Sugar questions

[anniet]

I am following the weight watchers plan, and I want to continue on weight watchers. But last night at water aerobics, I was having a conversation with the instructor, (who has a real fit body by the way) regarding the fitness routine I've set up and I told her I was doing weight watchers. She agreed weight watchers is great because it lets you choose the foods you want, however she suggested that I watch out for and cut down on sugar.

I think it will be possible to stick to WW and cut down on sugar, but how far should I cut down? Should I try to stay completely away from sugary foods unless they are in fruits or veggies? I told her I eat a banana at breakfast and she suggested I only eat half of the banana.

I've tried Atkins in the past, and it didn't agree with my system, so I can't cut carbs out completely, but I know I could cut way back on sugar.

I'm wondering if anybody has any suggestions that might help me.

Thanks!

 

[TigH]

Hi, Annie!

I haven't gone "sugar free" completely, but I just realized this week that I have cut WAY back! You know about the no sugar in my coffee/tea already. Some days I have a half a banana with my oatmeal. The other fruits I've been eating are pears, apples and cantalope. I don't know if they are as sugary as bananas. Aside from using some marinades that contain sugar (the premixed kind from Lawrys), I don't add sugar to anything! I have carrots every day, not sure how much sugar is in them (or how the body may convert them into sugar).

I think if you try to stick to unprocessed foods as much as you can, you'll be able to control the amount of sugar you eat. I am not going low carb, but compared to how I used to eat, I am eating much less carbs now. I don't miss sugary foods.

This doesn't seem like much help, now that I've typed it out! ha ha! Good luck!

 

[anniet]

Actually Karen, it does help to know that someone out there is doing this and weight watchers. I should have remembered that you are doing this, from the posts we exchanged about tea the othere day. I'm an airhead sometimes!

I couldn't believe that when I climbed into bed last nite I picked up the March/April issue of WW magazine that I hadn't had time to read yet and guess what? There was a whole article on this topic!!!!! (p.69 if anyone has the magazine and is interested)

Here's what I found out. Most Americans consume about 20 teaspoons of added sugars each day. USDA's dietary guielines are between 6 and 12 teaspoons per day which would mean 24 to 48grams per day.

If you are looking at a nutritional label and it says the item has 16g of sugars, you divide that by 4 and that means this item has 4 teaspoons of added sugar per serving.

I really think that since starting WW I have begun replacing some of the fats in my diet with a lot more sugar, because sugar has less calories than fat, so I can get more points out of sugar. (Did that make sense?) But fat is more filling, so I should keep it in, as long as I don't go overboard. If I gave up those Sherbert smiles I'm addicted to now (2 points-16g of sugar! ) I could go back to cooking with olive oil and be able to use 2 teaspoons instead of the Pam spray which is fine for somethings, but not for others.

So here's what I'm going to do. In my ww journal I'm going to write down the points and next to it, I'll write down the sugars and try to aim for 30g of sugar OR LESS a day and see where that takes me. Maybe I can gradually step down and cut sugar out completely, but for now, I'll take it slow.


I'm sorry, I know I'm answering my own post, but I honestly did not see the article until I was in bed and I thought this info might help some others here!

 

[Cthia]

Though I don't do WW I find that very informative about the sugar. I never would have realized how much sugar was contained in a package. So now when I look at a package I will get an idea of how many teaspons of sugar are in there and be more careful of how much I consume. I thought I was doing good with the teaspoon in my tea in the morning.

Tigh, I read your post about cutting the sugar out of your tea/coffee and thanks to you I am trying to do that. I could not take it out completely right away. I do like the idea of the gradual decrease. Now I just have to work on my DH.

 

[anniet]

Cthia it really IS an eye opener!!! I just checked and my apple/cinnamon flavored oatmeal with milk in the morning has 6 added teaspoons of sugar!

Looks like I'll be switching to plain oatmeal!

 

[TigH]

Annie - where did you get the WW magazine? I was in a book store with a HUGE magazine selection and I could not find the WW magazine anywhere! Now I really want to read it! I am so glad you posted this information about the sugar. Nothing wrong with answering your own question - you wanted an answer, right? ha ha!

I used to have a sweet tooth years ago but that has slowly gone away. I would much prefer to use the olive oil in cooking over the sugar, and olive oil is better for you than sugar anyway! I have a book called "8 Weeks to Better Living" or something like that. It's by a Dr. Weil, a guy who is really into eating healthy, including nuts and whole grain breads and more fish and less meat and loads of olive oil, etc. I think once I reach my goal I am going to read the book (again) and try to incorporate his suggestions into my maintainance plan. I like the idea of feeding my body REALLY pure, healthy foods as well as having a fit physique! Thanks for posting this sugar question. It has given lots to think about!

Cindy - YAAAAAY!!! It was Lesley who inspired me to cut out sugar in my coffee/tea. Going gradually was the best way for me! I am still not used to the taste of my coffee, but it really isn't unpleasant, just different. I'm having my oatmeal with a mashed half of a banana right now and it tastes SO SWEET. The coffee offers a nice bitter contrast. I think it took me four weeks of cutting back and one day I just decided I was using so little sugar that I could finally just cut it out. I haven't had to buy a bag of sugar since then, and I am pretty sure I was buying a 5 pound bag every two or three weeks before that! I was eating ALLLLLL that sugar! DH hasn't cut his out, but has cut back a teenie bit. He doesn't know what I have in store for him though, ha ha ha ha! Good luck! You can do it!!!!