Such a sexy topic, right? “Let’s talk about blood sugar!” said no one ever. Well, except for maybe your doctor.
Get your Ultimate Guide to Staying Full Until Lunch with my Fruit-Free Smoothie Guide!
How I’m Balancing My Blood Sugar
I received great feedback on my post about why I’m cutting back on fruit. If you haven’t read that, start there. It’s one of my most-read posts to date and I only published it two weeks ago!
Today I’m going to expand a bit and talk about how I’m balancing my blood sugar.
If you’ve been reading for awhile, you know I tend to have big blood sugar swings. I feel the need to eat constantly and I always have a snack on hand. My hunger tends to sneak up on me. It hits me all at once. I go from 0-10 in a matter of minutes.
I also become quite irritable. Some use the term “hangry” and this describes me to a T.
Kelly LeVeque
A few months ago I started to hear more and more about a woman named Kelly LeVeque. She’s a holistic nutritionist, wellness expert, and celebrity health coach based in LA. She has a few celebrity clients (Jessica Alba, Molly Sims, and Chelsea Handler, to name a few). I also saw her name pop up on a few other blogs I follow.
To find out what the hype was about, I found Kelly LeVeque on a podcast. Since then I’ve listened to every podcast I can find with her as the guest. To say I’m hooked on her info is an understatement!
Body Love
In the post about fruit, I mentioned I’d tell you about a book I’m loving right now. After downloading all the podcasts I could find, I read Kelly LeVeque’s book: Body Love.
Kelly’s approach highlights what she calls “The Fab 4.” These Fab 4 components to every meal should be Protein, Fat, Fiber, and Greens. And Kelly suggests that you should aim to include these four components in your morning smoothie so you can balance your blood sugar and your hunger hormones. This also means using no more than 1/4 cup of fruit for added flavor in your smoothie.
In the book, Kelly details “The Fab 4,” gives several examples from her clients, and includes a few “Fab 4” recipes. Kelly backs up her findings with scientific studies and really drills down into the nitty gritty details of why her approach works for her clients.
Fruit-Free Smoothies
If you follow me on Instagram, you know I’ve been making fruit-free smoothies for a few weeks. I started doing this in an effort to elongate my blood sugar curve and create “Fab 4 Smoothies.” By cutting out the fruit, I’m decreasing the amount of insulin in my bloodstream. This allows my body the chance to fully process my prior meal and make it to the next meal without a blood sugar crash.
At first, I thought, “Yeah, right. This is never going to work. There is absolutely no way I’m not going to be starving by 11 am.” But I gave it a try and I. was. in. shock. It worked!
By adding in protein, fat, fiber, and greens into each of my smoothies, I’ve been able to curb my hunger until at least 12:30, 1, 1:30 pm. And let me tell you, that alone is a miracle. I’ve felt fuller longer and I arrive at my next meal ready to make a healthy choice, instead of grabbing for the first carb I see. (Another miracle.)
I’d love to share a few of my own Fab 4 Smoothie recipes with you in upcoming posts! I also want to dive a little deeper into why the Fab 4 combo works. But, I’d also love to know what questions you have. Does this make sense? Are you going to check out Kelly’s book?
Thanks for sharing, Kat. I will definitely want to read her book. Sounds intriguing!
I’d love to hear what you think!