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(This is not a sponsored post though I am a Go Sugar Free Course affiliate.)

Happy 2016, everyone, I hope you had a wonderful new year celebration full of fun, family, and friends! How are you feeling heading into 2016? Optimistic? Excited? Ready to make a change or two?

If one of your goals is to achieve better health in the new year, today’s post is going to help you get there – I’ve teamed up with Jacqueline Smith, a woman I look up to so much, to release a FREE download of 50 gluten and sugar-free snacks for work and travel!

Going Sugar-Free

Two years ago, after having to go gluten-free, I started eating refined sugar like a crazy person. There’s no other way to describe it. I’ve always had a sweet tooth, and would’ve listed candy as one of my favorite “foods” (oy) at that point, but after I had to give up all my favorite gluten-containing foods in 2013, things really spiraled out of control. I was making up for losing those foods by eating something sweet after every single meal – and we’re not talking about snacking on an apple before bed.

Breakfast was followed by a handful of skittles. Lunch was capped off by a Reese’s Peanut Butter Cup. Dinner was only finished when I had a bowl of ice cream. Snacks were gluten-free cookies or even more candy. The fatigue and low energy I was already experiencing from Celiac Disease was being exacerbated by the amount of sugar I was consuming. Even worse, it was inhibiting my healing by causing more inflammation. But, I turned a blind eye and told myself that if I couldn’t have gluten then I should be able to have more of something else.

WRONG-O.

I’ve joked “calories don’t count on the weekends!” and “I got lettuce on my Taco Pizza – it’s practically health food!” like everyone else, but in reality it’s not true. Everything in moderation, of course, but there’s a very real consequence to what we put into our bodies – good or bad – and putting that much sugar into mine was making me more sick. Not to mention, mentally, there was a bigger reason why I was eating more sugar than ever, and I needed help finding better coping mechanisms then asking Ben to pick up a pack of gluten-free licorice on his way home from work.

Just when my sugar consumption was at an all time high, an email from Jacqueline appeared in my inbox. Jacqueline had battled with sugar addiction herself and after years of suffering from cravings, belly fat, adult acne, fatigue, and low energy she cut added sugar out of her life cold turkey. The change in quality of life was so drastic that she created the Go Sugar Free Course to help others achieve the same success, and wanted to see if I’d like to take it.

Go Sugar Free Course

I put the Go Sugar Free Course in my list of Top 5 life changing experiences, along with getting married, having Lincoln, and putting a remote starter in my car. (Kidding about that last part.) Seriously though, I went into the 9.5 week online course thinking there was no WAY I, a lifelong candy crusher, was going to be able to quit sugar, but desperate enough to try. I quickly found out that sugar is in everything. As much as I thought there was gluten in everything, there is added sugar in e-v-e-r-y-t-h-i-n-g. I feel like for many people there’s no way to get out from under the thumb of refined and artificial sugars without being extremely intentional about it because sugar is hiding in so many store-bought products. We’re losing a game that we don’t even know we’re playing.

9.5 weeks of daily email lessons containing everything from resources to help identify and eliminate sugar in my life, tools and exercises, nine personal check ins, plus lifetime access to course materials and upgrades was what finally put the nail in my sugar coffin. I mentioned a few weeks ago that my afternoon Sierra Mist had slowly crept its way back into my life, which I quickly squashed, but it was more out of wanting something other than water to drink vs craving sugar.

My sweet tooth is gone.

Can I appreciate a photo of chocolate cake dripping with frosting. Heck yeah! But do I feel compelled to turn around and make it? Not anymore.

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I want to keep going, but will wrap it up before telling you more about the free downloadable snack list, an exclusive resource usually reserved for Jacqueline’s course readers, which we’re giving out today. The reason why I’m so gung-ho about sharing my story and helping you eliminate excess refined and artificial sugar in your life is because they’re not good for you and I want you to be the BEST you, you can be. Unless you have Celiac Disease, gluten is not “unhealthy.” The same cannot be said about regular consumption of excess added sugar.

Excess sugar consumption has been linked to everything from the obvious like weight gain, to Type 2 diabetes and heart disease – and that’s despite eating a diet rich in healthy foods (source.) The American Heart Association recommends that women consume no more than 6 teaspoons of added sugar a day. Guess how many teaspoons are in one can of Sierra Mist? Over 7. A can of Coke? Almost 10. A can of Mountain Dew? 11.5. 11.5 teaspoons of sugar in ONE can of pop!

I’m not a person who usually responds to fear-based motivation (except for fitness – still holding out for Jillian Michaels to come kick my butt!) but I’m telling you this because I want you to be the best version of you in 2016, and maybe that means cutting back or eliminating regular consumption of excess sugar. That doesn’t mean you can’t have cake on your birthday, or a doughnut with your kids on Saturday morning, but if you feel chained to sugar like Jacqueline and I did, and want help breaking free from that chain, the next Go Sugar Free Course is January 6 – March 12, 2016, and registration is open until January 5th.

Jacqueline is a sugar-free goddess, not to mention a kind and wonderful person in general, and will help you drastically change your life by cutting out excess added sugar, if you’re willing to put in the work. It was one of the hardest yet rewarding, lifetime-lasting experiences I’ve ever had. And if I can do it, YOU can do it!

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50 Snack Ideas for Work and Travel

While you mull that over, let’s get to the good stuff – the free, downloadable list of 50 gluten and sugar free snack ideas for work and travel!

Gluten and sugar-free snacking can be difficult because convenience foods are commonly packed with both added sugar and gluten. Luckily Jacqueline has done a ton of work compiling a list of convenient, easy, and healthy snack ideas that are not only free of added sugar and gluten, but made with REAL FOOD. These snack ideas are perfect to pack in the car for road trips, throw in your suitcase for vacation, or stash in your desk for an afternoon snack. I for one am always wandering around after Lincoln goes down for his afternoon nap, searching for a little something to tide me over until dinnertime, and I’ve already made/eaten a number of these filling and delicious snacks in the past week.

As I mentioned, this snack list is usually only available to those who enroll in Jacqueline’s course, but we’re passionate about helping you reduce sugar in your everyday lives, and eliminate gluten for people with Celiac Disease or a gluten-intolerance, and this list is a great place to start.

Click here to download the FREE Go Sugar Free Snack List >

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What do you think about excess sugar in our lives? Why do you feel it’s hard to quit? Is sugar a habit or a reward for you?Â