Eliminating Sneaky Sugars From Your Diet

We consume an average of 82 grams of added sugar a day. Thats more than you would find in about 8 chocolate ice cream sandwiches. Carbs are not bad for us but empty carbohydrates are. The food manufacturers have an arsenal of empty bad carbohydrates at their disposal that they use to make everything we eat taste like candy.

I bet if you opened your kitchen cabinet up right now you would find one of these ingredients in your food: modified food starch, maltodextrin, cane sugar, crystallized cane juice, evaporated cane juice, honey, tapioca syrup, brown sugar, brown rice syrup, barley and many, many more. I can't name all the foods with this crap in them because I would be here all day but I will name a few.

Let's start with your favorite cereal wich has just as much sugar as the ones with the cartoon on them that we try to get our kids not to eat. Post Raisin Bran, General Mills Basic 4, or Multi-Bran Chex, all have more sugar than the same-size bowl of Froot Loops. Stick to cereals with high fiber to sugar ratios like Post Shredded Wheat Original.

How about granola??? They can't mess all that natural goodness up can they??? Wrong..it's almost impossible to find a box with less sugar per serving than a plate of cookies. Try Kashi U 7 Whole Grain Flakes & Granola with Black Currants & Walnuts. It's filled with omega-3 fats and has 7 grams of fiber to help keep your blood sugar steady. Try sprinkling a little of it over a cup of unsweetened yogurt or greek yogurt. I put it on my oatmeal. mmmgood (-: You ever tried Quaker Natural Granola, Oats, Honey, & Raisins? Don't know how they call this stuff natural when it has just as much added sugar as a Snicker's bar. Even the low-fat version has 27 grams of sugar in it.

What about meal replacement bars? They have to be healthy right? Nope lol. Most have a bunch of sugar in them but they hide the sugar under highfalutin monikers like crystalline fructose, brown rice syrup, or--in Powerbar's case--C2 MAX Carbohydrate Blend. You want to make sure you eat bars that earn the large majority of their calories from protein, fiber, and healthy fats.

They put sugar in everything people so read labels carefully and I recommend taking a look at the book "Eat This Not That" before making your grocery list. It will save you from having to run an extra mile or doing 50 extra sit-ups at the gym. (-: Remember to workout and healthy weight loss will come. Keep pressing play. Go Beachbody!!!!