This weekend is the Labor Day holiday weekend in the US; it signals a time of back to school and the end of summer. This year is like no other, most kids are doing online school from home AND summer is still here in Seattle (can I have a h*ll yes?!).

The beginning of September also signals the time when I normally run a week long ‘Summer Reset’ where we ditch the bad food and drink habits we acquire each summer and try to turn a little of the ‘Rose all Day’ into Rose? No way! We also exercise daily for 6 days straight and generally behave ourselves 😉 The results are fantastic and people LOVE it, including me.

BUT, Houston, we have a problem!
Summer is still here and so is COVID; this means my class numbers are limited so I can’t fit everyone into the Reset and, let’s be honest,  adhering to stricter side of life when summer is still with us isn’t going to be easy.
So, I’m willing to compromise if you are? No matter where you live, no matter what the weather, this is for everyone…
How about we ditch the sugar for five days straight? Doable, right?
I think so!
Ladies, hold on to your hats, we are going on a sugar ‘detox’! It will help you rid your diet of added sugars – which can rob your energy, load you up with empty calories, and lead to a host of health problems. The truth is, if you’ve been eating a lot of sugar, cutting back can be tough. You might feel tired and moody, experience cravings, and more. This program will give you a complete step-by-step plan to eliminate those added sugars and get your body and your health back on track! 

If you would like to join the brand-new 5-Day Sugar Detox Challenge please do so by simply clicking this link. I will add you to the email list and you will receive the Sugar Detox Success Manual, worksheets and send you five, daily coaching emails to help maximize your results. 

In the meantime…knowledge is power…
How do you rate the food you eat?
Let’s have a little chat about the food you eat and how it is rated on a scale of 1-100, knowing about this will help you tremendously when prepping and planning your sugar ‘detox’.

Have you heard about the glycemic index (GI)? The GI of the foods you eat can play a large role in whether or not you experience cravings. We don’t generally pay a lot of attention this – for example, the GI isn’t listed on food labels.  

Many times, the foods we crave (hello, carbs!) fall into the high end on the GI scale – and eating them can make us crave even more. To keep things simple, in a nutshell, the Glycemic Index ranks foods on a scale of 1 to 100, based on how quickly they are absorbed by your body and the speed they cause your blood sugar levels to go up.

Foods with a high glycemic index (GI) make it go up faster, and those with a low GI raise it more slowly.

Looking at this from a high level, this matters because when your blood sugar goes up and down quickly, you can get sugar/sweet cravings – and feel tired, shaky and blah … not to mention HANGRY (hungry + angry) and it can have a MAJOR impact on your health and your waistline.

Let’s dive in..

On the glycemic scale, each food is ranked by how it affects your blood sugar when it’s eaten alone, on an empty stomach.
Here are some samples of foods with their GI numbers:

Baked russet potato – 111 (yes, over 100!)
White rice – 89
Sweet potatoes – 70
Banana – 62
Potato chips – 51
Green peas  – 51
Apple – 39
Carrots – 35
Peanut M&MS – 33
Barley – 28

(There’s a more comprehensive list here: https://extension.oregonstate.edu/sites/default/files/documents/1/glycemicindex.pdf)

According to the Mayo Clinic, foods that have a GI score of:

• 70 or more have a higher glycemic index
• 56-69 have a medium glycemic index
• 55 or less have a lower glycemic index

 
So does that mean you should only eat foods with a low GI?
 
It depends, and there are many things to consider. Is your meal post workout, are you breaking an intermittent fast or are you suffering the munchies and need a meal to help you stop? Regardless, it’s always a good idea to know the nutrition value of foods we eat. I don’t have enough space to write about this but do let me know if you have any questions,  I’m happy to help. 

Instead of focusing only on each individual food, it can be more helpful to look at the overall “glycemic load” of your meal or snack because normally we eat a combination of food (not just one at a time).
 
For example: eating a baked potato on its own will spike your blood sugar much faster than if you were eating fiber-rich broccoli and protein-heavy chicken breast along with it.
 
It’s also important to look at the other benefits a food contains. As you can see on the list, nutrient-rich sweet potatoes have a GI of 70, while sugary snacks like peanut M&Ms have a GI of 33, it is clear to see which one is better for you from a health perspective. If you were to eat some sweet potato, a piece of protein and roasted vegetables the relatively high GI of the sweet potato is lowered by the slower absorbing protein and roasted vegetable in olive oil. Fat and protein help lower the GI of food.

Another example would be some baguette bread which ranks at 100 if you eat it plain. If you dip it in olive oil and balsamic it immediately goes down to 50 due to the addition of oil. 

If weight loss or body composition is a goal, portion control definitely still matters, so no matter how low the GI of your food, if you eat too much you will probably put on weight!  That being said, you’ll probably get fewer cravings if you eat lower-glycemic foods because they’re less likely to send your blood sugar on a roller coaster ride.
 
I hope this helps shed some light on the glycemic index and what it actually means for you, your cravings, and your results. Click on the link above for a comprehensive list of the GI common foods and Scroll down for a quick reference table. Again, if you have any questions please let me know, I’m very happy to help.
 
If you sign up for the 5 day Sugar ‘Detox’ you will receive the information on Monday 7th to start on Tuesday 8th September (after the holiday), if this date does not suit you I suggest you sign up and save the emails when they come in, this way you can start when you are ready (to be honest I prefer a Monday start so even though the Monday is a holiday I will probably start then). There is absolutely no charge for this challenge, and feel free to tell you friends, family or coworkers who might want to join you in doing this challenge. There is power in numbers!