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Pamela: Hi, this is Pamela Wirth, and today I am here with Kathy Williams. Kathy is also known as the Sugar-Free Girl, Sugar Shrink, and CEO of Williams Consulting Group. She’s a speaker, author, health strategist, and diabetes prevention advocate. She helps busy professionals eliminate sugar addiction and cravings in 90 days without giving up taste or rollercoaster diets. Thank you so much, Kathy, for being on. Sugar is a huge part of people’s lives, and I don’t know if people really understand the danger that it really generates in all elements of health and wellness. It’s not just in physical health, like weight gain that I think some people think of, but it literally affects your mood and sleep and all these other things. So thank you for being here.
Kathy Williams: No problem. It’s an honor for me to be here with you. Thank you, Pam, for having me.
Pamela: So, how did you get into this journey? Tell us a little bit about your background and why you’re doing what you’re doing, and what types of people you love to work with.
Kathy Williams: Yes, well, I love to work with families, actually. The reason is, we just celebrated Mother's Day, and the fact is, women rule the world. We make the decisions regarding the nourishment of our families, the spiritual nature of our families, and all of the decisions for their health and well-being. My path was a bit circuitous in that I started with my own diagnosis. I’ve been in the healthcare industry for over 20 years—I'm not a doctor or a nurse, and I don’t play one on television—but I’ve worked with pharmaceutical companies, medical device companies, vaccine companies, and clinical diagnostic companies. I’ve been involved in the healthcare world from a marketing and strategy perspective, and I've seen the connection between chronic disease and metabolic health. Your cholesterol, blood pressure, diabetes, or high blood sugar, and many chronic diseases often lead back to diabetes. They tend to be interconnected.
About 10 and a half years ago, I had my own diagnosis. I had symptoms that I tried to explain away, such as frequent urination and tingling fingertips. I also had excessive thirst that would wake me up at night. I couldn’t explain that, so I went to the doctor. My hemoglobin A1c, which reflects blood sugar levels over the past three months, had started to creep into the pre-diabetes range. I knew I didn’t want diabetes, so I set the intention to reverse this course of action. I developed a methodology and successfully reversed my pre-diabetes.
It took me about a year and a half because, like many people, I was fumbling in the dark. When I got to the nutritionist, we had a disagreement because I thought combining carbs with protein was enough, but she insisted I needed to stop eating sugar. I realized my metabolism had changed from when I was in my 30s, and I had to make adjustments. As an African-American woman, I’m predisposed to high blood pressure, high sugar levels, and diabetes, which run in my family.
I made lifestyle changes and created a process that led to significant improvements. My son was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes four years ago. My successful results helped me support him. He saw how I ate and the tasty, sugar-free alternatives I used, which made him shift his eating habits. As a result, he achieved a 50% reduction in his hemoglobin A1c. Four years later, he still needs insulin, but the amount he takes is the same as four years ago, and he continues to produce insulin.
This experience shows that it's possible to reverse these conditions, and you can be an advocate for your health. While my son still needs insulin, he has made significant progress, and I believe he will be able to reverse his condition as he matures.
Pamela: He probably feels a lot better than he did.
Kathy Williams: He does, he does.
Pamela: Understand the difference between feeling good and feeling bad. I think that’s fantastic. You touch on something which I think is really important. When we went through this with our son, granted he had an autoimmune disorder, it took the entire house going gluten-free and sugar-free. Otherwise, it’s just too hard. I don’t know if you found that too, that at least in your journey, it was much easier if everyone’s on the same page or if we’re only buying groceries that fit a certain guideline. When you go out, fine, you can cheat or whatever, but just not even bringing it into the house.
Kathy Williams: Well, you know, that’s an approach. I had the opposite situation. When I started on this journey, it was only me. So, at the end of the school year, when we’d go and get ice cream, I was still getting ice cream with the kids. However, I would have an ice cream cone while everybody else had ice cream on their cone. I recommend, especially when starting out, if you’re going to have something with sugar in it, choose something that has five grams of sugar or less. I’ve found and compiled lists of snacks and drinks with five grams of sugar or less, including for adults and kids.
I had to live this, so when everyone was snacking on ice cream at the end of a meal, I had a kind bar. I graduated from granola bars with three grams of sugar to berries at the end of a meal. Ten years ago, there weren’t many candies with stevia or monk fruit, but Russell Stover has a whole line with these sweeteners. They have peanut butter cups, candies similar to M&Ms, little turtles, and caramels, which were my favorite. Having these alternatives helped me participate in family activities while maintaining my lifestyle.
I teach a gradual method of using items like kind bars to satisfy your sweet tooth. I would keep these in my purse, in the car, and on business trips, so when I went to a luncheon, I had something to enjoy while others had dessert. It might not be the same as tiramisu, but it helped me participate and stick to my lifestyle because I didn’t want diabetes. I call these my sugar hacks, which allowed me to navigate this journey even though my family wasn’t on the same path.
The great thing is that we influence our households. When I put out cucumbers, green peppers with pesto, grapes, strawberries, blackberries, and blueberries, the kids would graze on those. They saw the positive effects on me, my youngest, and even my oldest started asking questions about their own diet. The influence matters, and having alternatives makes the transition smoother. I don’t remember the last time I bought Doritos, which we used to buy every week. It’s become a gradual shift to this new lifestyle, rather than forcing everyone to change at once.
Pamela: Yeah, that's very kind of you. So, talk to us a little bit about your experience. First of all, let's just talk about the glycemic index for a second. What is it, how do you measure it, what's high, and what's low? Let's talk about that because I think a lot of people hear about it and it's like, "Oh gosh, that sounds bad," but there are varying degrees of all of this and maybe some greater understanding.
Kathy Williams: Yes, yes. So the one thing I want you guys to walk away with is that there is a way for you guys to determine what to eat, and that is using the glycemic index. The glycemic index is just merely a scale between zero, which is water—I don't think I have a bottle of water. Oh, I do.
Pamela: I always have a bottle of water.
Kathy Williams: So there's no sugar in water, and then regular sugar is 100. So it's a scale between zero and 100 that will tell you how your body will break down the carbs that are in the foods and things that you drink. It will kind of give you an indication of whether or not your blood sugar is going to spike or what effect the foods and drinks that you consume have on your body. I want to make sure that you also understand and kind of use sugar and carbs interchangeably because carbohydrates break down in your body to simple sugars. That's why you use the glycemic index to understand how your blood sugar level is going or how your body is going to react to the carbs that you eat. It correlates to the blood sugar level.
Anywhere from 0 to 55 is in the low range. So your berries, your grapes—grapes are on the high end of the low range—but they're not going to spike your level as much as maybe a watermelon, which is an 85. So remember I said sugar was 100, and watermelon is 85. Just that one simple swap of melons to berries, which are around 15, maybe 30—there are varying degrees depending on the source. But just as long as you're consuming something or changing from something that is higher glycemic index to a lower glycemic index, you will see a difference in your body and your body's ability to break down the things you're eating and drinking without the spike in your blood sugar.
I mentioned sweeteners: the monk fruit, the stevia. Those chocolates 10 years ago didn't have those. They had artificial sweeteners, and I will be the first to tell you that that's what I used because there were no other alternatives. I have been eating and drinking for 40-plus years—Pepsis and Oreo cookies and you name it—and so I used artificial sweeteners as that bridge as I was kind of gradually moving down. I knew they caused cancer, but I had been eating and drinking them for years and years and years. So I used them for about one and a half to two months, and then I moved to more of the natural sweeteners. I don't like honey, so I didn't use honey, but agave is a lower glycemic index food than honey. Artificial sweeteners are again up there in the 85 range, whereas stevia and monk fruit are two natural sweeteners that are like zero, maybe 15, depending on the scale. Melons are in that medium range—pineapple is really high, banana is high end of the low scale. Even though banana is in the high end of the low scale, it's under 55. I've chosen to switch out to kiwi because it's lower in the glycemic index scale.
Anywhere from 55 to 69 is medium, and then anything 70 or higher, you might as well just be eating sugar. Those are the high glycemic index foods. I recommend using the glycemic index to help you make those choices. You can use Google; you can ask Alexa, "What is the glycemic index for a potato?" Usually, she answers, and then you can start playing around with it. So, what's the glycemic index of cauliflower? Alexa, stop. My book has an index and it has the glycemic index in here, but there are many sources online where you can actually determine what the glycemic index is for white rice versus brown rice versus quinoa. Those simple switches will be one of the things that will help your listeners know what to eat and really impact your blood sugar levels.
Pamela: Yeah, and you know, all the information about Athol—that really upsets my stomach. It’s super sweet, so it kind of makes you wonder what’s really going on there. Maybe there will be some additional information coming out over time. I really do like what you’re saying about monk fruit and Stevia. Yes, Stevia. I’m assuming those are pretty high and…
Kathy Williams: Dates are not—they’re low on the glycemic index. Alexa, what is the glycemic index of a date? It is high, yeah. I thought it tasted too sweet to be good.
Kathy Williams: Yeah, you’re right. Dates are high, but you can use other things. Alexa, what’s the glycemic index of agave nectar? 17. So agave nectar is 17, and if you want to use agave, it’s a natural sweetener and it’s not going to spike your blood sugar as much as dates or artificial sweeteners. I was definitely a Pepsi fiend and a Starbucks queen. I went from regular Pepsi to Diet Pepsi for a short period of time, then transitioned to unsweetened iced tea using Stevia, and then monk fruit became more pervasive. Those little packets that you get, I carry them around with me in my purse and in the car everywhere I go. I just order an unsweetened iced tea if I’m not drinking water. I also used sparkling waters. LaCroix has a great flavor, and you’re not going to get the caffeine or the sugar. The only thing I would caution you about is that carbonation can leach calcium from your bones, so that’s something to factor in. I used it because I was drinking sodas and wanted an alternative to that fizz. Now, I just basically have a cappuccino that I make at home—zero carbs, zero sugar. I use unsweetened almond milk. I just gave up coffee.
Pamela: Oh my.
Kathy Williams: Three weeks ago, yeah.
Pamela: Yeah, I don’t know that I would look that…
Kathy Williams: Good. Surprisingly enough, I did not have caffeine withdrawal because I was trying to kind of slow it down, but I was up to two cups a day.
Pamela: Yeah, that’s what I do—about a cup and a half to two cups. Oh goodness, so kind of…
Kathy Williams: There is a way to do it. There are these gentle little swaps.
Pamela: Well, you know, kind of thinking about closing out here, if people want to learn more information, I think sometimes it’s hard to find trusted sources. Do you have any suggestions for people—types of practitioners, types of websites, types of questions to ask? Any last thoughts that you really want to make sure people take away?
Kathy Williams: Well, I think there are a couple of things. If you have a diagnosis, either diabetes or pre-diabetes, make sure you talk with your doctor about seeing a nutritionist. They will outline a plan for you. The “what to do” is covered by the nutritionist, and the “how to do it” comes in with health coaches like myself who have the experience and all the pathways to help you get there. I have even taste-tested different ice creams so you don’t have to fumble around. Health coaches are great, and some Facebook groups are a wealth of information. However, one crucial element is accountability. You want to work with someone who has achieved what you want to achieve, who will hold you accountable to your goals, and who can help you understand and navigate the challenges you’ll face. My hemoglobin A1c went down a bit and then plateaued for a while. Everyone around me said I might as well go back to eating sugar, but if I had, I probably would have developed diabetes. It plateaued and eventually went down, so having someone who knows the path you’re on is definitely something you should consider.
Pamela: That is a really interesting point. That happened to my husband too. It started to go down and then all of a sudden it started to go up again for like three to six months. He was so upset and deflated, and then all of a sudden it just went back down again and stayed down.
Kathy Williams: It's happened to me as well. Mine plateaued and stayed down for several years, but now it's going back up. The thing I will share with you, Pam, is that one of the steps in my process is to ensure that you are monitoring your blood sugar. I use a continuous glucose monitor (CGM) so that I know what my blood sugar is. When you go to your doctor, they do blood tests, but I had backed off on my weight training. I was walking and doing cardio, but not as much weight training. Understanding all the levers—stress, sleep, physical fitness, what you're eating, your lifestyle—there are so many factors that come into play. Knowing and working with someone who understands the complexity helps you be your own advocate and assists you and your physician in creating the right path.
Pamela: Yeah, good. Well, thank you so much. How do people find out more about you, Kathy?
Kathy Williams: You can email me atkathy@ilivesugarfree.com. My website is ilivesugarfree.com. On all the socials I am sugarfreenation. I’ll give you a free resource: I have a five-video series on what to eat when you crave something crunchy, sweet, savory, or salty. The fifth video covers how to increase your fiber intake. You’ll be able to access these videos and some of my suggestions. I’ve got ideas for you no matter what you crave.
Pamela: Thank you so much, Kathy.
Kathy Williams: You’re welcome.