Sugar Slayer Challenge - Week 2

Welcome to week two of the Sugar Slayer challenge! If you've made it through week one, congratulations! This week, we delve deeper into the practice of reducing and eliminating added sugar from your diet. Remember, the goal is to enhance your health by cutting out unnecessary sugars.

Week 1 Recap

Why Are We Cutting Down on Sugar?

Simply put, added sugars offer no nutritional value and can have detrimental effects on your health in the long run. They're also highly addictive!

How Much Sugar is Too Much?

Ideally, the goal is to consume ZERO added sugars. However, the American Heart Association recommends a maximum of 35 grams per day for males and 25 grams for females. Remember, even "natural" and "zero-calorie" sweeteners count towards your sugar intake, as it's the sweetness that's addictive!

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Week 2 - Reduce and Eliminate!

This week, we’re diving into the actual work of the challenge.  We will focus on any foods we identified in Week 1 that we want to reduce or eliminate completely from our diets.

I have some tips and mindset shifts to (hopefully) help you in this task!

Practical Tips to Reduce Your Sugar Intake

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Reduce the Frequency

Reducing the frequency with which an item shows up in our diet is one way to reduce our total intake of that food.  This can mean eating that food at fewer sittings throughout the day, or can mean that you see that food only once or twice per week instead of daily.  Both ways will reduce our intake!

Example: If you're in the habit of munching on candy throughout the day, try limiting yourself to having candy only after lunch or just 2-3 times a week.

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Reduce the Quantity

Another way to reduce a food is by simply eating less of that food when you do eat it.  Measuring is crucial for this step, at least while you’re getting started.

Example: Love ice cream? Instead of your usual ~1/2 cup, measure out 1/4 cup and enjoy it. Smaller quantity, but same flavor and experience.

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‍Dilute

Finallly, you can reduce how much of a sweetened food you eat by simply diluting it with unsweetened components.  Think of this like “watering down” the food.  This method works really well for foods you eventually want to eliminate, because you can dilute more and more each week until eventually you’re only consuming the non-sweetened version.

Example: If you use a lot of salad dressing, try diluting it. Mix half of your bottle of dressing with oil and vinegar to cut down on sugar while still enjoying the same quantity of dressing on your salad.

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Mindset Shifts for Emotional Eating

Sometimes, giving up or even reducing a food can be difficult, due to our connection to that food.  This could be a favorite snack, or even something mundane like your coffee creamer.  Here are a couple ways to shift your mindset around these stubborn foods that you crave and have a hard time with:

• Make it Less Important: Give yourself a reality check. Remind yourself that these foods don't help you achieve your health goals; they're just cravings.  This is a good method if you’re a “mind-over-matter” type of person, as it relies on your willpower to win out over your cravings.
• Make it More Important: This mindset shift may be more realistic, and I truly believe it has a larger impact on your overall health.  The gist is: treat yourself, but mindfully. For example, enjoy your (reduced amount of) ice cream in a fancy dish with a small spoon. Savor each bite slowly, appreciating the treat for what it is.  When you’ve finished, you’ll have spent some time being present and appreciating the treat, allowing you to decide you’ve had enough and move on.

Choose the mindset shift that suits you best, and apply it to your journey.

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Your Week 2 Assignment

Now that we know some helpful tactics, it’s time to dive in!

This week, track your food for at least three days. Choose 1-3 foods from your "reduce" or "eliminate" list from last week and apply the techniques discussed here to lower your sugar intake.

Remember, small, consistent steps lead to big changes. Keep up the great work, and let's slay that sugar monster together!

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