Learning how to reduce your sugar intake is no easy task, but it is a necessary step as long as you want to follow your physique and performance enhancement goals. In fact, even if you have no such goals, reducing your intake is extremely important simply for your health. The reason why it is so hard to reduce the intake is because it seems that sugar is seemingly in everything these days.
If you take a closer look, you will find out why it is so hard to achieve a low sugar diet. For example, by analyzing the products in your weekly shop, it will feel almost impossible to reduce the sugar intake to normal levels.
Why? Because everything from bread to beer contains sugar! In fact, they tend to add sugar even in… meat! That’s right, there is sugar in products that you wouldn’t ever think there is, such as in sausages and many others. On the other hand, you could be shocked to discover how much sugar there is in products that obviously are sugary, such as Nutella, for example.
- Having this said, the trick here is to learn which foods contain more, so you could cut them out of your diet, or at least reduce them to adequate levels. Most people consume a lot of it, without even realizing it. That’s why it is such a big problem.
In this article, however, we’re going to share various tips that will help reduce your sugar intake. We would share how to cut it out of your diet, which will definitely lead to outstanding results, both in the way you feel and look.
The Effects of Sugar on Your Body
You may have already heard that too much sugar is unhealthy. But why? I mean, it can’t be too bad if it’s added to so much foodstuff, is it? Well, while it is obviously not toxic and won’t kill you instantly, there is a reason why it is called “the white death”. It actually is like that. That’s because sugar will slowly kill you, and you won’t even realize it. Sugar is very addictive, as it creates a short-term high and a spark of energy (not to mention that it is sweet). So, people often enjoy the dopamine release that sugar brings, getting “hooked” on its effects. This way, you will need more and more sugar to get the same sweet level and to get the same energy. But this is just worsening your condition.
When talking about the actual “bad effects” of sugar on your body – it is the leading cause of diabetes. Eating large amounts of processed or fast foods (foods that are high in fat and sugar) leads to diabetes. It is also leading to obesity, cancer, tooth decay, heart disease, high blood pressure, fatty liver disease, and so on. Still wondering why it is called “the white death”?
The problem is that the average US citizen consumes about 65-85 grams of it a day. That’s way more than the recommended daily limit of only 25-35 grams a day. No wonder most people have been dealing with “belly fat” in recent years. Those who exceed this limit well over it also deal with diabetes and obesity.
However…
It is important to note that we’re talking about added sugar! The ones you get from fruits such as strawberries or oranges are fine because fruits contain different types of sugar and are packed with nutrients and minerals.
The natural sugars that you can find in whole foods such as fruits, vegetables, and dairy come with essential nutrients. Moreover, they are metabolized by your body differently than added sugars. Therefore, unlike added sugars that lead to weight gain and exacerbate issues such as oxidative stress and hyperglycemia, the natural sugars will not negatively impact these parameters.
So, are you trying to be healthy? Reduce its intake. That’s even more important if you have any physique and performance enhancement goals. Check below various ways that will help you achieve your goals and cut it out from your diet.
How to Cut Out Sugar From Your Diet?
Avoid the desserts as much as possible
Remember what I told you about Nutella? Check how much sugar it has (that’s all added sugar) and you may not want to eat it anymore. I understand that you may love it (most of us do), but you should try to avoid eating it as much as possible. And I’m not talking about Nutella only, but any high sugary desserts. Those desserts are very tasty (I know, I know), but they are full of sugar (often, over 50% of those desserts are added sugars), extremely calorie-dense, but offer little to no actual nutrition. Since they are full of sugar, they will cause your blood levels to spike and then crash, which leads to tiredness, hunger, and a desire to consume even more sugar.
That’s a real problem, especially considering that about a fifth of sugar in most US citizens’ diets comes from desserts. That’s why, I strongly recommend everyone (either following a fitness plan or not), to opt for healthier desserts instead of desserts full of cream and chocolate. There are lots of them such as fresh fruit, yogurt, dark chocolate, and many others. Healthier desserts will not make you feel sluggish after eating them, and won’t expand your waistline, without all those horrible side effects.
Avoid the sugary drinks
A lot of people gain weight and they claim they barely eat anything. But what about the drinks? Do you know that what you’re drinking can significantly increase the calories and sugar you consume a day? In fact, almost half of the sugar found in the average American’s diet comes from drinks such as soda, sports drinks, energy drinks, coffee, tea, and so on. A lot of beverages contain a lot of sugar and a lot of calories. Even the fruit drinks too. Despite the fact that they are often marketed as “healthy” they are full of sugar!
In short, drinking such beverages will significantly max out your daily calorie allowances as drinks will not satisfy hunger. In fact, because of blood glucose levels spiking and then crashing, you’re likely to get a spike in hunger. Having this said, you will want to eat more, increasing your daily calorie limit. So, you can reach the limit simply by drinking these beverages. Stay away from them. Only have a bit of sugarless coffee and tea, while focusing on drinking a lot of water (30 ml per kilogram of body weight a day).
Choose whole foods
By talking about whole foods, we’re talking about foods that are not processed and are not packed with additives. Opt for those foods that come in their natural way. While they may have a shorter shelf life, they are significantly healthier and you know they have no added sugar. That’s why cooking from scratch at home is a perfect way to ensure your food is not processed. This way, you make sure you stay away from those dangerous additives. Additionally, highly processed foods (desserts, soda, and junk food in general), are very high in sugar, salt, and fat. They are all damaging your health, your performance, and your physique.
Try to cook at home more, and stay away from processed foods when grocery shopping. Cook simple dishes with meat and vegetables. Try to opt for homemade sauces and herbs. This will definitely cut out a lot of sugar from your diet.
Low sugar cereals
A lot of people love breakfast cereals, and they are healthy, right? Well, not actually. We’ve been made to think that breakfast cereals are necessary to get started on the day, providing the energy and nutrients we need. However, they are also notorious for being full of high amounts of sugar. That’s true even among those that claim to be healthy. In fact, the most popular American cereal brands contain almost half of their total weight in added sugar. Want to cut the white stuff from your diet? Avoid those cereals!
Besides, a lot of things that people tend to have as breakfast are full of sugar. Breakfast foods such as waffles, pancakes, and muffins are full of sugar. That’s why it is so easy to exceed your daily recommended limit for the white stuff before you even leave the breakfast table. We’ve been made to believe that they provide us with energy, but they actually make us fat. What should you eat for breakfast then? Oatmeal with fruit, avocado, eggs, and Greek yogurt, among others. They are all super tasty, super nutritious, and low in sugar.
Double check labels
You can’t and shouldn’t trust any branding that says their food is “healthy”. It doesn’t matter the brand or food we’re talking about. I know this is frustrating, but you shouldn’t trust branding. That’s why you need to double check labels. For example, a lot of foods that claim to be low in fat (which they actually are), will be very high in sugar (but they won’t tell you this). Besides, you should check for sneaky alternative names for sugar such as caramel, rice syrup, molasses, maltose, dextrose, and many others. These are all basically… added sugar.
Check the amount of sugar per 100g of product. Moreover, pay attention to the names on the ingredient list (while checking for sneaky alternative names). The higher any of these names are on the top of the ingredients list, the higher percentage of the foodstuff is composed of them. That’s why, if you find caramel, for example, first, then it means that the product is mostly made of caramel.
Eat a lot of protein rich foods and natural fats
The protein is going to keep you feeling fuller for longer than any other macronutrient such as fats or carbohydrates. Sugar is basically a carbohydrate. Our body will quickly break down and digest it, providing a spike in energy levels, then crash it. Protein rich foods, on the other hand, are slowly broken down and digested. Therefore, you will want to eat less. Sugar, however, will increase your appetite as it slows down the signals from your brain, allowing you to feel sated and full (letting you know the stomach is full).
This is the reason why it is so easy to overeat and binge on sweet foodstuffs such as candy, rich desserts, and so on. It also explains why it is so hard to overeat and binge on high protein foods (ever tried to eat skinless chicken breast alone?). In the end, protein is very helpful as it helps keep you fuller for longer. At the same time, fat also helps provide energy and keep you fuller for longer, working to reduce hunger. But you need healthy fats (not trans ones you get from fried foods), the ones from nuts, avocado, and salmon.
Use natural sweeteners
Avoiding any type of sugar can be really hard. Especially considering that sugar is very addictive (even if you do not notice it in your daily life). As with certain drugs and alcohol, our bodies will gain tolerance to it. That’s why we will need to increase the intake of sugar to feel satisfied from eating sugar. Interestingly enough, it is even possible to experience withdrawal symptoms from lack of sugar if you quit a diet high in it and start lowering it significantly!
You may want something sweet, that’s why you should opt for natural sugar alternatives. Stevia, erythritol, and xylitol are just as sweet, but they provide far fewer calories and will not cause spikes in your blood sugar. Also, you could opt for fruits. They are very sweet and they are full of nutrients.
Conclusion
In the end, learning ways to reduce your sugar intake is definitely nothing easy. This is not a rapid process and it shouldn’t be. You have to keep on learning and discovering. While it is not easy or fast, you shouldn’t give up. By continuing to learn and work towards it, you will definitely be able to reduce your daily intake and keep it within the recommended daily level after a while.
Doing so will definitely lead to a lot of benefits, such as reducing the risk of cancer, heart problems, tooth decay, fat gain, obesity, diabetes, more energy, and numerous other benefits. By reducing sugar alone from your diet, you will notice you will feel better, perform better, and look better, with body recomposition by reducing the waistline. Start eating more protein, increase your daily activity level, and workout regularly – and you will see huge results!
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