Kathie ( aka High Voltage) Dolgin - Sugar Savvy Solution: Kick Your Sugar Addiction for Life and Get Healthy

A READERS DIGEST BOOK

Copyright 2014 Kathie Dolgin and The Readers Digest Association, Inc.

All rights reserved. Unauthorized reproduction, in any manner, is prohibited.

Readers Digest is a registered trademark of The Readers Digest Association, Inc.

Sugar Savvy Sister portraits by Erin Patrice OBrien

Wardrobe styling by Elysha Lenkin

Hair and makeup by Prostyle team via Kerry-Lou Brehm

Prop styling for portraits by Linda Keil for Halley Resources

Special thanks to KamaliKulture for providing wardrobe to the Sugar Savvy Sisters

Cover and food photographs by Joshua Scott

Food styling by Emma Feigenbaum for Big Leo

Prop styling for food photographs by Laurie Raab for Apostrophe

Prop styling for cover photograph Angela Campos for Stockland Martel

Food illustrations by Olga Axyutina

Fitness illustrations by Astrid Mueller

Special thanks to the following companies for providing samples to our Sugar Savvy Sisters: Truvia, Mrs. Dash, Braggs, Kamut, Whole Foods, Navitas Naturals, and Krups.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

High Voltage.

Sugar savvy solution: kick your sugar addiction for life and get healthy / by High Voltage, aka Kathie Dolgin ; foreword by Katie Couric.

pages cm

Includes index.

ISBN 978-1-62145-135-8 (alk. paper) -- ISBN 978-1-62145-146-4 (epub)

1. Diet. 2. Physical fitness. 3. Food--Sugar content. 4. Food--Psychological aspects. I. Title.

RA784.H534 2014

613.7--dc23

2014000512

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NOTE TO OUR READERS

The information in this book should not be substituted for, or used to alter, medical therapy without your doctors advice. For a specific health problem, consult your physician for guidance.

Mention of specific companies, organizations, or authorities in this book does not imply endorsement by the author or publisher, nor does mention of specific companies, organizations, or authorities imply that they endorse this book, its author, or the publisher. The brand-name products mentioned in this book are trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective companies. Internet addresses and telephone numbers given in this book were accurate at the time it went to press.

I was first introduced to Voltage by our mutual friend, Jill Rappaport, shortly after my husband Jays death, 16 years ago. Jill thought Voltage could help me heal emotionally and physically after the trauma of Jays illness and death. Ill never forget our first phone conversation.

Hi, Katie, she trilled, this is Voltage!

Huh? Seriously? I asked. Where in the world did you get that name?

It was from that inauspicious beginning that a beautiful friendship was born. Voltage not only encouraged me to take care of my body AND my soul, but she became one of my most valued and trusted friends. Voltage often says shes a graduate of the University of the Streets, and if thats the case, the wisdom and street smarts shes accumulated through the years definitely make her eligible for a PhD! Through the ups and downs of my personal and professional life, she has always been a great listener and terrific anchor. She has enriched my life immeasurably.

But Voltage is more than a good friend. She is a visionary. Long before David Kessler, long before Mike Bloomberg, long before all the scientists, nutritionists, and public policy makers joined the chorus, Voltage was raising her voice about the addictive powers of sugar and processed foods. She told me that your taste buds are malleable and can be trained to prefer healthy foods over junk. She talked about the importance of hydration and that people often mistake being thirsty for being hungry. She stressed the importance of looking at food as fuel and emphasized that deprivation was not the way to go. Its not a diet, its a lifestyle, was one of her mantras. What Voltage was saying 15 years ago (some of which, frankly, seemed a little far-out) is now the conventional wisdom in the medical community. I cant tell you how many times Ive interviewed experts who have made pronouncements about diet and exercise and thought, Thats what Voltage has been saying! Where have you people been?

Through the years, her friendship and perspicacity have blown me away. (Im always teaching Voltage new words and perspicacity is one of my favorites!) But what is really beyond, as Voltage would say, is her generous spirit. When I met her, she was mostly training well-heeled clients who wanted to look slimmer and trimmer in their designer threads. I witnessed a transformation in Voltage a few years into our relationship. She decided she wanted to work with inner-city girls to boost their self-esteem, educate them about nutrition, and help them feel healthier, happier, and more energized. Thats why she developed the Energy Up! program, first at Mother Cabrini High School in the Washington Heights area of New York City and later at five more schools. Its been a transformative experience for so many of the girls. They eat better, and as their weight goes down, their academic performance goes up, along with their self-confidence.

Using her imagination to engage and motivate her charges, she plans trips, introduces new food options, teaches the importance of affirmations and the role positivity can play, and shows them that a big, healthier world is theirs for the taking. I cant tell you how exciting it was to feature the first Energy Up! class on the Today Show. The girls were beaming with pride and a newfound understanding that they could make good choices about living their livesand that if they did, their lives would improve dramatically. But of course, Voltage doesnt stop there. She even helps their parents and grandparents understand and appreciate the importance of eating well, so shes not only transforming young women, but entire families!

I have met many people through my career, but few as passionate and committed to helping others as Voltage. I really credit her with being one of the founding sisters of the movement to stop childhood and adult obesity. If we could only clone her and put her in every school and home, Im confident we would see better eating habits and healthier people all across America. Since that is not scientifically possible (at least for now!), we can all learn and emulate Voltages philosophy of healthy living. Incorporating it into my life has made all the difference in the world! As Voltage would say... Energy up! Whooooooooo!

KATIE COURIC, NEW YORK CITY, 2013

Back in the early 1990s, the United States was in economic shambles. We were coming off a war, stuck in a recession, and everyone was pointing fingers and laying blame. The rallying cry that ultimately pulled us back to the root cause of our woes was simple and effective: Its the economy, stupid! We worked together, focused on what was really wrong, and turned ourselves around (at least for a while).

Well, Im not much for politics (with my colorful past, I wouldnt stand a chance at holding office!), but Ive been a pioneer in the health and fitness field for more than 30 years and Im ready to take the lead in solving our nations current crisis. Right now our country is in a hell of a mess, health-wise. One in three adults is now clinically obese. Worse, nearly 20 percent of our children are clinically obese. Diabetes is epidemic, with 25.8 million men and women afflicted with full-blown diabetes and another 79 million folks perched on the edge of the disease with prediabetes. Millions of kids are now succumbing to what once was referred to as adult-onset diabetes. Despite nearly three decades of low-fat, low-carb, high-protein, gluten-free, vegan, and every other diet that has come and gone and come around again (raise your hand if youve been on more than one), I can tell you theres one simple answer.