Hi Friends!
As a Registered Dietitian, I get asked for diet and nutrition advice quite frequently. When people ask me how to improve their diet, reducing their sugar intake is almost always at the top of my list.
I think that slowly but surely, people are starting to realize that sugar, especially added sugar, can be linked to a lot of the healthy problems people are struggling with today. More and more frequently I’m hearing about about people making an effort to reduce their sugar intake by quitting cold turkey. They’re doing Whole 30, juice cleanses and other sugar-free challenges.
While that approach may work for some people (more power to you!), I know there are lots of people out there who would struggle with a challenge like that – myself included!
Recently, my friend Amanda over at Run to the Finish, reached out to ask my thoughts about ways to reduce your sugar intake without using a sugar-free challenge.
Here’s what I told her:
7 Tips to Reduce Your Sugar Intake
1) Start by cutting back.
In my experience, for many people, completely eliminating something only serves to make you want it more. When I started really watching my sugar intake after I graduated from college, I did it in small steps. So what does that mean? If you’re eating two sugary snacks a day, cut back to one. If you put three packets of sugar in your coffee each morning, cut back to two, then one. If you like juice, start mixing in sparkling water and reducing the amount of juice. As your tastebuds adjust to lower amounts of sugar, you’ll probably find that if you return to your original eating habits, things will taste overly sweet!
2) Find the hidden culprits.
Sugar is hidden in so many foods. It often replaces fat in low-fat/fat-free foods and you’ll find it in things that can really be made from just a few ingredients like nut butters, breads and salad dressings. For example, there are many brands of peanut butter that are made with added sugar, when in reality all you really need to make peanut butter is one ingredient- peanuts.
{Fruit Pizza w/ Oatmeal Flax Crust}
3) Eat real, whole foods.
If you have a sweet tooth, try satisfying your cravings with sweet foods like fruit. When you do eat packaged foods, check the ingredient list and know the various names for sugar so you can spot it in the foods you’re eating. Remember that low fat/fat-free often means high sugar.
…To read the rest of my tips, check out my guest post over at Run to the Finish!
Let’s chat:
Have you tried to reduce your sugar intake? What worked for you?
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Enjoy!
–Lindsay–
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I quit a lot of sugary foods when I went vegan. I don’t really bake, so I generally just skip sugary non-vegan treats. Though I will splurge on a vegan goodie every once in a while 🙂
a good splurge is always worth it!
I love the advice of eating real, whole foods. I think that is much the answer for everyone. And a super sweet piece of pineapple is an excellent cure for a sweet tooth.
yesss pineapple for the win!
It’s great advice to tell people to eat real foods. However, it really is important to understand labels so you can see where the culprits can lie. Good info!
I’m glad I went on a reader’s paleo challenge because my sugar intake was crazy- Think eating reeses bars for breakfast (with eggs.. ;))
haha you crazy man!
Eating Paleo really taught me I can live without sugar and I fell a thousand times better too. It’s still hard because like you said its hidden in so many foods and it never is enough.
glad to hear it!
I think one of the most important factors is cutting back slowly. If you realize that it won’t happen overnight, you will be in a far better spot. I think it’s also important to realize that whole and simple foods are the best option and often times already have far less sugar.
My struggle is a sweet tooth, so what sugar I eliminate by eating healthy, whole foods and few startchy carbs . . . . is “balanced” by M&Ms and chocolate chips
same. can’t give up those chocolate chips 🙂
Oh weird I wrote the same thing! It was all about educating myself on what sugar does to your body that helped me!
that can def be so helpful!
I think starting by cutting back is HUGE! It’s very hard to go “cold turkey” on sugar but if you can slowly start eliminating it, you’re usually better off.
I also love a good lemon water when I’m craving something sweet and feel like it’s more out of stress than actually WANTING it.
And for those times when I do need a little sweet fix, I’ll do a pitted date with a little nut butter in the middle and it’s SO yummy and just helps that sugar craving!
ahhh dates and nut butter- the perfect treat!
I did the 21 day fix and cut out added sugar but drank Shakeology, and it totally killed my sugar cravings! Which is weird because I have the biggest sweet tooth! But now that I rarely eat added sugar I just don’t want it anymore
awesome to hear!
I always “yell” 😉 at my parents and boyfriend when they buy peanut butter with anything other than peanuts and salt in it. I swear, I will convert them one of these days 😉
haha keep working on it! i just got my hubby to switch to 100% pure maple syrup from log cabin. win!
Major YES to that!! There is nothing better than pure maple syrup. The fake stuff doesn’t even taste good to me anymore!
Sugar sneaks in to everything. You have to read those labels! 🙂
Eating real food and avoiding packaged I think is the answer. That includes all the artificial stuff that just makes us reach for more sweets. Great post 🙂
agreed!!
I feel like sugar is the little devil that sits on my shoulder! I think it’s my biggest struggle, diet wise, for sure! Thanks for these tips! I think also if you have a buddy cutting back with you, it can help with your accountability!
yes! accountability can be key!
Great tips! Obviously focusing on reducing is way more reasonable than jumping to going cold turkey.
Thank you for these tips! I didn’t realize low-fat foods sometimes replace things with sugar… now I know to watch out.
definitely take a look! it’s eye-opening what you’ll find!
Such a great post!! Cutting sugar is definitely one of my go-to answers when people ask me how they can improve their diet. No need for super restrictive diets — just gradual, small changes like you said!
Thanks for the tips! I know when I was really watching my sugar intake I was surprised at how many things had sugar in them. I went to buy soup and saw that it was loaded with sugar! I have been pretty good lately, but now that I learned how to make chocolate chip mug cookies I think I may have a problem.
haha yeah those can be trouble!
Very nice to meet you and all good tips
I know I probably consume more sugar than I think. The best thing for me is to eat more whole foods, which has me craving less sugar. Great tips, and thanks for addressing this!
yes! whole foods for the win!
Great advice Lindsay! So many people have tried the all or nothing approach before they come to me and find that it backfires after a few days or weeks and all they want is sugar, sugar and more sugar! With all the “X days without sugar” blogs and “cut out sugar completely” diets out there, it’s nice to see some sound advice from a professional that’s translatable to real life.
thanks Megan! i’ve definitely seen those plans backfire as well!
I found that just putting a small amount in my coffee has probably decreased my sugar intake by at least a teaspoon every day, and probably more like 2. Might not be much in the big picture everyday, but it does add up! And I’ve found that I like the coffee less sweet, I was just putting a lot in because of my (and most people’s) heavy addiction to sweets.
it definitely ads up! great job!
Wow these are great tips! I always tell my clients READ YOUR LABELS, they never realize how much sugar is hiding in lets say KETCHUP! its insane! Thanks for sharing xo C
yes! so crazy where it’s hiding!
Great tips Lindsay! I think finding the hidden sources is so important. It’s amazing when you start looking at labels of foods you eat all the time and realize they have sugar in them. It will be so nice when they update the nutrition labels to tease out added sugars.
i agree! can’t wait!
Great post, Lindsay! Definitely an important topic. Sugar is a tough one that I still struggle with.
Love how you promote eating whole foods !