I would like to share with you two client scenarios that I recently came across where overlooking sugar was a problem.
I discovered one of client A's biggest offenders while carefully scrutinizing her eating plan. Client A was eating very well and exercising more than enough, yet was unable to lose her last 5 pounds. As it was, she was drinking a non-fat 24 oz green tea latte everyday from her favorite coffee shop. She even modified the drink by reducing the shots of syrup from 6 down to 2 and increasing the matcha green tea powder from 4 to 6 scoops, believing that she was creating a healthier drink. It turns out that her "healthy" drink contains 310 calories and 61 grams of sugar. Drinking one a day adds up to 2,170 calories a week. Because it takes 3,500 calories to gain or lose 1 pound, this was surely contributing to her inability to lose weight. Beyond the calories, we are looking at 61 grams of sugar. There are approximately 4 grams of sugar to one teaspoon, so A's drink contains 15.25 teaspoons of sugar. That is a lot of sugar in a "healthy" drink.
Client B, also trying to shed pounds, was drinking a 24 oz shaken iced green tea daily (requesting unsweetened), believing that it was calorie free iced green tea. When we called to inquire about the drink, we found that it comes pre-sweetened at 130 calories with 31 grams of sugar (per 24 oz). Requesting unsweetened simply means no additional syrups to the already sweetened tea. There is a way to order iced green tea completely pure, you just have to be very specific when ordering. So, is it the coffee company's job to count our calories and sugar? No, but it is our job as healthy consumers to be aware of what we are putting in our bodies.
The US department of Agriculture, while unfortunately there is not RDA, suggests that consuming 40 grams of sugar per 2000 calorie diet (8% of daily calories) is okay. That amounts to about 10 teaspoons a day if you are eating a 2000 diet. Your numbers should be adjusted for your calorie intake. There are 4 calories per gram of sugar so if you eat 1500 calorie per day allowance, your sugar allowance is 30 grams (7.5 teaspoons) or 120 calories from sugar.
I would like to point out that I do not advise taking fruit out of your diet. Fruit snacks and fruit juice yes, but whole fruits with skins have so many great health benefits that I think it's a shame to exclude them. It's like anything else, use the rule of moderation and you will be just fine.
Below are some sugar suggestions:
- Eat fruit when you have a sweet tooth. Choose fruits that are in season in your area. One way you will know this by the price. The fruits that are in season are generally plentiful and local therefore lower in price. The out of season fruits are high priced as they are generally shipped in and higher priced.
- Instead of soda when you are at a restaurant ask for 1/2 sparkling water or club soda mixed with 1/2 lemonade (kids love this!)
- If you decide on the soda - NO REFILLS!
- Let the urge pass, it will physically and whether it does mentally is up to you.
- Keep a bag of high quality dark chocolate chips on hand. When you are craving chocolate you can grab just a few and satisfy your craving. Be careful with this one, they can be like Lay's potato chips and are tough to eat just one!
- Read labels, it's the best way to be informed. Divide the number of grams of sugar by 4 to get an approximate teaspoon count to best visualize how much sugar is in each serving of food.
- If you have children, ask them what they have already eaten in the day before giving them dessert. You may be surprised at what they consume at school and with friends.
- Educate your families, including kids! When I go into schools and teach mini lessons, I measure sugar in test tubes. I then show the kids a soda, for example, and ask them to guess which test tube has the correct amount of sugar for that soda. When they guess, I ask the child if they would like to drink the sugar out of the test tube. They laugh at first and then usually say no way. I then explain how drinking the soda is the same as drinking the test tube. Kids love this lesson and they bring me all sorts of fun from their lunches asking me to show them how much sugar they are eating. My favorite and saddest story is the little girl that proudly brought me her fruit flavored water bottle thinking it was sure to be the lowest sugar winner. The liquid in the bottle was clear and there was fruit all over the bottle indicating that the water inside was filled with fruit and that it was healthy. It turns out that the second ingredient after water was high fructose corn syrup, there was very little fruit juice in the beverage and it contained more sugar than a soda. We then had a great conversation about marketing! It's amazing what 9 year olds understand.
- At first, cutting back on sugar will seem impossible, again especially if you have kids. But, start watching behavior patterns associated with sugar intake and you will surely see why cutting it out is important. And not only behavior, but skin, hair, clear thinking, energy levels, etc.. I now say to my kids, I think we've been eating too much sugar and they usually agree and are fine with me saying no to sweets. I don't believe in depriving kids or ourselves, that usually backfires later in life. I do believe in honesty and education. That usually works.
This week I would like you to look at your current sugar intake, determine according to your calorie intake what you should be consuming and adjust your intake accordingly. This is difficult for most people. The good news is that your body craves what you put in it. Once you get off the sugar, your body will stop asking for it and hopefully ask for a vegetable instead! Good luck, I know you can do this!
~One Body, One Life~
J.
Easy Organic Vegetable Soup Recipe
8 cups water
Better Than Bouillon vegetable base (organic)
1 can organic tomato paste
4 cloves garlic minced
fresh basil
1 red onion chopped
4 stalks of celery chopped
1 1/2 cups chopped carrots
2 cups chopped zucchini
1 cups chopped collard greens
2 red potatoes chopped
1/2 cups chopped parsley
Fresh ground black pepper
1. Add 6 tsp of bouillon base to water stir and bring to simmer. Add tomato paste and stir.
2. As you are chopping and mincing vegetables and herbs add them to the water and bring to a boil, briefly.
3. Reduce heat and let simmer for 30-60 minutes before adding croutons and enjoying!
4. Be creative and use what you have on hand. That's what I did and it turned out to be delicious!
Homemade Croutons
1 loaf organic multi-grain bread (any bread will work but a multi-grain has nice texture and flavor)
organic olive oil
celery salt
garlic powder or 2 cloves minced garlic
fresh ground black pepper
1. pre-heat oven to 350 degrees, cut bread into 1 inch cubes
2. in a large bowl add cubes and 2-3 tablespoons of olive oil, mix well making sure all cubes are covered
3. add remaining spices and mix well
4. place on baking sheet and bake for 10 minutes or until lightly browned.
Easy Raw Truffle Recipe
2 c ground raw almonds (grind in blender or food processor)
1/2 c Cacao Powder
1/3 c Cacao Bliss
1/4 c Agave nectar
Cinnamon
Raw dried coconut flakes
Combine ground almonds and remaining ingredients. Roll into 2 inch balls and roll to coat in either cinnamon or coconut. Chill before to set before serving. Store in refrigerator for best results.
*These are a healthy treat that kids and adults love! I have repeated requests for this dessert.
