How I Got Off Sugar in 6 Steps (& finally stopped craving it)

How I cut the 3pm crashes, killed the cravings, stopped relying on coffee & got my energy (and brain) back

I think we’ve all had a sugar girl era.

And sometimes it doesn’t even look like sugar. It’s the vanilla oat milk latte you sip until noon. The “healthy” smoothie with 30 grams of sugar. A handful of granola that’s basically dessert. The post-meal sweet treat. The croissant with your second coffee. Or the 3 p.m. carb hunt you’ve convinced yourself is just part of your routine.

And no. The answer isn’t to restrict everything (like I used to think). It’s not about cutting all carbs or forcing yourself to go keto. And it’s definitely not about shaming yourself for wanting a cookie.

The real shift came when I started actually nourishing my body - giving it the protein, minerals, and blood sugar stability it needed so it would stop begging me for sugar just to get through the day.

That said… the first few days are not always easy. You might feel tired, foggy, irritated. That’s normal. Your body is recalibrating. But if you stick with it and ride out that first wave - everything changes. Your energy comes back. Your cravings quiet down. You stop thinking about food all day long.

These are the six tools that changed everything for me. And the ones I still use whenever I feel the sugar cycle creeping back in.

---

If you need recipe inspiration or want a more in depth guided reset I created this:

7 Days To Get Off Your Sugar Reset - with 21 anti-inflammatory, blood sugar balancing recipes

---

1. Start Your Day with Protein

This is the golden rule. Skipping breakfast or surviving on coffee until 1 p.m. spikes your cortisol, tanks your blood sugar, and sets you up for cravings all day.

Starting your day with at least 30g of protein. This calms your nervous system, regulates glucose, and keeps you full for hours. I started with something super simple: bone broth and three hard-boiled eggs, chicken sausage and some avocado. Game changer.

---

2. Eat Your Veggies Before Your Carbs

The order of your food literally changes the way your body processes it.

When you eat fiber first (like a handful of leafy greens, a raw carrot salad or anything bitter), you slow the glucose spike from carbs that follow — by up to 75%.

Think: first fiber, then fat and protein, then carbs last. It’s an easy way to cut cravings without changing what you eat — just how you eat it.

---

3. If You Crave Sugar After Dinner, Look at Your Plate

It’s not about discipline — it’s usually a blood sugar crash.

If your dinner was low in protein, low in healthy fats, low in fiber, or just not enough food, your blood sugar drops and your body wants something fast to bring it back up. Cue running to the snack cabinet.

Solution? Make dinner blood sugar-proof: at least 30g of protein, some kind of healthy fat (like olive oil or avocado), and cooked greens. It’s simple, but it works.

---

4. You’re Not Addicted to Sugar: Your Stress Hormones Are

This one hit me hard. Most of us think we just have “no willpower,” but really, we’re in a state of constant fight or flight.

When cortisol is high and blood sugar is unstable, your body goes straight for sugar — it’s the fastest dopamine hit it can get.

Instead of fighting cravings, regulate your nervous system. Get sunlight in the morning. Take 5 deep breaths before meals. Eat before caffeine. Support your body before you expect it to behave.

---

5. You Might Not Be Hungry. You Might Be Dehydrated

This one’s so overlooked but so real. Mild dehydration can mimic sugar cravings — fatigue, brain fog, mood dips, and the urge to snack.

Try this: a big glass of filtered water with lemon and sea salt the moment a craving hits. Most of the time, your body just needs minerals — not a muffin.

---

6. Every Crash Trains Your Brain to Crave More

The more sugar you eat, the more your body builds a feedback loop to keep asking for it.

Every spike and crash wires your brain to reach for the same thing next time. But here’s the good news: you can retrain it.

Focus on building every meal around the Fab Four: protein, fat, fiber, and greens. When your blood sugar is steady, your brain stays quiet, your cravings fade, and you stop thinking about food all day long.

---

I promise you, the second you stop chasing the sugar high and actually give your body what it’s asking for, things shift. Your skin clears. Your brain turns on. Your mood evens out. You stop feeling like food is controlling your day.

Getting off sugar isn’t about restriction. It’s about safety. Stable blood sugar, stable energy, stable mind. That’s where the magic is.

Let me know if you try these. I’d love to hear what works and maybe doesn’t work for you!