Create Change Lab was created to hold space for people and organizations wanting to experiment with change and growth. We consider the misuse of sugar and processed food a significant danger for individual and population health. For individuals, we focus on health improvement with a specialization in reducing sugar consumption; for organizations we focus on cultivating a culture of health. We offer tools, workshops, speaking, books and workbooks, all to inspire and support your next steps, be it physically, mentally, emotionally or spiritually.

I am Dr. Andrea Grayson, a student and teacher of behavior change. The student in me is constantly learning, striving to understand what makes some people successful at changing their behavior and what makes other people resist change, or repeatedly bump up against seemingly insurmountable obstacles. I love helping people find and develop their own paths to success.

Though I had been working and teaching in the field of Public Health Communications for many years, in 2016 it got personal. That year, I was actively researching a book on the role that advertising plays in shaping the culture of food – convenience being the highest value – and how that has contributed to the obesity epidemic. I was looking at things like how processed food companies can advertise directly to kids, which they can’t do in several other countries. Intellectually I knew how bad sugar and processed food were, for sure, but my body kept making excuses for having treats or rewards for working-out or “being good.”

Until one day when it hit me that all of those excuses were actually “the sugar talking!”

How is it possible that sugar is talking to me? That question began a multi-year journey to understand the biology of sugar dependency, and to set myself free from sugar and refined carbohydrates. When I figured it out, I created a course called Breaking Free from Sugar which has helped over 3,000 people reduce their sugar consumption (now available for licensing).

So much of that journey involved understanding the “mental game.” The mental game is how we talk to ourselves, and whether we talk ourselves into or out of taking action. Mastery over your inner dialog is what makes all the difference.

Create Change Lab works with individuals and teams to clarify destinations, map out change processes, identify barriers, and experiment with solutions. Using tools and best practices from neuroscience, positive psychology, and behavior sciences (which incorporates multiple fields), the work of Create Change Lab is to help figure out your next step with insights, tools and support.