Food is so much more important than we give it credit for. The right diet is the difference between feeling sluggish, gaining weight, and losing focus – or harnessing the power we have within to look and feel our best, and embrace life with health and happiness.

I often talk about how to become a Golden Goddess with these four pillars: Fabulous Fiber, Pure Protein, Comforting Carbohydrates, and High Quality Fats.

We become Golden Goddesses by following our inner goddess, which is the positive energy you create through eating to support your body, mindfulness to nourish your brain, the inner voice that trusts you to create the part of yourself that is divine light, and your spirit.

It is the true essence of who we are!

To take it one step further, though, we need to ensure that our blood sugar levels are stabilized. Sometimes our body craves too many carbohydrates and not enough fat or protein… and this tends to throw off the balance. Why does this happen? What can we do about it?

Let’s take a look at how the body regulates blood sugar levels – and how balance can work for you.

Even when we are eating healthy, our blood sugar balance can be out of whack, and this has a domino effect on your whole body.

Your blood sugar level is the amount of glucose (think carbohydrates, sugar, and starchy foods) that circulates in your bloodstream after you eat, providing immediate energy to your muscles or stored for future use in your liver (or as fat cells).

When we ingest carbohydrates, they are metabolized into glucose (aka blood sugar). The brain can use glucose without insulin, but the rest of the body’s organs need insulin – an important hormone in blood sugar balance – to get their glucose fix. Insulin is secreted by the pancreas, and is the chemical that escorts sugar into our cells for energy.

Small amounts of insulin are used to store glucose as glycogen in the liver, which can store up to 500 calories of glucose. The normal range for blood sugar is between 80mg/ml and 120 mg/ml.

Think of insulin like a ferryboat: it picks up blood sugar, then transfers it to our bloodstream and/or into our cells and muscles.

Your muscles need lots of insulin to store glucose. They can store up to 2,000 calories before they fill up. The only way to make room for more glucose is to get moving… You just have to burn it off!!

When we eat too many starchy foods and simple carbohydrates, don’t exercise, and get too stressed, our bodies become resistant to insulin. When this happens, the pancreas begins to pump out more insulin because it wants to maintain blood glucose levels… But your cells eventually develop an intolerance to the chemical, and need more and more to do the same job.

The muscles essentially become resistant to the signal from insulin to accept glucose. The glucose, then, does not enter the cells. Instead, it remains in the blood stream, resulting in high blood sugar levels.

The glucose that is not used by the brain, muscles, and liver is then stored as triglycerides in our fat cells. When glucose is not used for fuel, it is used for fat!

Then, this tells your body to eat more sugar because your cells are starved for glucose, starting you down the path of sugar cravings that seem out of control.

So, how do you maintain blood sugar balance and become a Golden Goddess?

Weight loss happens between meals when we have balanced blood sugar – and when the meal itself contributes to weight loss.

That is why I have designed the Golden Goddess plate, which includes nutrient-dense foods, without the simple carbohydrates and hidden sugars that wreak havoc on our blood sugar levels.

The Golden Goddess Plate includes:

1.Fabulous Fiber-

• Activated nuts
• Vegetables
• Greens
• Beans
• Avocados
• Flax
• Chia

All of these fabulous fibers regulate your blood sugar levels, remove toxins from your body, are anti-inflammatory, provide food for the good bacteria in the gut (which helps keep you regular), and help the body produce butyrate (which helps prevent cancer).

Did anyone ever tell you that you ate too many greens? Of course not!

Leafy greens like kale, Swiss chard, spinach, and collard greens are highly anti-inflammatory and rich in phytonutrients for healthy skin and hair – so that your inner AND outer goddess benefit. The leafy greens all feed the good bacteria in your gut (check out my 8-day GUTLOVE program to learn more).

This is nature’s way of feeding your soul with vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants to prevent premature aging, strengthen your immune system, and protect your mental and physical goddess.

By adding fiber to our Golden Goddess bodies, we slow the breakdown of carbohydrates, so that blood sugar levels don’t spike too quickly.

2.Perfect Protein-

Adding high quality protein to your plate is going to get you one step closer to super soul status. I am not talking about just any protein, but those that help rebuild tissue after a workout, are involved in digestive health, are important for skin health, provide fuel for the brain, are involved in hormone production, and help rebuild collagen.

Who wouldn’t want to incorporate these types of protein on their Golden Goddess plate? They include:

• Activated nuts
• Seeds – pumpkin seeds, sesame seeds (high source of calcium too!)
• Grass fed beef
• Pasture raised eggs
• Lentils

3. First Class Fats:

So many fats have been demonized over the years, and that makes things confusing…

“First class” fats like avocado oil, coconut oil, olive oil, and MCT oil – as well as cold water fish, ground flax, walnuts, and tahini – are important for the inner goddess to flourish. Healthy fats help every cell in your body, especially your brain. Without fat, the brain cannot function! It actually consists of 60% fat.

Healthy fats also provide satiety so you feel full longer, which helps regulate blood sugar levels.

Leafy greens like kale, Swiss chard, spinach, and collard greens are highly anti-inflammatory

MCT oil is found in coconut oil, but can be purchased separately. It has a positive effect on fat burning and weight reduction, provides instant energy (which is great for your goddess workouts), and does not require bile for digestion like all other fats… It goes straight to the liver for fuel!

4. Glorious Greens:

Adding dark green and deep colored vegetables will add fiber, vitamins, and minerals (as well as magnesium) to your diet!

The glucose that is not used by the brain, muscles, and liver is then stored as triglycerides in our fat cells.

The key to your Golden Goddess plate is to have each of these in all your meals. Think about 25 grams of protein per meal, 1-2 Tablespoons of high quality fats, and unlimited fiber and greens at each meal to regulate blood sugar.

Keeping your blood sugar balanced is an essential part of becoming the Golden Goddess you have within. This is about inner and outer balance, and healing your body and mind through the power of the food you eat!

Take a minute to consider each meal you eat. Is it helping your blood sugar levels or hurting them? Is it fuel for your body, or will it result in insulin resistance, fat storage, and sugar cravings?

Pat attention to the Golden Goddess plate, and eat the meals that will have you feeling like the goddess you truly are!