10 things that happen when you give up sugar

I strongly believe that when you give something up, you should focus on what you get from giving it up, not from what you lose. I believe this switch in mindset is one of the strongest foundations for change. After all, all bad habits can be replaced with good ones and discipline is really just giving up something you want, for something that you want a little bit more.

So as we’re about to kick off the Sugar HIIT bootcamp, I thought I’d give you the other (arguably the more inspirational) side to giving up sugar. And that’s what happens when you give it up.

Here are my top 10 positive things that happen when you cut out that white stuff…

1. Your body learns to become full and you can easily leave things on your plate. Because we know fructose suppresses our feel full hormone leptin, when you cut out fructose and sugar, your body goes back to its natural appetite maintenance mode. Until I gave up fruit and cut sugar right back down, I always had to eat everything on my plate, had portion control issues as I was permanently hungry and had to end my meal with something sweet. I didn’t realize that this wasn’t about my lack of willpower, but a physiological impact from my hormones being affected by eating sugar.
2. Your body functions better. If your body functions really well, guess what? Everything is made easier! This is a FACT. Women always seem to focus on being thinner or smaller or dropping as many calories as they can to get the body they want. But a far better way to get the body you want, is to get it to function the very best it can. Sugar robs the body of nutrients, so your entire system is compromised, dieting and/or eating too much fructose slows your metabolism down meaning women’s bodies are completely inefficient. Sugar is also completely toxic, meaning your poor liver is on overload daily. In addition, your body tries to keep the toxins away from your vital organs, your body deliberately wraps water, fat and self-made cholesterol around them and stores them on the surface. Cut out sugar and see what most women want their bodies to become – fat-burning power houses!
3. Your energy will soar. There is this insane belief that sugar gives you energy. And it’s nonsense. It might give you a quick spike, but overall, it is an energy zapper. Women choose sugar to alleviate tiredness instead of going to bed earlier and eating the right kind of foods, but this just leads to that toxic, vicious cycle of eat sugar – crash – eat more sugar – crash –eat more sugar – feel guilty – eat more sugar. Cut the sugar out, replace with essential fats, fish, nuts seeds and vegetables and see your energy levels soar! (When you first give up sugar you may feel tired for the first 5 days as your body copes with the withdrawal symptoms, but stick with it and you’ll come out the other side!)
4. You sleep better. Chocolate contains caffeine and anything that gives you a blood sugar level hit and drop regularly, can in fact disturb your sleep. I see miracles in front of my eyes with clients who cut out sugar and then sleep better much better as a result. One woman slept badly for 15 years and used sugar to combat the tiredness and was astounded to find that when she cut out sugar, she slept better and then didn’t need it as much. If women can learn to reset their bodies and give their bodies what they need most not what your mind think it needs, the magic happens.
5. PMT improves or practically disappears. So sugar causes inflammation in the body and things like wheat and dairy (that let’s face it are often the base of sugary treats) do the same, as well as being mucous forming, which creates a lot of gut and pelvic inflammation. When you combine this with the fact that stress shuts down the blood supply to the uterus and gut and your homeostatis (hormone balance) is affected massively by adrenals and sugar consumption (as well as estrogen build up from the food chain if you don’t eat lean, clean and mostly organic), you can see why many women who eat sugar, not only store more fat but have worse PMT. People are always astounded by this, but hand on heart, I don’t really get PMT. There might be a day where I feel a little bit more tired and perhaps a bit more hungry, but I have hardly any sugar cravings, no pain and not that much bloating either. Why? Because my hormones are balanced, I have no inflammation in my body, my gut and uterus have a good supply of oxygen and nutrients to them and my diet is packed full of essential fats and raw food.
6. You look younger and have more of a sparkle. Sugar affects elastin and collagen, the two main skin proteins by triggering a process called glycation where sugar binds to your protein fibres. Glycation causes the proteins to mutate, creating harmful new molecules called advanced glycation end products (AGE’s – ironic or what?!) which accumulate and cause even more damage, causing more inflammation and damage. This alongside lethargy caused by too much sugar, means that women lose their glow and sparkle when they have too much sugar. When you cut the crap out, your hair, nails, eyes shine and women flourish in their natural beauty. Detox and there’s no need for botox!
7. Your liver functions better. In addition, bad skin is typically caused by the liver not functioning properly. I’ve seen clients on one of the most potent medications out there (roaccutane), for years because they have bad skin, but it was clear their liver wasn’t functioning properly. When I took them off the drugs and took out sugar and put them on a liver-friendly and cleaner eating plan (sugar and fruit free, greens, lemons, low alcohol and caffeine and stress), bingo! Better skin in weeks, not to mention a thankful liver. Whilst people find it hard to see the liver functioning better as a positive thing (especially as women deem health success on a pair of skinny jeans or a number on the scales), when you look after your liver a) your body will be able to function better and b) it can do it’s job properly, helping you get rid of toxins better, storing less fat AND helping you live as long as possible. Surely living long is a priority?!
8. You just don’t get as hungry. Women often can’t distinguish between physical hunger and emotional hunger. When you give up sugar there is a big shift to understanding physical hunger. Women who diet tell me that they are always afraid of being hungry so always think and plan their food. When you cut out sugar, your body is so well equipped to tell you what it needs and when. I change what I eat everyday. Some days I have a small breakfast, a big lunch and hardly any dinner. Some days my body likes me to eat little and often, other days, I can skip meals without realizing it because I’ve forgotten to eat or my body hasn’t told me it’s hungry. As a former sugar addict and someone who’s been on every diet out there before I joined the lifestyle industry, let me tell you, that liberation itself is priceless. You just don’t think about food!
9. You control sugar, the sugar doesn’t control you. Sugar is a drug. And a potent, powerful one at that. Something so powerful which means even if you don’t want to have sugar that day, you’ll end up having it, because it has a hold on you. But getting it out (rather than trying to have some each day – where let’s face it you are still permanently feeding the sugar monster!) means you are genuinely in control. So my view is cut out all sugar, sweets, chocolates, cakes, biscuits, ice-cream, puddings, fruit and yogurts and whilst it might be hard at first, within a couple of weeks, you’ll see a reverse of control and for someone who was controlled by food and sugar for such a long time, getting your power back is one of the most empowering things you’ll ever do! I think this quote sums this point up nicely, “Sometimes, you don’t realize the weight of something you’ve been carrying until you feel the weight of it’s release”.
10. Your body changes shape that no exercise could do. Inflammation and toxins manifest themselves in puffiness and swelling, water retention and bloating and fat pockets in places you least want them. You can’t out-train a bad diet and no amount of training can get you where you want to be body wise unless you give up sugar or you’re one of those very lucky people who might be able to get away with it (externally but not internally of course!). Your face changes shape, your waist gets narrower and you’ll flourish in a way you never knew you could.

Still not convinced? Perhaps you have self-sabotage issues that means you have resistance to giving sugar up!  The Sugar HIIT bootcamp is full of information, tips and sugar free recipes and will kick-start your sugar free life!  Don’t take my word for it, read the amazing testimonials HERE!

The Sugar HIIT Bootcamp kicks off again on 14th January and is currently on sale for just £28!

Book your place HERE!

And also get access to my 2019 food and fitness support group!

Janey x