- Jayne Jones found out she was “inches away from having a stroke” on her 46th birthday, due to high blood sugar and previously undiagnosed type 2 diabetes
- She changed her diet and cut out “all my sugar, my flour,” losing 60 pounds. in six months
- Jones now shares sugar-free recipes on her popular blog No Sugar Baker and invented the popular cookie dough that sells out on QVC
Jayne Jones always waited for the weekend. A nonprofit attorney, she “worked like a fanatic” during the week and spent Saturdays and Sundays in her kitchen making delicious cookies, pies and cakes. “I was baking all the time,” Jones, 50, tells PEOPLE.
In the summer of 2019, Jones suddenly couldn’t keep food down. She thought she had the stomach flu and ended up in the emergency room two weeks later.
There, on her 46th birthday, she was told she had dangerously high blood pressure and blood sugar levels. “The doctor told me I had severe diabetes, I had type 2 diabetes,” Jones recalls. – She told me that I was a few centimeters away from a stroke.
Shocked by the diagnosis – she had never had a problem with her blood sugar before – Jones returned home determined to change her diet.
Jayne Jones before cutting sugar out of her diet.
Courtesy of Jayne Jones
At the time, Jones weighed 235 lbs. Weight has been a struggle for her for a long time.
“Growing up, I was always chubby,” she says. “In high school, I was probably number 16, flour. I Googled type 2 diabetes, and the first thing you find out is that it’s caused by obesity. So I said, ‘I did that to myself.’ I was angry and embarrassed.”
Jones completely changed her diet, focusing on low-sugar vegetables, lean proteins like turkey, chicken and fish, and salads. She began walking at least 40 minutes a day in her pool or through her neighborhood in Sarasota, Florida. “If I don’t exercise,” Jones says, “my blood sugar goes up.”
Within three months, she lost about 30 kg. Her blood sugar level improved. “When I went to my doctor, he said, ‘You don’t even look like the same person,'” she recalls.
One of her biggest supporters was her husband, Chris Beehler, 50. “He gave me my full support,” says Jones. “He’s pretty sugar free, certainly around me.”
Together, their lifestyle has become healthier than ever. “We are a team,” she says.
Jayne Jones.
Courtesy of Jayne Jones
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However, surviving Christmas that first year without sweet treats proved challenging. While Jones’s physical health improved greatly, she felt depressed. “I’ve always baked Christmas cookies,” she says. – Baking was my hobby and suddenly it disappeared.
One day she was in the grocery store and bought several bags of grape skin sweetener.
“I went home and made chocolate chip cookies and brought them over to my parents’ house. When they tried them, they started crying. I’m like, ‘Oh, dear God, are they that bad?’ They say, ‘They’re so good — we’ve been waiting for this day since you got sick! You finally have your energy back and that smile.’
Jayne Jones.
Courtesy of Jayne Jones
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Jones began experimenting with sugar substitutes — she’s a fan of Swerve — and started creating new recipes. Her total weight loss reached 60 lbs. within six months of her emergency room visit.
“I felt wonderful,” she says. “People said, ‘Your skin looks better, your hair looks better. And I managed to get a whole new wardrobe! I went from a size 22 to a 10.’
When COVID-19 hit, her daughter came home from college with an idea: “She said, ‘You’re kind of like a sugar-free baker. You should start doing that on social media.’ And just to make her happy, I made a blog called No Sugar Baker.”
Jayne Jones, ‘No Sugar Baker’.
Courtesy of Jayne Jones
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Since then, Jones has developed more than 250 sugar-free recipes, all of which are available on her blog. In January 2023, she was invited on QVC to sell her frozen cookie dough, which sold out three times. It’s also available in more than 185 grocery stores in Texas and Louisiana, and she’s working to expand to other retail stores across the country. Jones hopes to expand her business so her treats can be available in hospitals, nursing homes and schools. “They didn’t have sugar-free food to eat in the hospital,” she says. “It makes no sense!”
These days, Jones maintains her weight loss through diet and daily exercise — and likes to spread her sugar-free knowledge.
“Starting that blog, it had to be very authentic, I wanted to share what I learned,” she continues.
Jayne Jones shoots for her blog, No Sugar Baker.
Courtesy of Jayne Jones
“I’m tired of skinny little fitness models telling people to run around – that’s not the answer in itself. Genetics play a big part in that and you have to find the right formula that works for you.”
And along with her healthy cookie ideas, she also has a recipe for success: “You can’t give up. If I can go into the cold, go sugar-free and be healthy, anyone can.”
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Categories: Trends
Source: HIS Education