How to limit your sugar intake

Oh, sugar.

I have such a love/hate relationship with you.

I’m well aware that you’re not good for me, but dang, you make everything so tasty! I’m such a sucker for baked goods and chocolate, and the idea of coffee without sugar-laden creamer is just not in my realm of thinking.

You are also the main reason for that stubborn layer of fat around my midsection. Sure, I blame the birth of my children and the cesarean, but let’s be honest. That’s all sugar.

But the idea of cutting it out completely just seems so overwhelming…and frankly, a little sad.

So what can one do?

First of all, I believe that moderation is the key to a lot of things. I’m not ready to throw chocolate cake out the window. But I definitely get in a zone where I’m consuming way more sugar than I need.

There are a variety of diets that cut it out completely or you can just try and limit your intake per day by tracking via an app like My Fitness Pal.

1. Whole 30 – Not my jam, but some people like it. I think you just have to give it a go and see how you do. I’ve had several friends have a lot of success and others just felt generally terrible the entire time they did it.
2. Keto Diet – This seems to be all the rage. My friend, Fadra, has done it and wrote about her experience. It’s one I’m toying with giving a go…or at least a version of it.
3. Slow-Carb Diet– This one I did and had some success. It has it’s challenges for sure, but you do get used to it.
4. The American Heart Association recommendation of no more than 25g of added sugar a day. I did this for a one week challenge and think it’s a good way to get started. Think about it. My favorite Grande Chai Latte at Starbucks has 42 g of sugar! Just giving up getting one a week makes a huge difference in my sugar intake.

Check Your Labels!

Do they contain –

Brown sugar
Corn sweetener
Corn syrup
Fruit juice concentrates
High-fructose corn syrup
Honey
Invert sugar
Malt sugar
Molasses
Raw sugar
Sugar molecules ending in “ose” (dextrose, fructose, glucose, lactose, maltose, sucrose)
Syrup

If so, that’s all sugar. And believe me, it’s in the sneakiest of places. You have to look at your bread, your pasta sauce and even your peanut butter.

My Challenge to You

Make a change to your diet this week. It can be a big one like one of the programs above or it can be as simple as not having dessert this week (if that’s something you normally do.) Eat eggs for breakfast instead of a sugary cereal. Switch up a few of your pantry staples to one with lower sugar. Skip your daily soda or Starbucks drink.

But make a change.

Give it a week and see how you feel. Then give it another week.

Again, I don’t think that giving it up completely is entirely realistic. But you absolutely CAN cut back. It just takes a little bit of effort.