Coach 
Eat Empowered 
Nurture Yourself
How An Addiction to Sugar Paved the Path to Becoming a Nutrition Coach
By Alicia GitlitzHome » Coach » How An Addiction to Sugar Paved the Path to Becoming a Nutrition Coach
I have always been addicted to sugar. For as long as I can remember, I would go to great lengths to satisfy my sweet cravings.
I parked illegally and risked a ticket for a chocolate bar at 11 p.m. On long road trips, I had friends suddenly veer off to a rest stop because I had to have that bag of licorice. These cravings were always intense. So intense that I literally could not think or do anything else until I satisfied them. Every day, the cravings came. Always after lunch, usually around 3 p.m. Like clockwork.
Now, besides sweets, I was a healthy eater! But what good are kale, nuts, and other superfoods when you’re sabotaging it all with loads of toxic sugar?
RELATED: Sugar Cravings: 4 Reasons They Happen and How to Stop Them
Putting the Brakes on the Sugar Party
During my second pregnancy, my sugar party was forced to end. I had been diagnosed with gestational diabetes. I cried buckets of tears. How would I not eat sugar for one day, let alone the remaining five months of my pregnancy? But I had no choice—It had to be done for my baby’s health. Goodbye, muffins, cookies, chocolate, and candy. Au revoir!
For months, I dreamt about what I would eat in the delivery room post-baby. (Besides chocolate chip cookies.)
Somehow, I did it. I managed my sugar addiction through pregnancy. Truthfully, I looked and felt better than ever. My skin was clear, and my pregnancy weight gain was from growing my child—not eating candy.
RELATED: This is What Too Much Sugar Does to Your Body
A Sugar-Free Path Forward
Post-pregnancy, I began to learn more about managing my sugar addiction. I realized that sugar was the root of my fatigue, brain fog, and allergies. It was probably also the reason I was getting upper respiratory infections more frequently than a healthy young person should.
After going on a sugar detox, and off and on and off and on again, I realized that the “on” began to feel so good it slowly became my way of life. It morphed into a plant-based diet, which led to a fascination with food’s power to heal the body and keep it functioning optimally. I became so passionate that I started reading as many books as I could on nutrition. Soon after, I discovered and enrolled in Nutritious Life Studio’s Become a Nutrition Coach (BNC) course, after which I was hooked.
The Road to Becoming a Nutrition Coach
Through BNC, I obtained a strong core of nutrition science that serves as the backbone of my practice today. The course, which led to a nutrition coach certification, also gave me the opportunity to join a powerful community of like-minded individuals. People from all over the country provide each other with support and a constant flow of nutrition and wellness information. We meet weekly on a platform led by renowned dietitian Keri Glassman, who keeps our community empowered and engaged.
Keri offers expert advice on challenging topics with a positive attitude and everlasting smile. Our weekly sessions revolve around the latest nutrition and wellness trends, including client case studies, the pros and cons of trending diets, and advice on running our coaching businesses.
RELATED: Want to launch a wellness business? Get Nutritious Life Certified!
The Transformative Power of ‘Eating Clean’
The Nutritious Life Studio helped me become even more passionate about healthy eating and nutrition. Until it dawned on me: instead of being addicted to sugar, I was hooked on how amazing I felt.
I stopped taking all of my allergy medications, and my skin was glowing. I couldn’t help but chime in when friends would complain to me about their chronic migraines, stomach distress, or sudden acne.
“Eat clean,” I told them.
I would advise them to try an elimination diet. This advice was always met with resistance. Each believed it was impossible to change their eating habits and give up things they love and crave.
I responded, “If I—a person with no willpower and an abiding love for sugar—can do it, you can do it.”
Surprisingly, some of them listened to me and began eliminating bad habits and substituting them with healthier dietary and lifestyle choices. I have helped friends, family, and clients overcome sugar addictions, lose weight, and live healthier in general. The challenge is getting people to believe in themselves. But once they do, it’s powerful.
The Rewards of Becoming a Nutrition Coach
Since helping friends and family members embark on a path of treating their ailments through food and proper nutrition, my passion for eating clean has grown. Because I already had holistic health practitioner training, my choice to start a career as a nutrition and health coach was solidified.
Today, I have a thriving coaching practice and get great satisfaction when helping someone achieve their goals. There’s nothing more rewarding than when a person tells me, “Because of you, I no longer raid the fridge at night,” or “Your guidance has been life-changing and my blood work has never been better.”
The Nutritious Life Studio community continues to inspire me, and I’m so grateful to have the opportunity to connect and learn from them regularly.
(Image: Shutterstock)
Alicia Gitlitz is a board-certified Holistic Health Coach and a Nutritious Life Studio Master Certified nutrition coach. She works with clients on weight management, sugar detox, combating emotional eating and more. Alicia focuses not just on the food that we eat, but on the mind-body-spirit connection.
RECENT ARTICLES
Want a sneak peek inside the program?
Get FREE access to some of the core training materials that make up our signature program – Become a Nutrition Coach.
Get Access"*" indicates required fields
