Beat the Bikini-season Blues.

What do bikini season and almonds have in common? They’re both about to be a big part of your life.

Swimsuit season is here, and for some of us, that may inspire a diet adjustment. If you feel like your exercise routine hasn’t fully prepared you for wearing that tiny swimsuit you bought as motivation two months ago, the fault could very well be the amount of sugar in your diet.

Sugar creates a reaction in the brain similar to the reaction created by cocaine, which is why it so highly addictive and why we crave it. But those sugar calories and carbohydrates may promote fat storage and make you hungrier than calories directly from fat, according to this study done by the British Journal of Medicine.

So how do you address this problem in your life? Counting calories is a good start, but cutting back on sugars and carbs may be the most effective option. Obviously, the easiest way to take a big step in the direction of consuming less sugar is to cut back on those big bad sugary drinks. They don’t provide any sort of nutrition and pack you full of sugar. Even some drinks that masquerade as healthy options can have a surprising amount of sugar in them. Orange juice and cranberry juice are big offenders. Check the label before you take a big swig of something just because it has fruit on the label.

Another easy way to cut carbs and sugar is to shift from traditional flour/yeast/sugar baking to almond flour baking. Almond flour can be purchased or made at home fairly easily! (Learn how to make your own homemade almond flour and almond milk.) An almond heavy diet means you might want to buy your almonds and almond flour in bulk.

You can make just about anything using almond flour as a substitute. Here are two different approaches to almond flour pancakes.