Day 23
One way to eat healthy is to reduce the amount of sugar you eat!
Today’s Mission
Here’s a list of today’s assignments. You’ll find more details down below!
- Complete Day 2 of the “7 Day Healthy Lifestyle Goal Setting Plan“.
- Track the calories you eat today, keeping within your daily calorie goals, as well as paying attention to your carb, protein and fat percentage goals.
- Evaluate your food choices. How healthy are they? What can you do to make healthier food choices?
- Learn more about sugar and ways to reduce sugar in your diet.
- Come on over to Facebook, Twitter or Google + for support (or use the comments down below).
- Fill out the Daily Habits Awareness Sheet for Week 4 at the end of the day.
A Few Quick Sugar Facts
1 teaspoon of granulated sugar has approximately 16 calories: Calories in Sugar
4 grams of sugar is approximately 1 teaspoon. This particular fact is useful when reading food labels. Food labels mention sugar in terms grams; not teaspoons. One small problem is food labels will count total sugars, not just added sugar.
Which brings us to…
Added Sugars vs. Natural Sugars
Sugars can be found naturally in some foods (like the fructose in fruits or lactose in milk and milk products). The real problem comes from added sugars. Even though your body reacts the same way to these sugars, fruit and milk/milk products provide important nutrients. Added sugars are empty calories — they provide zero in the way of nutritional value.
When it comes to added sugars, look for these words in the list of ingredients: high fructose corn syrup, white sugar, brown sugar, corn syrup, corn syrup solids, raw sugar, malt syrup, maple syrup, pancake syrup, fructose sweetener, liquid fructose, honey, molasses, anhydrous dextrose, and crystal dextrose.
The main products to watch out for when it comes to added sugar, according to the USDA: Soda, energy drinks, and sports drinks; grain-based desserts; sugar-sweetened fruit drinks; dairy-based desserts, and candy.
How to Beat Sugar Cravings
I’ve pulled out these FitWatch articles on sugar to help you in your fight against added sugar:
- Signs You May Be Addicted to Sugar
- How to Eat Less Sugar and Lose Weight
- How to Curb Sugar Cravings and Conquer Your Sweet Tooth
- 3 Ways to Reduce Sugar Cravings
Share the Experience
How much added sugar do you eat? Do you read the list of ingredients on packages to see if there’s added sugar?
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Week 1
Prep Day | Day 1 | Day 2 | Day 3 | Day 4 | Day 5 | Day 6 | Day 7
Week 2
Week 2 Prep | Day 8 | Day 9 | Day 10 | Day 11 | Day 12 | Day 13 | Day 14
Week 3
Week 3 Prep | Day 15 | Day 16 | Day 17 | Day 18 | Day 19 | Day 20 | Day 21
Week 4
Week 4 Prep | Day 22 | Day 23 | Day 24 | Day 25 | Day 26 | Day 27 | Day 28 | Graduation Day - Beyond the Boot Camp