Started watching my sugar intake

Well, I already don't do some things, like drinking soda...the major bad that the doctor I was listening to mentioned. In soda they put a TON of salt into it to make you thirstier so you drink more, and in order to balance that out they have to put even more sugar or artificial sweetener to balance it out and make it taste good. Then the obvious, candy, cookies, ice cream, all gone. Easy peasy. But it's the processed foods that get you! Basically the less it is processed, the less sugar it will likely have. And stay away from non-fat items. When they created the non-fat crazy and took fat out of everything they had to replace it with something, and that something was sugar (or other sweeteners) so check your yogurt. You may find that you'll have less sugar if you have plain greek yogurt with some fruit and a bit of honey than in a fruit mixed in non-fat yoplait for example. So today I was in a rush and ate special K...just the regular kind, no strawberries or cinnamon or anything, and oops, there went like 1/3 of my sugar allowance for the day! So processed foods will a lot of times have more sugar than you think. Then there's fruit and juice. That's where most of mine was coming from. So I replaced my 3 fruit items with 1 fruit and 2 veggie items in my snack bag for lunch. And be sure that the fruit item is also high in fiber, like an apple. The fiber will at least help your body to process the sugar better. And then of course I'm using EVOO and vinegar for salads instead of a pre-made high sugar dressing, and will use mayo and mustard on a veggie burger but no katsup, etc. It hasn't been easy, and I'm only going to do it this hard core for a few months, but I'm hoping once I'm done that I won't have those sugar cravings anymore. Because it really is addictive! And the more you eat the more you crave.

Oh and I totally agree with everyone about the carbs! Especially the white flour. Unfortunately I can't cut back my carbs any more at the moment. I'm also breastfeeding my 10 week old. He has a reaction when I eat dairy (and I had horrible heartburn when I would eat dairy while pregnant) so I've been off dairy for about 8 months. And then I can't eat gassy foods like beans, broccoli etc. or he has tummy problems. So I am having a lot of carbs, but I'm trying to keep them good. Whole wheat pastas, potatoes, quinoa, whole grain bread with omega 3's etc. I'm actually finding it way harder to avoid the dairy than the sugar. I miss cheese. But I have the feeling that not being able to eat dairy without immediate painful results during pregnancy is what kept me from gaining 50 lbs like I did with my 1st, and only gaining 30. 20 of those lbs with my first must have been purely from ice cream.

What would you have done if a dr on NPR said sugar was awesome and you should consume as much as possible?

Consult with Dr. Oz? :laugh: :laugh:

I'm not an idiot, thank you. I listened to it, I researched the hell out of it, and then I thought "that makes a lot of sense to me, I think I will try it." PLUS I'm not going with NO sugar, I'm going on the recommended amount. And the amount the doctor recommends happens to be the same that it on myfitnesspal. When I added the sugar line into my tracking it was already at the amount I wanted to stay at or below. This is the recommended amount given by all heath authorities, and as Americans we tend to eat 3x, 4x, 5x, or more that amount.
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So what do you think about Dr Lustig's research and comments on the dangers of sugar?
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I thought he made a lot of sense, and at the same time it scared the crap out of me. I eat a lot of sweets. I always have. And I feel that if I didn't change my habits I was putting myself at risk. I have 2 young kids now, I want to be around for them until for a long long time, and if sugar in the amounts that I was eating it was going to put me at risk of not being there for them...well, it's a no-brainer. I love my kids more than I love my sweets.