Transform from a Sugar Burner to Fat Burner
15 Dec 2025 · 3 min
J.J. Virgin explains how to shift from sugar burning to fat burning using her Sugar Impact Diet. Signs you're a sugar burner include constant hunger, belly fat, and energy crashes. The fix: eat lean protein, healthy fats, and non-starchy vegetables, and you'll go 4-6 hours between meals without cravings.
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Welcome to the Virgin Diet Lifestyle show with your host, celebrity nutrition and fitness expert and New York times bestselling author, J.J. virgin.
In the Sugar Impact Diet, I talk about how how to move from being a sugar burner to a fat burner. So first up, I mean, what the heck's a sugar burner? It sounds like probably you want to be a fat burner, but let me tell you what it means and why you definitely want to be the fat burner, not the sugar burner. So being a sugar burner means that you have to rely on a steady supply of sugar, right? That means you're eating it. Carbs are sugar and and that your body is using that for fuel rather than you be able to burn off stored fat for fuel. Here's some classic ways to know if you are a sugar burner and if you are suffering from a higher sugar impact diet. Because a lot of us think we're eating low sugar, but in reality, sugar is sneaking to places you would never ever expect. So sugar impacting you? One thing I have people do in the Sugar Impact diet is take the Sugar Impact quiz. So here are the different things you'll look at. How's your energy? What about your focus and mood? Do you have gas and bloating cravings, especially for carbs and sugar? What about your appetite? Does it feel like it's bigger than it should be? You having a lot of problems losing weight or just carrying more weight around your waistline? And especially if you're a sugar burner, you'll find that even if you lose weight, you still hold onto your belly fat. It just won't come off. And that you need to eat every two to three hours. Those are classic signs that you're a sugar burner. And you know, even if you think think you aren't eating that much sugar, it's amazing how many places it's sneaking into that you never ever expect. And the result is that you're eating more sugar than you could ever realize. So the deal is you want to first of all reclaim your sugar sensitivity. So sweet food just tastes gross, tastes too sweet. Get rid of those cravings and burn off the belly fat by turning into a fat burner. And the way you start doing that is by eating by the sugar impact plate. And this is so important because what I want you to do is I want you to think about adding before you take away. You know, if you think about, okay, I'm just going to lower my sugar impact, I'm going to stop eating so much sugar and stop eating these processed carbs. But if you don't put something in, you're going to go a couple hours, be hungry and go racing for the cookie. So often we end up overloading on the carbs and sugar because we didn't eat enough protein, fat and fiber. And that's really the perfect trifecta for blood sugar balance. And that is the sugar impact plate where you're eating good sources of clean, lean protein, grass fed beef, wild fish, pastured pork and chicken, loads of healthy fat. And I mean loads of healthy fat. Do not be fat phobic fat is so important. First of all, it triggers the reward center in your brain, but also it's very satiating and it's great for your hair, skin and nails. Works in your small intestine to trigger the release of calcium chemicals that tell your brain that you've eaten. Reduces inflammation, gives you a great mood. You know, we're really fat heads. Over 50% of our brains are healthy fats. You got to get the healthy fats in. So avocado, raw nuts and seeds, wild fish, coconut, yum, grass fed butter. Okay. And then you're going to eat a rainbow of non starchy vegetables. I think if you've got a bunch of nutritionists in the room, we'd fight over everything. But we would agree that people need to eat more non starchy vegetables, especially a rainbow of them because all different colors signal different types of antioxidants. And then of course, fiber rich, slow, low carbs, things like quinoa and pumpkin and lentils. When you eat those together, that protein and fiber work together to slow down stomach emptying, help you keep fuller longer. Again, I talked about how fat helps keep you satiated, but all of that together helps keep your blood sugar stable, your insulin low. That means that you can use that stored body fat for fuel. You can become a fat burner and go four to six hours before you need to eat again. So a couple examples of what eating by the plate looks like, like piece of wild salmon, some wild rice with slivered almonds, and some broccoli drizzled with olive oil or a salad with maybe Some arugula and romaine and spinach topped with chicken. Add in some avocado and garbanzo beans. Dress it with a little extra virgin olive oil and lemon juice. Or maybe some quinoa pasta alla kecka with some chopped up tomatoes and olive oil. And bas, throw in some mushrooms and asparagus and pepper and throw in some grass fed meatballs and have a mixed green salad with red wine vinaigrette on the side. I mean, do any of those things sound like diet food to you? I don't think so. So again, when you're eating that way, you're keeping your blood sugar balanced, you're keeping your insulin low that allows your body start using stored fat for fuel so that you can go. And again, a classic hallmark of someone being a sugar burner. They can't last two to three hours before they need to eat again because they have to have that constant supply of sugar and from the outside rather than be able to use fat from the inside to fuel themselves. Now another thing that can help is using spices to wake up your taste buds and boost your metabolism. First off, vanilla. I love vanilla because it's naturally sweet, but also because it boosts your serotonin which helps you not crave sugar. Cinnamon is another amazing one because again, naturally sweet, but it also helps balance your blood sugar. Now here's some good ones, and these are ones that you could either put on any of those plates I talked about or throw into your shake some cayenne pepper or some chipotle. That spice boosts your metabolism. And finally another one to use, sea salt. Do not fear salt, fear table salt. But good, high quality sea salt actually has great minerals in it and can heal your adrenals. It can help with your stress management and also amplify the flavor. And here is a huge takeaway. Sour can help take away your sweet cravings. So try this one. Try what I call lemonade aid. So you start with some good clean, pure spring water. Add in 4 tablespoons of lemon juice. Now the lemon juice, the sour in that helps take your sweet tooth away. But the lemon juice also helps lower the blood sugar response to the meal. Plus water, especially ice water, can boost your metabolism as much as 3, 30% for the hour after you drink it. What a freebie that is. Throw in a tablespoon of chia seeds or extra fiber. That's going to help you feel fuller, longer, a little appetite control and then also some glutamine. A teaspoon of glutamine is going to Trick your brain into thinking you've eaten, you've had a little protein. Now here's another one that's going to help you transition from being a sugar burner to a fat burner. And this is a biggie because this is going to help you reset your sweet tooth as well, and that is dropping the fructose. During the reset cycle of the sugar impact diet, we actually have you drop fructose down to as close to zero as possible. And one of the places we start is with fruit, because fruit is one of the big places that we get fructose. Now, processed foods, my gosh, they've added high fructose corn syrup and straight fructose and agave into all sorts of stuff. But remember, fructose, fruit is not free food. The primary sugar in fruit is fructose. And the challenge with fructose is it's metabolized differently than any other sugar. It basically goes straight to the liver. That's the only organ that can metabolize it, where it tells your body to make fat. And because it didn't raise blood sugar, it also didn't trigger any of the satiety signals. So you're making fat and you're still hungry. So I want you to look at all of the places where you can really get a concentrated hit of fructose. Obviously, if you eat too much fruit, that'll do it, but really, places that you're getting hit are high fructose corn syrup, fruit juice, and fruit juice concentrate. And by the way, on the labels, they can put no sugar added and use fruit juice concentrate. They can lie that way to you. And when you get fruit juice, fruit juice concentrate, dried fruit, you're getting this just concentrated hit a fructose. And the challenge with fructose is the more fructose you eat, the better you get at transporting it. So straight to that liver. Remember I told you the liver, your body is turning it into fat. So you're making fat and you're still hungry. That is the worst thing possible that you can do. Make fat and still be hungry. I mean, come on. So you got to be careful with juice. By the way, apple juice has more fructose than a soda. Green drinks. There are green drinks out there. There's one that I can think of that. That says no sugar added on the label, but it's got five servings of fruit in it. It's got more sugar than a soda. 56 grams. That's crazy. Dried fruit. I want you to think of dried fruit like candy. They're little fructose sugar bombs. Fat free dressings. You know, most fat free dressings, when they pull the fat out, they throw the sugar in. They have a teaspoon of sugar per tablespoon of dressing. And a lot of those marinara sauces too. I looked at one popular marinara sauce and for the half cup, you could have had a couple Oreo cookies. I mean, it's just crazy. So how do you know when you've changed yourself from being a sugar burner to a fat burner? Well, you'll be able to go for hours. All of a sudden you go, oh my gosh, I haven't eaten and it's been five hours. Now you're a fat burner. All of a sudden you're losing the weight off your waist. Because remember, if you lose weight but you don't lose your waist, you just made yourself worse, not better. You'll try to eat something and it just, it just tastes gross. All of a sudden. That sweet food that used to love it just tastes too sweet, right? So food tastes too sweet. You can go hours without eating and all of a sudden you look at your belt and you go, I need to go poke some more holes in it. That is when you've scored the big victory. That is when you shifted from being a sugar burner to a fat burner and taking back the control that sugar has over your life.
Want to get direct access to JJ Now? You can with the Sugar Solution online program. This is JJ's deep dive into the tools, advanced strategies and techniques that amplify her New York Times best selling book, the Sugar Impact Diet. Get direct access to JJ and JJ, Sugar Impact coaches a 24. 7 community and the tools, strategies and bonuses you need to succeed. Visit www.sugarimpactdiet. to have JJ by your side so you know exactly what to do each step of the way on your weight loss journey. Get started today at www.sugarimpactdiet.com.
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