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CONTENTS The Blood Sugar Problem .................................................................................................................................. 4

Spikes in blood sugar are more dangerous than you thought… ................................................ 4

The ones we trust have been misled… ................................................................................................ 5

The vicious cycle… ...................................................................................................................................... 6

The food pyramid – some more dangerous advice… ..................................................................... 7

The Blood Sugar Answer .................................................................................................................................... 8

The Energy Cycle ......................................................................................................................................... 9

A different kind of diet… ........................................................................................................................ 11

The Fat Myth............................................................................................................................................... 12

You can turn this ship around! ............................................................................................................ 13

Let’s make this easy… ............................................................................................................................. 14

How to be Healthy ............................................................................................................................................. 14

The Choice is Yours .................................................................................................................................. 15

What Goes In .............................................................................................................................................. 15

What you Do ............................................................................................................................................... 28

Making it Happen ............................................................................................................................................... 31

Count on it ................................................................................................................................................... 32

Break Food Addictions and Fight Cravings .................................................................................... 34

Planning ....................................................................................................................................................... 38

Shopping ...................................................................................................................................................... 38

Meal Preparation ...................................................................................................................................... 39

Step-by-Step Action Plans ............................................................................................................................... 41

Rapid Results Track ................................................................................................................................. 41

Gradual Changes Track........................................................................................................................... 42

Print-Outs .............................................................................................................................................................. 45

Meal Plan Sheet ......................................................................................................................................... 45

Staple Foods Shopping List ................................................................................................................... 47

Sugar Level Log ......................................................................................................................................... 49

Carb Counting Log .................................................................................................................................... 51

Troubleshooting ................................................................................................................................................. 53

FAQ .......................................................................................................................................................................... 54

BLOOD SUGAR SECRETS EXPOSED

THE BLOOD SUGAR PROBLEM

Science is always changing, and new things are being discovered every day. We know

much more today about what our body needs and why than we did even just ten years ago.

Unfortunately, there are so many factors at play in the worlds of politics and

pharmaceuticals, that the nutritional recommendations given to the public (and what is

taught to our medical professionals during their education) is not always the straight truth.

As a result, there is an unbelievable amount of misinformation in the realm of nutrition and

health… and it is killing us. My mission here is to open your eyes to the truth of how our

diet is making us sick, and how to stop and even reverse it. I will say lots of things that fly

in the face of conventional wisdom, but every single assertion I make is grounded in hard

science – not just one fluke experiment, but study after study after study. So please, open

your mind, and improve your health!

Spikes in blood sugar are more dangerous than you thought…

Even if you are not diabetic or pre-diabetic, and don’t have problems with energy dips after

meals like many people do, the simple fact is that allowing your blood sugar to spike on a

regular basis is dangerous.

Scientific study after scientific study on subjects who have never even been diagnosed with

diabetes show that allowing blood sugar to rise above 140 mg/dl has some serious

ramifications. These glucose levels have been linked to:

Nerve fiber damage resulting in peripheral neuropathy

Beta cell loss (these are integral to insulin production)

Heart disease

Blindness

Cancer

Alzheimer’s

Stroke

Kidney failure

Artery thickening

Heart attack

This information is from studies performed at the Mayo Clinic and Johns Hopkins just to

name a couple. These findings have been published in “Diabetes Journal” and the

“American Journal of Endocrinology and Metabolism,” among others. New studies from

credible sources are coming out all the time that are starting to paint a picture that high

blood sugar levels may be at the heart of the majority of the diseases our society is plagued

with. We cannot afford to ignore this problem any longer.

The ones we trust have been misled…

Now, if you know anything about blood sugar levels or you have diabetes, you might be

saying something like “but my doctor says I need to keep my after-meal level under 180.”

Your doctor might have told you a different number, but the sad fact is that more often than

not, doctors are telling patients to target levels that are still above 140 mg/dl, which is

where the problems in the list above begin.

Another dangerous thing your doctor probably believes is that if you are diabetic or

pre-diabetic, then your condition is going to get worse, you won’t be able to lose weight,

you are unlikely to avoid complications, there is little or no chance you can manage it well

with diet, and that the condition is irreversible. Part of the reason is the simple fact that

they have seen this pattern time after time with other patients. Is that any surprise if they

are having patients target a blood sugar level that is way too high to begin with??

The other reason your doctor probably believes that there is no hope of a diabetic’s

condition improving or being reversed, is because of a study called UKPDS. This long term

study proved that diabetic patients with “good control” (in terms of blood sugar levels) still

got worse year after year and had little chance of avoiding complications like retinopathy,

abnormal nerve function, and kidney damage.

The problem with UKPDS is that their “good control” was defined by a test called A1c, and

the target range they used was 7.0%. The A1c is a test that measures a patient’s average

sugar levels over the past 2-3 months. A result of 7.0% equates to an average level of

between 155 and 172 mg/dl. Notice that this is above 140 mg/dl, so again, is it any

surprise that these patients couldn’t achieve any kind of relief of symptoms or reversal of

their condition? Is it any surprise they couldn’t avoid the complications that come with

diabetes?

This dangerously misleading study is the most respected research study on the effects of

diabetes. This is how doctors have been misled into having no hope for diabetics.

Noted Diabetes expert, Dr. Roy Taylor, M.D., Professor of Medicine at Newcastle University

in the UK openly stated that UKPDS makes doctors think that even “good” glucose control

didn’t slow the progression of complications by very much. Dr. Taylor also said that while

the study shows a difference between the patients with “good control” and those without,

“it's not such a huge difference that you would want to go out of your way as a patient to

achieve it…” This dangerously misleading study has taught thousands of doctors to think

there is nothing to be done for diabetics, and they have passed that hopelessness on to

their patients.

A lack of hope is a dangerous thing. If your doctor expects your condition to worsen, then

they will not be alarmed when it does. They will not be motivated to do anything about it.

They will think your decline is inevitable, because that’s what they’ve been told. And if

your doctor thinks there’s no hope for you, why should you have hope for yourself? I am

confident that in the information to follow, you will find hope for your health and your

future.

The vicious cycle…

Diabetes is so common these days, and virtually everyone in our society has a high risk of

ending up with it. Why? I call it The Vicious Cycle, and it is too easy to fall into…

First, some basics… When you eat carbohydrates (pasta, bread, sweets, etc.) your body

breaks them down into sugar and it is released into your blood. The beta cells of your

pancreas are triggered by the higher blood sugar level to produce insulin, and the job of the

insulin is to usher the sugars from the blood, into your cells, so the cells can convert it into

energy.

The cycle begins with insulin resistance. Insulin resistance is a condition in which the

body is not as responsive to insulin as it should be. There is a lot of evidence to suggest

that insulin resistance could be caused by excess body fat, and physical inactivity. When

your cells are insulin resistant, it takes more insulin to get the sugar into your cells. This

makes your beta cells work overtime, which they can only do for so long.

When much of the sugar in your blood fails to be taken into the cells, two things happen…

You experience a longer period of time with a higher blood sugar level, and the excess

sugar is stored as fat. The results:

1. You feel tired since your cells didn’t get as much energy as they needed because the

insulin wasn’t able to do its job efficiently.

2. You gain more body fat, making your insulin resistance even worse.

3. Your beta cells are damaged because of the high blood sugar levels, decreasing your

pancreas’ ability to make enough insulin to battle your insulin resistance.

Do you see how this is

shaping up into a cycle? Your

blood sugar levels stay higher

more often, you gain more

and more weight, your body

stops being able to produce

insulin… repeat.

The bottom line here is that

being overweight, inactive,

and targeting a too-high blood

sugar level because it’s what you were told to target will plunk you right into this vicious

cycle. If things continue this way, the doctors are right and you will get worse and worse.

Don’t worry – just a little bit more on the problem, and then I’ll get to the answer!

The food pyramid – some more dangerous advice…

There is one more area of misinformation that is contributing profoundly to this blood

sugar problem we have, and it’s something that’s taught in our grade schools.

In 1977 a government report came out that recommended that the American people should

restrict their fat intake, and increase their carbohydrate intake to 55 – 60% of their calories

each day.

What followed was the first edition of

the “Dietary Guidelines for Americans,”

issued by the USDA, which was the basis

for what we now call the “Food

Pyramid.”

The food pyramid is a nutritional

guideline put out by the USDA. That

stands for United States Department of

Agriculture. They are not responsible

for keeping people healthy through

nutrition. They do inspect food to

ensure our safety, but their other

primary responsibility is to look after the interests of America’s farmers. Many people

believe that there were originally going to be more fruits and vegetables in the pyramid,

but that the USDA changed it in favor of more grains to promote agriculture.

I’ll explain more about this shortly, but with a diet this high in carbohydrates, blood sugar

control and weight loss are next to impossible. What’s more, take a look at the graph

below… It clearly shows the prevalence of adult obesity increasing steadily every year

since those dietary guidelines recommending a high-carb diet were first released.

This high-carb diet that’s been pushed on us for so long, combined with the “conventional

wisdom” that we need to keep our metabolisms going by eating 6 times per day, means that

our blood is constantly having sugar dumped into it, and our pancreas almost never gets a

break.

Knowing this, is it any wonder that so many people are being diagnosed with diabetes or

pre-diabetic disorders? Enough about the problem; let’s get to the solution.

THE BLOOD SUGAR ANSWER

Now that you understand the problem, hopefully you see that if you keep following

conventional wisdom, your doctor’s advice and government guidelines, the future isn’t that

bright. You’ve already taken the first step in reading this information – you’ve decided to

think for yourself and find something that really works…

The Energy Cycle

Before I tell you how you can really control your blood sugar through diet, you need to

understand how our body uses and stores energy…

When you eat a carbohydrate, it is broken down into glucose and delivered, by your

bloodstream, all over your body to give your cells energy. When there is extra glucose, it is

converted into glycogen, and your liver and muscles store it within their cells for use later

on. When the glycogen stores are full and there is still excess glucose, that glucose is

converted to fat for longer term storage.

Then when your cells need more glucose, the liver converts the glycogen back into usable

sugar and sends it into the blood to go deliver energy. It is only when all the glucose in the

blood, and all the glycogen in the liver and muscles are used up that the body will begin to

use your fat stores for energy. This is why you may be exercising and counting calories, but

still not losing weight if you continue to eat carbs.

When all that readily available sugar is finally gone, the liver will begin to break down fat

(both dietary fat, and fat stores already in your body) into something called ketones. This

leads to an increase in the level of ketones in your blood, which is why this condition is

called “ketosis.” Your body then uses an alternate metabolic pathway to turn the ketones

into usable energy, but it can only use one of the pathways at a time.

So your body can either be a sugar burning machine, or a fat burning machine, but not both,

and it will always use sugar by default, if sugar is present.

Let’s take a look at what it looks like when your body is burning sugar for energy…

The results are:

Higher blood sugar

More stress and damage for your pancreas

Weight gain

Increased insulin resistance

Exacerbation of type 2 diabetes and complications

If there is no glucose or glycogen, your body will go the route that burns your fat and lets

your pancreas rest. Here’s what that looks like…

The results of eating and limiting carbs are:

Low, stable blood sugar levels

Increased insulin sensitivity

Weight loss, less hunger, more energy

Reversal of diabetes and pre-diabetes

A different kind of diet…

There is light at the end of the tunnel! You can control your blood sugar with diet, it’s just

not the food pyramid diet you’ve been sold…

Before I get into the nitty gritty, let me take this opportunity to assure you that this diet is

healthy for everyone. If you cook for your family, there is no need to make them something

different than what you are having on this diet just because they aren’t diabetic, pre-

diabetic, or overweight. This way of eating is healthy and preventive. It keeps blood sugar

levels stable. You now know that this will lower your risk of all sorts of bad health

problems, and it will do the same for your loved ones.

The 65/20/15 rule

The way to get your body into ketosis is by eating a low-carb, high-fat diet. I know you’ve

always been told to eat low-fat if you want to lose weight, but for now just trust me, and

you can read in the next section why eating fat isn’t so bad after all.

Here is your new food pyramid. It says that 65% of the calories you eat should be from fat,

20% from protein, and 15% from carbohydrates. This is the 65/20/15 rule.

Now, remember that foods with healthy fats (like meats, avocados, eggs, and nuts) pack a

lot of calories, so I don’t want you thinking 65% of the volume of your meal needs to be fat.

That may leave you picturing a small pile of green beans, a tiny piece of meat, and a big pile

of lard on your plate. That is not what I’m talking about! This could be an omelette with

veggies and bacon in it, or steak

with a side of veggies, or a cheese-

filled, bacon wrapped avocado. This

is really a delicious and easy way to

eat, and it will push your body into

ketosis, which, again, will allow your

pancreas to rest, keep your blood

sugar controlled, and allow you to

use the fat in your body as fuel.

Translation: You will lose weight,

feel better, have more energy, and

see a reverse in diabetic or pre-

diabetic symptoms.

The Fat Myth

Conventional wisdom tells you that to lose weight and be healthier, you need to count

calories and have as few calories from fat as possible. It’s understandable to think that

eating fat makes you gain fat, but this just isn’t true. Saturated fat has been demonized as

artery-clogging, waistline-ballooning poison, but science has shown time and time again

that it is a safe source of energy for humans.

There are lots of recent, scientifically sound, human studies that pit a low-fat diet against a

low-carb, high-fat diet, including some done with diabetic subjects. In each case (16

independent studies at this point), the group minimizing or cutting out carbs, and

subsequently eating more saturated fats, lost more weight. And in the studies that

measured it, that group had better cholesterol levels too. So as it turns out, fat is not

your enemy.

Another myth that prevailed around the time the Atkins Diet became so popular, is that

your brain can only use energy from carbohydrates. First of all, keep in mind that I am not

telling you to eat a “no-carb-diet,” but rather a “low-carb-diet” where your carbs come from

fruits and vegetables. Second of all, it is just not true that your brain cannot use fat for

energy.

In fact, many researchers are starting to call Alzheimer’s Disease “Type 3 Diabetes” because

it is characterized by an inability of the brain to metabolize and use glucose properly. This

could be why eating a high fat, low-carb diet has also been shown to decrease symptoms in

people suffering from Alzheimer’s. Their brains cannot use the carbs, but it can use the fat

(broken down into ketones) to function. In fact, studies have shown that being in a state of

ketosis may improve the brain’s ability to uptake both ketones and glucose for fuel – and

remember, you will still have some carbs in your system from fruits and vegetables, so your

brain will be getting the best of both worlds. I have noticed a difference in my mental

acuity since beginning this nutrition plan, and I think you will too.

Another reason fat in our diet is a good and necessary thing, is that some vitamins require

it for absorption. Vitamins are either fat soluble or water soluble, meaning that they can be

absorbed and used by our body with help from either fat or water, but not both. Fat soluble

vitamins include vitamins A, D, E, and K. These vitamins are essential, and promote good

vision, bone health, heart health, and blood clotting just to name a few.

You can turn this ship around!

The Kumamoto study followed patients who kept their blood sugar levels from spiking

after meals over a period of six years. Instead of the inevitable decline seen in the UKPDS

study discussed above, patients in this study saw no deterioration, declining health was

dramatically lowered, and those who maintained the tightest control of post-meal blood

sugar levels actually saw an improvement in nerve cell function over when they began the

study.

All of these results were achieved just by managing post meal blood sugar – even though

the study participants’ A1c “averages” were the same as those in the UKPDS study. But

unlike the UKPDS study participants, the Kumamoto group never let their blood sugar

levels spike above toxic levels, and in doing so they saw these dramatic improvements.

Do you realize what great news this is? It means that if you follow the plan outlined here to

successfully control your blood sugar and keep it from spiking, you could begin to really

feel better and be healthier… And beyond avoiding spikes, following this plan will result in

average blood glucose levels significantly lower than the folks in this study, so you can

actually reverse your diabetes. You will lose weight, your body will have a chance to rest

and start repairing the damage that’s been done.

Let’s make this easy…

If you are feeling a little overwhelmed about reading all this, or are nervous that you might

not understand it all or know what to do once you have read it, please – don’t worry about

that. In fact, even if you don’t read this all right now, you’re still in good shape, because I’ll

be emailing you a bonus that will help you get started.

It’s my 10-Day Fast Start Guide. You will get an email every day for ten days, and it will tell

you exactly what to do to turn your health around. Follow those steps, and you will get

healthier fast!

Of course, I still recommend you read Blood Sugar Secrets Exposed all the way through

because I believe that knowing the details and understanding why each piece is important

will be key to your success. And don’t miss the Frequently Asked Questions and

Troubleshooting sections, and the printable logs and planning sheets that will help you

along the way!

HOW TO BE HEALTHY

Now that you know what to do, you need to know how to do it. Here I will go over what to

put into your body, what not to put into your body, and what else you can do to make a

positive impact on your blood sugar and your overall health.

The Choice is Yours

Everyone is different. Our bodies are different, we have different goals in terms of our

health, weight, and blood sugar levels, and we have different problems. Some have had

Type 2 diabetes for years, and some are just being diagnosed with metabolic syndrome.

Depending on how much you want and need to accomplish in order to meet your goals, you

have some choices to make…

This way of eating can be extremely simple, or you can get a bit more involved with it.

Some people will be able to simply cut out processed carbs and see great results. Others

will need to count their grams of carbs each day and keep track of their weight each week

and their blood sugars throughout each day. I just want you to know that while there are

some very involved methods and tools provided in this guide, it is up to you how much you

do. There are some hard and fast rules, but some of my recommendations are optional.

For instance, whether or not to eat pancakes every morning is hard and fast – don’t do it!

Counting carbs and keeping food and blood sugar logs, however, is something you may

choose to do or not do. If your disease is advanced and you are in a race against time, I

obviously advise going all in and giving it all you’ve got while you still can.

That said, let’s continue with how to get yourself healthy!

What Goes In

What could affect your health more than what you put inside your body? What we put in

affects which and how many hormones we produce, which in turn affects how our organs

behave. What we eat and drink determines what chemicals our body parts and systems are

exposed to – how could this not have a huge impact on how these parts and systems

function? A body that has parts and systems that are not functioning as they should is the

very definition of disease. So you have got to be mindful of what goes in, and here’s how…

Food - What not to eat

When you are trying to make healthy choices and actually change the way you feel and the

report your doctor is giving you, knowing what not to eat can be even more important than

knowing what you should eat. Once I got used to following this nutrition plan, I could really

tell the difference in my energy levels and how I felt later if I “splurged” and ate one of

these foods…

Processed Carbohydrates

This includes white rice, pasta, tortillas,

croissants, bread, bagels, chips, French fries,

pancakes, waffles, buns, rolls, crackers,

pretzels, oatmeal and more. These foods

contain large amounts of readily available

carbs, so when you begin to digest them, they

quickly turn to sugar and spike your blood

glucose level. Whole grain alternatives, are a little better because they have more

fiber, but they are still very high in carbohydrates, and will prevent your body from

entering ketosis.

On this diet, all of your carbohydrates should be coming from vegetables and some

fruits… Remember – if it doesn’t occur naturally, don’t eat it!

Refined Sugar

Refined sugar is really a poison that everyone should

avoid, but it is especially important for folks

watching their blood sugar. Foods high in refined

sugar generally lack any nutritional value, and

therefore have no redeeming qualities to balance out

the sharp blood sugar elevation they cause. Candy,

cookies, cakes, sugary cereals, syrup, low-fat flavored

yogurt, and soda are all packed with refined sugar

and constitute only empty calories.

It can be difficult to kick a sweet tooth, but you can

do it! Your health is worth it. Follow the steps for

breaking your food addictions (keep reading), and

replace these unhealthy sweets with better alternatives like fruit, full-fat yogurt, and

nuts. When satisfying a sweet tooth with fruit, please remember that you do still

need to practice moderation with fresh fruit and that dried fruit, and fruit juice are

not your friend. During the dehydration process that makes dried fruit, the sugars

become very concentrated and are released into your system all at once when eaten.

The process of making fruit juice keeps all the sugar and removes all the fiber that

would slow the absorption of the sugars. Do NOT eat dried fruit or drink fruit

juice.

Trans-Fats

I told you earlier that fat is not your enemy, but trans-fat

still is. Trans-fats have consistently been shown to

decrease good cholesterol (the one that actually protects

against heart disease), increase bad cholesterol (the one

that clogs arteries), and increase inflammation in your

body. This is all bad news for your overall health.

Trans fat has its own spot on nutritional labels, under

“total fat,” so you can make sure the label says 0g before

you buy something at the store. Here are some foods to

watch out for:

French Fries

Pie Crust

Margarine

Shortening

Cake Mix and Frosting

Fried or Battered Foods

Ice Cream

Non-Dairy Creamers

Microwave Popcorn

Ground Beef

Cookies

Biscuits and Rolls

Breakfast Sandwiches

Frozen or creamy drinks

Processed Jerky

Crackers

Frozen Dinners

Packaged Asian Noodles

Canned Chili

Packaged Pudding

Not all varieties of these foods contain trans-fat, but many do. Check labels, and

when going out to eat, check online for nutritional information. When eating at a

non-chain restaurant without nutritional info available, steer clear of fried food,

burgers, and baked goods.

Artificial Sweeteners

Studies are showing that artificial sweeteners are even worse for

you than sugar. Yes, they are low in calories, but they are

chemicals created in labs. There is nothing natural about them

and we are filling our bodies with them, especially if we drink

diet sodas.

Aspartame - Aspartame is the artificial sweetener used in most diet drinks, and it

goes under the brand names Equal, Spoonful, Equal Measure, AminoSweet, Benevia,

NutraTaste, and Canderel. It can also be found in diet foods – so check the label!

Respected members of the medical community have gone on record stating that

aspartame is one of the most dangerous products on the food market. They say it

can cause birth defects, tumors, multiple sclerosis, fibromyalgia, and many other

diseases and problems.

Sucralose – This sweetener used in Splenda is a synthetic molecule that our body

has no way of breaking down. This is why it claims to have zero calories – it

supposedly passes right through your body. Studies to check this claim done before

Splenda was approved by the FDA included only 8 people and a very short duration

(less than four days). Studies now (still in the preliminary stages) indicate that

about 15 percent of sucralose ingested may be absorbed into the body and stored

away, unmetabolized. The only other study done on humans before approval was

a four-day study on tooth decay with 28 subjects. The extensive studies done with

sucralose on animals apparently didn’t warrant concern from the FDA, even though

they showed decreased blood cells, decreased male fertility, enlarged and calcified

kidneys, spontaneous abortion in nearly half of a rabbit population, and a 17%

higher death rate in rabbits given sucralose. In conclusion, while there is no

conclusive information at this time indicating that Splenda is not safe for human

consumption, I’d rather be better safe than sorry…

Food - What to eat

The good news is that this nutritional plan is not complicated! It works out best if you can

use recipes that will follow the 65/20/15 rule, but you do not need to spend hours pouring

over nutritional facts with a calculator and a degree in math to take advantage of the

healthful effects of this plan.

It’s not that hard – I promise

Here are 4 simple steps to follow:

1. Don’t eat the foods from the section “What not to eat.”

2. Eat WHOLE foods… Here’s a simple test if you aren’t sure if you should

eat something: if you it didn’t grow from the ground or on an animal in

that shape, it is not a whole food, and you shouldn’t eat it! Doing this will

naturally result in a low carb diet… (The main exceptions to this rule,

when still reversing your diabetes, are corn, potatoes, and beans. Even

though they are whole foods, you should still avoid them.)

3. Eat lots of meats, eggs, and veggies.

4. Don’t limit fat!

There are several more pointers that will make a difference for your health, but by

following the four steps above you are likely to be hitting a ratio very close to the

recommended rule without ever calculating anything.

It can be easy to feel overwhelmed when you are starting to change your eating

habits, so I really want to encourage you that this does not have to be

complicated. When I first started eating this way, I kept it very, very simple. I ate a

meat and a vegetable for dinner every night. Once I got to having more energy and

feeling better (which happened within just a few days), I didn’t feel so overwhelmed.

And once I started seeing a difference in my waistline, I was really motivated to keep

things going and get creative. But it wasn’t until that point that I started looking for

65/20/15 recipes and new and interesting ways to cook my meats and vegetables.

Choosing the Best Meats and Vegetables

When you choose meats (and dairy products), the most nutritious options will be

from grass-fed animals. These animals are allowed to eat the diet they would eat in

the wild, and to grow at their own pace. For more information about why un-

medicated, grass-fed animals provide better nutrition for us, take a look at the Blood

Sugar Shopping Guide. While grass fed is ideal, it is not absolutely necessary. The

bottom line is that it should be carb free (no breading).

Also, when choosing meats, remember that you are not supposed to limit fat, so

don’t eat too much lean meat. Go for dark chicken mean, and opt for real bacon and

beef instead of turkey. Making the mistake of limiting fat will leave you with not

enough energy, feeling hungry, and with blood sugar levels that may still be too

high.

As far as choosing vegetables goes, there are only two words you need to

know: Local and Seasonal. The vegetables that will give you the most nutrition are

the ones that are grown locally, and that are in season. You can learn about why this

is true by consulting the Blood Sugar Shopping Guide.

For a little more guidance on what to eat, here are some foods that are noted for

their beneficial effects on blood sugar…

Foods that Lower Blood Sugar

Vegetables - Most vegetables help with stabilizing blood sugar... This is because

they are relatively low in carbohydrates, but high in fiber. The fiber regulates

digestion, so the carbohydrates that are present are released into the blood at a

slow, even pace. Please remember that potatoes are tubers, NOT vegetables, and if

you are trying to lose weight or keep your blood sugar low, they are NOT

recommended. Sweet potatoes are much better nutritionally than regular baking

potatoes, but still not something you want to eat if you have blood sugar issues or

are trying to lose weight. The following vegetables are especially notable for their

blood sugar stabilization properties:

Brussel Sprouts

Broccoli

Spinach

Cabbage

Celery

Onions

Fruits - Fruits should be eaten in extreme moderation and only to satisfy a sweets

craving once in a while (and fruit juice should be drunk NEVER), because of their

high fructose content. When you do eat fruit, the ones on the list below are the best

to choose from.

Pears

Tomatoes

Avocados

Oranges

Grapefruit

Strawberries

Kiwis

Apples

Cherries

Nuts - Many nuts are high in healthy fats that can help lower insulin resistance.

Cashews

Brazil Nuts

Macadamia Nuts

Almonds

Walnuts

Pecans

Pistachios

Sunflower Seeds

Legumes - Some legumes are high in nutritional content, and they have lots of

fiber, controlling the rate of digestion and preventing a blood sugar spike after

eating.

Peanuts

Lentils

Lima Beans

Oils - The oils listed below provide your body with healthy fats and are much

healthier than some alternatives many people use for cooking (vegetable oils,

cooking sprays, margarine, etc.) The fats improve hormone and therefore thyroid

function, allow your body to better absorb nutrition from other foods, and decrease

insulin resistance.

Coconut Oil

Ghee (clarified butter)

Other - The foods listed below have a positive impact on blood sugar, either

because of fiber, fats, or blood sugar lowering compounds they contain.

Dark Chocolate

Hummus

Garlic

Artichoke

Fish

Cinnamon

Vinegar

Lemon juice

For more information on how to eat the right whole foods, like which dairy to

choose, what all these different labels on eggs mean, and the health ramifications of

genetically modified organisms (GMOs) and organic foods, take a look at our Blood

Sugar Shopping Guide.

The Food List

Here is the list of foods you can eat, all in one place.

Meat – You can eat any meat, including but not limited to the ones on this list, as

long as it doesn’t have breading or sauce with carbs in it. There are some processed

meats on this list which break the whole foods rule, but as long as they have less

than 1 gram of carbs per serving, they are fair game.

Beef Hamburgers Steak Pork Ham Bacon Lamb Veal Pepperoni

Hot dogs Sausage Lunchmeat Pork rinds Jerky Chicken Turkey Duck Pheasant

Seafood – Any fish, shellfish, or seafood, including but not limited to these:

Fish Tuna Shrimp Scallops Lobster

Crab Mussels Oysters Clams

Eggs - whole eggs!

Leafy Greens – If it’s a leaf, you can eat it

Arugula Bok choy Cabbage Chard Chives Endive Beet/Turnip/Collard

/Mushroom Greens

Kale Lettuce Parsley Spinach Radishes Scallions Watercress

Non-starchy Veggies – Most any vegetable that grows above the ground. Notice

that potatoes, sweet potatoes, and corn are NOT on this list. If you are counting

carbs, you will need to check the content in these veggies.

Artichokes Asparagus Broccoli Eggplant Green breans Onions Peppers Shallots Sugar snap peas Summer squash Rhubarb Zucchini Brussel sprouts

Celery Jicama Mushrooms Leeks Pumpkin Sprouts Snow peas Tomatoes Wax beans Cauliflower Cucumber Okra

Things to eat in moderation – The following list has some miscellaneous things on

it that you can eat, but if you are counting carbs, you need to check the carb content,

and practice moderation.

Cheese Cream Mayo Olives Avocado

Lemon/lime juice Soy sauce Dill pickles Nuts

Substitutions Cheat Sheet

You may be wondering how in the world you will be able to get by without eating

processed carbs like bread, pasta, tortillas, and refined sugar. Well, I have some

suggestions!

When you want to sweeten something like oatmeal, or a smoothie, use local

honey, or maple syrup instead of sugar. They are still very sweet, have their own

health benefits, and are much better for you that sugar.

If you like to bake, look online for a recipe that uses coconut or almond flour

instead of traditional flour. You may like one better than the other, so

experiment!

If you love spaghetti, try out spaghetti squash. No, it’s not exactly the same, but

it has a very similar texture, and is very tasty – you may come to love it too.

Use large lettuce leaves for wraps instead of tortillas. I have really come to enjoy

taco salad on a bed of greens with no taco shell or tortilla at all.

I also love bun-less burgers with all the toppings eaten out of a bowl with a knife

and fork. If you want to find a bun stand-in, some people use lettuce leaves,

Portobello mushrooms, or grilled eggplant slices.

While the nutrition plan I am recommending is not the Paleo diet, there are

similarities, so it may be helpful to search for “Paleo substitutions” when looking

for ideas – just make sure they fit with what you are trying to do.

Oils

Every cooking oil, spray, and spread is some kind of fat. So now that you understand

that not all fats are created equal, it makes sense that choosing the right fat to cook

with is important, right? This is especially true in light of new information coming

out regarding some common cooking oils. Vegetable oils, especially, have been

shown to be extremely harmful to our health (though pretty much all the other

oils not on the list below aren’t much better) – so if you are cooking all the right

foods, but covering them in poison, it may defeat the purpose. Oils should be stable

at high temperatures. This is important because research has indicated that when

oils break down at high heats they release cancer-causing free radicals and other

unhealthy compounds.

Oils can also break down with the same cancer-causing results when they go rancid,

which studies show that olive oil does very easily. You can continue to use olive

oil in salad dressings, and home-made mayonnaise and the like, but I would

recommend never heating it up, and always keeping it in the fridge. And again

– you should never eat vegetable oils! This means vegetable, canola, sunflower,

soybean, safflower, or corn oil. Besides being unstable at high temperatures and

containing the wrong kinds of fat, they have also been shown to actually make

insulin resistance worse.

I have been cooking for some time with only coconut oil, butter, and Ghee. I don’t

miss any of those other oils or sprays, and my food is delicious. Both coconut oil and

Ghee have very long shelf lives, don’t need to be refrigerated, and are extremely

stable at high temperatures. I’m sure I don’t need to tell you how good butter can

make your food.

Coconut Oil – Using coconut oil instead of vegetable oil (which you should never,

ever use again!) will benefit your health in many ways, and it is delicious! I find that

the coconut flavor is very slight, and usually unnoticeable in my food.

Consuming coconut oil can result in a boost in your metabolism, in addition

to helping you to feel fuller, longer. These factors combine to make it great

for weight loss, and studies have shown that it seems especially helpful in

losing that dangerous belly fat.

Coconut oil is high in Lauric acid, which has antibiotic properties and has

been shown to promote healthy cholesterol levels.

Coconut oil is full of medium chain triglycerides (MCT’s). These fats are

metabolized differently than the long chain triglycerides that make up most

of the saturated fats in our diet. They are especially useful to the liver in

forming ketones – which is what we are going for with ketosis – and have

been shown to have positive, symptom reversing effects on patients

with Alzheimer’s.

Ghee - is clarified butter – what this means is that the milk proteins have been

removed from it. This can be great, especially for someone who is lactose

intolerant (like 75% of the world) since it still has all the health benefits of butter,

and none of the lactose. I use Ghee as a replacement for olive oil, and any time I

want to give something I’m cooking a richer flavor, like vegetables, and eggs.

Speaking of the health benefits of butter I want to clear something up… This only

applies to butter from grass-fed cows. We’ve made the point that our bodies can’t

be healthy and function at their peak without being fed the right foods, so that is

also true for cows. If they are fed things their bodies aren’t meant to eat (grains),

and pumped full of antibiotics and growth hormones, the milk they produce just

doesn’t have the fats that our bodies can use to be healthier.

Here are just a few of the scientifically accepted truths about Ghee:

Grass-fed Ghee is full of the fat soluble vitamins A, D, E, and K, which have a

positive effect on your immune system, brain health, and bone density.

Studies have shown that eating Ghee increases healthy cholesterol levels, and

decreases the unhealthy ones.

Ghee contains high levels of CLA (conjugated linolenic acid) which is an anti-

cancer agent that also promotes weight loss and may be linked to slowing the

progression of heart disease.

Ghee has been shown to help people with digestive problems like Crohn’s

Disease and Ulcerative Colitis.

Ghee is all natural with no lab-created chemicals, trans-fats, or hydrogenated

oils.

Liquids - What not to drink

Fruit Juice

The problem with fruit juice (even if you juice it yourself) is that it includes all the

sugar with none of the fiber. Fruit has lots and lots of sugar in it, but the fiber in it

slows digestion which prevents a severe blood sugar spike. With all the fiber

removes, you are basically drinking straight sugar. It is better than refined

sugar, and there is some nutrition in it, but it will still spike your glucose levels.

Soda – Including Diet

You probably already know all about how you shouldn’t drink soda. It is a ton of

sugar and unnatural chemicals, with absolutely no nutritional value. Diet soda is

even worse, since it contains artificial sweeteners, which are on our list of things to

never, ever eat because it is little better than poison. The bottom line is that these

are chemicals created in labs. Ingesting them on a regular basis and expecting to be

healthy is foolish.

Low-fat milk

Many people think milk is questionable to begin with, since, from a biological

standpoint, humans are the only animals that drink the milk of another animal, and

beyond that, we are the only animals that drink milk in adulthood. Given that, and

the fact that about 75% of the world population is intolerant to it, it seems unlikely

that milk is a necessary component of any diet. That said, low-fat milk is definitely

not the stuff to drink, since it has lots of sugar in it to replace the flavor lost from

removing the fat. This is why low-fat milk is notorious for causing blood sugar

spikes.

Liquids - What to drink

Water

This one should be a no-brainer. Your body is made mostly of water and all your

body processes depend on having enough water to function. While the eight-

glasses-per-day convention is being questioned by many, it remains true that our

bodies need water. So while you probably don’t have to force yourself to drink a

certain amount each day, if you are thirsty, this is the stuff you ought to be drinking.

Green Tea

Besides having a giant list of health benefits (including decreasing the risk of cancer,

cardiovascular disease, and Alzheimer’s), green tea has been shown to improve

insulin sensitivity and decrease blood sugar levels.

Ketogenic Coffee

Important: If you are not on the Ketogenic diet that I am recommending, do not

drink Ketogenic coffee… It contains high levels of saturated fat, which are good for

you if you are eating low carbs, but not otherwise. Remember the metabolism can

only use one at a time, fat or carbs, so feeding it lots of both at the same time can be

a recipe for fat gain.

Ketogenic Coffee is the best way to kick-start your day with 6-8 hours of clean

energy. The trick is to get wet-processed coffee beans that are roasted very soon

after being harvested, and then vacuum sealed. This is to avoid the propagation of

mold on the coffee because the mold produces mycotoxins, which are neurotoxic.

Grinding the beans yourself keeps it as fresh as possible and maintains the coffee’s

health benefits. Brewing it with a French press avoids use of a paper filter, which

removes many of the antioxidant properties in the coffee.

Now is the part that makes the coffee Ketogenic. Add 1 Tablespoon (per cup of

coffee) of organic, grass fed butter, and ½ Tablespoon (per cup) of MCT (medium

chain triglyceride) oil. Make sure to get the kind that is actually oil in a bottle, not

capsules. Then use a blender to mix it thoroughly and enjoy.

I know it sounds weird, but it is delicious, and it makes me feel great. I use it as a

breakfast replacement, and I recommend you do the same, especially if you are

hoping for rapid weight loss…. Here are the benefits of doing this:

My body gets to continue in ketosis from my night’s sleep – so I’m burning

my fat stores and my pancreas gets to take a break.

The caffeine keeps me alert and awake.

The MCT oil and healthy fats from the butter make a noticeable difference in

my mental acuity. I really feel sharper when I drink Ketogenic coffee.

What you Do

Reducing Stress

Reducing your stress is a little recognized, but integral, part of improving your health –

especially if you have blood sugar or weight issues.

What is Stress?

Before we go into details, let’s define stress as anything that puts demands on your

body. As such, some stress is absolutely necessary, and good (you need to breath

and have a beating heart, and you need to be motivated to get up and get things

done). A lot of stress, however, is negative, and unnecessary. Eating processed

foods causes your body stress because it has to use more resources and energy to

carry out digestion of unnatural chemicals. Highly emotional situations require

more energy for you to mentally process them, and if they cause an adrenaline

dump your body is then stressed by the effects of this, and by returning your

functions back to normal (slowing your heart rate, regulating your breathing, etc.).

Physically straining your body, as with exercise also causes stress by putting

demands on our muscular, respiratory, and circulatory systems. Eating a high-carb

diet stresses your pancreas by requiring it to produce more and more insulin. You

get the idea.

The Cortisol-Fat Cycle

When we become “stressed” our bodies release Cortisol. Cortisol’s job is to regulate

our body’s energy use. It is also responsible for relocating fat to the abdomen. If

you’ll recall, fat doesn’t just sit there waiting until it’s needed as energy, but it

produces compounds of its own, affecting the body’s chemistry. One of the

compounds abdominal fat produces is the enzyme that activates Cortisol (it turns

inactive Cortisone into active Cortisol). What this means is that Cortisol and

abdominal fat have their own little vicious cycle going on. Cortisol increases belly

fat, and belly fat increases cortisol… To make it even worse, studies in which

people were injected with Cortisol, showed that their appetites were increased,

and they had strong cravings for sugary foods.

So, to recap, beyond just depleting your resources to function at your peak, stress

increases your Cortisol levels, which can start you into a feedback loop in which you

gain more belly fat, make more cortisol, and eat more unhealthy foods, giving you

more belly fat, and more stress…. Repeat.

Keep Calm and…

Now that you are convinced that negative stress plays a role in your health, what do

you do about it?

The first step is to pinpoint possible sources of stress. You probably know what

they are. They are things or people you dread. You may feel anxious when thinking

about them…

Once you’ve identified the source, you need to decide if you can get rid of it, or if you

just have to deal with it. If you can get rid of it, that’s easy. If not, you need to cope.

You may be able to get help. For example, if cooking dinner for your family every

night is not a strength of yours and it makes you want to run and hide – look into

subscribing to a meal plan. Figure out if it might fit into your budget to have

someone provide a couple of meals per week to lighten your load (it’s more

affordable than you might think). If it’s a person you have to interact with who

causes you stress, be pro-active so you can take over as much control of the

interactions as you can. Pre-empt phone calls by emailing first.

Use breathing exercises. Say no to putting extra things on your schedule. Leave

earlier so you won’t be late if something goes wrong. Make lists so you don’t have to

remember so much on your own and worry about missing something. Ask for help.

Do whatever it takes to make a situation you know stresses you easier or better.

Exercise

I know sometimes it is very exciting to start a new, healthy regimen, and along with eating

well, you may be tempted to begin exercising, or ramp up your current level of exercise.

But until you’ve been on a healthy eating regimen for at least a month, I do not

recommend that you increase your activity level. The reason is that, as stated above,

exercise stresses the body, and right now it is our goal to take negative stressors away and

just let your body rest and recover. If you have a current exercise regimen, and haven’t

seen results in a while, you may want to stop for a bit to let your cortisol levels decrease

and allow your body to repair itself before you begin again.

The one exception to this rule is walking. I do recommend getting into the habit of taking a

30 minute walk each day. Don’t speed walk or wear a weighted vest – just walk. This

simple movement has been shown to increase insulin sensitivity, and to help stabilize

blood sugar levels for up to 24 hours!

And while I don’t recommend splurging with a sugary snack every day (or even once a

week), if you are going to do so, do it right before you take a walk. If you are having a

craving and have decided to indulge a little, taking a 30 minute walk directly afterwards

will buffer the effects so that the splurge doesn’t destroy your progress.

Sleeping Well

A great night sleep can be one of the most pleasant things in life, and studies show that

getting good sleep matters – a lot. They indicate that people with sleep disorders that

disturb the quality and duration of their sleep have increased risk of insulin

resistance, diabetes, and obesity. Getting enough quality sleep, on the other hand,

supercharges weight loss, balances hormones, and allows abused body parts (like beta

cells) to recover faster. There are many sleep disorders that a good sleep doctor can help

you with, but there are also lots of things you can do on your own to try to maximize the

quality of your sleep.

Follow a Schedule

Your body naturally wants to be on a rhythm. Your sleep quality is best when you

go to bed and get up around the same time every day, because your body had a

better idea of when to release daytime hormones, and when to release nighttime

hormones. Having the right hormones in your system promotes sleepiness, or

wakefulness – whichever is appropriate for the time of day. Creating a night time

ritual you enjoy helps a lot of people to ease into bedtime, and look forward to it.

Light During the Day

One of the main ways that our body figures out it’s rhythm, and when to release

those key hormones, is from the amount of light hitting our skin and coming in

through our eyes. Getting lots of natural light during the day will boost those

wakefulness hormones, and help set your circadian rhythm correctly. Open your

blinds, and go outside once in a while.

Light at Night

When you create that nighttime ritual, beware of doing the wrong things right

before bed. One of the worst things you can do it stare at a bright screen up until

you try to go to sleep. All that light coming in through your eyes is stimulating your

brain and telling it that it is time to be awake. Production of melatonin – your

body’s main sleepytime hormone – is suppressed, so even if you have no trouble

falling asleep right after staring at your phone, computer, or television, that lack of

melatonin means that for at least a couple of hours, your sleep will be low quality,

which makes it only a little better than useless.

Once you are in bed, your room should be pitch black so your sleep hormone

production is not disturbed. Your brain receives signals that influence your body’s

daily rhythm as a result of light coming in through the eyes, and even light hitting

your skin. If you absolutely need some kind of light in your room at night, make it

indirect, and as dim as possible, and make sure it is not blue. Blue light has been

scientifically proven to seriously suppress melatonin production – more so than

other colors of light. Don’t underestimate the effects of those little lights on phone

chargers or thermostats, and black them out with electrical tape to improve your

sleep.

MAKING IT HAPPEN

Okay. Now you know. You know what you’ve been doing wrong. You know what bad

advice you’ve been following. You also know how serious it is to get this right. You know

that blood sugar spikes and weight gain are dangerous and deadly. You also have a

blueprint of how to fix the problem. Now it’s time to do something about it. Just knowing

is not enough. If you don’t change what you do, then your health and your quality of life

won’t change either, except for the worse. Here’s how you are going to start living better

today…

Count on it

I am NOT talking about counting calories. Counting calories doesn’t make sense here

because it takes into account how much “energy” you can get from your food, but has

nothing to do with what that food is! I’m talking about counting grams of carbs. This is

optional. Not eating processed carbs and replacing them with whole, nutritious proteins

and vegetables will lower your blood sugar and cause you to lose fat, so that’s how many

people get started. Then, once they hit a plateau or feel ready to take their diet to the next

level, they begin to count carbs.

IF you are battling full-on diabetes and are experiencing complications, you should

probably start following this part of the plan ASAP. Remember that Beta Cells, which

produce insulin, can recover from damage, but at some point the damage is permanent. In

order to have your very best chance at reversing your diabetes before it’s too late, I

recommend you follow this carb counting plan, at least for a while…

Don’t worry – It’s much easier than counting calories, mostly because only some of the

foods you’ll be eating will even have carbs. It’s also easier because you will have a target

number of grams of carbs to stay under, and as long as you’re under it, you don’t need to

keep meticulous track of the exact amount.

First, you need to know how to count your NET carbs.

Net carbs are total carbohydrates minus fiber.

Figuring this out will be something you need to do with

your vegetables, seafood (not fish), liver, processed

meats (like lunch meat or hot dogs), avocados, dairy,

nuts, and any toppings or sauces you add to your food.

Meats that are not seasoned or sauced will not have any

carbs. Neither will butter or cooking oils.

I have found the website www.OnlyLowCarb.com very

helpful in tracking the grams of carbs in the foods I eat, especially things like fresh

vegetables that don’t come with a nutritional label.

If you decide to get really serious about reversing your diabetes or pre-diabetes and want

to count your grams of carbohydrates, here’s how you do it… Keep in mind that keeping a

log of sugar levels, weight, and daily grams of carbs will be key in making sure you progress

appropriately and keep seeing improvement. I provide a printable log at the end of this

document to help you.

Stage 1 (Inducing Ketosis) – First 21 days – Keep your carbs below 20 grams per

day.

Stage 2 (Continued Weight Loss) – Next several weeks – Add 5 grams to your daily

carbs each week (if you want to!) until you find a level where your blood sugar

levels are staying low (100 or lower) and your weight loss continues.

If you stop losing weight before you’d like, or if your sugars start to get too

high, reverse this process until your good results resume. Stage 2 is about finding a

balance between increasing your carbs so you can have more freedom in your diet,

and continuing to lose weight at the rate you’d like. Everyone is different and you

need to experiment and track your results to find that magic number that works for

you. Keep in mind that the magic number might change! If you hit a plateau and

decreasing your carbs doesn’t seem to help, see some of the tips in the

troubleshooting section.

Stage 3 (Maintenance) – Indefinite – Once you have reached your desired weight,

you may increase your daily carbs by 5 grams per week until you find a level where

your blood sugar levels are staying low and you are maintaining your weight. If you

start to gain or your sugars go up, decrease again.

To make this very clear, below is an example of what this process, and a filled out carb

counting log might look like:

To be honest, I just made up all the numbers in the chart above to give you an idea of the

process of tracking and making decisions on when to increase or decrease daily carbs.

That, combined with the fact that everyone is different, means that your blood sugar levels

may be lower than these, you may drop weight faster or slower, and the number of daily

carbs you decide to target for Stage 2 (continued weight loss) and then for Stage 3

(maintenance) may be higher or lower. Keeping the log and paying attention to how you

feel will be the key to making the right adjustments.

Break Food Addictions and Fight Cravings

If you feel like you are addicted to foods that are bad for you, and you can’t control yourself

in the face of a cravings – you are not alone. This is such a common issue that scientific

studies have been devoted to figuring out how to break these addictions and control

cravings. This is good news for you! It means you don’t have to try to do this all on your

own. Instead, you can follow an action plan that has science behind it. It has been tested

and proven, and all you have to do is follow the steps, and feel the positive effects it has on

your health, your energy, and your quality of life.

Be Proactive

Dr. Eric Westman, a low-carb diet expert at Duke University, says that drinking a cup of

broth (or bouillon) twice per day during the first 2-4 weeks of restricting carbs can curb

sugar cravings. If you have congestive heart failure or high blood pressure, you should talk

to your doctor about this before doing it. If not, I recommend hitting the broth before the

cravings hit you.

Get Rid of it

You’ve heard that possession is nine tenths of the law, right? Well the same goes for food.

If it’s in your house, you may as well be guilty of eating it, because that’s why it’s there,

right? You bought it because you like it and you intended to eat it. So if you no longer

intend to eat it, because you now realize how terrible it is for your health, it has to go. Take

it to a food pantry, post it on Craigslist Free, give it to a neighbor, put it in the trash –

whatever it takes to get it out of your home and remove it as an option when you want

something to eat. The level to which you carry this out is indicative of how committed you

are to your health. If you get rid of most of the snack cakes, but keep some “just in case,”

then you are only partly committed to becoming healthy. You are holding back and not

fully buying into the idea of really getting healthy. Maybe you don’t believe you can do it, or

maybe you aren’t really sure you want to do it. Either way, by not fully committing, you are

setting yourself up for failure. It is your choice, and I hope you choose your health and your

future.

Getting rid of the stuff you know you aren’t supposed to be eating is the first step for

beginning today. The next step is to read through the rest of the materials you got from me.

You will gain the knowledge, confidence, and real-world tools you need to really tackle this

thing called healthy eating. You may end up figuring out that there are some more things in

the pantry you need to purge – go ahead and do that. Then you will be on the road to really

getting healthy through putting better things into your body. After all, what could have a

more profound impact on our health than the quality of the foods we consume?

Wait it out

One of the most effective, and most practical solutions to a craving is to wait it out. You

may give in because you think that the craving will only get worse with time. This is simply

not true. A craving usually only lasts 15 to 20 minutes if not satiated, and then it simply

goes away. It may get more or less intense at different times during that period of time,

and it may come back at a later time, but if you can wait the 20 minutes, it will go away.

This is an important technique for your toolbox, because the rest of the suggestions on this

list might not always be possible. If you are at work trying to resist the cake in the break

room, you may not be able to go workout or take a bubble bath, but you can wait it out. Get

distracted by something else, and before you know it, that craving will be gone and you will

feel more in control – and you will feel great about having resisted temptation!

Assess your Emotions

Certain kinds of foods release a feel-good chemical in your brain called dopamine.

Dopamine not only triggers euphoria, but it inhibits cortisol, which is a chemical released

when you are stressed. If you have a fight with your spouse, and then eat ice cream, the

dopamine will make you feel better, and your brain will form an association that ice cream

is an effective solution to a stressful situation. You probably have many of these

associations already programmed into you from early in life.

We also need to recognize that there are two types of hunger: physical hunger and

emotional hunger. Physical hunger is just what it sounds like. It means you are actually

hungry and you should eat. Emotional hunger is, in reality, a desire to address an emotion

with food. It is often characterized by wanting one particular food and wanting it very

suddenly. This kind of “hunger” needs to be addressed, but not with food.

So when a craving strikes, assess your emotions. Are you stressed? Sad? Angry? Lonely?

Once you have sorted out what you are feeling and what you are craving, write it down.

Record that stress makes you want potato chips, or whatever the case may be. If you can

recognize these associations, you can begin to recognize these craving for what they are –

an emotional craving. You don’t want the food – you want the feeling. Maybe you used to

eat potato chips with your dad, and it made you feel safe and secure, or maybe it’s just the

euphoria from the dopamine release that you’re after. Instead of eating the potato chips, go

after the feeling:

Take a hot bubble bath

Exercise

Visit or call a friend or family member

Write an email

Watch or read something that makes you laugh

Listen to your playlist of upbeat music (this one in particular is scientifically

proven to beat cravings!)

If you keep doing something other than eating to fill that gap, your brain will form a new

association over time, and those emotional food cravings will subside.

Break Bad Habits

If you are used to always eating while you watch TV, or eating dessert after every dinner, or

getting a hot dog at every peewee football game – recognize that this is a habit you will

have to break. Don’t be surprised when you sit down to watch a show and get a craving for

whatever you normally eat in front of the television. Not being blindsided by it will help a

great deal. You will be mentally prepared to wait out the craving, and you will know that

you don’t really want or need that food – it’s just a brain association, and with time it will

go away.

Be Goal Oriented

Watching the brain activity of people experiencing a craving on an MRI machine has shown

that focusing on a goal combats the craving. It activated the pre-frontal cortex, which

interrupts the craving. So if you are having a craving, focus on your goal of being healthy,

losing weight, or getting rid of your diabetes. Close your eyes and picture it. See yourself in

that bathing suit you’d like to be able to wear. See yourself feeling well enough to take your

grandkids to the zoo. See yourself doing that thing you desperately want to be healthy for!

To help yourself with this tactic, make a list of your goals, and be specific. This should be

an actual, physical list, written or typed. Having created this list will cement them in your

mind, and give you something to refer to if you need fuel for your visualizations when a

craving hits. As an added bonus, studies show that people who write down their goals are

much more likely to actually achieve them. Another aspect is that if you share these goals

with a friend (send them the list in an email!), and check in with them on your progress on

a weekly basis, you are even more likely (33%) to reach those goals.

Be Accountable

Start a food journal and be accountable to yourself. Write down everything you put in your

mouth. The point is not to look at it in the evening and beat yourself up about all the bad

stuff you ate that day – the point is to avoid eating it in the first place because you know

you will have to write it down. Often, when we get a craving, we scarf something down

quickly and move on with our day, not thinking twice about it. If you know that you will

need to record that food in your journal, you will actually think about whether it’s worth it

to consume that unhealthy or unscheduled food. The moment when you pause to think

before giving in is when you gain back the control. You can look into your anti-craving

toolbox and fight back!

If you have a friend with food-related goals, you could do this together. Share your goals

with each other, and when you check in, you can look back at your food journals to see how

you did. Reviewing the journal may also help you find weak spots that need to be fortified.

For example, if you keep giving in on Friday mornings when Joe brings doughnuts to the

office, maybe you need to avoid the break room on Fridays until lunchtime when the

doughnuts are already gone. Your friend’s objective viewpoint may help you recognize

these patterns.

If you are comfortable with it – share what you are doing on social media, like

Facebook. Studies show that people who publically announce a goal are much more

likely to follow through and achieve it than those who keep it to themselves.

Keep at it

Remember that you are forming new habits here - both conscious ones and subconscious

ones – so it will take some time. Don’t be discouraged if the cravings don’t disappear

overnight – they won’t. Just keep using these techniques every time you get a craving, and

after two weeks to a month, the cravings should have drastically subsided. Keep at it!

Planning

Planning your meals out in advance is going to be one of the most important steps to

locking in success. If you’ve ever tried to diet before (and I’m guessing you probably have),

you’ve heard all about this. You don’t want to get caught at the last minute with no dinner

plans, because that’s when pizza gets ordered... You also don’t want to be out and about

during lunch and expect to find some fast, affordable, unprocessed, low carb food. It just

isn’t likely to happen. So a big part of this is going to be planning, and - especially if you

work away from home - packing your lunch. Something that I do almost every day is make

extra dinner, and have the leftovers for lunch the next day. It’s easy, and delicious.

See the Print-Outs section coming up for an example of the meal plan sheet I use to keep all

this stuff straight.

Shopping

Whenever you change your eating habits, especially if they are extremely different from

what you are used to, the shopping part can be pretty daunting. In this case, it doesn’t have

to be… Remember how I said I started out? Every morning for breakfast I had ketogenic

coffee, sometimes replaced with eggs and bacon or an omelette with spinach and

mushrooms. For dinner I ate a meat with a vegetable (steak and steamed broccoli, or pork

roast with carrots). For lunch I ate leftovers from the previous night’s dinner. This is not

complicated!

You can shop for this – really… Buy meats and local, seasonal fruits and vegetables. Ideally,

you’ll buy grass fed meats and organic fruits and vegetables, but even if you can’t do that

right now, cutting out the processed carbs and focusing on whole foods is a huge step in the

right direction! Your body will confirm this for you very quickly.

You can find many more tips for shopping and choosing the right stuff (and what makes it

the right stuff) in our Blood Sugar Shopping Guide, and for you convenience, I’ve included

the Staple Foods Shopping List in the Print Outs section below.

Meal Preparation

Preparing meals can be kind of like being a handyman – having the right tools makes all the

difference. If you already have a kitchen full of gizmos and gadgets and are an experienced

cook, you are good to go. If, however, you aren’t used to cooking that much, take a couple

of tips from me here that will make your life easier…

1. Get a crockpot (and if you already have one – dust it off and use it!).

There are few things as satisfying as walking into the house after work or

running errands and smelling a delicious dinner ready to eat! You just take a

few minutes in the morning to pop everything in the crockpot, and forget

about it. It’s a lifesaver. Oh – and don’t forget to turn the crockpot on! Yes…I

did that once…

Crockpots can also be used for breakfast – breakfast casseroles and crockpot

quiches are wonderful to wake up to, and delicious!

Most any recipe that can be baked or cooked in a skillet, can be converted to

a crockpot meal by simply mixing all the ingredients together in the crockpot

and cooking on low for several hours. I like to cook recipes with chicken

breasts for at least 6 hours, preferably 8. When I cook roasts (pork or beef)

10-12 hours seems best, but cutting the roast into smaller chunks first makes

8 hours a perfect amount of time in most cases.

2. Get tools for cutting vegetables.

If you aren’t accustomed to doing a lot of cooking with fresh vegetables, then

you may need to improve your kitchen collection in terms of gizmos that

chop, dice, slice, and mince. On my list of must haves is a garlic mincer, a

vegetable chopper, a food processor, at least one really nice chopping knife,

and a collection of cutting boards. As cutting boards go, even those simple

flexible sheet style ones will do, and you can get a 3-pack for about $10.

Having a few is important though, because having to stop to clean one off

when you are in the flow of food prep can be frustrating and add more time

to your task.

3. Do everything you can in advance.

If you are in a cooking mood on Sunday, and have beef stew on your meal

plan for Friday night – go ahead and cook it! Some meals freeze and thaw

very well. In fact, many even taste better later on, and it just feels great to

know that you’ve already taken care of it. If you are cooking more than two

days in advance, I suggest freezing the food – just don’t forget to put a note

on your meal plan reminding yourself to thaw it on time.

If you are having burgers one night, and have some extra time in the

morning, prepare the patties and put them in the fridge… Basically, if you

have some extra time and motivation, go ahead and prep something for

cooking later. Just remember that fresh vegetables and fruits start to lose

nutritional value as soon as they are cut, so those are best left till meal time.

If you are going to cook in advance, make sure to add lots of food storage

containers to your list of things you’ll need in the kitchen.

STEP-BY-STEP ACTION PLANS

Here in Blood Sugar Secrets Exposed, I have two choices for you – the Rapid Results Track

(a 4 day plan), and the gradual changes track (a 6 week plan). If those seem a little extreme

to you either way, check your email! I’ll be sending you an email every day for 10 days. It’s

the 10-Day Fast Start Guide, and it will tell you what to do, day by day, to get started.

Rapid Results Track

With the Rapid Results Track, the first two days will be action packed, and you will be

eating the Blood Sugar Secrets Exposed way, and reaping the benefits, before the end of the

week!

Day 1

Read Blood Sugar Secrets Exposed all the way through.

Print out the Meal Plan Sheet, Staple Foods Shopping List, Sugar Level Log, and

Carb Counting Log found at the end of this document.

Create a menu plan that follows all the rules, including ketogenic coffee for breakfast.

Make a shopping list so you can make everything on your menu.

Day 2

Touch base with your doctor. If you are on blood sugar stabilizing medications, talk

to your doctor. Tell them that you are planning on beginning a low-carb diet and expect

to need less medication. You can use the Sugar Level Log printout to keep records of

your descending blood sugar levels. Sharing this with your doctor will help them to

determine if changes to your medication regimen are in order.

Read the Blood Sugar Shopping Guide so you are prepared to make great choices at

the grocery store.

Clean out your pantry, fridge, and cabinets and get rid of everything from the Do Not

Eat list. Remember this includes beverages.

Go shopping and get everything from the shopping list you made on Day 1.

Start your new way of eating! You don’t really have a choice, since you already got rid

of everything you aren’t supposed to eat! Don’t forget to fill out your Sugar Level Log.

Day 3

Have your first breakfast of ketogenic coffee and stick to your meal plan.

Read through the Guilt-Free Dining Out Guide so you are mentally prepared if you

end up eating out.

Start your food journal, and continue using your Sugar Level Log.

Day 4

Read the Supplement Guide and think about whether you want to add

supplements to your regimen so you can further optimize your blood sugar levels and

support your overall health. Remember to talk to your doctor before taking them in

combination with your other medications.

Gradual Changes Track

The Gradual Changes Track has action items for 6 weeks. I recommend you pick one day to

do everything on the Week 1 list, and then just use the rest of the week to let it sink in. For

the next 5 weeks, you will have 1 action item to keep you progressing toward your goal of

better health. Keep in mind that on this track, you won’t start seeing the big results until

after you switch all your meals over to the diet I recommend.

Week 1 Read Blood Sugar Secrets Exposed all the way through.

Look through your fridge and pantry, and think about foods you commonly eat (at

home or out) that are on the "do not eat list".

Make two lists to help get your mind right for the changes you will be making. One list

will be full of the foods you commonly eat that you will stop eating in order to take

control of your health and improve your life. The other list will be full of foods you love

and are excited to start eating much more of while following the Blood Sugar Secrets

Exposed eating plan.

Here is an example of what my lists would have looked like:

Foods to Phase Out

Pancakes

Bread

Pasta

Rice

Cookies

Tortillas

Foods I can eat more of

Eggs

Bacon

Whole Milk

Steak

Nuts

Butter

Having written these lists will help you to start paying more attention to what you are

eating. You will naturally begin to eat fewer of the foods that are destroying your health,

and more of the good stuff.

Talk to your doctor. Especially if you are on medications to control your blood sugar,

let your doctor know what changes you will be making over the next few weeks, and

that you expect to need less and less medication as you progress. You can use the Sugar

Level Log printout to keep records of your descending blood sugar levels. Sharing this

with your doctor will help them to determine if changes to your medication regimen are

in order.

Print the logs if you are going to track and record your carbs and/or results.

Week 2 Replace your normal breakfasts with Blood Sugar Secrets Exposed friendly

breakfasts. No more pancakes, toast, muffins, waffles, oatmeal or cereal. Instead,

think steak and eggs, bacon, omelettes, fruits, and veggies. Since your body will

already be in a fasting state from having been asleep all night, eating a breakfast that

keeps your body in ketosis will have a big impact on your energy levels and weight

loss capacity throughout the day.

Week 3 Replace your normal dinners with BSSE friendly dinners. The simplest way to

begin with this is to focus on having meat with a vegetable side. Later on, you can

get fancy with your recipes, but this is a great place to start. Chicken and brocolli,

steak and asparagus, meatloaf and green beans are all great choices.

Week 4 Start making enough extra for dinner that you can have leftovers for lunch the

next day, and actually eat them! Now you are eating the right stuff for breakfast,

lunch, and dinner - congratulations! That wasn’t so hard, was it?

Week 5 Replace all beverages with water, coffee, tea, or whole milk. Don't fall into the

trap of eating great, and then shooting yourself in the foot with your beverages.

Sodas (diet and otherwise) are terrible for you, and alcohol isn't good for your blood

sugar levels either. Don’t underestimate one 12 ounce can’s ability to sabotage all

your efforts.

Week 6 Commit. Now that you have put these new habits into action, it is time to really

commit to them. To do this you must:

o Clean out your kitchen (fridge, pantry, cupboards) of all foods on the Do Not

Eat list.

o Plan out your meals in advance and shop accordingly so you don't end up

ordering pizza or eating something else you hadn't really intended on eating.

o Keep BSSE friendly snacks on hand.

o Mentally prepare yourself for cravings, and for the fact that you do not have

to give in to them.

o Read the Guilt-Free Dining Out Guide that came with Blood Sugar Secrets

Exposed so you can be prepared to eat out without spiking your blood sugar.

o Read the Blood Sugar Shopping Guide to help you know how to make the

best choices at the grocery store.

PRINT-OUTS

Here you will find helpful printouts. The Meal Plan Sheet, and The Staple Foods Shopping

List will help you stay organized and on track, and the Sugar Level Log will help you keep

track of your great results, and make sure your blood sugar is responding well to your new

nutrition plan.

Meal Plan Sheet

Having a meal plan sheet is a great way to stay on track. You can plan a week in advance,

and use the sheet to make your shopping list, and then the question “what’s for dinner?”

will never take you off guard again!

Example Sheet

Here are a couple of days filled out to give you an idea of what this will look like…

Sun Mon Tue Wed Thur Fri Sat Morning Prep Tasks

Thaw chicken for Tues.

Put BBQ Pork in Crockpot

Breakfast Eggs and Bacon

Mushroom Omelette

Lunch Tuna Salad Wrap

Leftovers from last night

Dinner Steak and Brocolli

Barbeque Pork and Salad

Snacks Almonds, leftovers

Fruit and Yogurt

Evening Prep Tasks

Thaw beef shoulder for Weds.

Put breakfast casserole in crockpot

On the next page is a blank version of this chart that you can print out and fill in for

yourself.

Sun Mon Tue Wed Thur Fri Sat Morning Prep Tasks

Breakfast

Lunch

Dinner

Snacks

Evening Prep Tasks

Sun Mon Tue Wed Thur Fri Sat Morning Prep Tasks

Breakfast

Lunch

Dinner

Snacks

Evening Prep Tasks

Staple Foods Shopping List

This is very similar to the grocery list I use… I have print-outs of it, and before I go to the

store, I go through the kitchen and pantry with it crossing off what I am already stocked up

on. Then I go through my meal plan for the coming week and fill in the blanks on the list

based on what I will need for those recipes… I also make notes next to list items – for

example, how many pounds of ground beef I will need, and an estimate of how many eggs if

it will be more than a dozen. Then, as I shop, I check off the things I get.

You can print and use this list to help you get into the swing of things if you like, but even if

you don’t do that, I strongly recommend you make your own similar type of list that works

for you. Having a list keeps you on track at the store and ensures that you can make that

meal plan a reality. And not having to start from scratch every time you go to the store

means shopping is not such a daunting task, it’s more likely to get done, and you are less

likely to end up ordering pizza because you just didn’t get to the store.

The list is full of whole foods, and things that have been minimally processed. There are

endless possibilities of meals you can make with these fresh, pure ingredients. This means

that even if I am not so organized one week and don’t make my meal plan before I go to the

store, I am still able to put together several meals from the things I got from my staple

foods list.

□ Dairy

□ Pasture-raised eggs

□ Full-fat yogurt

□ Full-fat grass fed milk

□ Grass-fed butter

□ Ketogenic Coffee

□ Coffee

□ MCT Oil

□ Grass-fed butter

□ Local, seasonal vegetables

□ Garlic

□ Onions

□ ____________________________

□ ____________________________

□ ____________________________

□ ____________________________

□ Local, seasonal fruits

□ ____________________________

□ ____________________________

□ ____________________________

□ ____________________________

□ Other

□ ____________________________

□ ____________________________

□ ____________________________

□ Meats

□ Chicken

□ Beef

□ Ground Beef

□ Pork

□ Liver

□ Bacon

□ Sausage

□ Seafood

□ Salmon

□ Shrimp

□ ____________________________

□ Oils

□ Coconut Oil

□ Ghee

□ Extra Virgin Olive Oil

□ Spices and Sauces

□ ____________________________

□ ____________________________

□ ____________________________

□ Other

□ ____________________________

□ ____________________________

□ ____________________________

□ ____________________________

Sugar Level Log

This log is to help you keep track of your pre- and post-meal blood sugars. Especially if you take

medications to help control your blood sugar, you will want this record to show your doctor so that he or

she can make the necessary adjustments to your dosages. Also, it will help you to see just how much

difference what you eat makes in your levels, and how your levels affect how you feel.

Using this log, you can record the following for each of three meals per day:

Your blood sugar a few minutes before eating, and the time you tested it

What you ate, the time you began, and net carbs if you are counting them

Your blood sugar 2 hours after beginning the meal, and the time you tested it

Medications you took (including dosage and time taken)

Notes about how you were feeling at the time

This log can also help you figure out if any particular food is producing a toxic effect. Everyone is

different, so if you find that a particular food is consistently making your sugar levels spike, or making

you feel bad, you’ll have a record of it, and will know you need to stop eating that food.

Example Sheet

Below is an example of what one day filled out might look like.

Before Meal After Before Meal After Before Meal After

Meal

Meds

Day 1 Time 7:45 AM 8:00 AM 10:00 AM 12:15 PM 12:20 PM 2:20 PM 5:20 PM 5:30 PM 7:30 PM

Mon Level 80 97 92 105 97 10819-Jan Notes

Breakfast Lunch Dinner

Veggie Omelette + Bacon Chicken Salad w/ Avocado Pork Roast, Carrots, Salad

metformin 500 mg 8am metformin 500 mg 12:20pm metformin 500 mg 5:30pm

good energy, small headache headache gone, lots of energy feeling great!

On the next page is a blank, 7-day version of this log for you to print and fill out.

Before Meal After Before Meal After Before Meal After

Meal

Meds

Day 1 Time

Level

Notes

Meal

Meds

Day 2 Time

Level

Notes

Meal

Meds

Day 3 Time

Level

Notes

Meal

Meds

Day 4 Time

Level

Notes

Meal

Meds

Day 5 Time

Level

Notes

Meal

Meds

Day 6 Time

Level

Notes

Meal

Meds

Day 7 Time

Level

Notes

Breakfast Lunch Dinner

Carb Counting Log This log is to help you keep track of your daily carb counting goals and the results you got in terms of weight (measured one time, at the end of the week) and blood sugar (the average of a week’s worth of measurements from your blood sugar log). Remember that the number you put in under “Carbs Goal” is the maximum number of grams of carbs you will eat each day for that whole week. See the “Count on it” section to see an example of this log filled out.

Example Sheet

Below is an example of what a filled out log might look like.

On the next page is a blank version of this log for you to print and fill out.

End of Week Measurements

Carbs Goal Avg Blood Sugar Weight

Week 1

Week 2

Week 3

Week 4

Week 5

Week 6

Week 7

Week 8

Week 9

Week 10

Week 11

Week 12

Week 13

Week 14

Week 15

Week 16

Week 17

Week 18

Week 19

Week 20

Week 21

Week 22

Week 23

Week 24

Week 25

TROUBLESHOOTING

Everyone is different, so while this way of eating is scientifically proven to lower blood sugar and result

in fat loss, it still needs to be tweaked for each individual to achieve the best outcome.

So if your blood sugar is still higher than it should be, if your weight loss has plateaued sooner than you’d

like, or you are feeling bad side effects of the diet, here are some things you might need to address to get

back on track:

1. Eat less dairy – Dairy is another low-carb food that still causes an insulin response if too much is

consumed. If your sugars are still too high or you aren’t losing fat, this is a likely culprit. Try cutting out

milk altogether and limiting cheese to 4 ounces per day. The harder the cheese, the better. The exception

here is butter. There shouldn’t be any reason to limit butter.

2. Eat fewer nuts – It’s easy to eat lots and lots of nuts and not feel full, and at a certain point, they will

cause an insulin response, so if you are frequently snacking on nuts, try eliminating them for a while and

see if your glucose levels and weight loss results improve.

3. Cheat less – It can take your body up to 2-3 days to get back into ketosis after a cheat mean, so if you

cheat on Sundays and Thursdays, you could be negating any progress you would be making. Cut back on

the cheats and you may see a big boost in results.

4. Cut your carbs more – If you are already keeping your carbs under 20 grams per day, this is not you.

If your carbs are over 70 grams per day, bring them down to under 70. If they are between 50 and 70, try

keeping them under 50 for a while. If you were already under 50 grams, try going down to 20 for a few

days, eating only proteins and leafy greens. Re-read the “Count on it” section and use the carb counting

log to find the sweet spot where you are seeing the results you want.

5. Eat fattier meats – There is a long, involved scientific explanation for this, but the bottom line is that if

you eat too much lean protein, your blood sugar levels may still be too high. Your liver plays an

important role in your blood sugar stabilization when you eat fewer carbs. This is because when carbs

are not readily available, your liver turns proteins (from meat) into glucose so that your body can

maintain a safe minimal blood sugar level. This is totally normal and fine. The problem comes when you

eat a low-carb diet and choose the wrong proteins (lean ones). In order to feel satiated, you end up

eating too much protein, and your liver makes too much glucose out of it, raising your blood sugar and

thwarting your efforts. When you eat fatty meats, you will reach satiation sooner and not consume too

much protein.

6. Really take the 21 Day Challenge – Follow the rules really strictly for at least 21 days. Many people

become impatient, or begin cheating right off the bat and don’t see much in the way of results. It can take

3-4 days for your body to get into ketosis and start burning fat, and then it can take a few more weeks for

your body to fully adapt to the new metabolic processes it is using for energy. Give it time to work! It

will be worth it!

7. Try fasting – I do not want you to starve yourself, but sometimes “intermittent fasting” is an extremely

helpful tool to start seeing fat loss results again. This could mean fasting for 24 hours, or just skipping

breakfast once or twice per week. Some people designate a 6 hour window each day during which they

will eat, and fast the rest of the time.

8. Sleep and De-stress – I know it’s easy to gloss over my advice about sleeping well and cutting down

on stress levels, but please believe that it really is important! Being tired and stressed is hard on your

body, which means that it isn’t functioning at its peak. If you want the best results, you need to let your

body focus on healing, not just getting through the day because you are low on sleep and overloaded with

stress hormones. Another aspect of this is that when you are tired and stressed out, you have less

willpower. This means you are more likely to give in to cravings.

9. Eat more salt – Insulin has a lot of jobs in the body. One is to tell the kidneys to hold onto sodium,

which the body needs in order to perform lots of essential functions. When you cut your carbs, you also

lost a lot of sodium. So if you are feeling fatigued, light-headed, constipated, or have headaches, try

drinking some broth or salting your food more to replace that missing sodium.

10. Read Blood Sugar Secrets Exposed again – Is it possible you are ignoring or missed a very

important piece of the puzzle? Are you avoiding carbs and fat? This is a mistake… Are you drinking fruit

juice or eating too much fruit? While I assure you that this diet is not complicated, there are still a few

ways you can throw a wrench in the works without meaning to… Make sure you read through everything

and didn’t miss something major.

FAQ

The following are answers to some commonly asked questions:

1. Can’t I just use insulin injections instead of changing my whole diet?

That’s a really good question. I wish you could because it would be a really easy fix, but unfortunately,

the answer is no.

Type 2 Diabetes is a health problem with its roots in insulin resistance. Scientists now know that insulin

resistance is caused because your body is producing too much insulin, as a result of blood sugar that’s

consistently too high. Not only does this exhaust and damage your beta cells, but your cells eventually

stop responding to it the insulin. It’s a lot like the way your nose stops responding to a bad smell after

you get used to it.

So by injecting extra insulin into your body, you actually make your insulin resistance worse over time.

Diabetes expert Dr. Rosedale says that this insulin over-exposure is the reason why many Type 1

Diabetics are now developing Type 2 Diabetes on top of their original condition…

So insulin injections cannot fix the real problem diabetics face. The only way to really fix the problem is

to give your beta cells the rest they need. You do this by decreasing blood sugar so there isn’t a demand

for the them to supply insulin. This will naturally decrease the levels of insulin in the blood, which, in

time, will give your cells a chance to start responding to it again.

While we’re on the topic of insulin, I’d also like to point out that insulin makes it impossible to lose fat,

and easy to gain it. When insulin is present in your blood, your body can only burn glucose, not fat. That

includes fat you eat, and fat you already have stored up. Insulin’s function is to lower blood sugar, and it

does that by allowing your cells to use the sugar for energy, and also to convert it to even more fat.

2. Am I going to be hungry all the time like I have been on other diets?

No! One of the best things about this way of eating is that you don’t ever have to feel hungry. One reason

is that you aren’t counting calories so you don’t have to restrict the amount you eat. As long as you’re

eating the right stuff, you can eat as often as you like, until you feel full.

The other reason is something I like to call the Leptin Secret. Let me explain what Leptin is… Leptin is a

little known hormone produced by your body fat that helps your cells be more receptive to insulin so less

glucose is stored as fat.

Leptin is also the chemical trigger that tells your brain you’re full. You see, there are two ways to feel full.

One is when your stomach is fully stretched out and can’t physically hold anything else. With this type of

fullness, once your stomach empties out, (usually in about 30 minutes) you feel hungry again as if you

hadn’t eaten at all… The second way is when leptin travels to your brain, giving it the signal that you have

enough nutrition to stop eating. This second type of full feeling lasts for hours.

The problem is that recent research shows that most diabetics are both insulin resistant, and leptin

resistant. This means that you only ever feel the first kind of fullness because your brain never gets the

signal that you’re full until your stomach is full to the brim.

Eating the Blood Sugar Secrets Exposed restores leptin sensitivity as well as insulin sensitivity. After

reversing your leptin resistance, you will begin to feel full when you have eaten the nutrition your body

needs, whether your stomach is physically full or not. And since you will be eating delicious, whole foods

instead of processed carbs without any nutrition, leptin will really get a chance to do its job. You won’t

just feel full after eating, you will feel satisfied. And the feeling will last much longer than you’re used to.

3. Why can’t I just use diabetes medicines to manage my diabetes?

This goes back to the first question, but with some additional complications…

First and foremost, Type 2 Diabetes, pre-diabetes and insulin resistance are nutrition problems, so the

only way to fix them is with proper nutrition.

Most diabetes medications either mask the problems, and some do so while actually making the

underlying issues worse. In addition, they give you some serious side effects to deal with. Avandia, for

instance, increases your risk of having a heart attack by 43% & increases your risk of cardiovascular

death by 64%, but it’s prescribed to hundreds of thousands of diabetics.

Other drugs force the beta cells to produce more insulin. This not only tires out these already exhausted

cells to the point of death, it also causes the same problems as artificial insulin injections by increasing

insulin levels and therefore exacerbating insulin resistance.

There are other drugs that, in addition to having a long list of dangerous side effects, can push your blood

sugar too low. This is called hypoglycemia and can cause immediate death. When eating a low-carb diet,

hypoglycemia is virtually unheard of, unless you continue your glucose lowering medication. Again, if

you are taking glucose lowering medications, you should talk to your doctor before beginning this way of

eating so that he or she can help you adjust your medication accordingly.

4. How many carbs are too many?

To a lot of people, keeping carbs under 100-120 grams per day is a low-carb diet. However, to really get

your body into ketosis, many doctors recommend an “induction” period of about 3 weeks which entails

keeping your daily carbs under 20 grams. Then, to maintain ketosis, you will most likely need to keep

your daily carbs under 50 grams (remember, everyone is different). Check the “Count on it” section to get

a template for how to begin and how to find the right number of daily carbs for you.