• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar

Amy Hoogervorst

Integrative Health and Wellness Coach

  • HOME
  • ABOUT
  • BLOG
    • NUTRITION
    • MOVEMENT, EXERCISE AND REST
    • MIND-BODY CONNECTION
    • FAITH AND SPIRITUALITY
    • PHYSICAL ENVIRONMENT
    • RELATIONSHIPS AND COMMUNICATION
    • PERSONAL AND PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT
  • COACHING
  • RESOURCES
    • Videos
    • SHOP
    • CONTACT

Oct 24, 2017
NUTRITION

Survive the Sugar Season

survive sugar season with some strategies

We’re entering the Sugar Season.

It begins at Halloween, continues through Thanksgiving, Hanukkah and Christmas, and might not end until perhaps Valentines Day.

Candy. Pies. Cakes. Cookies.

Sugar, in all its forms.

What’s a wanna-be healthy eater to do?

Make a plan.

What’s Wrong with Sugar?

Americans are eating and drinking too much added sugar, which is sugar or syrup added to foods or beverages when they are processed or prepared.

This can lead to health problems such as weight gain and obesity, type 2 diabetes, and heart disease.

Sugar also contributes to inflammation in the body. And uncontrolled or chronic inflammation plays a role in nearly every major disease, including cancer, Alzheimer’s, and depression.

Added sugars, which most often are refined sugars, go by many names on ingredient labels. Raw sugar, brown sugar, corn syrup, and high fructose corn syrup head the list. Plus, there’s corn sweetener, dextrose, fructose, glucose, honey, lactose, malt syrup, maltose, molasses, and sucrose.

The 2015-2020 Dietary Guidelines for Americans says that we should keep our intake of added sugars to less than 10% of our total daily calories. So with a 2,000 daily calorie diet (if we want to keep our weight consistent), no more than 200 calories should come from added sugars. Read labels, and you’ll find that it adds up quickly.

The leading sources of added sugars in the U.S. diet are sugar-sweetened beverages, grain-based desserts like cakes and cookies, candy, and dairy desserts like ice cream.

Sugars also occur naturally in milk and fruit, but our bodies process fruit sugars differently than refined sugars.

Strategies to Avoid Sugar

With the holidays approaching, some planning and pro-active thinking can help keep you from getting off track with your healthy eating patterns.

  • Don’t go to the party hungry. Eat veggie sticks or lean meats before going to the event, so you’ll head off some temptation.
  • Drink water instead of sodas, fruit juices and alcohol. Or, match them 1:1. For every soda, juice, or alcoholic beverage you have at a party or holiday dinner, drink a large glass of water too.
  • Create healthy-eating support systems for yourself, perhaps by limiting the number of high-calorie, sweet and carb-dense recipes you see online and in magazines.
  • Reduce or eliminate processed foods, and read all labels to see where the sugar is hiding.
  • Tempted anyway? See if you can distract yourself for 5 minutes with a different activity, to see if the urge for that sweet something passes.

What have you found that works for you? It’s your turn. Comment below with your best idea for reducing your sugar intake overall, or avoiding it during the holidays.

Welcome! I’m Amy, an integrative health coach, offering grace and space for a healthier you. This article is Step 24 in the “31 Steps to a Healthier You” series. You can access all posts in the series here.  And I hope you’ll want to stick around for a while. If so, please subscribe at this link so you’ll get updates.

31 steps to a healthier you

Tweet
Share
Pin
0 Shares

Don’t Miss out

Join our newsletter to get all the latest!

Previous Post: « How to Reduce Stress and Anxiety
Next Post: For Better Health, Chase Your Dreams »

Reader Interactions

Primary Sidebar

MEET AMY

Hi! I'm Amy Hoogervorst, a National Board Certified Health and Wellness Coach, integrative health coach, and creative entrepreneur offering grace and space for a healthier you. Read More…

Latest on the Blog

women benefit from regular weight training , at least two times per week. free weights, body weights and more all count

When I started going to a gym regularly and lifting weights, I remember thinking: I don’t want to bulk up. I simply want to be a little bit stronger. Would I bulk up, like the Incredible Hulk? What benefits would weight training, or resistance training, give me? Why should I do this? And how did this […]

Let’s Connect

  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • LinkedIn
  • Pinterest
  • Twitter

Latest on Instagram

This error message is only visible to WordPress admins

Error: No connected account.

Please go to the Instagram Feed settings page to connect an account.

Tags

accountability anxiety best self books challenge choices coaching dreams exercise faith faith and sweat fitness friends goals habits health health coaching healthy eating healthy food healthy lifestyle holidays inflammation memories mindful mindfulness mindset perseverance personal growth PhotoOrganize Me photos recipes resources rest self-care sleep social media stewardship stories stress sugar summer travel wellness what i learned Youngevity
  • PHYSICAL ENVIRONMENT
  • FAITH AND SPIRITUALITY
  • MIND-BODY CONNECTION
  • MOVEMENT, EXERCISE AND REST
  • NUTRITION
  • PERSONAL AND PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT
  • RELATIONSHIPS AND COMMUNICATION
  • SELF CARE
© 2019 Amy Hoogervorst - All Rights Reserved

This website uses cookies to provide you with the best browsing experience.

Find out more or adjust your settings.

Amy Hoogervorst
Powered by GDPR plugin
Privacy Overview

This website uses cookies so that we can provide you with the best user experience possible. Cookie information is stored in your browser and performs functions such as recognising you when you return to our website and helping our team to understand which sections of the website you find most interesting and useful.

Strictly Necessary Cookies

Strictly Necessary Cookie should be enabled at all times so that we can save your preferences for cookie settings.

If you disable this cookie, we will not be able to save your preferences. This means that every time you visit this website you will need to enable or disable cookies again.