051 Sugar is so sneaky, and a lot of times we’re consuming WAY more than we think. Added sugars are in a bunch of things you might have overlooked - from pasta sauce to our favorite drinks.
I’ve been wanting to take a break from added sugars, because my cravings have gotten out of control. Also, my energy is not as even as I would like. Sometimes I get that afternoon lull. And I wanted to share some information to get you started in case you had been wanting to work on your sugar intake too.
In this episode you will learn:
More info <<HERE>>
051 Sugar is so sneaky, and a lot of times we’re consuming WAY more than we think. Added sugars are in a bunch of things you might have overlooked - from pasta sauce to our favorite drinks.
I’ve been wanting to take a break from added sugars, because my cravings have gotten out of control. Also, my energy is not as even as I would like. Sometimes I get that afternoon lull. And I wanted to share some information to get you started in case you had been wanting to work on your sugar intake too.
In this episode you will learn:
More info <<HERE>>
I have something shocking to share with you. You might even consider it a little scandalous. Did you know that there are 50 grams of sugar in my beloved Starbucks pumpkin spice latte in the ground a size, and the American Heart Association says that women should eat no more than 25 grams of added sugar a day. So according to my math, whenever I drink that Starbucks pumpkin spice latte, I am getting twice, twice the amount of the recommended added sugar. And that's not even including all the sneaky ways that added sugar is getting into my body. So in today's episode, we are going to dive into added sugar, where it's coming from a horrible list of things that it's doing to us and what you can do about it. Hello, and welcome to the healthy, happy and mostly sane entrepreneur podcast. I'm your host national board certified health and wellness coach and Ayurvedic practitioner and mostly sane entrepreneur Ellen Leonard. Each week, I share my obsession with helping you build a healthy life that works for you, your family, and your business. Because I don't think you have to sacrifice your own health and well being to be successful. So please stay tuned. For today's episode full of ideas to make staying healthy just a little bit easier. Don't forget to hit subscribe, so you don't miss out on future episodes. So I'm hoping that you stuck with me after hearing that scandalous news about the Starbucks pumpkin spice latte. But I'm guessing if you've ever had it, then you already suspected the truth, the truth about the sugar in it. Sugar is so freaking sneaky added sugar in particular. And it's possible that during 2020 and then the holidays that I ate some of my feelings. Sometimes my feelings were nachos, and sometimes my feelings were chocolate. What are your favorite sugary treats? My sister in law makes the most amazing chocolate chip cookies. And we actually have to hide them when they come into the house because otherwise I will sit down and I will eat the entire bag. What about you. But I have definitely been noticing some of the negative effects that this added sugar has had on my life. And we'll get into what I mean by added sugar here in a few minutes. But I've been wanting to take a break from added sugars because my cravings have gotten out of control. Like I think about sugary things more often than I did before I ate so many of them. And my energy is not as even as I would like I noticed when I eat more added sugars when I have more of them in my diet, that I get that afternoon law and I'm not as energetic first thing in the morning, I'm more sluggish. I even depending on when I eat, I have trouble sleeping or staying asleep. Added sugars really, really can impact your life in ways that maybe you haven't noticed or really can attribute it to them before. And I wanted to share some information with you to get you started. In case you've been thinking about sugar and how much of it you're eating and where it's coming from and what you might do to take action. So in today's episode, we're going to talk about what added sugars are exactly why you care about sugar, why and how it might be impacting you, or how it might impact you if you have a little too much of it. How much sugar were actually supposed to have. I'll try not to cry while sharing that. And then four ways to reduce the added sugars in your life today. So let's get started. So want to be clear about what we're talking about. When we talk about added sugars. I really wanted to make that clear to you because I'm not talking about natural sugars like fruit, and that's what I'm going to use as my primary example. Apples have sugar in them. But that's naturally aplly sugar that just happens to be in apples. They're naturally sweet. They have natural sugar in it that would be considered natural sugar, not added sugar. added sugar would be when you take your apples and you make applesauce or apple pie and you add all that sugar in there. And so that's the most simple example I could think of I mean you could also take say, black coffee and then add it Sugar to your black coffee is another really good obvious examples. But added sugars are also in things that you've probably never really thought about, or maybe had forgotten that they were in there. pasta sauce is a great example. Because you know, when you're making your homemade pasta sauce, you know that you cut the acidity of the tomatoes, oftentimes by adding sugar that's literally added sugar. But it can be easy to forget about sugar that might be added into pasta sauce, you're purchasing either at the store or at a restaurant. And one of the sneakiest and most disappointing places that I found sugar to have here added sugars to appear, is in mixed drinks and cocktails. And so many of our other favorite drinks, like my beloved pumpkin spice latte from Starbucks, the added sugars that are put in there are really significant, you know that 50 grams of sugar in the the Starbucks pumpkin spice latte is a huge amount of sugar. And so oftentimes, and things that you think are healthy, like orange juice, or kombucha, and they certainly are healthy, but they have added sugars in them. And so one of the most important things that we can do is to just start thinking about how added sugars are sneaking into our lives and into our diet. You know, it's not necessarily the obvious ways, like that bag of cookies that I mentioned earlier, or something that is so profoundly sweet. Like some of those drinks that we love so much from places like Starbucks, like those are sweet, we know that there's so much sugar in there, we know that. And so when we start thinking about where that sugar comes from, we can start to make choices. And this isn't an all or nothing thing I am about to get on you about how you should get rid of all the sugar in your life. And sugar is evil and whatever. I just wanted us to have a conversation so that we could be making more educated decisions about what we're letting into our life, right? Everything for health and wellness is a choice and you get to decide, for instance, no matter what I do about my sugar intake, if those cookies from my sister in law arrive in my mailbox, like they sometimes do through magic and, and wizardry, they just show up, I will 100% be eating those. But I will not be wasting the added sugars that I want to put into my life on something that's not worth it. unsay a lesser cookie, I'm not just going to waste it on something that I don't love as much. I'm making really purposeful and intentional choices with how I'm allowing this added sugar into my life. And that comes into play. When I cook as well. As many of you know, we cook so often in our home from scratch. Lots of the things that I make are from scratch, and I am so conscious about how much sugar I put in things. Oftentimes I cut it by at least a half. Sometimes I cut it by as much as two thirds. I've even tried to not add any sugar to several recipes, which which backfired because it turns out sugars there oftentimes for a reason. But I've chosen to sweeten things that we bake or cook with at home naturally. So what does that look like? So the apples that I mentioned earlier, I add apples, I add fruit I add dates and raisins to so many things to add a natural sweetness. And as your body and your taste buds get used to less sugar. We found at least in this house, that so many of the things that have added sugar are actually too sweet for us now. Well, not now as I'm when I'm recording this in the midst of the holiday season, my taste buds are ready for sugar. But before that, when we were definitely doing a better job of not eating as much added sugar. our taste buds were so sensitive to too much sugar and that really worked in our favor. Because at least for me, I craved less sugar, I was able to just walk past things that had sugar in them that before I might have just taken to get that little hit of sugar. But going back to how you can figure out what added sugars are in things and and cultivate that awareness. Most packages are now required to include a line on the nutrition label that clearly says added sugars. So you can just go to your refrigerator or your pantry and look it up. So if I had one action step for you to do from today's episode, it would just be to cultivate that awareness. Noticing where your added sugars Coming from reading labels a little bit more strictly or noticing, you know, the things that have become habits like adding sugar, maybe to a drink that you love, or the amount of sugar that you put into things that you bake. It's just something to check in on and to become more aware of. So why do you care about added sugars, I listed some of the ways that it impacts me. But I wanted to share why I think it's such an important topic for entrepreneurs. And mostly it's because so often we're working from home or working on our own. And it can be really stressful. And if one of your go to stress management strategies is eating hot headed sugar can sneak in through snacks, through what we graze on throughout the day being at home so much. And it can make us less productive, it can zap our energy. But here are some other exciting and annoying ways that sugar can impact our lives. So number one, it can lead to weight gain. That is reason enough for me to start being aware of it. Right, I work so hard to maintain and even try to lose weight through exercise and eating healthy. I would hate to undo it all with too much added sugar, it can also raise your risk of heart disease, it's linked to type two diabetes, it can cause acne, and speed up the rate at which my skin ages which I do not need help with that my skin is very obviously aging, I don't need to be adding sugar to help that along. It's also been linked to certain kinds of cancer, and it can speed up the aging process overall. There's just so many other things that can harm your liver is correlated with depression, it's not good for your teeth, it can affect your hunger hormones, and your cravings and on and on. So I'd like for you to take a moment, in addition to the list of terrifying things that I just listed, and think about how sugar might impact you how it has been impacting you. Maybe during the holidays, or during 2020 you ate more sugary treats than you might normal. And again, I am not down on sugary treats, I am all for them strategically. So for instance, I will not eat sugary treats after say like three or four o'clock because I know it will impact my sleep. And on days when I really want to get stuff done. I try not to eat as much sugar because I know that if I were to have say a bunch of syrup on my pancakes in the morning, then I will have that law of energy in the afternoon it will decrease my productivity and as entrepreneurs as business women, I don't think that we can afford to have something like this working against us and so many of the things that we want. But if you want to learn more, I've included a bunch of links to the science behind all the potential negative impacts of sugar in the show notes so you can check those out. So there are lots of terrifying numbers to share about sugar. And there's so many different recommendations about what how much sugar We should eat every day. But they tend to recommend between five to 10% of your total account of your total calorie intake. So for women, that means that we are not supposed to be eating more than 25 grams of added sugar a day. But in one article listed This is be ready to be traumatized that the average American consumes about 70 grams of sugar a day. And that translates this is this is awful in 257 pounds of sugar per year per person who took the time to do the math on that I feel like they really are trying to get us to become aware of our sugar intake. But if I'm only supposed to be eating 25 grams of sugar a day and I'm actually getting 70 grams. I feel like that's something I should definitely be aware of now Australians and Canadians you're doing a little bit better Australians average 60 grams a day. Oh wait, Canadians 85 grams a day. So we are doing Americans are doing a little bit better than Canadians but Australians are doing much better than both of us. But that's a lot of sugar. And it sneaks into a lot of our processed foods like I said before, so some places to look for it. A can of cola can contain 39 grams of sugar. An unsweetened apple juice can contain 24 grams of sugar and just one cup. A small sweetened coffee from Dunkin Donuts has 17 grams have sugar, and a lightly sweetened tall iced coffee from Starbucks has 15 grand. Again, I've got a bunch of links so that you can check that out on your own. But I just wanted to share with you some of the ways that it might be sneaking in some of the, the significant ways that added sugar might be coming into your life, when there's so many better ways that we could get it into our body. When I think about it. So often, I want to be very specific about how I allow that sugar to come into my body and into my life, so that I am enjoying it. Because sugar is awesome in so many ways. And I don't want to waste that on things that I don't enjoy. And that's part of the reason that I always come back to either like reducing or eliminating added sugars a couple times a year just to check in. Because I want to make sure that the ways that I'm letting sugar into my life are ways that I really love and value so that it's purposeful, it's intentional, and I'm not going without, I'm not getting rid of it all together. Because I don't know why that feels a little bit crazy. Unless I really had to medically, I feel like sugar will always be a part of my life. Because it just tastes good. I don't know that I could do without chocolate. So if you're wondering some ways to start reducing the added sugar in your life, today, I've got four things that can help you start working on that immediately. Number one, read those food labels. It is so sneaky sugar is so sneaky, and it doesn't take long for it to find its way into your diet. So maybe just check out some of the labels of foods that you and your family regularly consume. Or if you have something that you always get out of that run restaurant or that drink that you love, just check in on it and talk to yourself. Is it worth it because it might be and that is totally fine because sometimes it is just worth it. But other times you might be like I had no idea there was that much sugar in that I don't even like that much. And you might be able to make a different choice. That's number two. experiment with new foods and recipes to keep your taste buds happy. Yes are sure our taste buds prefer sugar and sweet and salty. But there's so many other foods and tastes out there for our taste buds to explore and you can start, you know, allowing your tongue to experience different treats. Number three, watch for the triggers. What are the things that you do? Or that happen in your life? And then immediately you're like, Oh my gosh, I need a cookie. Like what are those things. So for some people a really big one is eating a high sodium meal like something that has a bunch of salts in it. And then it can really make you crave something to balance that out with something sweet and it can make you crave that that sugary dessert. And then number four avoid that all or nothing mindset. It's okay if you occasionally enjoy a sugary treats because they are awesome if you decide to indulge, indulge, don't beat yourself up, enjoy every single bite. And then consider whether or not it's worth it right. So not allowing sugar in just for because you're craving it or because you're used to it or because it's a habit really being purposeful about it and using using that food to indulge because sugar is awesome. And because I think this is such a valuable topic, I'd like to invite you to my five day sugar detox challenge for busy entrepreneurs. It's a free five day program that will help you reduce added sugars from your diet, you'll get step by step action plan and coaching from me that will accelerate your results. There's a link in the bio and it starts soon, so be sure to sign up you'll be amazed at the difference. Getting rid of added sugars can make to your mood, your energy and even your waistline. And if you're inspired by today's episode, this could definitely be your next step. Although I certainly invite you to go back to those four steps that I just listed starting with cultivating that awareness. Where are added sugars coming into your life. You know reading those nutritional labels and just noticing and noticing how it's affecting your life and what you would like to be different. Thank you so much for listening today. I really value your time and hope that you found today's episode valuable. As always, the show notes have all the links that I mentioned including the link to the free five A sugar detox challenge for busy entrepreneurs. If you want more details, you can head on over to the show notes at www dot Ellen leonard.com backslash podcast. And don't forget to hit subscribe so you don't miss out on future episodes full of actionable tips to help you do what you love without sacrificing your health or losing your mind. Thank you so much for listening. I wish you a healthy, happy and mostly sane week. I'll see you next time.