If you want to increase your energy, slow down the aging process, lose weight, and improve your skin, join us in participating in our Sugar Free June Challenge.
Let’s get off that sugar roller-coaster. Let your body heal and take baby steps to becoming Fit & Happy! For the month of June, we are challenging our friends to cut back on added sugar, become more aware of where sugar hides, and learn to make small changes in your diets to improve your health and increase your energy to live a more fulfilled life.
1. Stay Sugar Free for at least 5 out of 7 days a week in the month of June! Added sugar is what we are focusing on this month… not the sugar you find in fruits or other naturally occurring sugar, however, there are a couple rules on eating fruits we’d like you to consider this month.
Where sugar hides and how to find it: Most of the time products will say High Fructose Corn Syrup but sometimes it is hidden as an ingredient behind a name you don’t know how to pronounce.
- All processed foods.
- Sweetened beverages
- Most Low Fat or Fat Free Yogurts
- Cooking/ baking
- BBQ sauce, Ketchup
- Sweetened coffee/tea
- Dried fruit
- Energy drinks
- Fruit juice: Juiced fruit is left without fiber and is mostly sugar. One serving of fruit juice can have 25-45 grams of sugar.
Sugar Free June Challenge Rules on eating fruit:
- Only whole fruit; not juiced
- Smoothies are okay because you are keeping the fiber and getting the whole fruit. But only only in moderation and small amounts.
- Stick to 1-2 servings of whole fruit per day (or less). The sugar content of fruit adds up fast. Fruit and vegetables are not created equal. Fruit are high in sugar and vegetables are not.
Why sugar is BAD for you:
- Empty calories
- Promotes the aging process
- Suppresses the immune system
- Promotes excessive inflammation
- Suppresses the release of HGH (Human Growth Hormone)
- Causes tooth decay
- Your body stores sugar as fat
- Too much sugar causes insulin resistance- insulin is produced as a response to sugar in the blood stream. The more sugar, the more insulin. The more insulin in your system, the more you become insulin resistant.
- Cancer cells feed on sugar and cutting out sugar will potentially help in the prevention of some cancers.
- Osteoporosis
- PLUS, Sugar can possibly cause cardiovascular disease, dementia, renal failure, high blood pressure, obesity, and diabetes.
Types of sugar:
- White sugar (Sucrose) found in plants such as sugar cane and sugar beet and is made up of glucose and fructose.
- Fructose: comes from fruits , cane sugar, and honey
- Glucose: a by product of photosynthesis, found in plants. Glucose is in honey, fruits, and vegetables.
- Lactose : Found in milk
- Maltose : Found in barley
- Brown sugar: Sucrose with molasses still present
- Evaporated cane sugar: Sugar cane juice is pressed from sucrose and boiled at high temps and then crystalized through evaporation.
- High fructose corn syrup: studies have proved this causes big waist lines and significantly more weight gain than those who use table sugar!
- Agave syrup: fructose and glucose. Don’t be fooled by the labels, agave it processed sugar and is not healthy for you.
- Brown rice syrup (Malt syrup): Maltose and glucose
- Honey: fructose and glucose
- Sugar alcohols (Maltitol, Mannitol, Sorbitol, and Xylitol) ferments in intestines causing bloating and gas.
Artificial Sweeteners:
- Saccharin (sweet n low)
- Aspartame (Equal)
- Sucralose (Splenda)
How to kick sugar:
- Sugar is the food equivalent to a powerful drug! Don’t respond to your impulse of craving sugar, think about some other way to replace that happy and excited feeling! For example: do some high intensity exercises for 5-10 minutes.
- Stay as far away from sugar as possible! Walk past the fitness studio instead of the donut shop!
- Have a support system/partner to go sugar-free with you.
- For a quick safe occasional fix, choose berries or 85% cocao dark chocolate if a craving is not controllable.
Share our Sugar Free Challenge with your friends and family via email and social media. We have challenges every month, get them involved! We want to help as many people as we can to get Fit & Happy.
How about doing a 5 Minute Workout?
(Videos are only displayed by viewing the article on our site…On a smartphone? You might need to click the video twice)
Disclaimer: Please check with your doctor and have it cleared before beginning any new exercise or diet program. I am not a doctor or registered dietician, my blog is opinion based and I do not claim to diagnose, treat, or cure any cause, condition or disease. All information provided is for informational purposes only; it is not medical advice and has not been approved by the FTC or FDA. Please always communicate with your doctor to make any decisions or changes regarding your health, as your doctor is the only one who knows what is right for you.
(Videos are only displayed by viewing the article on our site…On a smartphone? You might need to click the video twice)
Disclaimer: The statements in this article are opinion based on publicly available research on the noted topic. Please check with your doctor and have it cleared before beginning any new exercise or diet program. We are not doctors or registered dieticians, our blog is opinion based and we do not claim to diagnose, treat, or cure any cause, condition or disease. All information provided is for informational purposes only; it is not medical advice and has not been approved by the FTC or FDA. Please always communicate with your doctor to make any decisions or changes regarding your health, as your doctor is the only one who knows what is right for you.