If you’ve been struggling to lose weight and keep it off, sugar is most likely the enemy.
One study found that people whose urine tests showed higher sugar consumption levels over three years were 54% more likely to be overweight than those who were objectively shown to be eating the least sugar in their diet.
The crazy thing is that you may not even realize you’re eating it. A University of North Carolina study found that 60% of packaged foods bought in the U.S. contained added sugar.
How to avoid added sugar?
- Check labels closely – first for the amount of total sugars, then the ingredients list (see list of sugar names below).
- Try to choose foods with no or negligible amounts of sugar (1-2 grams) unless the food contains dairy or large amounts of fruit, both of which contain naturally occurring sugars.
- For sweetened foods like cereals or granola bars:
grams of sugar – grams of fiber should be < 3 grams of sugar - Check online menus of favorite restaurants to pick lowest sugar options.
Here are some common names for sugar you may not be familiar with:
Agave nectar
Barley malt
Beet sugar
Blackstrap molasses
Brown rice syrup
Brown sugar
Buttered syrup
Cane juice crystals
Cane sugar
Caramel
Carob syrup
Castor sugar
Coconut sugar
Confectioner’s sugar (powdered sugar)
Corn syrup
Corn syrup solids
Date sugar
Demerara sugar
Dextrin
Dextrose
Diastatic malt
D-ribose
Ethyl maltol
Evaporated cane juice
Florida crystals
Fructose
Fruit juice
Fruit juice concentrate
Galactose
Glucose
Golden sugar
Golden syrup
Grape sugar
High-fructose corn syrup
Honey
Icing sugar
Invert sugar
Lactose
Malt syrup
Maltodextrin
Maltose
Maple syrup
Molasses
Muscovado sugar
Panela sugar
Raw sugar
Refiner’s syrup
Rice syrup
Sorghum syrup
Sucanat
Sucrose
Treacle sugar
Turbinado sugar
Yellow sugar
If you’re struggling to kick the sugar habit, I’d love to help you! Set up a free 60-minute consultation to help you understand what’s keeping you from kicking the sugar habit and/or meeting your weight loss goals. I meet with clients in person in Tucson, Arizona or online from anywhere!
If you’d like to reduce your business’ health care costs by helping your employees kick the sugar habit, I’d love to give a free talk at your Tucson workplace on “How and Why to Kick the Sugar Habit“.