Do you have a sweet tooth?
I do. I will admit, I’m addicted to sugar. I have some sugar everyday and I tell myself, “it’s only 100 calories” or ” dark chocolate is good for me.” It might be, but if I feel I HAVE to have it, it’s an addiction.
So, I’ve decided to skip the sugar for a week. Wanna join me? If sugar isn’t your addiction, what is? Caffeine, wine, shopping, cigarettes, television? Whatever it is, can you give it up for 7 days? Rather than thinking about giving it up, let’s think about what are we going to replace it with? If I skip sugar for a week, what will I turn to for that sweet rush? Instead of the habit of reaching for chocolate maybe I could create another habit. I could be an overachiever and tell myself that I’m going to go for a walk instead of reaching for candy, but I know that probably isn’t going to happen. Let’s get real. I think I will replace the sugar with fruit. I know it’s sugar, too. However, it is natural, has fiber to slow down the absorption, great antioxidants and nutrients, and it will satisfy my sweet tooth. I know that I can succeed and reach my goal of eliminating sugar for 7 days by reaching for fruit instead.
If you need more prodding to put the candy down, here’s the sweet talk:
156 pounds. That’s how much added sugar each person in America is estimated to consume each year. Imagine it… 31 five-pound bags for each of us. About 29 pounds comes as traditional sugar, or sucrose we buy and add to our cooking. The rest comes from foods like candy, soda, sweetened fruit drinks and other junk food. But plenty of sugar is hiding in places where you might not expect it. Some crackers, yogurt, ketchup, canned fruit and peanut butter, for instance, are loaded with sugar — often in the form of high-fructose corn syrup, or HFCS. Use of this sweetener has increased 3.5% per year in the last decade.
Another high-sugar category? Low-fat products, which may not be as good for your diet as you think. Some contain plenty of sugar to make up for the lack of tasty fat and have as many calories as the regular products. A good example is fat-free or low-fat salad dressing, which can be high in sugar. To check the amount of sugar in a product, read the nutrition label.
Every 4 grams of sugar equals one teaspoon of sugar.
It’s really the extra calories from sugar in our diet that causes health problems like diabetes and obesity, not anything inherently unhealthy about sugar itself say experts. It is recommended that sugar should account for no more than 10% of daily calories. In a 2,000-calorie-a-day diet, that’s just 200 calories – or about 13 teaspoons of table sugar at 15 calories each. A single can of regular soda, with the equivalent of 11 teaspoons, would put you pretty close.
If you want to avoid hidden sugar:
- Read food labels. Ingredients are listed in order of volume, so anything with sugar, corn syrup, glucose (or, in general, words ending in “-ose”) near the top of the list is likely to be high in sugar.
- When you do choose a product with added sugar, watch your portion size.
- Simply avoid processed foods as much as you can — especially sodas and other sweetened beverages.
- And what about artificial sweeteners? You know I don’t promote using them, because of the health side effects and they can leave you craving more sweets. So, if you must use them, use them sparingly. You can read more about them in my book Small Bites, Big Results: A Common Sense Guide to Weight Loss
If you need more convincing, check this out and see how much sugar is in your favorite foods. By the way, you’ve GOT to see how much sugar is in condensed milk – not to mention the calories!
I hope you join me in skipping the sugar, shopping, wine, or whatever you’re addicted to (if you are addicted). It’s all about taking a Small Bite and creating a better habit.
Intentionally eat and skip the sugar,
Cindy
