Sugar: How Much Do You (Really) Eat

Sugar: How Much Do You (Really) Eat?

Many of us feel we’re doing our best to eat healthy and live a fit and active lifestyle. But, still find we’re not quite satisfied. Day after day (or week after week) of eating salads and lean proteins, hitting the gym…and your body just doesn’t seem to be changing.

And yet, there are people you see around the same gym who seem to be doing pretty much the same thing, but with an entirely different (that is, entirely better) set of results. 

It can be a little frustrating.

What are they doing differently than you? You’re working hard and eating healthy too!

Why aren’t you getting those same results? What are they doing you aren’t?

One fairly likely answer is simple, but not quite as simple as it used to be:

Avoiding sugar

While you do your best to eat healthy, it’s a question worth asking: Do you know how much sugar you’re actually consuming every day?
If you’ve never done the math, the answer just might surprise you…

Before addressing that, though, let’s take it from the top: What’s the big deal about sugar in the first place?

The straightforward answer is eating sugar elevates blood sugar; as obvious as this seems, it’s not an inconsequential effect. When this happens your body’s fat-burning mechanisms turn off, making it virtually impossible to get (or stay) lean, trim and athletic-looking.

Putting aesthetics aside, the more serious answer is high sugar intake represents an indisputable threat to your long-term health. Regular consumption of significant quantities will reduce insulin sensitivity, disrupt hormonal balance and pave the way for a variety of diseases. Particularly, Type II diabetes and cardiovascular conditions can take hold.

The average American consumes over 80 grams of sugar everyday. That’s equivalent to 20 teaspoons of table sugar often without being aware of it, and while making seemingly “healthy” choices. Perhaps, this amount of sugar is anything but healthy. It’s an amount virtually any Nutritionist or Dietician will agree is unhealthy.

Nonetheless, that is the average.

How much sugar do you eat?

It’s a one-time inventory well worth taking, and it can be done in just two easy steps:

1) Write down the sugar count on everything you eat for the next three days; between the Nutrition Facts on food labels and a couple of online searches, you’ll be able to find very reliable numbers.

2) Add the total sugar intake together and divide by three to find your average daily consumption. 

If you find your results are similar to those of the average American, then there’s going to be a third step involved:

3) Work on lowering this number!

The average American consumes
over 80 grams of sugar per day.

While doing this, also understand something important about your sugar intake: now more than ever, it’s not necessarily your fault.

In fact, a big part of the problem is many food companies are a little sneaky about how much sugar is really hiding in their products. Deceiving messages – prominently placed on the front of the packaging – only list the positives of the food, providing an immediate (and often effective) bit of misdirection.

Unfortunately, most of the positives of any food can become overshadowed by the negative effect of the sugar that’s present. This is the information you can find by looking at the other label – the Nutrition Facts. Consequently, this label is (curiously) often placed only on the back of the packaging!

Going back to that guy or gal you know who is perpetually lean: you can reasonably bet their diet is low in sugar. It’s among the first and best steps you can take toward better eating, and in turn towards your Health and Fitness Goals.

The trick?

These days, it’s not just a matter of simply avoiding classically high-sugar items, like candy and cake. It’s also about avoiding those foods that often seem healthy, but which contain significant amounts of hidden sugars… 

My suggestion: after your three-day inventory, plan one week in which you cut out all added sugars from your diet. Check in with your weight and your energy levels at the end of those seven days, making note of any differences. 

Please try this, just once – it’s a difference worth noting. Proper eating is definitely half of the equation when it comes to achieving your best level of Health and Fitness.

We’re willing to bet you’ll be pleasantly surprised. It’s amazing just how quickly you can see results in your weight, energy and general well-being just by making this simple, conscious move to avoid sugar!

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