Unless you have looked it up or tracked with a macro calculator, you might not know what macro nutrients make up your foods.

Eggs are a great source of bioavailable protein and healthy fats but since they only have 6g of protein per egg, just be sure to have more than 2 to have a filling meal! Eggs are a complete protein.

Oats are mostly carbs. That’s why they lead to blood sugar spikes!! They are NOT a good source of protein at all.

Chickpeas… we might hear that they are high in protein but are they really?? NO! They’re mostly carbs! I think this might surprise some people. Chickpeas are not a good source of protein because it doesn’t have a lot AND because plant proteins are not as bioavailable as animal proteins and they’re also incomplete proteins meaning they lack certain amino acids.

And often we hear that peanut butter is a good source of protein but again, the macros don’t lie… peanuts are NOT a good source of protein. Because it is...

Did you know that the order in which you eat your food can have a huge impact on how the foods affect your blood sugar?!

So here’s how it works:

1 You start with vegetables (if you’re eating them). Of course these should be the low-carb, non-starchy veggies like these: The point of eating them first is that the fiber in the vegetables actually slow the absorption of the carbs and sugar in the foods.

So definitely choose salad over bread for starting a meal.

Cooked veggies work too and are recommended over raw if your digestion/gut can’t handle raw veggies well!!

2 Next, eat your protein and fats . Again, this will help to slow and even reduce some of the absorption of the carbs.

3 Finally, have your carbs. Ideally, if you’re having carbs, they will be whole food carbs like these: .

If you’re still getting a spike, chances are you’re eating more carbs than you can tolerate or eating a carb that is too high glycemic (remember, the more processed,...

The reason why there is NO SNACKING allowed in the #SugarFree30 program is because it’s so good for your blood sugar (and digestion- win win!)

As a refresher, by avoiding snacking, we allow insulin levels to come down which reduces risk of insulin resistance, and it allows you the opportunity to burn your own body fat for fuel and become metabolically flexible.

It doesn’t happen overnight thought. So since I recommend cutting out snacks, I know many of you are gonna say, “But Dani, I get too hungry.”

The easy fix for this is eating bigger meals. And that especially means more fat and protein at each meal.

Protein is the most satiating macronutrient. And fat is like a big log in the fire . It burns low and slow unlike carbs which are more like kindling that burn hot and fast.

If your meals are carb heavy with just a little fat and protein, you won’t make it more than a few hours and certainly not 5 or 6 hours until your next meal.

If you’re...

The traditional ranges are too high. Plus, who wants to feel “average” when you can feel OPTIMAL!

Conversion to mmoL for all my international friends: 99mg/dL = 5.5 mmoL. 70-85 mg/dL = 3.8-4.7 mmoL

Please note that if you are at these ranges and feeling weak, shaky, dizzy or lightheaded, you are experiencing signs of hypoglycemia. This still indicates some level of blood sugar dysregulation.

When I got my fasting blood glucose measured in 2013 it was 63 and I felt like I was gonna pass out. No doctor said anything to me about it!! With blood sugar it’s not “the lower the better.”

Your blood sugar may also go lower than this if you’re in ketosis and you will not feel signs of hypoglycemia. This is fine.

The best time to take your fasting glucose is upon rising. I highly recommend purchasing a glucometer. I love the one by Fora Care (link in bio). It also tests ketones, is highly accurate, and comes with an app.

High numbers only in the morning often...

One of the biggest game changers in helping me reduce my sugar cravings was having balanced blood sugar.

This essentially means reducing big spikes and big crashes. We want the blood sugar to only gently rise after a meal (or not at all), and gently come back down to baseline. This helps us have reduced cravings, better energy levels, better sleep, better skin, better hormone balance, and so much more.

These are some of my favorite hacks for reducing blood glucose spikes:

1 Have a tbsp of ACV (in some water) before meals. Add cinnamon for a better taste!

2 Eat fat, protein (& fiber in the form of green veggies if not carnivore) before carbs at meals. This will slow the glucose response.

3 Avoid eating a big amount of protein with no fat as this may convert to glucose and spike your sugar! This includes lean protein (like chicken breast) and protein powders.

4 Get some movement in after eating carbs to burn the glucose off as energy ‍‍ You can go for a walk, do a workout, etc....

Most people can’t moderate sugar and highly processed foods because they’re designed to be hyper-palatable and addictive!

If these foods keep finding their way back into your life, you’re not alone! And this is not a will-power deficiency.

Sometimes it takes complete abstinence to get your life back!

“Just one cookie won’t hurt,” can be like saying to an alcoholic, “One drink won’t hurt.”

If these foods keep finding their way back into your life, I recommend trying abstinence from them for at least 60 days to allow your taste buds, your brain chemistry, your blood sugar, and your gut bacteria to re-balance and regulate.

This is a concept from Dr. Cate Shanahan’s book The Fatburn Fix.

“Whenever you snack, you are teaching your metabolism unhealthy habits. Whether we’re talking about snacking on candy or soda, fruit or nuts, protein bars or protein shakes, if you want to lose weight, you need to break the snacking habit.

When you snack frequently, the circadian clock in your stomach is set to alarm at whatever time you normally snack, and when that clock goes off, you get hungry.

In other words, snacking trains your metabolism to make you want more snacks. The more times you eat on any given day, the more time you’ll spend building fat instead of burning it.

Just like anything else you practice, by snacking, you’ll get better and better at building fat; meanwhile your metabolism almost never gets to practice burning it.

“We can be tricked into thinking snacking is healthy if snacking makes us feel temporarily better.

If we’re tired and snacks give us more...

Symptoms are the language of your body.

To suppress symptoms without understanding what they’re telling you is a slippery slope.  #dontkillthemessenger

Oftentimes individual symptoms can be vague (like low energy) but if you zoom out and look at the patterns, you can really begin to understand.

For example, you have low energy when you wake up and every afternoon but have a lot of energy at night, you have trouble sleeping and falling asleep, you get headaches when your meal is delayed and you have trouble losing weight. To me, all of these signs alone can have multiple causes but when we see them together, my mind is screaming blood sugar and adrenals.

If we just caffeinated and took sleeping pills and cut calories to try to get rid of these symptoms we would never get rid of them or hit the root cause.

The other issue I see with symptoms is that oftentimes people are highly unaware of how they feel.

In my upcoming Blood Sugar Mastery program (click here to get on the VIP...

Your blood sugar levels impact every organ in your body! This is why blood sugar symptoms can be so diverse and broad!

Starting with the BRAIN .. common signs of blood sugar issues can be low energy, mood issues (anxiety, depression, irritability), memory loss, brain fog, headaches, migraines, poor concentration, dizziness, and more.

SKIN: Blood sugar issues can lead to acne, and can cause or exacerbate other skin issues like eczema, psoriasis, and lead to other skin conditions like acanthosis nigricans.

THYROID: One of the coolest things I witness when working with clients on their blood sugar is that almost all of them, rather quickly, get to lower or come off of their thyroid medications! Even those with Hashimoto’s!

HEART: Insulin resistance is the leading cause of high blood pressure and heart disease. Sugar depletes minerals essential for contracting and relaxing muscles (Mg, Ca). This can lead to arrhythmias.

DIGESTIVE SYSTEM: High blood sugar levels are inflammatory. High...

One of the most common mistakes I see with people trying to improve their blood sugar and lose weight on a keto diet is overdoing it on fat.

(Coincidentally, the other most common issue I see is people UNDER eating fat.. but that’s a topic for another day).

I made the mistake of making fat bombs when I first went keto and all I could think about all day were the fat bombs!

I’d be driving home from work having a mental battle with myself like, “ok you can have two. Ok maybe 3.. no more than 5…” It was exhausting.

I even tried making them without any sweeteners and found I was still obsessing.

The problem with these is that they may be perpetuating your addiction to “treats” but also they’re taking the place of real, nutrient dense foods.

Same with bulletproof coffee. 5 tablespoons of butter in coffee is not a meal. I’m all for the butter, trust me. Butter is my love language… but it can’t take the place of an entire meal.

...