{a not so sweet lesson}

I know it's a little early to report on my little no more sugar experiment but I'm learning so much that I thought I'd share a little bit with you. First, I never realized how much dang sugar is in everything and how little you should actually consume per day... Here are my findings:

How Much Can You Feed Your Sweet Tooth?

Sugars found naturally in fruits and milk are not a problem. It's the added sugars that need to be limited because they provide calories but few vitamins and minerals. You'll find sugar-laden food at the top of the Food Pyramid. Added sugars can be found in soft drinks, candy, jams, jellies, syrups and table sugar we add to coffee and cereal. Added sugar can also appear in sweetened yogurt, soups, spaghetti sauces, applesauce and other items where you wouldn't suspect it unless you check the list of ingredients.
Here are some guidelines for added sugar based on calories in the daily food choices:
1,600 calories - Limit sugar to 6 teaspoons per day or 22 grams per day

2,200 calories - Limit sugar to 12 teaspoons per day or 44 grams per day

2,800 calories - Limit sugar to 18 teaspoons per day or 66 grams per day

So if the food label on your sweetened yogurt says a one-cup serving contains 22 grams of sugar, and your meal plan has 1,600 calories a day, you've eaten your day's allotment of sugar.

I am writing down everything I eat and how many grams of sugar the items contain and I fill up (as in exceed) my 22 gram allotment pretty quick...

Kashi Honey Almond Flax Bar (breakfast) contains 5 grams of sugar

Fiber One Key Lime Pie Nonfat Yogurt (snack) contains 4 grams of sugar

1/4 cup pistachios (snack) contain 1 gram of sugar

1 fruit -yesterday I had Honey Dew (snack) contains 14.4 grams of sugar in 1 cup (OUCH)

Lunch: Quizno's Plain Turkey Bullet (I only ate half the bread) and 1 cup of chicken noodle soup (and yes, I know this place is not healthy = sodium nightmare... but I'm working on cutting out my sugar fix first, K.thx!)

Dinner: small bowl of leftover spaghetti noodles with tomato juice (5.5 oz can) 5 grams of sugar

Only drank water for the day!

So yesterday, I had about 30 grams of sugar and I did a 1-hour Zumba class at the gym (which was an intense cardio workout).

I feel good about my start on this journey and now that I am more aware of how much sugar is in just the everyday food I eat, it def makes me regret all that extra sugar I used to eat. For example: there are 25 grams of sugar in one small bag of peanut m&m's! SweetJeezus! I guess I know now why my butt got so huge!

I also realize I need to make exercise a priority because I do feel so much better after a good sweat session! And of course it is a necessity for being fit :) I think I may even look into using that Zumba certification that I pay for monthly but never use to start teaching a class, I need some serious accountability when it comes to exercise so I don't make excuses!