In mid-February I started the Essentials Reset - I took sugar and other sweeteners, grains, and fruit (except for berries), and alcohol out of my diet.
I created the Essentials Reset because I wanted to provide a framework for removing the foods that cause the biggest spikes to your blood sugar, which over the long term can contribute to insulin resistance, cardiovascular health concerns, hormonal imbalances, brain health concerns, and inflammation.
But in the SHORT TERM, you can see some pretty incredible shifts in your health, too. Today I’m sharing some changes both I and participants in Essentials for Blood Sugar noticed after making changes for a few short weeks.
1. SUGAR CRAVINGS
My sugar cravings have gone down to almost 0!
I have a huge sweet tooth, and I was deeply entrenched in the habit of having something sweet after meals. Fruit, dark chocolate, handful of granola, the occasional baked good… you know the drill!
I didn’t want to be in this habit and I knew for me it was just going to be a matter of breaking the habit.
This was the hardest part for me! But now that I’m not eating sweets after meals (even fake sweeteners like stevia, monkfruit, etc.), I don’t even notice not having dark chocolate after dinner or a piece of fruit after lunch.
Don’t get me wrong, there isn’t anything inherently bad about some super dark chocolate or a small piece of fruit! This was just part of the experiment I was doing to see how I could get myself out of that habit.
Now that I’ve broken the habit, I’m way more cautious about getting back into it.
It’s EASY to start a sweet habit, and much much harder to break. In a day or two our body gets used to having dessert after dinner, and it can take a week or two or more to get your brain out of that habit. We habituate to sweets VERY easily. It’s in our DNA.
Getting “rid” of this sugar drive and allowing my brain to move onto the next thing after the meal has been a big win for me personally!
2. NEW TASTE BUDS
Your taste buds turnover every ~10 days, which may be why after long enough without highly sweetened foods (yes, even “natural” sugars in honey and fruit) you might notice they taste MUCH sweeter to you.
That’s definitely happened to me!
~2 weeks into the Reset, I was out to a birthday dinner with my grandma for her 85th (!!) and order Brussel sprouts, which are always a FAVE for me. But my goodness, Brussels sprouts off nearly any restaurant menu are served so sweet! Maple glazed or hot honey or candied walnuts, you name it.
I was laughing that I felt like a sugar “supertaster”.
I notice it in “balsamic glaze”, dishes made with coconut aminos (a soy-free soy sauce alternative), dipping sauces, even salad dressings from the store or at a restaurant.
This has been a big reminder to me of how HARD it is to actually avoid sugar when you’re eating out, and how widely it’s added to most dishes.
I’m also loving my “new” taste buds and want to keep their super-tasting status, it means things can be WAY less sweet for me to still enjoy them
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Those are 2 of the reasons why I’m obsessed with the Essentials Reset, and I’ll be sharing more next week!
PS - I’m planning to open up the doors to Essentials for Blood Sugar again SOON. You’ll have full access to all the materials (video modules, resources, meal ideas, and more!) and go through them at your own pace inside self-paced Essentials for Blood Sugar. I will not be running a live group version again until the end of the year, so if you want to get a tune-up before summer, this might be a perfect program for you!