POPSUGAR

This Week's Get Fit Challenge: Cut Sugar From Your Diet

Jan 5 2014 - 3:12am

Added sugars are everywhere, and if you're not careful, they can hinder your weight-loss goals. If overcoming a sugar habit is one of your resolutions as you Get Fit For 2014 [1], take our challenge and cut a little bit of sugar from your diet this week!

Why You Should Cut Sugar

Too much sugar in your diet has been linked to heart disease and stroke, which is why the American Heart Association recommends women get only 100 calories (25 grams or about six teaspoons) of added sugar every day. In addition, eating too much sugar every day can cause you to crave it more, making it that much harder to resist sugary treats when you are trying to drop pounds.

How to Do It

Added sugars can be hiding in many different places: everything from your morning yogurt to that slice of bread can be hiding the sweet stuff. To help lower your sugar content, steer clear of sodas and read juice labels carefully, substituting with water with a squeeze of orange or lemon juice as much as possible. Stick to whole foods like fruits, veggies, lean meats, and whole grains that you prepare yourself so you know just what's in your food. If you're craving something sweet, opt for fruit instead of a baked good.

When reading labels, look for ingredients ending in "ose" (such as sucrose) as well as other sweeteners [2] like high fructose corn syrup, fruit juice concentrates, honey, or molasses.

Your Low-Sugar Resources

If you're confused about how and where you can cut sugar in your diet, these tips can help:

Tell us: how are you cutting back on sugar this week?


Source URL
https://www.popsugar.com/fitness/How-Cut-Sugar-From-Your-Diet-33287753