It can be daunting to find most of your favorite foods are packed full of simple sugars. If you’re not ready to dump out all the sugar in your life, we understand.
But at the same time, you don’t want to waste the time you took finding a treadmill and then sweating buckets only not to lose weight, just because you ate the wrong things. Don’t worry, we’ve got a list of some starter steps you can take to phase some of the simple sugars out of your life.
1. Limit Preserved Food
Sugar is a great preservative, which means you need to limit the amount of preserved food you’re consuming.
One example of this would be frozen dinners. They’re a great time-saver but not so great on the nutrition side. It is recommend that men eat no more than 35 grams of added sugar a day and women only 25 grams in a day. So if you try to save some time with a “healthy” frozen meal like the Sesame Chicken from Lean Cuisine, you’re getting 14 grams of sugar in one tiny meal!
Look closely at labels when you grab any canned, frozen, pre-made mix and check how many grams of sugar it has per serving. If it makes up more than half your daily total, put the item back on the shelf and back away.
2. Stop Drinking Your Sugar
You already know that tasty alcoholic cocktails usually have a ton of sugar so you’ve already cut them, but did you suspect any other drinks that are supposedly “good for you”?
Gatorade is one such culprit. In their Gatorade Perform Cool Blue is a whopping 35 grams of sugar per 591 mL bottle. Pure Leaf is another example of a drink that is generally considered healthy, with their lemon tea containing 41 grams of sugar per 547 mL bottle.
But don’t worry, water isn’t your only option. There are other drinks with low-to-no sugar out there, all you have to do is give that label a closer look. Another option is to start creating your own smoothies and juices. You can control what is added, and it is easy to add flavoring like lemon or vanilla extract to your taste.
3. Spice Food Up
What is your morning oatmeal without some kind of sugar? Most of us would say it would be a real struggle to eat it plain. However, just because you aren’t adding brown sugar and honey to it doesn’t mean it has to be a daily morning let down. Add cinnamon and some nutmeg and see if that doesn’t improve your day.
Here are some other things you can try as healthy substitutes.
Simple Sugar | Sugar Alternative |
Syrup | Fresh fruit |
Coffee creamer | Almond/Coconut milk |
Milk chocolate | Dark chocolate |
Sugar (for tea) | Lemon juice |
By starting with these small steps, it is possible to begin phasing sugar out of your life. So start simple, watch those added sugars and try to find new ways to enjoy your old foods.