I live in the United States, and there seems to be sugar in literally everything here. Obviously not fresh vegetables or something- I’m speaking of anything that’s already pre packaged like bread or pasta sauce. I won’t even get started on the amount of sugar in fruit juice or any other pre made drink on the shelves. How do you avoid sugar in your diet as much as possible?
It’s a lot of reading labels and keeping a list of go-to brands for basics like tomato sauce, chicken broth/stock, bacon, etc. Anything labeled Whole30 approved will not have added sugar, so also look for that label. But yeah, basically read every label, even on things you don’t suspect and learn to make your own sausage. Some of my go to basics are:Imagine Organic Chicken Broth; Rao’s marinara sauce; Local butcher uncured bacon; Primal Kitchen Buffalo Sauce; Taste of Thai curry paste (red and yellow); andCalifornia Farms unsweetened almond milk
You have to become a label detective. Finding the alternatives are getting easier, but guess what, more expensive!! You can also learn to make a lot of things on your own. Find alternatives find alternatives! Join some groups and read some books and start learning. It’s quite extensive and may never learn it all but you can learn enough to end your sugar addiction if you have one and get healthier. I’ve quit sugar (I mean, very little now daily) about 5 years ago and over those 5 years I’ve lost 25 pounds. Definitely not fast, but it came off, without struggle. If you have sugar addiction, you start with ONE thing for two weeks then add another. For me, it was coffee creamer, ice cream and beer. I now drink black coffee with stevia, found good sugar free ice cream and quit drinking beer except on special occasion. Those are the 3 things I consciously gave up. Then I started looking at the labels, ketchup, spaghetti sauce, etc. I also do have some things with sugar as I can’t stand their alternative like pancake syrup. I eat regular syrup maybe once a year. When I have pancakes, I just HAVE IT! LOL! Good luck, very doable. Not a quick fix.
A delicious alternative to tortillas are those “egg crepes.” Essentially a very thin crepe made of egg. I use them to make bacon wraps but you can definitely use it to make some type of burrito or wrap.
Try buying loose leaf tea. I was never into tea my entire life but man I tried fresh loose leaf tea and wow it is delicious. The old tea in those tea bags aren’t fresh and the flavor is just different with loose leaf.
When I do want to treat myself with a drink, substitute to almond milk and stevia. The 250+ calorie 50g+ sugar drink becomes less than 50 calories and usually less than 5g of sugar.
You first start by removing sugary foods from your diet. Then hold on for dear life and try to survive the ride.
It’s a killer to do! One of the hardest things to stay away from, especially when you’ve trained your body to run on that sugar instead of it’s own fat.
It’s a little boring, but I stick to a few easy-to-cook staples: bone-in chicken thighs with skin, frozen tilapia or cod fillets, eggs, oatmeal, rice, broccoli, asparagus, frozen blueberries. This is most of my shopping list, lol. I’ve done this for about four months now and went from 252 lbs. to 208 lbs.
These can all be cooked in a microwave or just by tossing in an oven and baking for about 20-30 minutes. I’ll spray with olive oil and season. Rice can just be thrown into the rice cooker. I’ve halved my normal portion here.
For dessert, I replaced my usual ice cream with watermelon. It’s more filling and zero guilt.
> How do you avoid sugar in your diet as much as possible?
I don’t avoid sugar at all, I avoid free sugar. That’s why I eat fruit, I limit juices and I avoid syrups and soda. I avoid sweeteners too.
How do I avoid free sugar? The same way I avoid saturated fat, cholesterol and salt. I simply eat balanced and whole-food plant-based meals, so I don’t have any (free) sugar to limit.
Also, I just check the labels and look for different brands and options. I know what to look for.
If I buy tomato sauce, bread, soy milk, etc., I check whether it has free sugar or salt (ingredient list) and how much (nutrition facts label). Then I decide.
Remember that tomato sauce without added sugar still has some free sugar. Not a big deal.
Edit: Since some people are getting triggered because I mentioned saturated fat. I never said “fats are bad”. People assumed that but I never said that. I guess they try to paint me in a certain way so that I fit into their narrative.
Fats in whole plant foods are good or cause no harm when the food is eaten as a whole. A couple of them are essential.
Now that added sugars are listed, it’s not too hard. Just read the nutrition facts. Also keep in mind that the lowest target for sugar I’ve found is 25g per the WHO. You should be able to find bread and pasta sauce that doesn’t put you over that.
You can also make your own bread and use tomato paste or crushed tomatoes instead of pasta sauce. I like to make pizza with walmart crushed tomatos (some others are too watery), walmart minced garlic, nutritional yeast, and oregano. You can drink water, tea, or herbal tea instead of drinks with sugar. You can prepare 1 gallon of tea at once if you want, just drink it within 2-3 days.
Generally speaking, avoiding sugar means avoiding prepacked stuff as much as possible or else paying more. Some exceptions exist, which you find by reading the labels.
Get just the basics and make your own meals. Start simple. Like brown rice and green peas maybe some salmon?
Smoothies are okay because of fiber.
Juices you need to limit.
Not hard to make your own, Google it please.
If you’re craving something sweet fruits are your best bet.
Dump soda and sweet tea for watermelon and cantaloupe.
If you’re looking for easier, nutritious and delicious stir fry is strangely healthy even cooked in a little cooking oil. But you can do the same with non stick pans.
Not at all helpful but this is where being raised very bland paid off. I love water, I love whole foods and the most I’ll enjoy is some a good biscuit and I’m very picky about which ones. Has to be worth it.
Sugar activates the reward system in your brain, like a dopamine hit. Companies put added sugar in their products not to make things necessarily taste sweet, but to hit that reward system so that the consumer will want to come back and buy the product again
Basically making things from scratch more, for bread I get “Dave’s killer bread” or izzio sourdough. Great flavor and no science experiments, when I’m being good most of my diet consist of fruits and nuts, bananas with PLU code “94011” and essentially reading the ingredients table on every single product, it sucks but even most of the “health food” stores have sugar out the wazoo in their products. Basically Legally companies can lie to you on the front of a item but they can never lie about the ingredients on the back of the package which is why they are most always small and condensed. A lot of sacrifices and YouTubing “how to make-etc.” it’s difficult but can be done
You already identified some of the problem, the solution being to rely less on pre packaged food. In 1st, 2nd, and 4rd place all at once is eliminating sugary drinks. Water for thirst and tea for caffine/flavor is my go too, but remember: most juice is roughly as bad as soda in terms of sugar content. That said you could make your own juice but most juicers are kind of a pain tbh. I make my own smoothies in a magic bullet so i can control how much honey (or w.e. sweetener you want) in.
Lastly, bread. Bread turns I to sugar when it breaks down in your body, it’s a “better” sugar, like how the sugar in fruits is “better”. Basically it breaks down over a slower period of time which is good. Or at least less bad.
Read the labels (not just the Nutrition Facts, but all the ingredients)
I use a splash of rice wine vinegar in a lot of Asian sauces that call for sugar, since it has a subtle sweetness.
I season my meat with salt, pepper, and garlic powder for most dishes.
Salt, garlic powder, and fresh squeeze of lime is delicious on almost everything.
There isn’t really anything I feel like I’m missing out on
I went sugar free for three years. First let me say…. It is not easy or cheap. I made a lot of salads. I read a ton of labels. I used chic pea pasta. I made my own sauce or bought the expensive stuff. If I wanted something sweet I cooked with honey or sugar alternatives. I ate mostly expensive gluten free breads, they seem to have less sugar. I also ate a ton of real peanut butter. You really do get over it after a while. And I can say I was in the best shape of my life.
I don’t buy food or drinks that have added sugar whenever I can. I stopped eating breakfast cereal, too. I have a long way to go, though. Quitting my daily weed habit has helped me not over-eat in the evenings, too, especially sweets!
Besides what everyone else have already mentioned (label reading, going with whole foods and making things from scratch), be aware of anything that says “sugar free” or “no sugar”, many times they add other types of sugars with different names but low key behave the same as normal sugar, i e. Cane sugar, coconut sugar, agave, high fructose syrup. I personally also avoid anything with aspartame, sucralose, maltodextrin and similars. I’d go with things sweetened with pure stevia, monkfruit, allulose or erythritol instead.
The best way to control the nutrition that goes into your body is to not consume premade, prepackaged food. You are right, there is sugar in everything in the USA, as well as preservatives and fillers that are unhealthy.
I do r/keto about every other month … low carb the rest of the time. I rarely splurge on eating out.
Some people, with busy lives, find it easier to do a meal prep one day a week, preparing their meals for the rest of the week. I’m content with making my meals daily.
bread: make your own. With a bread maker, or just with your hands; you control the ingredients. You can substitute sugar free sweetener if you prefer the taste. You can substitute some of the flour with coconut flour for example to reduce carbs as well.
Pasta Sauce: Easy to make your own from fresh tomatoes. I air fry tomatoes 30 minutes at 300¯F, then blend and add spices and things like mushroom, green peppers, onion, meat, etc. Add water if needed and simmer for 20 minutes, boom you’ve got a healthier sauce.
It takes a bit more effort to eat less sugar. It is unfortunate that there are few options eating out that are low sugar, low carb, low preservatives.
It sounds like you already know the answer. Your best option will always be whole foods like Vegetables, Fruits, Nuts, and grains. BUT Since you want to exclude those the next best thing would be to look for pre-packaged things as you’re looking for with an ingredients list of only whole foods and nothing else. You will be pleasantly surprised how many things are out there like this when you start looking for them!
I give some suggestions of foods I love that meet those criteria in this blog post What Healthy Eating Is and that should give you an idea of what to look for. Hope this helps!
CompAre items on the shelf by reading the ingredients, it’s right on each package. Avoid high sugar items and focus on others. Be aware some non sugar or sugar free items are laced with sugar substitutes that can be much worse. It’s a process and education, but worth it. And of course limit all added white sugar or sweeteners to things like coffee.
I have been basing my food prep from foods listed on the glycemic index staying on the low and moderate sides. I have also been making my own pasta sauce by just cooking down tomatoes, onion, and garlic. Not adding any sugars. I’m on week 3, and have not been “starving” since. I feel full and happy after each meal.
I’ve been pretty good at reducing sugar in my foods. What I struggle with is drinks. Soda is just so easy to get and super addicting.
The best way I’ve been handling it is to slowly reduce sugar intake over time.
For example, Let’s say I have a Large chickfila coke every day. The next week/month I lower it to a medium, then small, then small with extra ice, and finally something that tastes sweet but has one of the healthier artificial sweeteners (like monk fruit or erythritol).
I’m currently drinking the sugar-free lemonade by Vitamin Water. I tried it back when I had soda everyday and it was nasty but once I reduced my sode intake it’s actually not bad.
Nowadays I’d have a small soda every other day so I’m not 100% off sugar but I’d recommend slow reductions rather than stopping cold turkey .
I also agree with all the comments saying cook yourself. For example, I know of this amazing keto fried chicken recipe that uses pork rinds, almond flour, etc.
Even if you are not anti-carb looking up keto recipes will help you a lot in finding tasty things to cook without the hidden sugars in other recipes that claim they are “sugar free”
Regarding bread specifically, many yeast breads have some kind of sugar added to feed the yeast and also sometimes extra for flavor. There are sourdough and other bread recipes that do not call for sugar. If you have time to bake your own bread, that lets you control the ingredients – plus yum!
I personally eat a vegetarian low carb/keto diet and usually average \~20g of sugar a day.