Life After Sugar

Suann grew up in northeastern Canada eating the way most of us did: a diet full of sugary cereals and processed foods. But when she grew older, she started listening to her body. She became vegetarian, then vegan, moved off-grid, and built a life that suits her .  And she's never felt more free. In this conversation, we talk about what Suann calls embodiment — what it actually means to feel a...

In this episode, I want to talk about something that confuses a lot of people: cholesterol. What it actually is, why your body needs it, and why the LDL number on your lab report doesn't tell the whole story. A new documentary that just came out in April 2026 called The Cholesterol Code got me thinking.  It follows Dave Feldman, an engineer who went low-carb, stabilized his blood sugar, felt...

John grew up in Indiana eating Hungry Man dinners, boxes of sugary cereal, and green-frosted Ninja Turtle pies... and no-one ever told him sugar was a problem!  By his early 30s he was pushing 290 pounds, prediabetic, and on blood pressure medication. After discovering low-carb eating and spending years experimenting with ketosis, John learned how to train his body to burn fat instead of sugar and...

Christine spent 30 years trapped in the cycle of yo-yo dieting.  She tried everything from Weight Watchers to a hospital-supervised liquid protein program. But nobody ever taught her  why her body was working against her.  In this episode, Christine opens up about growing up on the Standard American Diet (SAD), the childhood bullying that shaped her relationship with food, and how she reached 230...

What do you say when someone offers you something with sugar in it… and you don’t want it? Or you kind of do... but you don't want to sabotage your efforts to break free from sugar cravings? In this episode, I walk you through simple, real-life ways to respond without feeling rude, awkward, or pressured to explain yourself. We also look at what’s really going on in those moments, including th...

Angela grew up with a lot of stress and tension around food at home. In her 20s, she struggled with severe sugar addiction alongside anxiety and depression, using sugar as a primary coping mechanism. In this conversation, Angela shares how that breaking point led her to eat more mindfully, and how learning to be present in everyday moments slowly changed her relationship with food, cravings, and e...

When Violet's husband’s health crisis forced them to look for solutions, sugar and white flour weren’t even on the list. In this episode, Violet shares how her husband’s Crohn’s disease led them to completely rethink the way they eat.  They were trying to keep him off of meds because he didn't like the side effects that came with them.  But when their version of healthy eating wasn'...

If you’ve ever thought about cutting sugar, flour, and processed foods, it's better to be prepared for what you might experience. In this episode, I talk about the symptoms people often call “detox” and what’s actually happening in the body during that transition.  We look at why you might be peeing more, why headaches are so common, what metabolic flexibility means, cravings, and why the bra...

Evon Dennis grew up in a large family where most meals were home-cooked. But as her family’s income increased, so did the presence of ultra-processed foods.  After leaving home as a teenager, and becoming a young mom, food became comfort for Evon. It became numbness. It became a coping tool. In this episode, Evon shares: how ultra-processed food slowly became her main coping tool her experience wi...

You can do everything “right” and still not feel like you're "good enough". In this episode, I talk with Courtney, a health coach and former dancer, about growing up in diet culture, and how looking healthy on the outside doesn't always reflect how we feel on the inside. We talk about why weight loss so often backfires (hint: it's not your fault!). And we also talk about h...

If you’re over 50 and sugar cravings feel stronger or harder to manage than they used to, you’re not imagining it. In this episode (which I recorded a few weeks before my 56th birthday), I talk about what’s actually happening in the body after midlife and why the strategies that used to work often stop working.  For most of us, shifting hormones affect blood sugar, stress, sleep, and cravings, so...

You probably don’t need more health information. Chances are, you’re already overwhelmed by it. In this episode, I talk with Jenn Trepeck, health coach and author of Uncomplicating Wellness , about why eating well and taking care of yourself has become so confusing, and why it doesn’t have to be. We talk about how to make sense of all the conflicting nutrition headlines, why chasing the “right” pl...

Cravings don’t usually come out of nowhere.  They’re often the body’s way of asking for relief, comfort, or a break from stress, even when it feels like the craving is “just for sugar.” In this episode, my guest is Dr. David Clark, a board-certified gastroenterologist who spent decades working not only with people who suffer with digestive issues, but also chronic pain, fatigue, and cravings.  In...

What is emotional eating? For a long time, I didn’t think emotional eating had anything to do with me. I thought I just liked sugar.  I thought I needed more discipline. I thought I should “do better.” You may relate. In this episode, I share my own experience with comfort foods and the role sugar played in helping me cope and unwind at the end of a long day.  I talk about why comfort foods feel s...

My guest this week, Dr. Elizabeth Wanek, has a chemistry degree, a medical doctorate, and decades of practice. She challenges conventional healthcare thinking by connecting physics, chemistry, and biology to how we see energy, food, sugar, and cravings. You don't need a science background or a medical degree to get inspiration from this episode. In fact, both Elizabeth and I agree that the ba...

What actually counts as a whole food — and why does that matter when it comes to sugar? In this episode, I unpack the difference between foods with added sugars and whole foods that naturally contain sugar, like fruit and dairy.  I talk about what “minimally processed” really means, why "food products" that contain forms of added sugars have quietly become part of everyday eating... and...

In this episode, Mirinda shares her honest journey with sugar, dieting, and the lifelong food noise so many women know well.  Growing up with mixed messages about food and years of yo-yo dieting, Mirinda explains how sugar slowly began to rule her mood, her thoughts, and her sense of self. We talk about what finally changed: shifting away from weight loss and rules, and toward nourishing her body,...

In this episode, I’m joined by Aaron, a family physician who explains why most doctors get surprisingly little training in nutrition — and how that gap shaped the way medicine treats chronic disease.  Aaron shares how his upbringing influenced his relationship with sugar, why Type 2 diabetes in kids has risen so dramatically. Aaron also talks about the personal turning point that changed his appro...

Cutting or reducing sugar can feel incredible… and also uncomfortable. In this episode, I talk honestly about both sides of the journey to your "life after sugar" — the benefits we love and the challenges we don’t always talk about. This episode is for you if you’ve ever wondered: “Why does it feel harder before it gets easier?” “Is something wrong with me if I struggle when I cut back o...

Hi, it's Netta. I'm recording this episode in December 2025, and if your year wasn’t perfectly sugar-free… don't worry.  I'm guessing that nobody's year was perfect — not even mine! ;-) In this episode, I explore what it really means to make progress without expecting perfection — and why being human matters more than being “perfect.” I share my own ups and downs, how diet...

In this episode, I talk with Dr. John Oberg about his groundbreaking work helping people with Type 2 diabetes. His medical practice dramatically improves their blood sugar through small, sustainable changes.  He shares behind-the-scenes details from his clinical research, including how his team helped patients lower their A1C from dangerously high levels in just weeks, and why a personalized, step...

In this episode, I’m chatting with Ty, who was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes when he was just 8 years old. Type 1 diabetes is an autoimmune condition where the pancreas stops making insulin, so the body can’t regulate blood sugar on its own and needs insulin from injections or a pump to survive. Ty takes us behind the scenes of what that has really looked like: from massive early insulin pumps, c...

Cutting sugar can feel empowering… until the cravings hit.  In this episode, I walk you through what’s really happening when you stop eating sugar and refined carbs, why your body and brain can feel out of control at first, and why this doesn’t mean you’re doing anything wrong.  You’ll hear about: Why cravings can feel stronger when you first cut sugar (and why this is normal) What’s happening in...

In this episode, I talk with Uma, a health coach and yoga teacher based in South Africa.  Uma shares her personal journey of growing up with a diet full of sugar and flour, how her health began to decline, and what finally inspired her to make a change.  Uma opens up about the fear of developing diabetes, which runs in her family, and how she learned to take control of her health, not just through...

In this episode, I’m joined by Dr. Carolyn Dean, who is a medical doctor, naturopath, and author of Exposing Sugar Toxicity. We discuss sugar and cravings, and how they’re often linked to much more than willpower. The main culprit could actually be yeast overgrowth. Carolyn shares her personal story (which starts with late-night bowls of ice cream in high school) and explains how she came to under...