Woman who quit ALL added sugar reveals drastic life changes
A beauty influencer has opened up about how giving up all added sugar improved her life for the better, saying her skin brightened, her dark undereye circles faded, and she started to wake up energized.
Alexandra Anele, 32, from Los Angeles, has more than 1.12 million subscribers on YouTube, where she shares makeup tutorials and skincare advice. In a recent video, titled 'How I Quit Sugar,' she detailed her experience cutting out processed sweets.
'I'm obviously not a nutritionist. I'm not a doctor. I would never tell you what you should do,' she explained. 'However, I've had a lot of experience with trying to cut out added sugar. I have personally seen a lot of benefits.'
Beauty YouTuber Alexandra Anele, 32, from Los Angeles, opened up about giving up added sugar in a recent video titled 'How I Quit Sugar'
Anele is pictured when she is on added sugar (left) and off added sugar (right)
The makeup artist stressed that she still consumes naturally occurring sugars that are found in milk, fruits, and vegetables.
'Added sugars are sugars and syrups that are added to foods or beverages when they are processed or prepared,' according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Anele gave the example of the naturally occurring sugar in an apple versus the added sugars that are found in a Snickers bar.
'The first week that I was completely added sugar-free, the biggest change that I saw was in my mood and my productivity,' she recalled. 'I woke up feeling motivated and energized.'
The YouTube star noted that she thought it was normal to snooze her alarm and have a hard time getting out of bed until she cut out added sugar.
'I would wake up in the morning and it was easy to get out of bed,' she said of the drastic change in her energy. 'I was ready to get out of bed. I was ready to go and do things.'
Not only did she feel better, but she insisted that ditching added sugars also improved her appearance.
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The influencer filmed the video on October 31 (pictured), and she admitted that she had 'started slipping and eating added sugar' earlier that month
Anele (pictured right on added sugar and left off it) claimed her skin brightened, her dark undereye circles faded, and she started to wake up energized when she quit added sugar
Anele said it was her fans who first noticed that her dark undereye circles were going away and would ask her what she was doing differently.
'It took me a long time to make the correlation because it was definitely a slow process. I did not notice that right away,' she explained.
According to the influencer, it took her about six months to notice the changes in her physical appearance.
'It's not that they were going away,' she clarified. 'I still have them, but they were getting a lot better. Like my skin overall just looked brighter.'
Anele filmed the video on October 31, and she admitted that she 'started slipping and eating added sugar' earlier that month.
She pulled up footage of herself from when she was off added sugar to give viewers a side-by-side comparison of what she looks like now versus then.
Anele noted that the dark circles under her eyes looked deeper and her face was a 'little bit more puffy' than before because added sugar causes inflammation.
Anele noted that the dark circles under her eyes looked deeper and her face was a 'little bit more puffy' than before because added sugar causes inflammation
She said she 'grew up addicted to sugar,' explaining that she was a picky eater who preferred cookies and candy bars to healthy foods
However, she explained that her 'main concern' was what added sugar does to her rather than how it changes her appearance.
'One of the reasons I wanted to make this video today was because I have fallen off the wagon — real bad,' she shared.
Anele said she 'grew up addicted to sugar,' explaining that she was a picky eater who preferred cookies and candy bars to healthy foods.
She admitted that sugar still has a hold on her, and she has had a difficult time getting back on track since she started slipping up.
The YouTube star recalled how she recently ordered a rich dessert while celebrating her birthday in Aspen, Colorado.
'After that experience, when I came home, I was like, "Holy crap, I look like death,"' she said. 'My skin was pale. My under eyes were super dark, and pretty much since then — it's been about two weeks — I'm still trying to get out of that, like, addict behavior where my brain is like I need that sugar. I need chocolate.'
Anele shared her tips for cutting added sugar out of your diet, saying people need to understand that it is 'going to take a long time' to shut down their cravings.
The makeup artist stressed that she still consumes naturally occurring sugars that are found in milk, fruits, and vegetables
Anele said one of her favorite desserts is a honey crisp apple with ricotta and cinnamon, explaining that it's important to find a dessert you enjoy that has 'naturally occurring sugar'
'You have to find a dessert that is sweet that you enjoy that has naturally occurring sugar,' she explained. 'For instance, an apple. One of my favorite desserts is a honey crisp apple with ricotta cheese and cinnamon.'
She added that she also likes to have berries and plain Greek yogurt sweetened with a few drops of stevia — a sugar substitute made from the leaves of the stevia plant —that she tops with pecans and cinnamon.
'Don't even worry about the quantity,' she insisted. 'If you eat three mangoes, eat three mangoes, okay? That's how I had to do it.'
Anele noted that she personally doesn't experience lethargy or puffiness when she overdoses on fruit compared to added sugars.
'The biggest takeaway from this is just to focus on the naturally occurring sugars. Eat as much as you want. Slowly whittle that down. Don't feel guilty about eating five apples,' she said.
'If it means eating five apples over eating a pint of ice cream, I think that that's way better. It's gonna help you kind of like train your brain to crave the natural food and to kick the habit of the added sugar.'
'If you're going to give this a shot, I'm starting over right now, so I'm right there with you,' she added.
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