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225: Struggling With Weight Loss? Use These Simple Strategies to Stop Sugar Cravings Fast (Part 2)

โ€ข Jarrod Roussel, PA-C and Anita Roussel, BSN โ€ข Episode 225

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Are you ready to learn the natural way to gain control over your food cravings so you can live the full, active life you were created to enjoy?

Then you're going to love this final episode in our 2 Part Series on the Simple Way to Bust Sugar Cravings. Inside this series, we're sharing the realistic steps for getting sweet cravings under control, and it all begins in Episode 224. We can't wait to share it all with you! ๐Ÿ’•

Imagine breaking free from the pull that sugar cravings can have! We know it sounds like a dream, but we promise it's not only possible but can be super enjoyable too! ๐ŸŽ‰

Sister, we've been there, succumbing to sweet temptations like sweet-tasting barbecue chips, sugary oatmeal cream pies, and the not-so-good-for-us chocolate options (now do not worry, because we will not leave you without delicious chocolate treats you love, that will actually set you up for success!)

After becoming exhausted by our own health struggles, we dug into the reliable nutrition research and learned the secrets to breaking free from sugar addiction so we could stop craving sugar once and for all. These are the keys to finding Food Freedom, while STILL enjoying desserts, without ever needing a cheat day or being left with feelings of food guilt.

Perhaps you're wondering why those pesky cravings ever flare up in the first place.  We're going to reveal the hidden surgery triggers, from lifestyle the aspects that can get you off track right down to the specific foods that are known to stir food cravings up.

Next, we'll guide you on how to deal with the triggers effectively, giving you the lowdown on sweeteners and sharing the most nutrient-rich, simple and delicious plant based alternatives to your favorite treats... that actually taste as good or even better than your old favorites.

The big difference is that these new favorite desserts and sweet snacks are going to love your body back, and that's what we are all about!  ๐Ÿ’ƒ๐Ÿป

Want to know how to look at any vegan recipe or whole food plant based recipe and tell if it's really healthy? After listening to this episode you'll be able to look at recipe ingredients lists and know the truth about the sweet ingredients they're using, and even the best alternatives, too. 

As we share our experience of embracing he

๐Ÿ’ƒ๐Ÿป Ready to learn how to actually enjoy eating whole plant foods so you can finally feel great and fully experience life? Inside Accelerator, we'll take you by the hand & walk you step-by-step through our proven 5-Step WFPB Framework so you can heal naturally & actively live your God-given dreams. Join the Waitlist Here... the Doors are Opening Soon!

๐ŸŽ Not yet a member of our FREE plant-based community, PIE? Once you're on the inside, every single podcast episode becomes searchable for you. ๐Ÿ˜ฒ Join the family to gain the plant-based encouragement, real health-changing ideas, and sustainable plant-based inspiration you've been praying for! ๐Ÿ’•

๐Ÿฅฃ Grab our Cookbook Bundles (and snag the incredible Bonuses today) to learn the simple way to make whole food plant-based eating quick, enjoyable, and sustainable.

๐Ÿค” Wondering what's in our new Thrive Cookbook? Click here for the inside scoop!

Please subscribe & give the show a 5-star rating on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or other podcast providers. And donโ€™t forget to share it with a friend for inspiration!

Speaker 1:

Hey there, sunshine. Welcome to the Power On Plants podcast. We're your host, jared, and Anita Roussell, and we're absolutely head over heels for whole plant foods and helping you navigate this incredible plant based journey. That's because our lives have been completely changed by plant based goodness. We used to struggle every day with excess pounds and low energy, vascular disease, joint pain and lack of sleep, just to name a few, and even though we're medical professionals, we still weren't getting practical answers that actually worked. So we dug into the research, we started living what we learned, and now we both have our lives back, and that's what we want for you, too. The truth is, you can do this, and it's not hard. You just need a way that will bring real and lasting change, and that path. It has to be simple and enjoyable, and it's got to be delicious too. So are you ready to live your life to the fullest? Then you're in the right place, because living without limits that's what Power On Plants is all about. So pull up your chair, grab a matcha latte and let's get started. Well, hello, sunshine. I know that sometimes, when you're trying to get healthy, it can seem overwhelming and so hard you don't even know where to start. Well, jared and I are all about sharing the simple strategies to build the body that will fuel you well, and that's why we're tackling the topic of how do you stop sugar cravings fast. We started with episode number 224. That's part one of the series, so if you haven't heard that, go back right now and listen to it, because the strategies that we share are actionable and simple, and you're not going to want to miss a single one of them. And after you've laid the foundation with episode 224, come back and join us for this episode. We can't wait to share all of these tactical strategies with you. Let's get to it. You're eating what your body was originally designed to eat, and now imagine that You're feeling better, you're looking better, you're looking younger, you're able to do the things that you want to do that you could only dream about doing before. What are those things for you that you dream about doing right now? I want you to stop and just think. What are the things that you want to do that you would love to be doing this evening after work, but you're too tired, so you're going to go home and crash. What are the things that you'd love to be? Saying yes to that you have to say no to. Like one of our clients, she loves to go boating, she loves to ride her motorbike, she loves to do all these wonderful things that she used to get stopped from doing. But now she tells me guess what? Pain 100% gone and Ada completely gone. She had a stabbing neck pain that went down into the middle of her back, so she couldn't do those things that she loved. But now she's got her life back. She can do anything. The sky's the limit. If God calls her to do something, she's out there doing it. Carrie, I know you're listening, girl, you're amazing. You're absolutely amazing because you have stayed the course. You have found your new favorites and now you know what she's doing. She's now starting to cook without even a recipe. So she's not only found her new favorites, we've shown her what to cook when you don't even have time to cook. She's starting to learn how to put these food formulas together, and now she's doing it on her own. She's gotten creative ideas from us, from other members of the society, and now what's she doing? Her goal is to learn how to make any recipe by just making a couple of simple substitutions, and that's what we're all about and that's what we're going to guide her through, because it really can be so simple as making a couple of changes. So really, that was step number four. You want to get those things out there sabotaging you and put something amazing in its place. That's going to be a whole plant food, sister. It's going to be a whole plant food. Now, does it have to mean just a whole apple or does it mean you can shop and mix up a bunch of whole plant foods and make a delicious dessert? I'm going to give you some ideas in just a minute. Hang on, don't get ahead of me. All right, five goes with something we talked about before, but it's basically do not wait long periods of time. It kind of goes with don't let your blood sugar get low, but don't make yourself wait. Okay, just when you're hungry, when you're really hungry and you've got food available, that's a good option for you when it comes to your health. Don't hold off and not eat it just because you're trying to wait a little later. Just when you're hungry, eat and eat until you're no longer hungry. Okay, eat, your no longer hungry.

Speaker 2:

I didn't say until you're full Right, that's important.

Speaker 1:

Don't wait until you're stuffed and can't swallow another bite, because then you're going to feel more full and you don't want to be miserable. We are not about misery around here. We're about enjoying life, and that includes the food. Sister, I'm a foodie. Are you a foodie? Now, I don't mean I'm a foodie like I want to spend hours and hours in the kitchen, but food has got to taste good. I'm just saying it doesn't have the hold on me it used to have, so I don't have all these cravings pulling me and demanding that I do what they say. I am free of that, just like our clients say. I have food freedom, but NYLPM.

Speaker 2:

But I would say that you derive pleasure from food, meaning you love the way that it looks.

Speaker 1:

It's got to taste good. You love the textures.

Speaker 2:

You love the flavors, the aromas, absolutely, it's just got to taste good.

Speaker 1:

I mean, none of us want to eat nasty tasting food, even if we're not a foodie. We just want to enjoy it. But God made food for our enjoyment, isn't he so good?

Speaker 2:

To fuel us well, but to enjoy it.

Speaker 1:

He is so good to us. Okay, now it doesn't need to become an idol. You know it's an idol today to some people. We've got all the food shows and all this crazy stuff and our whole lives start to revolve around food. But that's the beauty of when it loses its hold on you, because you're eating these wonderful whole plant foods and now you don't have those cravings anymore.

Speaker 2:

I just thought of an example, because there have been times when ever Is it a car analogy? No, not a car analogy, but you were talking about becoming an idol, and there are times that I'm not sure if we've been guilty of this before, but I have seen this where you're in the middle of a meal, maybe completing it, and you're already planning for the next meal.

Speaker 1:

Oh man, I mean since we started this.

Speaker 2:

We have never done that.

Speaker 1:

No, how do you even have the bandwidth for that with everything else you've got going on? Just think about if that were to go away for you and you never had that happen anymore. How much brain space and time is that going to free up for you? It's so great.

Speaker 2:

And then have strategies for five or 10 minute meals, so you don't have to think about it. But then when you start thinking I'm going to be a little peckish, you don't have to do all that prep time.

Speaker 1:

Okay, I'm going to let you in on a little secret. That's like our everyday. Our everyday is something like a 10, 15 minute meal, maybe if we're stretching it. Listen, dinner doesn't have to be difficult. Healthy should not be difficult If it's taking you hours. I know I've said this before, but I just can't say it enough.

Speaker 2:

We have to keep pounding this drum. You just haven't learned how.

Speaker 1:

You just don't know how. Yet there is a way to make it simple If you want to know where to start, get the cookbook, the Power On Plants Cookbook. All my recipes in there are very simple. I have created intentionally these recipes for busy women who need something quick and simple they can put together. You know, it's like one of our members told me. She said I pressed start on my Instant Pot and I actually went to the park with my kids. This was recently. She said I went to the park with my kids, actually enjoyed my time, came home and dinner had made itself for me Like it was done it's a dump and go, press start or it's put it in the blender.

Speaker 2:

She had regained an hour of her life that she was able to go to the park with her children and enjoy that time.

Speaker 1:

So what are those things that you can still eat? Listen, we could be here all day talking about what you could eat. I mean, it's almost endless. If there's something that you liked before, you can make something so similar that has those same flavors. You're not going to miss it. Okay, what do you eat? What do you eat when the sweet cravings come on? One of the easiest, simplest things is to just start getting more sweet vegetables into your life. Don't worry, I'm not going to leave you hanging, okay, but you need to know this. This is a strategy that will help you curb sweet cravings. You're going to be getting more fiber, the nutrients you need. Your body is crying out for something when you're craving okay. That's why it wants that thing. It becomes addicted to it, okay, and so once you break that and you get the good stuff in there, those cravings go away. You get your freedom back. Sweet veggies, sweet potatoes, winter squash, carrots, even onions okay, sweet onions. Start getting more of the sweet foods into your main meals. You can eat fresh fruit. You can eat frozen fruit okay, but don't just stick to your old favorites. Pick up something new. You don't usually eat papaya or mango. Get that into your life. They're delicious, okay.

Speaker 2:

Frozen jackfruit.

Speaker 1:

Oh yum, Now you're talking Just different than the ones.

Speaker 2:

A dragon fruit but jackfruit in the cans, Totally different. Right, it's not sweet, it's before it really ripens, but like frozen jackfruit. So, there are tons of different options out there.

Speaker 1:

Flavors are amazing.

Speaker 2:

These things are not as high in sugar as you might think. Even though they taste sweet, we think they're going to have just loads and loads of grams of sugar, and they really don't.

Speaker 1:

Well, and then you're told today oh, stay away from bananas, as if a banana is causing people's health problems. Come on, there's none of you out there that has got health problems right now because you ate one too many bananas. That's not what's causing all the problems that many people are dealing with today. Okay, you look at the top 15 chronic issues that people are dealing with with diabetes, heart disease, all these different things I love pressure. Yeah, you're not getting that from eating a banana. The banana is not your archenemy. Okay, enjoy your fruits Now. If you have diabetes, you might want to eat the lower glycemic index foods for now, until some of the fats can clear out of your body, the animal fats and proteins. Things like that are gumming up the area where your insulin needs to unlock so the sugar can come in. The fats from the animal products that you're eating are gumming up your system. Okay, this is what's causing diabetes. The insulin cannot work in your body properly to get the sugar into your muscle cells. Okay, it's not the sugar. Now will sugar be a problem for you If the insulin doesn't work properly because of the animal fat? Absolutely.

Speaker 2:

Absolutely.

Speaker 1:

You've got to eat whole plant foods and start letting that stuff clear out. This is not an episode on diabetes, but I had to throw that in there because people are going to say, well, fruits are bad for you, because you hear that, but it's not true. It's just not true.

Speaker 2:

Now with my patients. I use this one example and I'll do this and then we'll get back to it. Whenever something is on fire, you don't point the water at the smoke, because your house is not on smoke. Your house is on fire. The fire is causing the smoke, just like the saturated fats from the animal products are causing the issue with insulin sensitivity, so that the sugar levels build, and that's what you then see. Now, if sugar levels get too high, it can cause some very serious, even deadly, situations. That's why we say be careful in the beginning. If you have diabetes, maybe stick with the beans and the greens and remove some of those animal products so that you can return to a normal insulin sensitive state. You can enjoy your fruit and everything else, just like the rest of us do, just like everybody else.

Speaker 1:

Absolutely, this is type 2 diabetes, correct? Type 1 is a little bit different, but with type 2, even type 1 can get better, can get better on a plant-based diet.

Speaker 2:

The amount of insulin that you have to give yourself can be more in the normal range.

Speaker 1:

We're going to eat this. Naturally sweet veggies. Okay, we're going to eat fresh fruit, frozen fruit, try something new. Try something new. We talked about dragon fruit, jack fruit, passion fruit. You can get those in your frozen food section now, but please, when you're buying frozen or dried fruit even which is also another great thing to have look on the back at the ingredients label. I'm not talking about the grams and the macros. No honey. Look at the ingredients label, please. Okay, this is what's the most important, because you're going to find many times oil and sugar in there, so don't buy the things that have that added oil and sugar.

Speaker 2:

I think sometimes that's even a mark for an inferior product, because their product is already not naturally sweet so they have to add it. Or maybe they're just just playing on the whole addiction aspect of the sugar and they're just trying to keep you buying their product.

Speaker 1:

And now I'm gonna drop some really good knees. Yes dark chocolate curbs sugar cravings. Dark chocolate Now, don't go out and buy dark chocolate bar and think it's gonna be all healthy, because there's a lot of oils and bats and emulsifiers and things in there. I'm talking about cacao powder. Okay, cacao powder now I'm not gonna get into why, but look up an organic cow powder for yourself. Maybe even look for one that's from the area called Sierra Leone, if it has that on there, because there's certain things that are not in the Soil there that will get into your cacao powder in other areas. So Just trust me on this. Look for a brand that says Sierra Leone, like that's the area it's from, and you're gonna be doing better for yourself. But in general, dark cacao powder or just cacao powder that's organic is gonna help you curb those sweet cravings. So get the good stuff we love chocolate, girl. Okay, listen, how could you get more chocolate, more dark chocolate, into your life? I mean, does that sound like a hard thing to do? No, it doesn't. She likes it on his oatmeal If you've been around here long enough.

Speaker 2:

I had it on my oatmeal this morning you know all about it.

Speaker 1:

We like a peanut butter chocolate drink, the peanut butter chocolate shake. Oh my word, it is so good. You can put it into your smoothies. That's an excellent way to get your chocolate. You can put it into your chocolate. Peanut butter nice cream Okay, what are some other desserts you could eat that would help you curb the sugar cravings? Smoothie bowls, simple trail mix. Do you know how simple trail mix is to make? You don't even have to stand there and monitor it. I hope you don't burn it in your oven. If you have a dehydrator, throw it in there. You're not gonna believe how crunchy and amazing it is to make trail mix in your dehydrator. Start using it. Dust it off and start using that dehydrator. Sweet potato pudding Make it with white sweet potatoes. It's absolutely delicious. Okay, nog, I talked about the peanut butter cup shake. Apple slices with brownie batter. Hummus, banana pudding the absolute best. It's so good. We have another member who made that and took it to her fourth of July celebration and she said everybody was flipping out. They're like this is the best banana pudding I remember. I cannot believe. This is actually healthy and it is Irresistible. Carrot cake gems. These are like little mini carrot cakes of deliciousness Okay. Oatmeal cookie dough bites, pecan pie, pralines, fluffy whole grain waffles and pancakes, banana bread muffins, chia pudding I love that topped with some delicious fresh fruit oh, my goodness. And maybe a few pecans or something. I love chia pudding. Oh, and you could put your cacao in that too. Yes, you could. Raspberry and raspberry oatmeal delights that's the last one I'm thinking of. It's a breakfast cookie. All these things I've mentioned. Anita, you mentioned all these good things. I don't know how to make them there in the cookbook. Yes, they are. Because I knew you were gonna ask me about sweets, because we knew we had to have our sweet things. So why did I put those in the cookbook? Because these are the things we eat, these are our go-to. Quick and easy. I can make it before I can say I'm Hanger and I need something sweet. It is just the simple. You've got to learn how to find those new favorites.

Speaker 2:

Our 11 year old makes, I think, all of these recipes, if not most of them. Oh, she does.

Speaker 1:

That's how simple they are right, but she's been making them since she was six.

Speaker 2:

Let's just get real Okay.

Speaker 1:

I mean, we've been doing this for so many years now and even when we started, our children could get in there and do that. This is like dump and go. Now if you have a six-year-old, you might want to watch them around the power things like the blender and things like that, but there's so many things that they can do. We'll talk about that more later. Okay, and then I want to talk about something else. You can add in more sweet spices. Do you know that there are spices are actually sweet? Ceylon cinnamon actually tastes sweet and cinnamon is also very good for your heart and your health in general. So get more cinnamon. Vanilla bean brings out the flavor and the sweetness of food, so buy some vanilla bean or vanilla bean powder, natural, just plain vanilla bean, no additives, no flavorings, no preservatives. And then the last but not least thing what about carob though?

Speaker 2:

Carob is Isn't that carob also kind of sweet. Oh yeah, you brought it right there, yeah.

Speaker 1:

Carob is super sweet by itself, so I like it better than cacao in many things, and even in my peanut butter chocolate shake. If you have the cookbook, this is one of my tips. I'll add half cacao powder and half carob powder, because I love the sweetness.

Speaker 2:

Well, it adds some sweetness, but it also makes it have kind of a multi-flavored too.

Speaker 1:

It's like malted milk balls, like a malted milkshake yes, oh, it is sweet.

Speaker 2:

That's another go in. Oh good, so you wouldn't think that these things are sweet, but they are.

Speaker 1:

Ooh, he brought it on that tip. That is a sweet tip.

Speaker 2:

Well, I was waiting because I wasn't sure if it was on your list or not. No, no, that's gold.

Speaker 1:

That's gold. Right there, you dropped the gold dust, okay. So, last but not least, eat more whole plant foods, the five power foods. What are they? Do you know them? Same with me Fruits, vegetables, whole grains, nuts and seeds and legumes, and we always say the herbs and spices, and here, the spices. You're gonna get plenty of sweetness If you're choosing the right ones that we mentioned today and some you might discover on your own as you continue to eat this way. Are there other ways to curb sweet cravings and eat more sweet things that are whole plant based? Absolutely, sister. There are so many ways you can do this, but I don't wanna blow your mind and overwhelm you. I want you to take one or two new ways, one or two new things that you can do that will work with your schedule, that are gonna help you start replacing. What are some things they mentioned here that I think? Ooh, I could get rid of my old banana bread and I could eat these banana bread muffins. Ooh, I love carrot cake. I could replace my old carrot cake with these carrot cake muffins. Ooh, I love waffles. I love pancakes. You mean, I can have those eaten. Whole food, plant based? Absolutely, you can, and it takes all of about five minutes in your high speed blender to make these things, to crank them out and pour them on your waffle iron or to pour fluffy cloud cakes onto your skillet.

Speaker 2:

And honestly I don't even think that it would be any faster trying to take an egg waffle from the freezer and stick it in the toaster.

Speaker 1:

And not nearly.

Speaker 2:

These are that fast and they're so much better for you.

Speaker 1:

And not nearly as happy for your taste buds either. I'm just gonna throw that in there because you don't just have to have plain waffles. You can mix up my waffle batter and you can throw in a handful of fresh blueberries or any kind of berry that you have, or peaches. You don't wanna put a lot because it'll make it kinda runny, but just get that fruit in there and some nuts. I love the colors.

Speaker 2:

Our daughter has done this, where she's put cacao powder in there. Oh, now you're bringing it. Another way you could have it, yeah.

Speaker 1:

Yeah, cacao powder would be great in those waffles and pancakes, sister, whole food, plant based is where it's at If you want to prevent and even reverse the most common diseases of our time. I cannot plead with you enough to try this If you've tried it before or you've been vegan for a long time. A lot of the people that come to us are like I've been vegan for a long time and I'm thinking there is something I'm doing wrong here, because I'm eating vegan and I'm doing this, but I am not healthy, I'm not dropping the pants, I'm inflamed, I feel like crap. What am I doing wrong? This is what you need to do. You've got to go more whole food, plant based and start listening to the podcast, putting these things in practice. Get the cookbook and, if you need help, walk and you, step by step. You want somebody to take you by the hand, answer your questions every week. It's as simple as posting them into our group. Think of this like our own personal group coaching program. It just doesn't get any simpler than this. You gain ideas and the support you need. Get your name on the wait list right now at powerandplantscom forward, slash membership and be ready to hear about it when we open the doors next, we will email you so that you don't miss out. But right now, what is your one simple thing? You know I'm going to ask you every episode. I'm going to say what's your one simple thing? Pick it, write it down on a sticky note, stick it somewhere you can see it and start implementing that puppy today, because I'm telling you, I don't care if your action's messy. You're going to have to start taking action if you want to get results. You can do this, it is not hard. Look, one simple change once a week is 52 changes in a year. So what is that going to look like for you a year from now? What are you going to be able to do then that you can't do now, that you can only dream about? How many more weeks, how many more months, how many more years are you gonna let go by and let the enemy steal from you, robbing you of your joy and your time and the mission that you're here to live out? It just doesn't have to be. This is so simple. We are here for you to help you figure it all out. Be sure, whatever you're listening on right now, go and leave us a one to two sentence review, letting us know what your key takeaway was from this episode and how this is changing your life. Maybe it's just a mindset shift that you needed to help you get to the next level. You can do this, sister, it's not hard, and get ready to kiss your sweet cravings. Bye, bye. Cheers and I are looking forward to seeing you next time as we hang out together on Power.

Speaker 2:

TylerๆŽฅ Htttttttt you.

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