#96 Brenda Bennett – Sugar Free Mom

Meet Brenda:

Brenda Bennett, popular food blogger Sugar Free Mom, knows what it’s like to struggle with sugar and carb addiction and what it’s like to be doing keto alone without her husband following the diet. She’s found freedom in the keto lifestyle and the ability to make recipes the whole family will eat. No need to cook differently for your kids and make separate meals for yourself. Since 2011, her blog has become the most popular sugar-free source on the web today. She has a devoted following of those looking to simply reduce sugar consumption, many who follow a low carb keto diet and many who have multiple food allergies. Her readers can identify with her as her own children have tree nut, peanut, and soy allergies.  After her own 3 year battle with her health, she was diagnosed with chronic Epstein bar and hypothyroid and now she is on a mission to help others advocate for themselves in their own health journey. With her 3 children who keep her very busy, she strives to balance it all and still provide healthy, homemade meals that don’t require too much time in the kitchen.

Show Notes:

ABOUT BRENDA

• I am a Mom of 3 and I am 47 years old
• I started sugarfreemom.com which is my blog, back in October of 2011
• I started that because I was having a struggle with sugar in my life
• I had my daughter in 2003 and so, 2004 was really when I began sugar-free and I was desperate
• A friend of mine was doing a program with no white sugar and no white rice, no white potatoes and no white flour
• It was a 6-week program and I thought that I could not live like that, but I was desperate to lose the baby weight of 20 lbs.
• So, I did that with her and I realized that I can do this
• I did do sugar-free at that time, but I still enjoyed honey and maple syrup
• I noticed as I went along that I was still craving sugar, like the natural sugars
• And for me, or for someone who has a sugar addiction, I did not know that any type of sugar is a trigger
• In 2004 or 2005, I did not see anything out there like we have today and I only saw artificial products like Splenda
• So, I thought this was the way to end it by going sugar-free.  I did that for 2 years, but I realized that I am just as addicted to products with artificial sweeteners in them
• I think it was about the year 2007 that I was so done and could not do it anymore, and I had to go sugar-free, and that’s when I chose stevia
• When I went to stevia, I started creating recipes and I even started teaching classes at my church, giving out recipes and trying to help people
• I told my brother that everybody is asking me about this bacon recipe and I do not have time for it and he told me that why don’t I start a blog
• After a year, I grew on Facebook and then I went on Pinterest
• I think that really encouraged me that people wanted this area of a niche
• God has turned my greatest mess into a message to help others
• I just vowed to continually make recipes that I felt my family and friends would love and I would love, and I would never feel deprived
• That’s how I have been doing it for all these years
• I am just trying to be authentic, real and I am grateful that people like my recipes
• Before, I did not have the food freedom and I have with keto.
  
  
• I had cheated when I was low-carb because I was also low-fat
• Even though my recipes have higher fat, the mentality that I grew up with was still there
• I was low-carb and I was eating a lot of food and when I went to the doctor, he said to eat less and exercise more
• So, I got a trainer and I went to keto
• I did it and that year, my hair grew back. I did not lose weight because I ate so much fat, but I think my body needed it
• The recipe that went viral was Balsamic Chicken Thighs in a Crock Pot
• The very first one in 2012 was like a personalized baked oatmeal
• Another viral recipe was my Salt and Vinegar Zucchini Chips
• I am grateful for those recipes because I was always trying to sneak stuff on my family without them knowing
• You do not want to have a sweet treat everyday just because our taste buds will get used to that and you don’t need that
• I feel like I crave more savory, but I love developing recipes because that’s my passion
• I fell in love with photography too, I love taking pictures of the food I make
• I want to people to say, “there is no deprivation in low-carb foods.”
  
  
• In 2015, that when my hair was falling out and I switched from low-carb to keto, but I did not lose weight, but my hair is growing back so it was fine
• Then, I got hives, I was feeling really bad and my allergies were really bad and I was all in an antihistamine
• And so, I started being very strict with keto because I was not very strict with it
• When I started keto I did not test, track, count – I did not do anything
• But then I realized that I am not losing weight and I have to do something different
• That’s when I started tracking and do blood test
• At that time, I did not lose pounds, but I see fat-loss, my hair is not falling out, I am feeling good and I have mental clarity
• But last spring, I had more hives and that’s when my doctor did some more testing, and that was the last time
• I got my records and went to an endocrinologist
• The endocrinologist did a bunch of testing and I found out my whole my body was inflamed
• For months I felt horrible and I was falling asleep at the wheel while driving in the middle of the day, that’s how bad I felt
• I did the food allergy test with a nutritionist and I am so allergic to gluten and I have been gluten-free for 5 or 6 years
• That medicine I was on has a filler for corn and gluten and I got off of that
• She put me on something else and it did not work
• Only a couple of months ago, I told her that maybe I need a little T3 and she agreed
• And within a month, we were on a cruise and I lost weight while we were on a cruise to Europe
• I lost 8 lbs. effortlessly and I did nothing differently, it is only because my metabolism was so messed up with my thyroid
• Now, I have been on the medication for 3 months now
• Before the thyroid issue started, when I went strict keto my husband was amazed all the high fat meat that I can eat and he wanted in
• It’s only been a year and a half ago that he started and he lost 50 lbs. now
• I am so grateful that he is on board because it is so much easier
• When I first went keto, I always went for more fat
• Over this last year with the food allergies and thyroid issue, I have been increasing my protein and my protein increase has truly been effective for me. Everybody is different
• I used to have a butter coffee and it never really filled me up until lunch, so I switched it out and threw in collagen
• Collagen in my coffee works and I am filled up until noon

• I love your Aging Stronger theme
• I remember hearing you in another podcast and you were talking about your parents and they are the same as mine
• My mom is 72 years old and my dad is 73 years old. Unfortunately, they believe the doctor and they are both on statins
• They both feel that high cholesterol is the problem and they have very low cholesterol
• I worry so much for them about dementia and I bought her a book titled, Lies My Doctor Told Me by Dr. Ken Berry
• I really hope that the message will get across because as we age, they just both believe that cholesterol is the problem
• I don’t want to age like my parents
• My first keto book was Jimmy Moore’s Keto Clarity
• I just bought the Fat Documentary on iTunes and it was incredible and I am going to let my parents watch it

ADVICE

• Keep it simple
• Eat wholefoods
• Don’t buy all the packaged stuff
• Keeping it simple is the way to go
• If you have sweet tooth, you do not need to make the keto breads or keto desserts
• Biggest thing for me is getting nuts and berries to reduce the cravings
• You have to remember that it is not one-size fits all

HOW CAN PEOPLE FIND YOU

• Website: sugarfreemom.com
• Facebook: SugarFreeMom.com
• Pinterest: Sugar-Free Mom
• Twitter: TheSugarFreeMom
• Instagram: sugarfreemom
  
  

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