Ask Me Anything: Sugar addiction, Seed Oils, Sleep and More!
Let’s face it: weight loss can be freaking confusing. There are a gazillion “experts” out there telling us what to do, how many steps to get in, how much protein to eat, how much sleep we need…the list goes on and on. And when you realize it’s too tricky to figure out, you just end up reaching for the damn cookie. Confusion always gets the cookie.
But it really doesn’t have to be that complicated. Today, I'm diving into a whole bunch of your hot questions about sugar addiction, protein intake, seed oils, and more! I know you’re going to be pleasantly surprised at just how uncomplicated the answers are and how much the Yummy Mummy method can simplify your weight loss journey!
How do you attack a sugar addiction?
Sugar does actually act like a drug inside the brain. So you really can be addicted to it and when you stop having it, there can be detox symptoms.
But the first thing you need to know is that it is very normal to be addicted to sugar, so do not make yourself wrong or bad for being addicted to sugar. There are literally billions of dollars million poured into making people addicted to this food. There are labs designed to figure out how to make a chip crunch make you get the biggest dopamine hit possible so that you come back for more.
I would suggest going cold turkey with this, simply because it's easier. In going “cold turkey”, I still think it's fine if you have your sugar-free electrolytes that are flavored with monk fruit or stevia. If you are going to come off sugar and you're nervous that you're going to experience flu-like symptoms, you can get non-sugar electrolytes, like the brand LMNT, which can really help to minimize those symptoms or eliminate them all together.
I also like to teach my clients to have a “Yummy Mummy munchie” or a “joy eat” once a week. That could consist of something that is not typically on their plan that they're not eating every day. That doesn’t mean having a creme brulee, a piece of cake and a milkshake by the way - just one nice thing!
And when I talk about sugar, I mean processed sugar. The reason why is because processed sugar will spike your blood sugar and therefore spike your insulin. Over time if you keep eating processed sugar, you'll become insulin resistant and that makes it really hard to lose weight.
Sugar that is in fruit, sugar that is in dairy products, sugar that is naturally occurring in peanut butter I personally think is totally fine in reason. When you come into the Yummy Mummy experience, you go through a whole checklist of what sugar means to you, what you are going to include and what you are not going to include.
How do you identify your natural weight or your dream weight?
This is something I talk about a lot, so it’s good to clarify what is meant by your “natural weight”. I think your natural weight is where you end up when you are using food for what food is for: fuel. When you are using food for what it's really for most of the time (above 95%), you will bottom out at your natural weight (which 99.9% of the time is your dream weight). You can still enjoy food and in fact you might love it even more when your relationship with food changes for the better!
If I lift weights when I'm doing your program, what should my protein intake be?
If your goal is to lose weight and be at your natural weight, you should definitely try to prioritize protein if you want to. The problem is that the diet brain can be easily triggered when you’re obsessing around trying to hit 120 grams of protein. So if you don't get 120 grams of protein, you’re more likely to throw in the towel and eat all the chocolate and ice cream.
Ideally I want us to move away from counting and really utilize the Yummy Mummy method, which is testing, retesting, and figuring out what works for your body. So if your goal is to lose weight and to weigh what you want to weigh, I think trying to eat protein with every meal is a great idea but do you need to have a gram per every pound that you weigh? I would say no. When it ends up getting too confusing with too many experts chipping in, we’re not going to weigh what we want to weigh.
One of the main reasons why diets don't work or we haven't weighed what we want to weigh (and permanently!) is because we're trying to do too many things. We're trying to get a specific amount of protein, or water, or sleep and it’s just too much. The experts out there will recommend 0.8 to one gram of protein per pound - but that is if you are trying to build muscle. So it’s important to understand what your goal is. Is it to build muscle? Is it to weigh what you want to weigh? Is it to feel good in your body? And then go find the answers that support that desired result.
And when you're not eating processed sugar and flour, it becomes easier to prioritize protein anyway. It comes to the forefront naturally, which is great because it keeps you satiated for a long time and it’s hard for your body to store it as fat.
Are seed oils as bad for you as sugar?
The reason seed oils are getting so much press is because they can be really inflammatory and can inhibit weight loss for some people. But it really comes back to that question around what your goal is. If you're three years into your journey and you've removed sugar and flour and you're really dialed in, yes maybe look at seed oils. But let's start with removing the things that are the heavy hitters, like processed sugar and flour. Most likely you can weigh what you want to weigh and still have seed oil, so I actually don't think they're as “bad” as sugar if weight loss is the goal.
You probably don't want to live in an inflamed body, but when you’re adding something else into the mix, there's just a bigger chance that you're going to throw in the towel. Let's focus on 1% increments because that is what gets us to permanent weight loss.
Unless you're drinking a cup of freaking vegetable oil every day, then I don’t think you need to worry too much right now. You could start moving away from seed oils and instead focus on grass fed butter, olive oil, coconut oil, and avocado oil. But keep in mind that the “all or nothing” approach does NOT work!
What are your thoughts about the weight loss drug Ozempic?
I think this drug is so new that we don’t really know what could happen. I do think that if you're pre-diabetic or if you have diabetes, these types of drugs can really help in the short term. But you have to still do the mindset work. I really believe that it's just another magic pill unless you do it coupled with mindset work and emotional work, which is exactly what we do inside the Yummy Mummy.
I know that we all really want a magic pill, but I promise you this is not the magic pill. And even if I did give you a magic pill, you’d miss out on the opportunity of becoming your own best friend. You wouldn’t get the chance to learn how to feel your feelings, and all of the other byproducts that come out of the Yummy Mummy like better marriages, relationships, and parenting. I don't want to give you a magic pill because I don't want you to miss the opportunity to really grow as a human.
Is there a burning question you have that I’ve not covered? I’m always looking for new and useful ideas for my podcast episodes so please get in touch with me at laura@lauraconley.com!
Have the best week ever,
Laura