“HELP!!! What should I be eating?”
These are often the first words I hear from my patients after they’re diagnosed with pre-diabetes or type 2 diabetes.

Before they come into my office, many have gone down the internet rabbit hole — a confusing mess of conflicting information.
Should you follow low-carb, plant-based, keto, carnivore, or low-fat?
Should you intermittent fast — or avoid fasting in the morning to keep your cortisol and blood sugar from spiking?

Count your calories… or ignore them in favor of intuitive eating?

It’s confusing — and honestly, it’s overwhelming.
A 2017 study found that 78% of people feel confused by conflicting nutrition advice, and this overwhelm can lead to paralysis — instead of making healthy lifestyle tweaks, many just give up.

This is what worries me most — the diet wars.
When we’re battling over which approach is “right”, we lose sight of what really matters: choosing nourishing food that helps ease metabolic dysfunction and brings our health back into balance.

The most popular diet you’ll hear about…

…the low carbohydrate diet.
This approach is often recommended by doctors or dietitians when you have insulin resistance, prediabetes, or Type 2 diabetes — all conditions where your body struggles to process the food you eat.
This shows up as higher blood sugar.
That’s not because carbohydrate directly causes the disease — we can go into the physiology in another post — but lowering carbohydrate intake can ease the metabolic load while your body regains its ability to process glucose efficiently.

Is it the ONLY way, though?
Not necessarily.
Again, this is why understanding the disease process and how it develops is helpful.

So… Where Should You Start?

Instead of adding another set of restrictive diet rules, I suggest we start by keeping it simple.
Consider first what is real food — food that comes from the ground, the ocean, or a creature — food that's close to its natural form.

✅ Real food: Foods you can recognize, made up of ingredients you know.

How Can You Tell?

Here’s a helpful way to gauge:
Did it come from the ground, the ocean, or a creature?
Does it look close to its natural form?
If the answer is yes, it’s probably a food that your body can handle much more gracefully — without causing dramatic blood sugar swings or metabolic dysfunction.
These foods help keep us satiated and align with our body’s natural signals for hunger and fullness.

Eat more real, whole, unprocessed foods!

What Are Ultra-processed Foods?

An ultra-processed food is a food you couldn’t make in your own kitchen — or even pronounce many of its ingredients.
Here’s the crazy part: we’re eating them all the time and probably don’t realize it!
About 60% or more of the calories adults consume in the US come from ultra-processed foods.

Ultra-processed foods are very easy to overeat.
They confuse our hunger and satiety signals and are often made with refined carbohydrates — which can make it difficult for the body to process them when you have insulin resistance, prediabetes, or Type 2 diabetes.

Examples of Ultra-processed Foods (Consider Reducing These)

Here are some common ultra-processed foods you’re likely to find in your grocery store:

• Soda and juice drinks with added sugars (Coca-Cola, Sprite, Gatorade, SunnyD)

• Breakfast cereals (Frosted Flakes, Froot Loops, Fruity Pebbles)

• Snack chips and crackers (Ritz, Doritos, Cheetos, Goldfish crackers, Cheez-Its)

• Candy, chocolates, and sweets (M&Ms, Skittles, Snickers, Twizzlers)

• Frozen or instant meals (Hot Pockets, TV dinners, cup noodles, pizza rolls)

• Processed meats (Hot dogs, bologna, sausages, deli meats)

• Baked goods made with refined flour and stabilizers (croissants, donuts, muffins)

• Flavored yogurt with added sugars and colorings (Yoplait, Danimals)

• Packaged meal kits and side dishes (Boxed mac-and-cheese, Hamburger Helper, instant stuffing)

• Other products with numerous stabilizers, color enhancers, and artificial sweeteners (Flavored coffee creamers, margarine, diet soda)

✅ Takeaway:
Start by choosing real, whole foods — and pay less attention to the diet wars.
This small, realistic step can make a huge, sustainable improvement in your metabolic health.

Consider reducing ultra-processed foods.
Can you remove a few from your pantry and replace them with whole foods?

• Other products with numerous stabilizers, color enhancers, and artificial sweeteners (Flavored coffee creamers, margarine, diet soda)

Want Support Making These Changes?

If you’re a woman looking for guidance, support, and a step-by-step approach to improving your metabolic health, I’d love for you to work with me in SugarSmart.

Inside SugarSmart, you’ll learn how to:
✨ Balance your plate with real, whole foods
✨ Reduce ultra-processed foods without overwhelm
✨ Support healthy blood sugar and metabolic function in a realistic, sustainable way
✨ Develop strategies to break free from confusing diet wars and make peace with food

Join the waitlist for when SugarSmart Coaching doors open again!