Episode 131 | The Sweet Rewards of Freeing Yourself from Flour + Sugar
In a world dominated by sugary treats and refined flours, it's pretty effin’ hard to avoid temptation. But sugarboo sweet stuff, I want you to know that you are NOT powerless against sugar and flour!!
I want to start off by saying you do NOT have to give up sugar and flour to lose weight for the last time!! You can eat all the substances in the world and still lose weight for the last time.
But do I recommend moving away from it?
Absofrickinlutely!
Choosing to eliminate or significantly reduce sugar and flour intake could positively transform your life and help you lose weight for the last damn time.
So I want to remind you that YOU are in control, and not this white powdery substance.
If you’re already in control of sugar and flour, but need help with your relationship to something else giving you too much of that “destructive dopamine”, (think Netflixing, scrolling, alcohol…) - this will still be super helpful for you too!
“I could never do that.”
When my Yum Mums tell people that ditching sugar and flour has been part of their journey to weighing what they want to weigh, they’re often hit with the response of “oh there’s NO WAYYY I could do that!”
Errrr….Why the hell not?!
Of course you could. You can literally do anything in the world, so you can totally give up these white powdery substances.
You just don't want to.
And it’s absolutely ok to not want to, but it’s important not to walk around being a victim to these substances or behaviors. You are not powerless against flour and sugar. You are not powerless against a television, or an app, or *insert any addictive thing*.
YOU are in control and there are probably some really good, valid reasons why you don't want to give it up.
If you are so defensive about giving it up, dig deep into what it is really providing you with. What is it giving you? Is it giving you something you feel like you really need such as pleasure, comfort, relief, or reward?
Sugar and flour have a similar effect in the brain as certain drugs. While I’m not here to villainize these white powdery substances, I am here to get you to ask yourself the important questions:
Can you get your needs met in a way that gives you a net positive?
Can you give yourself a healthy dopamine hit that you're really proud of?
Can you make choices that your future self is proud of?
Let’s remind ourselves that it’s also not your fault if you are using sugar and flour to give you pleasure or comfort. The job of huge food companies is literally to get you to eat their food as much as possible. We just can’t forget that we have agency and we are in charge.
Numbing Emotions
Maybe these foods are providing celebration at the party? Maybe it’s providing you with not having to feel a negative feeling?
Sugar, flour, refined carbs…they fill your body up with substance so that you don't have to feel any emotion.
Our culture teaches us that food makes positive emotions “better” and negative emotions “go away”.
But the reality is that you don’t need to solve it with food, in fact you can’t solve it with food.
Food is just a band aid until you do the work to properly process your emotions. And when you can finally get off the blood sugar rollercoaster, the fluctuations induced by sugar and flour can stop wreaking havoc on your mood.
When you're eating sugar and flour, you're spiking your blood sugar. What goes up must come down. If you’ve ever felt hangry, it’s probably because you've had a huge blood sugar crash. But by eliminating these triggers, you can enjoy a more stable and balanced mood, and stop the constant highs and lows controlling your life.
The Brain Battle
The worst part about giving up sugar and flour is the decision itself, and then that commitment to the decision, because you can guarantee your brain’s going to try and negotiate out of it.
If it helps, you could start out by limiting yourself to one sugar or flour thing per week, like one pasta dish or a cupcake, to lower your desire.
Your lower brain is designed to seek pleasure and avoid pain. It also doesn't understand that food is readily available, so when food is available it thinks it needs to eat all of it.
But you are in charge, not your lower brain.
Eventually your brain will shut the eff up!
But to help it do that, you need to make it a hard ‘no’, just as you would when your kid’s asking for the third cookie. That makes it easier for your brain to get on board. Leave no room for negotiation, because that just makes it easier for your brain to come up with excuses.
I pinky promise that when you give it up for 4-6 weeks, you just won't want it anymore.
So give it a whirl!!
The Sweet Rewards
On the other side of your sugar and flour-free life, you will find it is so much easier to release weight, you will be able to regulate your hunger hormones, become insulin sensitive, become fat-adapted and your life will just feel magical.
Sounds pretty freaking amazing, right?
If you want help with this and are ready to lose weight for the last damn time, don't forget to get on the waitlist now for The Yummy Mummy Experience. Doors open mid-July and we start August 1st!
PLUS!!! The event of the century is here and it’s called... 4 weeks 'til my 40th:
Join me, Laura Conley, Life + Weight loss coach and the founder of the Yummy Mummy Method, where I will teach you step by step how to lose weight for the last time over the course of 4 weeks!
On Day 1 (May 17th) you will get your "4 weeks to 40 how-to guide" with the step by step process to be down 10 pounds by the start of summer!
I will go live on the gram MWF every week for 4 weeks at 9:30am PT // 12:30pm ET +
there will be recipe sharing, coaching sessions, me teaching you all the things, Q+A, and behind the scenes stuff- galore!!
What are you waiting for!!!?? Click here now to sign up!