Hey McKinley!!

SUGAR!!  For this Healthy Habits Challenge we will be focusing on reducing everyone’s sugar intake.  As it stands today the average adult consumes 22tsp of sugar daily and the average child consumes 32tsp of sugar DAILY!  One tsp of sugar equals about 5g which means the average adult consumes 110g.  There are obvious reasons why we need to avoid refined sugar like obesity, but it has also been linked to heart disease, metabolic syndrome, cancer and several other diseases.  Other than the taste (which unfortunately the more you eat it the more you want it and THINK you NEED it) nothing good ever comes from refined sugar.

The American Heart Association recommends consuming NO MORE than 9tsp or 45g of sugar daily for men and 6tsp or 30g of sugar daily for women.  I know these numbers may seem impossible to stay under considering there is sugar in almost everything we eat but it is possible.  For the last 6 months I have consistently stayed under 40g of sugar give or take some.  I do have a cheat day where I will consume more sugar than usual but not too much because I end up paying for it the next day with a kickin’ headache and an overall sluggish feeling.  That feeling tends to be motivation enough for me to avoid sugar.  The types of sugars they are recommending we avoid are refined sugars:
~ doughnuts, cakes, cookies, pastries, ice cream
~ white bread
~ soda, energy drinks, sports drinks, specialty coffees
~ the list goes on but you get the idea

The acceptable sugars are those that come from:
~ fresh and frozen fruit or fruit purees
~ fresh or frozen veggies
~ fruit juice (not from concentrate)
~ honey
~ agave nectar

Some of you may be thinking “No problem, I’ll just stick to “diet” food and drinks”.  Well, you could do that but beware of the artificial sweeteners because some will do more harm than you think.  Over a year ago I posted a video about diet pop and weight gain, watch it again to refresh your memory:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hpoAtwVyzZI

Sweeten your food with honey, agave nectar, stevia or truvia.

For this challenge I would like you to keep track of ALL sugar grams you consume, fruit and veggies included.  To earn 1 point you will need to keep your daily sugar intake below 60g.  To earn 2 points you will need to keep your daily sugar intake below 40g.  Later this week I will email a list of foods and drinks with their sugar content so you will have some point of reference.  Start rounding up your team today and designate 1 person to keep track of your points.  The winning team will receive a gift card to their choice of restaurant for a victory lunch (McDonald’s is NOT an option!)  The challenge will start on Monday May, 13th 2013 and end on Monday June, 10th 2013.  Good luck to you all and email me with any questions.  Have an AWESOME afternoon!!

Yours in Health and Wellness,

Meredith Mitchell