Cut the Sugar, Cut the Pounds
Did you switch to a low fat diet but aren’t seeing the results you had expected? Sugar could be the culprit. Sugar comes in many forms, including those sugar substitute packets you are probably putting in your coffee, tea and flavored water to cut sugar consumption. It is also in the low fat foods you have been substituting as a way to cut fat and calories. Sugar is in many products that you probably had no idea it was in and it could be stalling your weight loss success. For most of us we already know to lose weight you have to cut the sugar, salt and bad fats. The problem is in the fact that we don’t always know that these items are hidden away in common low fat foods and food directed those trying to drop a few pounds.
Refined sugar is associated with many health issues, there are literally hundreds of conditions and illnesses that sugar consumption can cause or worsen but here are just a few of them: The obvious ones are diabetes and blood sugar levels but refined sugar also creates a high and crash effect that leaves you unable to focus or put any energy towards important projects , leaves you feeling miserable afterword, can make you appear older by causing sagging skin and old age spots, it is the leading cause of tooth decay, it has no nutritional value, it can cause gallstones and eventual need to have surgery to remove gallbladder, contributes to adrenal fatigue, it creates excessive cravings for food high in salt, sugar and fat. Refined sugar is terrible for people trying to lose weight because it is very high in calories and has absolutely no nutritional value. You are literally eating and drinking empty calories.
Refined sugars are fructose, honey, cane sugar, corn syrup and high fructose corn syrup to name just a few. They are basically highly processed forms of sugar that are used to sweeten food. You will often find sugar in foods that are very high in sodium (salt); this is because salt in high amount does not taste good so the food or drink needs to be sweetened up to appease our taste buds. An example of this is soda drinks, if you read the label you will see there is a high concentration of sodium to sugar ratio; the high fructose corn syrup sweetens the drink while masking the flavor of the sodium. You will find sodium even in diet soda flavors. You will also find high fructose syrup and other refined sugars in diet foods such as low fat yogurt, zero fat cottage cheese, low sodium bacon, zero or low fat lunch meats and cheeses, fat free salad dressing, fat free or low fat candy and chocolate. When reading a food label that is marketed as low calorie you will see that the sugar has been replaced by fat. You can’t have a low calorie/low sugar/low fat processed food that tastes good because where the sugar lacks the fat and salt make up. To start eliminating sugar you have to also take away the high concentration of sodium and bad fats which leaves you with less processed foods and more wholesome fruits, vegetables, grains and protein. To start, you need to read labels; lots of them. You have to read every label you come in contact with because of the way products are marketed to us you will find hidden sugar in a lot of the foods you are currently eating.
It won’t be easy to stop eating these types of foods right away so it is suggested to start eliminating a few foods every month and replace them with something unprocessed. Families that are successful in changing their diet make change gradually and involve their children the new food choices. Forcing change too suddenly or quitting old habits cold turkey can have a negative effect on a family who is used to eating a certain way for most of their life.
