ekaterina choukel
nutritionist | #foodpeace
For years, I thought I knew what “quitting sugar” meant.
At first, I’d wake up with fire in my chest: “THIS IS IT. From this moment on, NO MORE SUGAR.”
It started with pure willpower, raw motivation, and unshakeable determination. However, it would only last 3 days, maybe 5 if I was really committed. Eventually, I’d find myself standing in front of the fridge at midnight, devouring anything sweet I could find.
As a result, the guilt would crash over me like a wave. “Why am I so weak?”
So, I changed everything external. New country. New people. New environment. New routines.
Surely, THIS would be different, right?
Wrong.
The binge episodes followed me like a shadow. And here’s what I didn’t understand:
I was still addicted because I BELIEVED I was still addicted.
In other words, I was living in the identity of someone “fighting” sugar. Someone “resisting” temptation. Someone who “couldn’t” have dessert.
Eventually, the breakthrough came when I stopped fighting and instead started mind shifting.
I realized I didn’t need more willpower.
I needed to confront myself, sit with the uncomfortable truths, and uncover who I truly am. What started as breaking free from sugar became my training ground for breaking free from every pattern that kept me small, self-doubt, people-pleasing, playing it safe.
So, I began seeing myself as someone who simply doesn’t need sugar. Not someone who “can’t have it” or is “trying to quit it,” but someone who has genuinely moved beyond it.
Gradually, I finally saw sugar for what it really was: not comfort, not joy, not even real pleasure. Instead, just… nothing I actually needed.
And that’s when everything changed.
From then on, I stopped white-knuckling my way through dessert offers. I stopped feeling deprived. I stopped needing to be rude or defensive when someone offered me something sweet.
Because, at last, I wasn’t resisting anymore. I just… didn’t want it.
No more white-knuckling through social situations. No more feeling deprived or defensive. No more internal wars every time someone offered dessert.
Just peace.
Real, actual food peace.
That’s why this blog is where I share what I learned on that journey, not the “drink more water and use willpower” kind of advice, but the deep identity shifts and self-mastery principles that create lasting change in every area of your life.
Because transformation doesn’t come from restriction.
It comes from becoming the fullest expression of yourself, starting with the most intimate relationship you have: the one with food.
Master your cravings. Master your life.
So, if you’re tired of fighting yourself, if you’re exhausted from the cycle of motivation and failure, and if you’re ready to stop resisting and start transforming…
Then you’re in the right place.
Let’s find your food freedom together.
I don’t recommend following the standard food pyramid guidelines. While it’s true that food should be a source of pleasure, ultra-processed foods aren’t merely “empty calories”, they actively harm our bodies and they are not a treat.
Similarly, I don’t advise my patients to “eat a little bit of everything” because, quite frankly, many of them simply cannot do so.
Furthermore, my patients aren’t lacking willpower, quite the opposite, actually. Most are addicted to ultra-processed foods, particularly those high in sugar. The reality is that we are not all equal when confronted with a piece of chocolate. Indeed, the biochemical structure of an addicted brain doesn’t respond the same way as that of someone who can moderate their consumption naturally. Additionally, there’s also a disruption in hormonal function.
When it comes to weight loss, I don’t believe it requires willpower either. Rather, it demands a fundamental mindset shift about what is truly important. Once we redirect our focus from restrictive rules to nourishing our bodies and honoring our well-being, sustainable change naturally follows.
A diet should not have a name. Instead, I believe everyone can find their own balance, a place where they feel at peace and confident about their health in relation to food.
Right now, we are raising a generation of sugar addicts. From the earliest age, we’ve systematically conditioned children to view sugar as a reward, a comfort, a celebration, essentially programming their developing brains to crave what will ultimately destroy their health. This seemingly innocent approach to treating sugar as a “special treat” is quietly creating a public health catastrophe that extends far beyond simple weight gain.
The consequences are absolutely staggering: we’re currently witnessing unprecedented rates of metabolic diseases, including type 2 diabetes, that could have been entirely prevented. What begins as innocent childhood rewards inevitably evolves into adult dependencies that not only steal our vitality but also systematically burden our healthcare systems.
As someone who was addicted to sugar myself for most of my life, I deeply understand the profound and insidious grip it can have. Indeed, I’ve experienced firsthand how an addict’s brain can rationalize the most desperate behaviors, even retrieving sugar from the trash, just to satisfy an overwhelming, all-consuming craving.
Crucially, this isn’t about willpower, it’s about biochemical dependency that hijacks our most basic survival mechanisms.
However, my vision is radically different: a future where sugar is no longer positioned as a treat, where we make healthy choices effortlessly, without internal battles or constant self-control.
Furthermore, I envision a world where we prevent diseases through natural, sustainable habits rather than merely managing them with an endless cycle of medications. I see a future where we have the energy and vitality to actively enjoy our grandchildren, not merely survive long enough to meet them.
This is precisely why addressing sugar addiction isn’t just about individual health, it’s about breaking a generational cycle and reclaiming our collective well-being before it’s too late.
My approach goes beyond typical nutrition advice to address the root patterns keeping you stuck. Through my articles and programs, you’ll discover the mindset shifts and practical strategies that create lasting transformation:
- Identity transformation that turns “I can’t resist” into “I simply don’t need it”
- Emotional mastery to break free from stress eating and self-sabotage
- Food peace without restriction, guilt, or constant willpower battles
This isn’t just about quitting sugar. It’s about becoming the person who doesn’t need it anymore, and discovering what else becomes possible from that place.
The greatest mistake in the treatment of diseases is that there are physicians for the body and physicians for the soul, although the two cannot be separated.
Plato
my training
Addictive eating – Nutrition Network
Nutrition for addictive brain (LCHF/ keto), adaptation of food plans, relapse prevention, de-shaming, solution oriented, Management & Treatment of Processed Food Addiction
Nutritionist – TCMA, Thérapie Complémentaire et Médecine Alternative, Geneva, Switzerland
Family/ Parent coach – HappyFamilies, Institut de Coaching Familial, Geneva, Switzerland
Solution-oriented method