Step 2: Recap
Hello mate, how’s your day? Productive and full of energy I hope—especially now you’re adding complex carbs to fuel your ambition.
Thanks for showing up to today’s lesson, Step 3: Are Your Go-To Snacks and Drinks the Reason You’re Not Seeing Results?
Before we jump in, let’s recap yesterday.
Step 2: Are Simple Carbs and UPF Really the Problem You’ve Been Told They Are?
We covered which foods are considered simple carbs, and UPF, how they contribute to fat gain, energy crashes, and some serious issues like insulin resistance and carb intolerance.
If you missed it or want a refresher, you can find it in the introduction section or catch up at the course overview.
Alright, now let’s dive into why Your Go-To Snacks and Drinks the Reason You’re Not Seeing Results?
We’re going to look at 2 simple habit changes that might just be one of the best moves for your health
Lets have it.
Step 3: Are Your Go-To Snacks and Drinks the Reason You’re Not Seeing Results?
Liquid calories, especially liquid calories from sugar, are a real problem. Food companies know all about the addictive nature of sugar, and fizzy drinks and UPF are their weapon of choice—they use them to get you hooked fast, and keep you coming back for more.
Have a look at The Sugar Cycle From Hell again we’ll follow the horrible trail it leaves behind.
Your bored at work, flagging a bit so you whack open your can of, lets call it red fizzy cola.
That sticky, fizzy, brown liquid sugar bypasses digestion and picks you right up as it races into your bloodstream almost instantly.
It’s like a sugar IV straight into your system, and once the dopamine hit settles down, you’re left with a rapid insulin spike, then the dreaded energy crash, and you’ll be reaching for another 20-30 minutes after.
And so The Sugar Cycle From Hell continues.
Added Sugar: How Easy Is It’s Hidden To Keep You Coming Back.
Let’s break it down:
Exhibit #1
One can of a regular fizzy red fizzy cola has 39 grams of added sugar—that’s 156 calories of processed sugar.
Exhibit #2
One generic chocolate bar (let’s call it a “stars” bar) has 42.6 grams of sugar and 170.4 calories from processed sugar.
Exhibit #3
So, how does one “harmless” snack and a red fizzy cola drink sat at your desk stack up? In one foul swoop you’re into 81.6 grams of sugar and 326.4 calories—just like that.
If you’re feeling sluggish, irritable, and crashing at work, these snacks could be a huge factor.
The worst part of it is that it adds up fast.
Exhibit #4
One fizzy drink and one chocolate bar, five days a week, means:
- 1,632 extra calories a week
- 408 grams of added sugar per week—just from a quick snack.
And that’s a conservative estimate mate.
So many people are eating much more sugar through sauces, snacks, and UPF without realising it, on top of the fizzy drinks and chocolate bars.
If stripping fat, building muscle, having more sustainable energy and living disease free for longer are your goals, you’re sabotaging yourself by spiking insulin so often from overeating processed sugar.
Have a think how that’s going to effect you over the next 4-6-8-10 years and beyond, if you carry on overeating sugar, spiking insulin and feeling them energy crashes.
It’s not going to end well.
The Solution: Small Changes for Big Results
Here’s a simple fix:
- Swap that fizzy drink for a sugar-free version.
- Or even better, drink water, with squash if you need, and if you want to be a fancy pants add cucumber, mint leaves and a lemon slice.
- Saving the best for last, add a couple of mugs of herbal tea to your day.
If you’re struggling for snacks to replace the sugar stick (chocolate bar) you eat and the red fizzy pop here's two better options for you.
Make yourself some protein balls, its a doddle and you can have a weeks worth sorted in 15 minutes. 👇🏼
Have a protein shake or protein smoothie instead. 👇🏼
The Takeaway: Sugar Is Everywhere—Are You Noticing?
Sugar is hiding in plain sight. It’s not just in obvious snacks like fizzy drinks and chocolate bars—it’s sneaking into your sauces, coffees, teas, and UPF.
This is how The Sugar Cycle From Hell works: You eat sugar, your blood sugar spikes, insulin is released to bring it down, and then your energy crashes—leaving you craving more sugar.
And The Sugar Cycle From Hell repeats.
In the short term, this rollercoaster leaves you tired, cranky, and stuck in a rut.
Over time though, the long-term effects get real—insulin resistance, fat gain, and the risk of serious health issues like diabetes, heart disease, and metabolic syndrome. {1} {2}
What feels like a small snack here and there can easily stack up, pulling you further away from good health and the longer, healthier life you want to live.
Step 3 is all about opening your eyes to how sneaky sugar and UPF really is.
Now that you know where its hiding, and how much it’s affecting your body and energy are you going to keep letting hidden sugar run your life, or are you going start making small changes that stack up for the better?
What you do next is in your hands mate.
Action Task #3:
Swap full fat fizzy drinks for the no sugar option.
Swap your UPF and high sugar snack for a high protein, complex carb option.
BONUS TASK: Drink a minimum of 1.5 litres of filtered water, and give one herbal tea a bash.
Every day, make sure to get to get your task boxed off on your task sheet. You’ll find the link to the digital version using the Notion App at the top of each “Action Task” section (like the one above). If you missed downloading your task sheet in the intro section, no worries—click the link above to grab it. When you go to access the task sheet, just click request access and then i'll accept that my end by the end of the same day and boom, you're in.
Tomorrow's Lesson
In tomorrow’s lesson, Step 4: What Happens When You Don’t Get Enough Protein, we’re diving into why under-eating protein might be holding you back from reaching your goals.
You’ll learn that while the fitness industry pushes extreme protein intake; the reality is you don’t need as much as they say you do.
We’ll cover how upping your protein—even just a little—can make a huge difference.
And by the end of this lesson, you’ll see how small tweaks to your daily protein intake can help you perform better, think clearer, and feel more in control of your fitness journey—without obsessing over grams or supplements.
Make sure you get onto Action Task 3, box of your quiz, and we’ll See you tomorrow.