I recently decided to try and cut out as much sugar as I could from foods. I'm not talking cutting out carbs but lowering sugars. I have been reading labels on everything. I am amazed at what I've found. Foods that are marketed as or in my opinion were really good for me-lots of sugar. I also have found that different brands of the same product have amazingly different amounts of sugar. I have switched to Ezekiel bread products. And at the grocery store I have really been comparing products. One thing that surprised me-the same item but different brand can be a huge difference. Two examples: Canned black beans-one brand had almost 6 grams sugar per serving. I found another brand with <1 gram per serving. I wanted to buy tomato basil spaghetti sauce. One brand was 8 grams sugar per serving, another was 1 gram. I have used both products and find the taste to be very good. I also am proud to say I have lost 5lbs. in about 2.5 weeks just cutting down on sugar. I looked at what I thought was a "harmless" soda and one can contained 40 grams of sugar! Wow! What a revelation. If I figured the math correctly that is almost 10 tsps of sugar?!! So anyway, I am on a mission to cut out as much sugar as possible. In the few weeks I've been doing this I've noticed changes-my skin looks clearer and healthier, I have more energy, and my cravings are almost non-existent. I am still getting fruits(in a morning smoothie), veggies in the form of salads and with dinner, and high fiber in the veggies and the high-fiber/low-sugar carbs. I am really surprised at the taste of the Ezekiel products. I thought I would hate them but they are good. Granted you must either refrigerate or freeze them because they will mold quickly but they are worth it. I've also been looking closely at cereals-something I love for breakfast. WOW-sugar sugar everywhere! I ended up buying plain Cheerios. One other thing my sister turned me on to was Almond Milk. I've been using the unsweetened, vanilla flavor and I really love it. Anyway-just wanted to share.

Jill

Sour dough bread usually doesn't have added sugar.

Dena loves the vanilla Almond Milk. She buys the Blue Diamond Brand.
I am a label reader and I find that labels can be so misleading.
This past weekend we wanted chili and the Kroger where I get mother and daddy's medicines was the closest store. It was cold, wet and nasty out and did not want to go all the way to Publix. We could not find any buffalo there so I picked up a package of beef that said no antibiotics or growth hormones used. It also said 8% fat ?!?!?! but the nutritional label said 160 calories and 80 calories from fat. To me that reads 50% fat not 8%.

The chili was good.

When I still worked in the DC area, I had a coworker who had lost a lot of weight (and maintained the loss) on some sort of low-sugar plan. She said that she would not eat anything unless it had 6 grams of sugar or less per serving (that was apparently the guideline in the plan she was on). It definitely worked for her.

I eat cereal nearly every day. For the last several years, I ate Complete Wheat Bran Flakes but found them hard to find here in Reho, so these days I'm eating a mix of spoonsize Shredded Wheat (unsweetened--harder to find every day) and Crispix. I find that mixing cereals is a great way to get a combo of fiber and low sugar but with a taste you can live with.

I have absolutely no doubt that if I could stop eating baked goods and candy, I could lose weight.

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Originally posted by Sheltieguy:

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I've also been looking closely at cereals-something I love for breakfast. WOW-sugar sugar everywhere! I ended up buying plain Cheerios.

I ate plain Cheerios for a long time, but eventually got tired of them. I keep some on hand for my doggie though. He still love them.

Another sugar free cereal is plain Shredded Wheat.

Sometimes I would mix the two cereals together, the latter being more filling. IQF frozen berries are also a nice cereal addition.

I currently eat GoLean, which has 6 grams of sugar per serving. Not perfect, but way better than GoLean Crunch. GoLean has 10 grams of fiber and 13 grams of protein, so it's pretty filling.

Thanks for the tip on shredded wheat. I've been using frozen berries a lot-the unsweetened-they really add lots of sugar in some brands. Funny-my dogs love Cheerios too!!

Jill

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Originally posted by Nbox:

I've also noticed that nowadays they seem to put sugar in anything and everything. Why toast needs to have glucose-fructose syrup in it is beyond me. Ditto for lots of other processed foods.

I have always tried to not eat processed foods for many reasons. I totally agree with the bread/toast thing. If you venture down the bread aisle, it is very hard to buy bread that does not contain HFCS. That is why I started buying the Ezekiel bread products. I am 99% certain the Alvarado Street bakery breads are also HFCS free but I've found those breads mold VERY quickly. There seems to be a lot of added sugar, HFCS, and all other sugars in many many products we use regularly. I am not one to toot my own horn but I am now, as of today, down almost 8 lbs! Woohoo!! I have become super-concsious of how much added sugar there is in foods. I read EVERY single label on everything I buy. Amazing what you can find that is lower sugar. BBQ sauce, spaghetti sauce, etc. I really have become good at reading and understanding labels. My grocery store trips take longer now but it is totally worth it! Even my dd said-wow mom, how did you lose 8 lbs-just from cutting down on sugar? She said-I really want to eat healthier and cut out sugars too! Yea-I've made an impact on my child. And not by using fake sugar, no low/no carb diet, etc. She sees me eating REAL foods. High fiber good for me stuff. And that for me is better than losing the weight!

Jill

quote:

I've also been looking closely at cereals-something I love for breakfast. WOW-sugar sugar everywhere! I ended up buying plain Cheerios.

I ate plain Cheerios for a long time, but eventually got tired of them. I keep some on hand for my doggie though. He still love them.

Another sugar free cereal is plain Shredded Wheat.

Sometimes I would mix the two cereals together, the latter being more filling. IQF frozen berries are also a nice cereal addition.

I currently eat GoLean, which has 6 grams of sugar per serving. Not perfect, but way better than GoLean Crunch. GoLean has 10 grams of fiber and 13 grams of protein, so it's pretty filling.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: Sheltieguy,

Congrats!!
I've also noticed that nowadays they seem to put sugar in anything and everything. Why toast needs to have glucose-fructose syrup in it is beyond me. Ditto for lots of other processed foods. I sometimes get so fed up I wish I could make everything myself, from scratch. (Joke at dinner: "Wow, this is so good. Did you pluck the chicken all by yourself?" "Yes, and you should have seen the egg it came from - I sat on it for weeks!")