What’s the big secret, anyway?
Sure, you do your best to eat healthy and live a fit and active lifestyle, but you’re still not satisfied with your body. Day after day of eating salads and hitting the gym and your body isn’t changing.
It’s frustrating.
And yet there are people, whom you know personally, with phenomenal bodies and very little body fat. What are they doing differently than you? You work out and eat healthy too! Why doesn’t your body look like theirs?
What’s the big secret that they know about losing fat, getting lean, and looking amazing?
The answer is as simple as it is difficult: Avoid Sugar.
While you do your best to eat healthy, do you know how much sugar you are actually consuming everyday? The answer will surprise you.
The average American consumes over 80 grams of sugar everyday, an amount that’s easily three times more than is safe and healthful. How much sugar do you eat? Write down the sugar count on everything you eat for the next few days and then find your average sugar gram intake. Now work on slashing this number.
Part of the problem is that food items are often sneaky about how much sugar is really hiding within. Deceiving messages on the packaging imply that the contents are beneficial, causing us to ignore the high sugar content. In the end whatever supposed benefits being advertised are overshadowed by the negative effect of the sugar.
What’s the big deal about taking in a lot of sugar? Well, you won’t achieve a lean body while consuming a lot of sugar. So if you choose to indulge in sugar then forget about strutting your stuff on the beach this year.
Aesthetics aside, a high sugar intake is detrimental to your health as it causes your cells and organs to become acidic and a breeding ground for disease.
Going back to that guy or gal that you know who is perpetually lean…you can bet that their diet is extremely low in sugar. A low sugar diet is the key to keeping lean and it’s not had by simply avoiding the high sugar items, like candy and cake, it’s had by avoiding items with even low amounts of added sugars.
Take the next week to cut out all added sugars from your diet. Check in with your weight and your energy levels at the end of seven days and note any difference. You’ll be pleasantly surprised how quickly you’ll see results in both your weight and energy levels by making this simple, conscious move to avoid sugar.
Diet is only half of the equation when it comes to having a sexy, fit body. Exercise is the other half of the coin, and that’s where I come in.
Call or email me today to get started on an exercise program that’s designed to transform your body once and for all!
Little Bottle of Sweet
If you normally take your coffee or tea sweetened, then give this calorie+sugar-free tip a try: Carry a bottle of liquid stevia.
Stevia comes from the stevia leaf and is a more natural alternative than artificial sweeteners. A few drops in your coffee adds the perfect amount of sweetness without any grams of sugar.
Thumbprint Cookies
Wait, an article about giving up sugar and then a recipe for cookies? Have I lost my mind? This recipe for Thumbprint Cookies is made exclusively using stevia, so you can avoid sugar and eat a cookie too!
Stevia is a natural sweetener (derived from a leaf that you can grow in your own garden) that has zero calories and zero sugar content. The benefits are huge to using stevia as a sweetener of choice.
If we can make cookies that have zero sugar content but still taste sweet and satisfying then shouldn’t we? It makes us healthier, leaner and more energetic. All without sacrificing the joy of having a delicious cookie.
Sure, if you’ve never used stevia then there will be an adjustment period. A time to get your taste buds accustomed to the absence of sugars. But once you adjust then you’ll wonder how you ever handled all that sugar in the first place. Give these low sugar cookies a try!
Courtesy of RealHealthyRecipes.com
Servings: 30
Here’s what you need
- ⅔ cup blanched almond flour
- 2 Tablespoons coconut flour
- 2 teaspoons arrowroot starch
- ⅛ teaspoon sea salt
- 6 Tablespoons coconut oil, softened
- 2 Tablespoons coconut cream
- 2 teaspoons liquid stevia
- 1 egg yolk
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- ¼ teaspoon almond extract
- 4oz lily’s stevia sweetened chocolate (chips or bar)
- 1 Tablespoon coconut oil
- ⅔ cup natural peanut butter (or another nut butter or berries)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper.
- In a medium bowl combine the blanched almond flour, coconut flour, arrowroot starch, and sea salt. Whisk to remove any lumps.
- In an electric mixing bowl combine the coconut oil, cream and stevia until light and fluffy – about 5 minutes. Add the egg yolk, vanilla extract and almond extract on low speed until fully incorporated.
- Add the dry ingredients on low speed by spoonful until creamed into the coconut oil mixture.
- Shape cookies with a heaping teaspoon of dough, making an indention with your thumb. Place the cookies on the prepared baking sheet and bake in the preheated oven for 12-14 minutes, until lightly golden. Cool for 5 minutes on the pan before removing.
- While the cookies bake, melt the chocolate and coconut oil in a double boiler, mixing until smooth. Dip the base of the cookies and pour a little chocolate into the indentions, topping with a teaspoon of peanut butter. Transfer to a parchment paper lined pan that fits in your freezer. Place the cookies in the freezer for 5 minutes until the chocolate has set. Enjoy!
Nutritional Analysis
One serving equals: 90 calories, 7g fat, 4g carbohydrate, 10mg sodium, 1g sugar, 2g fiber, and 2g protein.