Last week I received an email from a LynFit customer who is new to the Plan. They thought they were following it as closely as possible (realizing none of us are perfect all the time), and over a two-week period only lost two pounds. Panic was about to set in, so I asked her for a detailed journal of what she was, and was not, doing.
When I was reading her notes, it dawned on me that so many of us may be doing, or not doing, one or two simple things that drastically affect our results. Here are my suggestions to "Blood Sugar Betty." And if you are like her, you'll want to make sure and read very carefully. Today could be the beginning of something very special in your life!
Her email is below, and my response (and what YOU need to hear) is immediately below it.
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"Please help me, Lisa. I'm getting desperate!
I've been trying my best to follow your plan (I'm far from being perfect), and I'm shocked at how decreasing my caloric intake could only make such a small difference on the scale. For the two weeks, I:
- Drink lemon or ginger water
- Have an Egg White Shake at breakfast and lunch
- Decreased my butter usage when cooking, using only a small amount of coconut oil
- Decreased my regular coffee drinking to half (still working on that)
- Have been eating protein and veggies for dinner. The most carbs I've had is ¼ cup if any.
- Eat no desserts
- May have a ¼ cup of toasted walnuts a couple of times when struggling to cheat
It's so crazy that I ate so much more two weeks ago and with all this "cutting down" I've only lost two pounds. I'm to the point of really stressing about it, and I certainly don't need to add to my stress levels. Help!"
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Good morning awesome woman of God!
Your answer lies in two words... Blood Sugar! The easiest way I can explain how blood sugar works is to think of how when your blood sugar is high, all you have to do is take one dose of medication to get it to lower. The same holds true for when blood sugar is low, and we eat one meal "off" or “ just a little bit.” That little bit "off" raises blood sugar, and when blood sugar levels are high, our body resists weight loss, and we go back to start trying to get it to go lower again. Each time we eat something that’s not good for our body type, we make it harder and harder to lose weight. Once you accept the things you cannot change, such as having blood sugar issues, you’ll begin to experience the freedom and happiness God has planned for you.
I haven’t had the diabetes side of blood sugar, but if I had continued on the path I was on and ate the way I wanted to, I surely would be struggling with diabetes. There are some simple body care steps you’ll need to embrace to lower your levels, and with God's help, it can be done. Sometimes, when we can’t change something we need to change how we see it!
It’s not as bad as you think! It’s not easy, but living where you are isn’t easy either, so choose health, and God will give you what you need to take your health and happiness to a level you can only imagine. Your child needs you healthy, so from one mom to another, do it for her until self-love kicks in. ❤️ I’d love to meet with you and your family to help create a new "normal” for you... one not viewed as deprivation, but rather a gift... because it is!
To get started, let's look at each of your changed habits and see where we can make just a few minor tweaks to get you over this hurdle.
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Drink lemon or ginger water
Swap to cinnamon water instead. Both lemon and ginger could spike blood sugar levels, especially with nothing in your stomach. Better yet, go for plain water if you don't like cinnamon water.
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Have an Egg White Shake at breakfast and lunch
Add one serving of high-fiber fruit such as a ½ cup of raspberries.
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Decreased my butter usage when cooking, using only a small amount of coconut oil
It's best to stick with a Natural Balance®-type butter or whipped butter versus using oil like coconut oil. Coconut oil is very high-fat, and it's saturated. If the coconut oil is of the right quality, it may help lower blood sugar levels, but if it's not a super high-quality coconut oil (most are not), it will do the opposite. I suggest staying away from it until you know, and your blood sugar tests and the scale will tell all. For now, stay away and use spray olive oils. This little bit of coconut oil may be what's stopping you.
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Decreased my regular coffee drinking to half (still working on that)
Don't worry about this. Having 1-2 cups of coffee is okay. It's what you are putting in it that matters. If you add the shake it will help regulate blood sugar levels, so don't suffer!
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Have been eating protein and veggies for dinner. The most carbs I've had is ¼ cup if any.
Gotta let your blood sugar levels tell you when it's okay to have carbs, and when it isn't. Test them, and be methodical versus leading with your emotions. Emotional decisions always get us into trouble.
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Eat no desserts
No need to suffer! In fact, it's better for blood sugar to eat smalls meals every three hours or so to keep it regulated, and this includes dessert (if you choose the right kinds)! Try some of the delicious desserts on LynFit.com (found here) such as pancakes, bread, and ice cream.
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May have a ¼ cup of toasted walnuts a couple of times when struggling to cheat
What were they toasted with? If it's coconut oil, and they are toasted, meaning cooked, it changes things. Eat them raw, sprinkled with cinnamon and protein powder instead to buffer blood sugar levels. A handful of 6-10 nuts (tops!) can be a great healthy snack so try the sprinkled version instead of toasting.
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I'm to the point of really stressing about it, and I certainly don't need to add to my stress levels. Help!
No worries... this is how we all learn, and you're not alone! I've been where you are, so keep on being honest and reading my blogs, so you don't get conflicting information. Lots of things we read on the internet are to sell you something. I am only interested in your SUCCESS!
But I should caution you that if you don't treat your body right by moving it daily and feeding it what it needs, your stress will grow. Sometimes stress can be the best motivator! I heard a great quote from the tennis pro, Billie Jean King, the other day that is so true: "Pressure is a privilege!"
Your daily essentials should be:
- Walk 30 minutes daily, as soon as you get up. Use this time to talk to and with God. No treadmill? Do one of my easy workouts. The Metabolic Booster Workout is 30 minutes, or do the Anti-Aging Workout; it’s only 10 minutes and very doable. Remember to walk later, even if it means walking around the mall with your peeps.
Note: You can break up your workouts into smaller more doable sessions.
All of my workouts are now available on paper making them easy to follow along, and they are broken up into segments. For instance, this is what a lot of my super-busy clients do (and so do I since my life doesn’t allow me to get it all in in one long session):
A.M. Express: A morning stretch that's done as soon as I wake up. It takes less than four minutes.
Mid-day: Anti-Aging Weight Workout (takes only 10 minutes)
After dinner: Walk with family and do the P.M. Recovery Stretch with the family (great quality time).
I also vacuum daily and use house and yard work to keep me moving throughout the day, even if it’s just a couple of minutes at a clip. These little bits of daily activity help push and balance blood sugar more than we realize. So let’s begin to think small changes, but expect big results!
- Drink a LynFit Protein Shake and add fiber from a high-fiber fruit like raspberries (½ cup serving).
- Eat blood sugar-balancing snacks in between meals. The very best option is a LynFit Lean Bar because as a busy mom, you don’t have to choose which or prepare anything, which usually means we don’t eat, or we eat the wrong thing (that’s my story anyway). I lean on Lean Bars ( that’s also how they got their name) to save me in crisis and they satisfy my need to chew and my emotional cravings for chocolate that seem to pop up when I’m by myself.
They may seem expensive, but in reality, they will save you thousands of $ on foods and medications that hurt your body. This is a good example of changing how we think about things.
If you don’t have a Lean Bar, you can make your own using lower-carb LynFit Egg White Protein and VitaFiber™ (recipe found here). Remember, this is your bar, so flavor it to suit your needs and cravings, using (1 tbsp.) of zero-calorie, zero-carb flavors such as:
Caramel zero-calorie flavoring
S’mores zero-calorie flavoring
Double chocolate: (1 tbsp.) unsweetened cacao
Cinnamon: (1 tbsp.) cinnamon
Banana: (1 tbsp.) sugar-free banana pudding mix
Blueberry: (½ cup) blueberries, thawed and drained
The VitaFiber™ is critical for balancing blood sugar, so follow the recipe and enjoy trying to bake something new that’s good for you that your whole family will love. You can make these “bar style“ or smaller cubes, cut up like fudge.
- Lastly, I strongly suggest using supplements that help work with your body to lower blood sugar levels. Don’t forget that when blood sugar levels are low, our cravings and hunger go away. But the more we feed our cravings, the more power they have over us. All change begins with changing what we normally do to do something different. You’ve got this, and we are here to help!
The best products for lowering blood sugar are:
Accelerator Advanced: It now contains Carb Edge ingredients, so you only need to use this versus the older version of Accelerator and Carb Edge combination.
Pure Omega 3: Use as directed
Thyro-Boost: Loaded with natural ingredients that balance blood sugar levels, and helps manage the blood sugar disruptions caused by stress.
Take these according to plan, and if your body seems to have its own timeline, take it them one hour before your blood sugar seems to become unruly. Most bodies run according to circadian rhythms, but we humans tend to interfere with our body's intelligence. Do your best and leave the rest to God. He’s got you!
CHANGE ALWAYS STARTS IN OUR MINDS FIRST!