood sugar levels, and you should be working closely with your doctor. The hope is that this program will help you reduce your medications, and I don’t want you taking the wrong amount of medication. But working with your doctor is key to doing this safely and healthfully! If you’re insulin-resistant or diabetic, I recommend staying in Cycle 1 for a second week.
If you have hypertension (high blood pressure), high cholesterol, or chronic pain, and are on medication, you may be pleasantly surprised to find that you can lower your medications while on the Sugar Impact Diet. Be sure you’re working closely with your health care professional during this time.
For those with high blood pressure, make sure you’re monitoring your blood pressure daily; you don’t want it to get too low. If high cholesterol is your issue, I’d advise you to get another evaluation and blood draw after you have followed the Sugar Impact Diet for 4–6 weeks to re-check your levels.
If you’re on pain medications, I’m going to recommend a slightly different path. If you haven’t done the Virgin Diet yet, try it after you finish this program. You may see a substantial reduction in your pain and inflammation just by getting off gluten and high-SI foods, which this program will do for you. But on the Virgin Diet, you’ll also remove dairy as well as four other potentially reactive and inflammatory foods. Pulling them out is a huge boost for gut healing and eliminating leaky gut, the genesis of many chronic conditions.
The entire SI program is designed to help you with inflammation and chronic disease. It’s been nothing short of amazing to see so many people get off their medications, but I never want you to do that on your own. Make your doctor your partner in this—a member of your support team—and keep in close touch. If you’d like a referral to a doctor who recognizes the importance of food and healthy lifestyle behaviors in overall health, check out the Resources online at http://sugarimpact.com/resources.
GETTING THE FAMILY ON BOARD
I know you may have concerns about the tidal wave of kicking and screaming that will come from your family if you announce you’re going on a diet. There are two ways to go at this. If you’ve got a family who’s game, awesome. Build in rewards and involve them. If they’re not going to come on board willingly, you may have to be a little sneaky. Hear me out.
If you’re worried your family would organize and launch a revolt, don’t make it World War III. Why not just wait until they notice? Because what they’ll notice is that they’re getting much better food (that’s not a commentary on your cooking, I promise!). Kids don’t have cars or wallets, right? So, if it’s not there, they can’t eat it. And the food in this program is delicious and is sure to satisfy the pickiest of kids (and partners). Won’t you feel good knowing the whole family is getting healthier with you?
MY IMPACT!
Margaret Otis
Starting weight: 205 lbs.
Current weight: 180 lbs.
Total lost: 25 lbs.
I had been following the Virgin Diet since the end of January 2013. I removed sugar at that time and never added it back in. I noticed after being on a plateau for at least 2 months that maybe I was eating too much fruit and low-carb vegetables, even though they were allowed. I decided to cut back on these to see if that would make a difference. Then I discovered the Sugar Impact Diet, and it seemed made for me.
Thankfully, I started the program and never looked back. I don’t feel deprived, and for the first time the holidays were not an issue. I stayed on plan and enjoyed the family time and made sure I provided foods on my plan. The few times I ate something that I didn’t know had a trigger ingredient, I was in pain and my symptoms returned, so it was an easy decision to keep those foods out of my pantry.
I finally was able to break free of my plateau. I have a ways to go yet, but I had lost 95 pounds in 9 months on the Virgin Diet before I hit that plateau. I lost all my cravings, especially for sweets and chocolate, and was off medications within three days. I was never tempted to “go off” the plan because I felt so wonderful. I’m no longer pre-diabetic, am off my blood pressure as well as other medications, and have cleared many issues that I never connected to high SI. My lab values have improved, and my doctor was very proud of what I had accomplished in these short months.
I wish I had learned this years ago when I was living an unhealthy life with years of pain along with many medical issues. I had never expected to last more than three days when I started this journey because I was giving up all the foods I loved best. This is how I eat now, and I love the new foods I never would have eaten in the past. I still have certain foods that evoke fond memories, but not enough to undo all the work I’ve done.
My family and friends have been so impressed, and have even started changing some of their eating behaviors. When we get together, they are always looking for new recipes I’m using. Some of them have started following the Sugar Impact Diet, too. I have more energy, and my family and friends notice that I’m more outgoing than before. I have been an inspiration to them. I hope to show the next generation by my example that family is the main focus of our time together, not food.
RESOURCES AND TOOLS
You won’t be left wanting for strategies and support to get you through the Sugar Impact Diet. Lean on me! I’ve put together a 1-week meal plan (see here) and a shopping list (online at http://sugarimpact.com/resources) so you know exactly what to stock up on. You can use them as a bible and follow them exactly, if that’s easiest for you. But even better, this program will teach you how to make great choices. Once you learn the principles, you don’t have to follow my meal plans exactly—use them as a jumping-off point and be creative. That freedom does come with some responsibility, though—you have to make sure you’re staying within the Sugar Impact Scales for your cycle.
CYCLE 1 MEAL PLANS
Putting Your Meals Together
Refer to the Sugar Impact Plate and outline for amounts*
Then, feel free to move things around
Substitute one protein for another
Substitute one slow, low carb for another
Substitute one healthy fat for another
Substitute one non-starchy veggie for another
In other words, be creative!
See chapter 11 for recipes
DAY 1
BREAKFAST:
Sugar Impact Shake
LUNCH:
Pan-Seared Salmon Lettuce Wrap made with Rice Tortilla
Easy Roasted Asparagus with Red Palm Fruit Oil
DINNER:
Spice-Rubbed Beef Tenderloin with Raw Tomato Salsa
½ baked sweet potato
Classic Creamed Spinach
SNACK:
Yogurt and Nut Parfait—add ½ cup of berries
DAY 2
BREAKFAST:
Sugar Impact Shake
LUNCH:
Bean and Bacon Minestrone Soup—add ½ cup cooked quinoa pasta to your serving
Arugula and Watercress Salad with a Poached Egg and Lemon-Dijon Vinaigrette
DINNER:
Mediterranean-Style Chicken Kabobs served on a bed of brown rice
Grilled Eggplant with Olive Relish
SNACK:
Pear and 2 ounces goat cheese
DAY 3
BREAKFAST:
Sugar Impact Shake
LUNCH:
Turkey Burger with Goat Cheese, Sautéed Onions, and Cucumber Salad
Served on gluten-free English muffin
DINNER:
Pesto-Topped Sea Scallops with Asparagus served on a bed of brown rice
Warm Napa Slaw with Shallot Dressing
SNACK:
Vanilla Spice Protein Popsicle
DAY 4
BREAKFAST:
Sugar Impact Shake
LUNCH:
Chicken Noodle Soup—Substitute cooked quinoa noodles for the shirataki noodles
Mixed green salad with Simple Vinaigrette
DINNER:
Italian Burgers with Tapenade
Serve with ½ baked sweet potato
SNACK:
Turkey, Bacon, Lettuce, and Tomato Roll-Up, sub rice wrap for lettuce, add lettuce in as more filler
DAY 5
BREAKFAST:
Sugar Impact Shake
LUNCH:
Shrimp and Shirataki Noodle Salad—replace the Shirataki noodles with cooked al dente rice or quinoa angel hair or spaghetti noodles
Serve on 2 cups of your choice of greens tossed with 1 tablespoon sesame oil and 1 tablespoon lime juice
DINNER:
Texas Bison Chili, serve with mixed green salad with Simple Vinaigrette
SNACK:
Honeydew with 4 ounces Greek-style coconut or dairy yogurt and 1 ounce chopped almonds
DAY 6
BREAKFAST:
Sugar Impact Shake
LUNCH:
Vegetarian Lentil Soup
Serve with Pan-Fried Artichoke Hearts with Lemon and Garlic
DINNER:
Pork Stir Fry with Snow Peas, Asparagus, and Peppers
Serve on a bed of ½–1 cup brown rice
SNACK:
Roasted Garlic and Lemon Hummus with Bean Chips
DAY 7
BREAKFAST:
Sugar Impact Shake
LUNCH:
Roast Beef and Vegetable Lettuce Wrap with Chipotle Vinaigrette—make with rice tortilla and keep lettuce in as filler
DINNER:
Spaghetti Squash alla Checca—substitute quinoa pasta for the squash
Roasted Spice-Rubbed Chicken Thighs
Mixed green salad with Simple Vinaigrette
SNACK:
Apple slices with 2 tablespoons of almond butter
For Vegan Meal plan for Cycle 1 go to http://sugarimpact.com/resources
YOU’RE JUST GETTING STARTED!
You can do this! You’re on your way to cracking the code on your sugar cravings. Part of the reason Cycle 2 will work so well is because of the work you’ve done in Cycle 1. Tapering has ingeniously and gradually prepared your system for the next 2 weeks. Your body isn’t on high alert, ready to shellac you with weapons of craving and withdrawal to get its sugar. So it should hardly see the transition coming.
You’ll retrain your taste buds to restore your sensitivity to and appreciation for sugar. You’ll fire up your metabolism, control your appetite, heal your digestive tract, and lose weight fast. You’ll probably also notice a healthy, younger glow to your skin, too! Reversing the effects of accelerated aging—and the seeds of chronic disease—is one of the biggest benefits you’ll see. Fat burner, here you come!