Getting Started · Sustainable Eating

How to Start Eating Less Sugar Without Giving Up the Foods You Love

Four years ago my doctor said two words: insulin resistance.

I heard: “Give up everything you love and live on chicken and broccoli until you die sad and hungry.”

I love to cook. I’m a good cook. I’ve lived in 4 countries and I believe the fastest way to understand a place is through its food — markets, street food, someone’s grandma’s recipe scribbled on a napkin. I had coffee in Mexico City. I ate my way across Japan. The idea of never eating chocolate again felt like a breakup I didn’t consent to.

So I didn’t quit sugar. I swapped it.

Rule #1: Start With Breakfast — Because It Runs the Whole Day

If you get breakfast wrong, the rest of the day is a hostage negotiation with your cravings. I used to eat “healthy” granola with Greek yogurt and berries. Very virtuous. Very Pinterest. Very 18g of sugar before 8am.

By 10am I was starving. By 3pm I was face-down on my keyboard. By 9pm I was standing in front of the fridge eating cereal straight from the box.

The swap that changed everything: Protein first, not sugar first.

Eggs. Any style. The simplest swap with the biggest impact.

What I eat now:

• Eggs — scrambled, fried, poached. Keep me full until lunch. My go-to: 2 eggs + 1 Mexican corn tortilla + salsa + avocado. 1g sugar vs 3g in “healthy” whole wheat bread.
• Plain Greek yogurt — not vanilla, not honey, not “fruit on the bottom” which is just jam with a health halo. I add berries, chia seeds, and my own granola.
• Leftovers. Who said breakfast has to be breakfast food? Last night’s chicken. Steak and eggs. Soup. If it has protein, it’s breakfast.

Protein and fat keep blood sugar steady. Sugar and carbs alone send it to the moon, then drop you in a ditch by 10am. See all breakfast recipes →

Rule #2: Fix Your Coffee — The £6 Blood Sugar Bomb

I love coffee. I’ve had coffee in Italy, in Colombia, in a tiny shop in Paris where the barista judged my pronunciation. I also used to put “just a little sugar” in it. And oat milk. And vanilla syrup. My treat had 16g of sugar. Before I’d even eaten food.

Fix your coffee and cut 10–20g of sugar daily without changing anything else.

What I do now:

• Ditch the syrup. Use cinnamon or vanilla extract instead.
• Swap oat milk (7g sugar per cup even “unsweetened”) for almond milk (0g).
• If you need sweet: 2–3 drops of liquid monk fruit. Not stevia — stevia tastes like bitterness and regret.

Fix this and you cut 10–20g of sugar daily without even trying. That’s 70–140g per week. That’s a whole bag of sugar per month you’re not drinking.

Rule #3: If You Go to Brunch, Choose the Protein

Pancakes. Waffles. French toast. Muffins the size of your head. “Acai bowls” that are just sorbet with granola on top. For years I’d order the “healthy” option — the yogurt parfait, the avocado toast. By 2pm I needed a coma.

Brunch is where willpower goes to die. Choose protein and walk out full, not foggy.

What I order now:

• Huevos rancheros (eggs + salsa + corn tortilla, hold the rice)
• Omelette + side of avocado or sausage — skip the toast
• Steak and eggs — if it’s on the menu, I’m ordering it
• Smoked salmon + eggs + tomato — fancy, filling, zero crash

How to not be that person: just say “Can I get the omelette with no toast, add avocado?” Not a speech. Not an apology. Just a swap.

Rule #4: Swap Sauces, Not Meals — 80% of the Win

You don’t have to give up pasta. You don’t have to give up stir fry. You just have to stop letting sugar sneak into dinner. Read my post: Hidden Sugar in Your Favourite Sauces. The short version: your “healthy” pasta sauce has more sugar than a donut. Your teriyaki has more sugar than a Coke.

• Pasta sauce: Rao’s or make it — canned tomatoes + garlic + olive oil. 5 min.
• Ketchup: Primal Kitchen or DIY: tomato paste + vinegar + allulose.
• BBQ sauce: G Hughes Sugar Free or use dry rub.
• Salad dressing: Olive oil + lemon + mustard. 30 seconds.
• Stir fry sauce: Coconut aminos + ginger + garlic + allulose. 2 min.

Swapping sauces cut 40–60g of sugar from my day. I didn’t eat less. I didn’t change my meals. I just stopped getting duped.

Rule #5: Dessert Stays — But Make It Smarter

Here’s where most people fail: they quit dessert. I didn’t. I’m not a hero. I’m not a monk. I’m a woman in her forties who loves chocolate.

The swap: make dessert with allulose, not sugar. Read my post: Is Allulose the Best Sugar Substitute? It bakes like sugar, tastes like sugar, doesn’t spike blood sugar, no weird aftertaste.

Dessert is not negotiable. It’s just made differently now.

• Fudgy allulose brownies — my kids beg for them
• Chocolate chia pudding — cocoa + almond milk + chia + allulose. 5 min.
• Berries + whipped cream — cream + vanilla + liquid monk fruit
• Dark Chocolate Avocado Mousse — my book club’s favourite

Deprivation fails. Swapping wins. I haven’t “cheated” in 4 years because I don’t have to.

What I Didn’t Do — And Why It Finally Worked

• I didn’t go keto. I quit keto twice. It made me hate food and everyone around me.
• I didn’t count calories. I counted ingredients. Sugar in the first 3 = no.
• I didn’t do a 30-day challenge. Day 31 comes and then what?
• I didn’t give up bread. I swapped to Mexican corn tortillas.
• I didn’t aim for perfect. I still eat pizza when we order out.

Your Starter Plan — Do This This Week

Don’t overhaul your life. That’s how you fail by Wednesday.

1. Monday: Eggs for breakfast. Any style.
2. Tuesday: Check your coffee. Skip the syrup.
3. Wednesday: Read one label in your fridge. Pasta sauce or salad dressing.
4. Thursday: If you eat out, choose protein. Eggs, steak, chicken.
5. Friday: Make dessert with allulose. Or buy Lily’s chocolate.
6. Weekend: Notice how you feel at 3pm. Less crashy? Less snacky?

That’s it. One swap at a time. No drama. No guilt. No giving up the foods you love. Start with breakfast. The rest follows.