Prize: The winner will receive a featured blog post and premiere Sidebar button ad space for one month from each of the participating blogs!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Last year I went on The Belly Fat Cure and learned a ton of helpful information about sugar addiction, and how much sugar we are feeding ourselves on a regular basis. As I read the book, I was struck at how I have tried to keep my kids from too much sugar, yet was unknowingly setting them up to be addicted to sugar as adults (like I am). For instance, our typical morning breakfast looked something like:

1 cup of milk or juice
1 small bowl of cereal
1/2 banana
pancakes with a tiny amt. of syrup
scrambled eggs

Doesn’t look too bad, right? Breakfast has always been the biggest meal in our house, and we thought this type of breakfast looked healthy. But upon learning how many sugar grams were in each item, this is what I found:

1 cup of milk or juice – (milk: 14 g of sugar/ juice: 28 g of sugar)
1 small bowl of cereal (14 g of sugar)
1/2 banana (7 g of sugar / 14 in a whole one)
pancakes with a tiny amt. of syrup (30 g of sugar)
scrambled eggs (0 g of sugar)
Total = 65-80 grams of sugar!

The Belly Fat Cure seeks to reduce our sugar consumption and recommends only 15 grams of sugar for an entire day. Jorge Cruise also teaches that our body processes sugar the same way, no matter the source (natural sugar, milk sugar, or processed sugar). All of it raises our insulin levels and makes us crave more.

Sparkpeople.com also has a chart that lists what the American Heart Association recommends should be our maximum sugar intake. For a 1200 calorie diet, they recommend no more than 21 grams a day. Our children are likely consuming 1200 calories a day or less, yet we are feeding them upwards of 100-200 grams of sugar a day from snacks like gummies, trail mix, fruit juice, ice cream, soda, etc. Even seemingly healthy snacks are loaded with sugar, like yogurt, raisins, and peanut butter & jelly sandwiches.

This has led me to hunt for lower sugar cereals, since my kids love cereal and we eat it every day. At Costco recently I found this Fiber Plus Cereal from Kelloggs that tastes just like Cinnamon Cheerios, at only 7 grams of sugar per serving vs. 10 grams for Honey Nut Cheerios. The standard “kids” cereal ranges anywhere from 9-15 grams of sugar per serving, and many kids have more than one serving.

My food choices for my kids have radically changed since learning all of this information. I now look at the sugar content of everything I put into their mouths. They are allowed to have juice or treats at birthday parties, of course, but on a regular basis I no longer keep any sugary items in the house. I don’t look down on others who feed their kids those things, because I used to be one of them. In fact, I think many moms would choose differently if they just had more information.

Here are some more healthy, low sugar snacks I have found:

Old Choice

New Choice
Yoplait Trix Yogurt for Kids – 14 g.

Simply Go-gurt, cut in half – 5 g.
Raisins, 1 small box – 25 g.

Apple Crisps (from Costco) – 6 g.
Capri Sun (wild cherry) – 28 g.

Honest Kids Berry Good Lemonade – 10 g.
Trail Mix (varies)- 10-30 g.

Trader Joe’s Trek Mix – 7 g.
Nutrigrain Bar – 12 g.

Homemade Nutrigrain Bar (see recipe here)
Chocolate Chip Granola Bar – 13 g.

Nature Valley Granola Thins- 6 g.

WebMD has an excellent article on “Foods Surprisingly High in Sugar” that everyone should read.
Among them: pudding cups with 20 grams of sugar, diced pears in light syrup with 17 grams of sugar, instant oatmeal, 14 grams of sugar, etc…

I believe if we make a few changes, we’ll not only start seeing healthier kids, but kids with less mood swings from sugar consumption. How many meltdowns could have been avoided if we had just not fed them 60 grams of sugar for breakfast? Their little bodies just can’t handle that. Even if we don’t see any big behavior changes, it is likely just that our kids have gotten used to the high sugar content, and they might already be addicted to sugar. These are just a few things I have found that I hope will be helpful to you, too.

What other low-sugar snacks do you recommend?

Well, that was nearly 3 years ago now and I’ve hit a few speed bumps since then including two injuries and a few illnesses along with a recent relapse of depression and anxiety. I few years back I wrote about giving up on my perfectionist tendencies. I was concerned that my “slip” in my fitness focus would make me less credible. But, now I am proud to be out of the closet with my fitness failures, sharing them with my readers in addition to my successes.

Besides, PERFECT SUCKS! Don’t strive for it. It does not exist. I was doing a Jillian Michaels workout today and she said it herself. It really rang true with me. She also said something like “Trasformation is not an end result. It is something you do with your actions each and every day.” This is so true. While I agree that setting a goals are good, don’t see it as an ending “transformation.” Work toward transforming yourself each and every day in different ways.

THIS is the new me. THIS is what I am aiming for. I am not striving to be perfect, but to better myself, even if just a little, each and every day. We’ll keep working together to be stronger, more fit, flexible, health and happy. I’m here for you and so many of you are here for me as well. On with the journey! SCREW PERFECT! It’s a myth, a legend of air-brushed models. We are REAL people and real people work hard, fail, succeed and help one another. Let’s do this!

2 Tbsp. olive oil
2-1/2 cups chopped onion
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 butternut squash, peeled, seeded, and cut into 1-inch pieces
5-1/2 cups vegetable broth
1 tsp. crushed red pepper
3 tsp. chopped fresh thyme
Salt and pepper (to taste)

Heat oil in large pot over medium-high heat. Add onions and sauté until tender, about 10 minutes. Add garlic and sauté, stirring, for about 1 more minute. Add squash, broth, and red pepper and bring mixture to a boil. Reduce heat to medium, cover, and simmer until squash is soft, about 45 minutes. Cool slightly.

Once it’s cooled, puree soup in batches in a blender until smooth. Return pureed squash mixture to pot. Add 1 teaspoon of thyme and stir. If desired, thin soup with more broth, then simmer 5 more minutes. Season with salt and pepper. Ladle soup into 6 bowls, sprinkle with remaining thyme, and enjoy!

Preparation Time: 15 minutes

Cooking Time: 10 minutes
Nutritional Information (per serving)
Calories Protein Fiber Carbs Fat Total Saturated Fat
147 5 grams 4 grams 23 grams 5 grams 1 gram

Fast forward about 10 years. I moved across the country and considered joining the local YMCA. This is after I was actually in pretty great shape. But, I felt like a piece of meat in that environment and I did notice the stares and snickers toward people who were overweight. I never went back.

Luckily, I have found another gym that has been extremely helpful as I’ve struggled coming back from an injury and more weight gain than I’ve had in many years. It is for women only of all shapes and sizes and everyone is so welcoming and encouraging of one another. I wish that all women (and men) could belong to a gym like this. Everyone needs to feel like they are part of supportive community no matter what size they are.

As someone who struggles with depression and anxiety, this is the one area where I KNOW most trainers and health club professionals are clueless. So many people who are overweight have emotional issues to deal with. Trainers need to get to know clients as people and not just as numbers on the scale and a measuring tape. I have worked with clients of all shapes and sizes. We work on creating small successes and never try to jump into too many changes at once. I had one client who could barely walk up and down a flight of stairs when we first met. Weeks later, she could walk up and down 5 times and we celebrated that success.

I don’t have all the answers. Stereotypes in society SUCK, but health club owners and trainers can do a lot to help create an atmosphere where they work that is welcoming for all. Spend some true time getting to know clients as people. All gyms should have a quiet “chat” room for this type of thing.

Well, that’s all I have time for this week, but I am really excited to be part of this initiative. I could not agree more that we can work together to create a better FIT for all.

This post is part of a Blogging Carnival. If you would like to create your own post, or check out others, link up HERE! If you join in or have some ideas, use the hashtag #CREATINGABETTERFIT to share your ideas on Twitter too.

This is serving double duty as My Mamavation Monday post too. For info on Mamavation Monday, go HERE.