Life After Sugar

Sara is a mom of seven, a master herbalist, an international board-certified lactation consultant, and the author of Moodtopia for Women and Moodtopia for Kids. 

She runs a pediatric and women’s clinic in Brooklyn, New York, and has worked with babies, children and their parents for more than three decades.

In this conversation, Sara explains why babies start life used to sweetness, since breast milk is naturally sweet, and why that makes it normal for children to gravitate toward sugar. 

The real question, she says, is what we offer them once they move...

Mike grew up eating plenty of sugar. As a competitive boxer and wrestler, he would sometimes lose weight to make his target, then celebrate with a pie. It wasn't until much later, when he started having ongoing health and back problems, that he began looking more closely at his diet.

Mike says that when he cut sugar, his inflammation decreased and his aches and pains started to go away. 

He also shares why he decided to cut sugar out of his diet and how that change affected the way he feels, particularly when it comes t...

When you start cutting back on sugar, it’s easy to put all carbs or sugars into one basket. 

But my guest Dr. John Lewis, a nutrition scientist, explains why that basket is too big.

John looks at sugars by where they come from and how they are built. 

A simple sugar is a single molecule. A disaccharide has two molecules, like sucrose (white sugar). Polysaccharides, the kind he has spent years researching in aloe and rice bran, are long chains of sugar units linked together. 

And those different types of carbs...

Suzanne had already figured out that sugar was her problem. 

She had spent 25 years on every diet out there, but she realized that sugar was tripping her up, including for intermittent fasting. 

So in 2025, Suzanne booked a call with me about getting support, but at the time, she wasn’t ready to sign up for my Freedom from Cravings Formula program. 

Back then, Suzanne thought she could do it on her own, and she didn’t want to spend the money on a program. For the next year she kept telling herself she knew wh...

In this episode, I’m joined by Paige, who explains what "nervous system regulation" means with relation to recovery from sugar addiction. 

Paige’s message is that when we reach for food under stress, the real issue is a nervous system that has gone into emergency mode. A calm brain doesn’t crave, so her approach starts with calming the body and using the small pause between a thought and an action.

Paige also talks about why the third week after reducing or cutting sugar is usually the hardest, and what happens to your taste buds an...

It's episode 300 of the Life After Sugar podcast! Woo hoo!

To celebrate, I go back to some of the first things I ever talked about on this podcast, back in 2021, and to why the show exists in the first place. 

Sometimes we forget the basics, so I think that the 300th episode is a good place to remember them.

In this episode, you'll hear about:

Susan Peirce Thompson, PhD, is a former food addict and the founder of Bright Line Eating. She and I recorded Episode 125 back in June 2023.

Susan is back on the podcast to talk about her new book, Maintain, the fifth book in her series about food addiction and weight loss.

In this episode, we talk about what happens after you lose the weight and why maintaining it can be harder than people expect. 

A big part of that is learning what to do when you’re no longer using food, especially foods that contain ref...

In this episode, I’m talking with John about sugar cravings, hydration, and what he calls “intracellular hydration.”

John shares his story of growing up in Columbus, Ohio, becoming a sugar addict, and eventually developing a very different perspective on health and the role of sugar and especially hydration in the body.

John surprises me with his fascinating “marbles and sponges” analogy to explain intracellular hydration.

He also explains why he believes sugar cravings are connected to dehydration.

And we talk about something I'm sure you can relate to: when it comes to s...

Martin was a guest on the Life After Sugar podcast on Episode 110 in February 2023. He’s back to ask me some questions about sugar, to talk about his new book, and also about the concept of an "irrevocable commitment".

Martin practises intermittent fasting. But he’s continued to have something sweet after dinner, which is a habit that goes back to childhood (nothing wrong with that!).

In this episode, we talk about:

Heike grew up in Germany eating lots of sugar and large portions, and she was overweight by the time she was a teenager.

After moving to the United States in her early 20s, she discovered a very different food environment than the one she was expecting. She was surprised by how much fast food, fried food, burgers, French fries and starch-heavy foods there were, and how little emphasis there seemed to be on vegetables.

In this episode, we talk about:

Dr. Nathan Bryan has spent years researching human health and physiology... but during his medical training, he received zero dedicated training in nutrition.

In this episode, we talk about what he learned after his medical training and through his research, and how the nutritional quality of our food has degraded over time.

Dr. Nathan and I talk about how we consumers need to educate ourselves (which is easier said than done with all the confusing info out there!).

We also talk about sugar, insulin resistance, intermittent fasting, nutrient deficiencies, and whether supplements can...

You probably don't need another diet, another list of foods to avoid, or another reminder about what you already know you should be doing.

If you've been struggling with sugar cravings for years, the problem may not be a lack of information... or a lack of willpower.

It may be that you're trying to change a deeply ingrained pattern without the right process, support, and accountability.

In this episode, I explain why so many capable, motivated women can know exactly what they want to change and still find themselves back in the same...

For Sharon, sugar was much more than a sweet treat.

Sugary foods were something she used to help her through all-nighters and cope with difficult times.

But eventually, she realized that sugar was was helping her cope with difficult relationships and family issues.

In this episode, Sharon shares her journey from eating brownie batter straight from the bowl to adopting a raw vegan lifestyle.

She talks about the difficult events that fuelled her sugar addiction, and the moment she realized she didn't want to spend the next 40 or 50 years feeling miserable.<...

What does sugar have to do with heart disease? 

According to Dr. Geoffrey Boone, preventive cardiologist, much more than most people realize. 

After decades of helping people prevent heart disease, he explains how sugar contributes to inflammation, damages the lining of the arteries, and why these changes can begin years before any symptoms appear.

In this episode, we talk about why Dr. Boone believes prevention still isn't the main focus of healthcare, how modern imaging can detect heart disease long before a heart attack, and why highly processed foods have become such a pr...

You've probably tried to stop eating sugar on your own.

More than once.

And it can work for a while. 

You promise yourself you'll do better, you rely on willpower, and maybe you even have a few good days or weeks. 

But when life gets stressful or overwhelming, it's all too easy to slip back into old habits.

In this episode, I talk about why lasting freedom from sugar cravings isn't about having more knowledge or finding the perfect meal plan. 

It's about getting the right support and...

Many of us turn to sugar or comfort food without really understanding why. 

In fact, most of us haven't been taught how to name or cope with our emotions.

For Lisa, emotional eating became a way of coping with life's difficult moments when she was a child. It wasn't until much later in life that she began to uncover what she really needed to do when her emotions overwhelmed her.

In this episode, Lisa shares how childhood experiences, including the loss of her brother at the age of six, shaped her relationship with f...

A dramatic sugar crash during a swimming race at just 11 years old became the turning point that shaped Jodie's entire approach to health.

In this episode, Jodi shares how that early experience led her to question the role of sugar, discover the power of whole foods, and become much more aware of how food affects the body. 

We also explore inflammation, the gut and skin microbiome, why what you eat shows up on your skin, and how Jodi's decision to eat differently led to her creating a line of natural plant-based skincare products.

J...

Did you know that your body already makes its own natural version of Ozempic?

In this episode, you'll hear how GLP-1 works as a natural hormone, and why drugs like Ozempic and Wegovy exist: they copy the same hormone but are designed to last much longer.

You'll hear how the GLP-1 that naturally disappears from your body in two minutes got turned into an appetite-reducing drug that lasts a full week.

You'll also hear about what happens to people's weight after they stop taking GLP-1 drugs, as well as what leptin resistance actually...

In this episode, you'll hear from Dr. Jonar, an internal medicine physician and lifestyle medicine expert, about his own struggle with processed sugar.

Sugar was at the heart of Dr. Jonar's emotional eating, insulin resistance, and prediabetes. 

He explains why so many chronic diseases are driven by lifestyle, why nutrition receives so little attention in medical training, and how processed sugar affects the brain, the gut microbiome, and long-term health.

We also discuss sugar addiction, diabetes, GLP-1 medications, the role of the microbiome, and why changing your habits is more often the key t...

In this episode, Meg shares how she was diagnosed with anorexia at just 13 years old, and spent the next 16 years in and out of treatment before finally reaching full recovery in her late twenties.

You'll hear Meg talk candidly about what it was like to be a dangerously underweight teenager caught in a cycle of perfectionism and control.

Meg describes what treatment actually looked like for her, and the gap she found between learning coping tools in a clinical setting and applying them in real life.

You'll also hear how her eating disorder...

What if the thing standing between you and your "life after sugar" isn't sugar at all? 

What if it's the way you think?

In this episode, you'll learn about a trap so many women fall into: a habit of overcomplicating things until failure feels inevitable. 

You know the pattern. 

You set an impossible rule, break it by lunchtime, throw in the towel, and reach for the sugar because... well, you already "messed up."

You'll also find out why a sugar-free life may be perceived as being complicated, when the tru...

Cassandra grew up on a classic American diet, sugar included.

It wasn't until her 20s that she started noticing the connection between what she was eating and how she was feeling. As someone with ADHD, the moment she cut out sugar and experienced real mental clarity for the first time, there was no going back.

In this episode, Cassandra explains what mindful eating is: It means bringing awareness to what you eat, how you eat it, and how it makes you feel.

We talk about why North American food culture works against us...

What's the connection between gut health and sugar cravings?

In this episode, ZuZu, a holistic healthcare practitioner, explains how poor gut health, candida, and SIBO can actually drive your cravings, and why healing the gut can make those cravings disappear almost entirely.

She also explains why your body only needs one teaspoon of sugar in the bloodstream at any given time, why grains and starches count as sugar, and how excess sugar damages the nervous system and why this affects everything from digestion to neurotransmitter production. 

So if you've been struggling with bloating, c...

If you've ever asked yourself the question: Why aren't I sugar free yet? with frustration, this episode is for you. 

In my experience, one of the most common — and most damaging — expectations around going sugar-free is that it should happen instantly, completely, and permanently. 

Spoiler: it doesn't always work that way, and it doesn't have to.

In fact, I challenge the idea that going sugar-free should be instant and effortless — like someone waving a magic wand. (Me, for example!)

Actually, being sugar-free isn't just about how much sugar you eat, it's about ho...

My guest this week is Helen Ye, who grew up in Guangzhou, China.

In this episode, Helen shares how she learned from an early age that food is medicine and that balance is everything. As an Ayurveda practitioner and psychic, she brings a fascinating Eastern perspective to what's really driving cravings for sweets and sugar.

Helen explains the difference between Eastern and Western sugar, and why some people are more prone to sugar addiction. She also goes deeper into why healing your inner child may be at the root of healing your cravings. 

H...

In this episode, I'm talking with Dr. Kelly McCann, a medical doctor with a background in integrative medicine, and she connects the dots between mold exposure, gut health, and sugar cravings in a way I've never heard before. 

And then she takes it even deeper — into the emotional and spiritual side of why we reach for sweetness in the first place.

Because as Dr. Kelly explains, sugar cravings aren't just about willpower or habit.

In fact, they can be a signal from your body that something much deeper needs attention, like a void in...

This episode will walk you through my new book, called "Break Free from Sugar Cravings".

I'm so excited that this book is finally out in the world! (It's available here)

Based on my 12-week program, the Freedom from Cravings Formula, I wrote this book so that it can offer you more than just recipes or a food list.

This book is designed to be a practical step-by-step guide to help you think more deeply and get insights into changing your relationship with food, especially sugar.

Why?

Because...

Monica grew up in Australia with pretty health-conscious parents. But as life got busier and more stressful, she started eating more and more sugar. 

And eventually, working in the health industry of all places, she was diagnosed with Hashimoto's.

In this episode, Monica breaks down what Hashimoto's actually is, why it's so often missed or misdiagnosed for years, and why sugar plays a much bigger role in this autoimmune condition than most people — and most doctors — realize.

This one is especially relevant if you're a woman in your 40s, 50s, or beyond, because as Mo...

Suann grew up in northeastern Canada eating the way most of us did: a diet full of sugary cereals and processed foods.

But when she grew older, she started listening to her body. She became vegetarian, then vegan, moved off-grid, and built a life that suits her. 

And she's never felt more free.

In this conversation, we talk about what Suann calls embodiment — what it actually means to feel at home in your body, to know what it needs, and to trust it. And how that connects to the way we eat, the way...

In this episode, I want to talk about something that confuses a lot of people: cholesterol. What it actually is, why your body needs it, and why the LDL number on your lab report doesn't tell the whole story.

A new documentary that just came out in April 2026 called The Cholesterol Code got me thinking. 

It follows Dave Feldman, an engineer who went low-carb, stabilized his blood sugar, felt great, but then saw his LDL go up, and decided to find out why. 

What he discovered is turning a lot of what we th...

John grew up in Indiana eating Hungry Man dinners, boxes of sugary cereal, and green-frosted Ninja Turtle pies... and no-one ever told him sugar was a problem! 

By his early 30s he was pushing 290 pounds, prediabetic, and on blood pressure medication.

After discovering low-carb eating and spending years experimenting with ketosis, John learned how to train his body to burn fat instead of sugar and refined carbs for fuel. 

John's wake-up call at age 46 led him to build Rebel Health Alliance, which is a virtual clinic available across all 50 states where physicians, dietitians, st...

Christine spent 30 years trapped in the cycle of yo-yo dieting. 

She tried everything from Weight Watchers to a hospital-supervised liquid protein program. But nobody ever taught her why her body was working against her. 

In this episode, Christine opens up about growing up on the Standard American Diet (SAD), the childhood bullying that shaped her relationship with food, and how she reached 230 pounds.

It was when she began to understand the role of insulin, carbohydrate intolerance, and emotional eating in her health struggles that her life changed.

But Christine's story doesn't sto...

What do you say when someone offers you something with sugar in it… and you don’t want it?

Or you kind of do... but you don't want to sabotage your efforts to break free from sugar cravings?

In this episode, I walk you through simple, real-life ways to respond without feeling rude, awkward, or pressured to explain yourself.

We also look at what’s really going on in those moments, including the self-doubt that can show up later, even after you’ve said no.

This is about learning to have more com...

Angela grew up with a lot of stress and tension around food at home.

In her 20s, she struggled with severe sugar addiction alongside anxiety and depression, using sugar as a primary coping mechanism.

In this conversation, Angela shares how that breaking point led her to eat more mindfully, and how learning to be present in everyday moments slowly changed her relationship with food, cravings, and emotions.

Today, Angela  is a functional and integrative health practitioner. Her work blends physiology, nervous system regulation, and mindfulness, with a strong emphasis on helping women understand w...

When Violet's husband’s health crisis forced them to look for solutions, sugar and white flour weren’t even on the list.

In this episode, Violet shares how her husband’s Crohn’s disease led them to completely rethink the way they eat. 

They were trying to keep him off of meds because he didn't like the side effects that came with them. 

But when their version of healthy eating wasn't working, Violet and her husband decided to dive into functional medicine. And that really changed their whole perspective on nutrition. 

They immedi...

If you’ve ever thought about cutting sugar, flour, and processed foods, it's better to be prepared for what you might experience.

In this episode, I talk about the symptoms people often call “detox” and what’s actually happening in the body during that transition. 

We look at why you might be peeing more, why headaches are so common, what metabolic flexibility means, cravings, and why the brain and body can feel temporarily worse before they start to feel better.

I also talk about what helps during this phase, including food, salt, rest, and why t...

Evon Dennis grew up in a large family where most meals were home-cooked. But as her family’s income increased, so did the presence of ultra-processed foods. 

After leaving home as a teenager, and becoming a young mom, food became comfort for Evon. It became numbness. It became a coping tool.

In this episode, Evon shares:

You can do everything “right” and still not feel like you're "good enough".

In this episode, I talk with Courtney, a health coach and former dancer, about growing up in diet culture, and how looking healthy on the outside doesn't always reflect how we feel on the inside.

We talk about why weight loss so often backfires (hint: it's not your fault!).

And we also talk about how perfectionism undermines consistency. 

Courtney shares how becoming a mother made her realize that there's a gap between looking healthy and actually feeling well.

...

If you’re over 50 and sugar cravings feel stronger or harder to manage than they used to, you’re not imagining it.

In this episode (which I recorded a few weeks before my 56th birthday), I talk about what’s actually happening in the body after midlife and why the strategies that used to work often stop working. 

For most of us, shifting hormones affect blood sugar, stress, sleep, and cravings, so it's understandable that sugar can start to feel like the quickest way to calm yourself down.

But sugar's not a real friend...

You probably don’t need more health information. Chances are, you’re already overwhelmed by it.

In this episode, I talk with Jenn Trepeck, health coach and author of Uncomplicating Wellness, about why eating well and taking care of yourself has become so confusing, and why it doesn’t have to be.

We talk about how to make sense of all the conflicting nutrition headlines, why chasing the “right” plan often backfires, and how you can learn to listen to your own body. 

Jenn and I also talk about sugar cravings, and how you can shi...