Skip the Sugar!

Hi Fit Friends!


I'm going to challenge you this week to eliminate sugar - hang on - it's only for 7 days. (Thanks for the idea Vanessa.) Can you do it? Are you already thinking there is no way? If so, you might be addicted.

I will admit, I'm addicted to sugar. I still have some sugar everyday and I tell myself, "it's only 100 calories" or " dark chocolate is good for me". Well, it might be, but if I feel I HAVE to have it, it's an addiction.

So, I'm skipping the sugar for a week. Will you join me? If sugar isn't your addiction, what is? Caffeine, wine, cigarettes, television? Whatever it is, can you give it up for 7 days? Maybe it will help to know someone is suffering with you - me! Feel free to email me with your complaints, revelations, success stories, etc.

If you need more prodding, here's some enlightening information:

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.

If you need more convincing, check this out and see how much sugar is in your favorite foods. BTW, 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! Don't worry, if you start on Saturday you'll be finished in time for your Easter treats.

Eat Intentionally and skip the sugar,

Cindy

FYI - the lemon scones from last week turned out okay. They were more like a cookie than a scone. But the sugar was good:)