I have a huge sweet tooth and have always loved my sweets! Dessert is my favourite part of the meal. So why am I writing this article? Definitely not to put you off sweets or convince you to cut it out of your life in any way, but more to make you aware of what sugar does to you and your body.
A friend mentioned recently that she was completely off sugar. My first reaction, I have to admit, was ‘oh really? How boring!’ What is life without those sweet little pleasures? She however went on to say how it had really made an effect on her mood, weight and overall wellbeing. I thought, how interesting, I have been feeling pretty tired recently… So I decided to significantly limit my sugar intake for the last week and I have to say I have definitely found a big difference.
I realized that I pretty much had the same routine each day. When my five young children napped in the afternoon, I would be so ‘relieved’ and relaxed I would immediately go to the pantry and look forward to anything sweet. If I couldn’t find anything, I would make toast with some sort of sweet spread on it. I could easily have a few slices without being full. In fact, I just wanted to eat more and more! I would thoroughly enjoy my lunch, but found that almost immediately after, all I wanted to do was sleep on the couch. I felt so lazy to get up and get moving again.
So since last week, I have made an effort to change my habits and to eat proper meals instead of snacking on what I felt like when I was hungry. I am no longer so tired during that afternoon period of the day and strangely enough, also seem to be less hungry and quite content after my meal is finished.
Here is what happens to your body when you consume sugar… What sugar does is give you a burst of energy, but then if not used up, you end up incredibly lethargic and tired afterwards. Any of that sugar not used up by your body (Eg: If you continued sitting on the couch afterwards) is going to be stored as fat in your body and may make you gain weight. Sugar is called ‘empty calories’ for a reason. Did you know that there are absolutely no essential fats, proteins, minerals or vitamins in sugar? Sugar is highly addictive and you may find that once you reach for something sweet, it can be really difficult to stop. It just leaves your body craving for more and more.
Be Careful Of Hidden Sugars! Often we are unaware of how much sugar is in those items we regularly use each day for cooking or those we consume off the shelves from our pantry. There is no need to become obsessed in any way, but it may be worth reading the labels of packaged items just to check their sugar content. Usually if sugar is one of the first three ingredients, it means there is a lot of sugar in that product. For example, reading the ingredients of my ‘Light Mayonnaise’ in my fridge, I noted that the first 3 ingredients listed are “water, vinegar, sugar” meaning the sugar content is very high. Some things to be mindful of which have a lot of hidden sugars:
- Yoghurt
- Low fat cake mixes
- Muesli bars
- Dried fruits (very high in sugar, so consume in moderation)
- BBQ Sauce
- Chinese takeout (EG: Sweet and Sour Chicken)
- Energy Drinks
Here is how you can try to limit your sugar intake during the day:
- Drink water instead of soft drinks.
- Choose just one treat for yourself a day, perhaps just one chocolate and not five!
- Avoid adding sugar to things such as your tea/ coffee and breakfast cereal in the morning.
- Change your attitude. Eg – you do not always have to finish the meal with something sweet.
- Delay your craving and it may go away! I find this an effective strategy.
If you are someone who does consume a lot of sugar, you could try limiting your sugar intake this week and see how you feel? I do not believe it is necessary to cut sugar out of your life completely, but you may just be interested to see how much you are really consuming each day and whether all of it is necessary. Let us know how you go! Good Luck.
Originally posted 2016-10-17 15:00:47.