Sugar… Sugar Is Everywhere! How to Spot Sugar Rich Products

While many people believe that the main antagonist in our eternal struggle against excess weight is fat, a multitude of studies have shown that the true enemy is sugar and other simple carbohydrates that make our organism fattier and even dependent on using sugars constantly. There once was an interesting theory that sugar is even more addictive than heroin and in some regards it actually is.

Sugar is not considered to be the white death as many health enthusiasts try to label it. Sugar is such a common ingredient of modern foods that we simply cannot afford to stop using it altogether. On a grand scale. Each individual can do a lot to significantly reduce the amount of sugar they consume regularly and the shortage of sugar is exactly what your body needs to feel better in the long run.

If your goal is weight loss and you want to change your body and fit in those tight yoga pants that someone gifted to you as a joke, you should undeniably consider cutting down your sugar consumption without harming your carbohydrate intake. Carbs and fiber are extremely useful for the organism and help you to maintain normal metabolism. However, simple carbs like glucose and fructose can be harmful in large quantities. Avoiding sugars altogether is virtually impossible but you can severely reduce the amount of white death that gets inside your body. If you don’t want to rely solely on weight loss pills, eat less sugar and learn to eat healthily.

Eating fats is good?

One of the biggest problems of modern American society and western society in general is how vulnerable it is to marketing. In the epoch of television and radio when there was only a handful of trustworthy sources of information, the society could be manipulated easily. At one point in the history of American food industry, fats were labeled the most dangerous ingredient of foods and coupled with new standards of beauty involving a very slim waist line the anti-fat campaign was doomed for success.

What makes your body look fat? Fat! This premise was the driving force for the whole food industry that started to make low fat foods and snacks. However, protein and fiber alone don’t taste good and manufacturers started to substitute fats with sugar to make everything more appealing and tasty. This led to an overwhelming presence of sugar everywhere from drinks to canned foods including savory soups and sauces.

In a matter of decades, we became dependent on sugar and do not even know where it resides. If you think that not eating sweet cookies is enough to make your sugar consumption normal, we have to disappoint you. Sugar is everywhere. In a can of young green peas, in a pack of potato chips that you like so much, and even in a piece of smoked ham that you decided to purchase for your “non-sugar” sandwiches. The dark all-consuming shadow of sugar can be seen on every shelf in every supermarket and avoiding it altogether is an impossible task if you are not willing to change your life radically.

Manage your hunger

Weight loss is a terribly stressing task and just like any stress it makes us hungry more than we should be. Hunger is not the enemy number one, however, sugar is. It is absolutely fine to eat throughout the whole day and full your body with useful nutrients, healthy oils, and fiber. It is absolutely inappropriate to try and satisfy your hunger with sugar and excessive carbs. Eating too much unhealthy omega-6 fats is also not a good idea.

Namely, what should never be in your diet on a regular basis:

• Various oils without enough Omega-3 fatty acids;
• Sugar in all forms including glucose, fructose, and lactose;
• Baked goods, bread, and pasta;
• Red meat and marbled red meat.

The full list of undesired unhealthy foods that should be excluded from your ration is much longer and contains lots of surprising items, but just by avoiding these products you will significantly reduce both calorie intake and the amount of sugars consumed. If weight loss if your real goal, you need to be effective at eating and managing hunger. Some may wonder what to eat if so many things are prohibited?

There is an abundance of foods that you can eat regularly and in relatively large quantities without harming your diet and making yourself look fattier.

• Nuts, whole grain, unsweetened chocolate;
• Fish, seafood;
• Some dairy products like sour milk, yogurts, and cottage cheese;
• Vegetables especially those growing above the ground (pickles, peas, bell peppers);
• Fruits with low sugar content (tomato, apples, pears).

Some consider banana a healthy snack. One banana is usually fine but it will most likely contain just enough sugar to prevent you consuming any more during the day. Banana is one of the most calorie rich fruits and can be easily overeaten. While some weight loss pills help to manage hunger, you will never escape the crave for some food when your stomach is rumbling like thunder. In such cases, eating something from the list above is quite normal. Don’t be afraid to eat a handful of nuts or a vegetable salad with linseed oil.

If you eat one time and never allow yourself to starve, you won’t crave for sugary products. Remember that sugar releases hormones that make us feel slightly better. The brain wants to get some sugar whenever you feel depressed or sad. Starvation is definitely a very stressful condition that will make your brain demand sugar and you will give up and eat a cookie. Just eat regularly and enough.

How to spot sugary products

Eating just enough is a very loose description of the diet for a person whose main goal is weight loss. This process requires much more dedication and will power than some imagine. Avoiding foods that you are used to can be incredibly hard. Do not give up and remember that your number one priority is to cut down your sugar consumption. The fight will most certainly be tough but manageable if you know your enemy inside out and prepare to fend it off whenever it approaches you.

Products with additional sugars are everywhere. It is virtually impossible to make a trip to a supermarket and not bring home a bunch of cans and packs full of products enhanced by sugar and omega-6 acids.

While the latter is hard to notice without studying which foods contain omega-6 and which do not, the former can be identified in a glance of an eye.

• Look attentively at labels where manufacturers must put all information about product contents, sugar will be listed there.
• Inspect the amount of carbohydrates in products that do not feature additional sugar. The amount of naturally residing sugars in some foods can be incredibly high.
• Avoid sweet dairy products, milk, and butter. These products contain lots of carbs and very unhealthy omega-6 fatty acids.
• Nearly all low fat products contain a significant amount of sugar to enhance flavors and taste.

Reading labels of foods that you are about to buy is always a good idea. Remember that snacks and products labeled as “healthy” or “diet” are often misleading and actually may contain lots of additional sugar and high calorie products like nuts and coconut oil. If weight loss is your main priority, you need to say “no” to all sorts of sodas and stop drinking coffee with sugar and cream every morning.

Another important tip is to avoid foods that have excessive amounts of “natural” sugars like honey and fruits. It is fine to eat a couple of apples or a teaspoon of honey now and then, but consuming lots of both can be harmful. All your weight loss efforts will be futile if you do not think carefully about what you eat.

Why does it matter?

A sugar free diet is exactly what you need to avoid a plethora of health issues including diabetes, obesity, heart related issues, arterial hypertension, and many other. Sugar is a problem due to being the most addictive food ingredient in the history of humanity while being possibly the least healthy. Simple carbs make your body lazy and slow down your metabolism preventing you from dropping pounds and forcing you to gain mass despite exhausting workouts.

Managing the diet and avoiding sugar as well as possible are two main fundamental pillars of an effective weight loss strategy that will help you to get in shape. The very foundation of your weight loss strategy should be comprised of good rationing and responsible eating. If you do not want to become an obese diabetic, you need to cut down your sugar consumption right now and follow your new diet rules closely. This is the only way to lose weight.