Episode 40: How To Be Awesome At Eating Less Sugar
This is a BIG ONE! Eating LESS sugar!
🍎We are talking about added sugar- not the sugar in Whole Foods - Lindsay is all for natural sugars found in fruits and veggies.
This is about processed foods and how we have to know how to read labels and what ingredients to look for.
🍫Lindsay talks about when to SPLURGE and have the real sugar! She decides by asking herself… is this a MOMENT?
A birthday party for someone special, a date night treat… a cool moment with your kids.. whatever it is for you. That’s when you should splurge.
🍚Lindsay gets into all the places that sugar is found.
SUGAR is not just in cupakes!!
It’s in lots of foods that turns into sugar in your body… like white starches. So you may not feel like you’re eating a ton of sugar because you aren't eating cake and ice cream but we have to be aware that it comes in other forms too. There is a ton of sugar in so many foods you might not realize like Chinese to-go food or juices, etc.
It’s in so many things… and so often we are addicted to it!
We have to realize that because its not straight sugar doesn't mean that its not turning into sugar in your body. White breads and pastas are at the top of the list for this!
👩🏼🔬Lindsay gets into how to read the labels on processed foods!
She tries to limit processed foods… but when you do… look at the ingredient list!
Sugar has SO many different names- the most common names are sugar and syrup.
High fructose corn syrup… also “OSE” like glucose, dextrose.
Avoid foods that have lots of sugars
Of course, the best way to do this is to eat as many natural foods as possible. Nobody has added sugar to it.
If you eat mostly Whole Foods, you will naturally have a low in sugar diet.
☕️Lindsay isn’t going to ask you to cut out ALL forms of sugar… and do it cold turkey.
While she knows this works for so many people, she doesn’t think it's realistic for most people.
We want to eat out and live and experience and try different foods.
So this is how she’s figured out how to make ONE drastic change.
Stop drinking your calories and your sugar. (Unless of course its a glass of ice cold Champagne after a long week then thats totally allowed and recommended)
Often times people are drinking so much sugar and not realizing it and this is the ONE thing she's going to tell you to cut out pretty much complexly and do it cold turkey. Sodas, super sweetened juices and sugary coffee drinks.
Now the replacements… I would drink black coffee with a splash of coconut milk or almond milk.
And sparkling water! It takes time to get used to, but it's a good trade off.
At restaurants - get ice tea or iced coffee unsweetened.
Just try not to drink all your calories in the form of sugar!! The sugar can add up so much
🍯Here’s are the healthier options Lindsay uses to cook with at home!!
Now, none of these are perfect and people could debate them… but IF we are not going to go totally extreme and just reduce and use much healthier options!
These are the ones Lindsay thinks we could use!
maple syrup
- Honey
- Agave
- dates
(Organic for all)
You choose depending on your preferences and own personal dietary limitations or preferences!
🥗Another thing to think about is how much and what we are eating for meals. We need nice big filling meals with lots of proteins and fats… so we are FULL! And you’ll be less likely to grab for the sugar craving items.
Eat lots of the good fats like avocados and nuts. Your blood sugar levels will be stable and you are more full for longer. Unlike a big bowl of cereal and milk in the am… you crash fast!
Rather than thinking about what you need to TAKE OUT- think about what you can ADD in first!!
It's so much more FUN!
Lindsay is all about eating… a LOT and enjoying food and not walking around the world HUNGRY!
🍎Another obvious one - remove temptation!
If its out of sight its out of mind! Try to only have good healthy options… or put your splurge treats nice and high so little fingers can’t reach them and you have to get a step stool to reach so it makes it a little bit harder to do. Gives yourself a little hurdle to make it reserved for special occasions.
🍓Here are a few of my fav low sugar snacks:
-I always have precut fruit in the fridge
-I LOVE frozen grapes- they have a new texture once frozen!
-I love doing frozen bananas and strawberries and drizzle with dark choice and toss in freezer… it really only needs an hour- and I think it's better than totally frozen
-There are lots of recipes online for apple nachos that are FUN- apples and pb and lots of toppings.
🍎🍎Here are some of Lindsay’s go-to packaged snacks that everyone loves!
🎂The other thing we need to think about with sugar is … there’s an addiction associated with it. Sometimes it’s more genetic - we have more of a sweet tooth OR it can be learned from your parents or your environment.
Studies have shown that sugar is one of the most addictive substances - so lots of times food manufacturers use lots of sugar because we like it and we crave it and we want to eat more!
Tests in rats have shown that sugar foods are as addicting to hard core drugs.
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🍰This is a big topic and one that we will certainly talk a LOT more about. But we hope this episode really helps you THINK about how much sugar you're eating and the easy swaps that you can make to be eating much healthier food.
TELL us what specific parts of this you want to learn more about!
And let’s keep talking about it! Until next time friends, cheers to your health!
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