Sweet Weight Loss Success

I can't speak for the rest of the world, but in the States it is clear we eat way too much sugar.

Now, if you have been following me at all, you know that I don't believe in "forbidden foods"...I think blacklisting any food makes us want it more and will backfire on us. Well, maybe not any food...cuz if that were true we could make vegetables like brussel sprouts off limits and start craving them! HA! Sometimes reverse psychology doesn't work!

Back to sugar...the American Heart Association is now joining the frey encouraging Americans to cut back on their sugar consumption. Turns out the average American is downing 22 teaspoons of the stuff a day! Hey, I know Mary Poppins said a spoonful of sugar helps the medicine go down, but are we needing that much medicine? Really!

If a teaspoon of sugar comes in at 16 calories a teaspoon, which is the number I remember...although a quick Google search gave me a chart at 15 calories a teaspoon...22 teaspoons a day =355 calories!

The AHA is suggesting women get no more than 6 teaspoons of sugar a day. If we follow that guideline we would save about 260 calories per day. The mathematical weight loss theory says that if we burn off or reduce our intake of 3500 calories we will drop a pound of fat...based on that, by REDUCING (not eliminating) sugar we can drop 1 pound every 2 weeks!

This is what I call "low lying fruit"...this sugar is empty calories...no nutritional value. It comes in the form of sodas, sweeteners we add to drinks like coffee & tea...it may be white sugar, brown sugar or high fructose corn syrup...it comes in packaged foods as well as what we add to our own foods.

Note this sugar is not including the natural sugars found in fruits and vegetables...so use sweeter fruits to help satisfy your sweet tooth. If you really want a sweeter drink try Stevia a natural sweetener with no known side effects and zero calories...

And if you love soda, then go ahead, but be conscious about what you are drinking...enjoy it, don't guzzle it.

Start by cutting back one thing at a time. What will probably surprise you is that you will begin to want it less and less the more you cut back. Seems strange I know...but it is true!