The 14-Day No Sugar Diet(14)
Lowfat Yogurt
Low-fat yogurts are exceptionally high in sugar. Brands use it in excess to distract you from the lack of fat. You might expect fruit-filled yogurt to be high in sugar—like Strawberry flavored Yoplait and Dannon’s Fruit on the Bottom Blueberry, which contain 26 grams and 24 grams respectively—but “healthy” yogurts are, too. Surprisingly Stonyfield Organic Smooth & Creamy Low Fat Vanilla contains 29 grams of sugar, and All Natural Non-Fat Brown Cow Vanilla has 25 grams. Activia Blueberry Probiotic is not far behind at 19 grams. Yoplait Thick and Creamy Key Lime Yogurt contains 28 grams of sugar, as much as 4 Chips Ahoy! Chewy cookies. Opt for plain Greek yogurt and add your own berries.
Maple Syrup
You know that maple syrup is packed with sugar, but who’d have thought that going organic could be even worse than the gross, fake kind. (We’re looking at you, Mrs. Butterworth!) Madhava Organic Maple Agave Pancake Syrup delivers 30 grams of sugar in just two tablespoons. The only upside? The flavor of organic syrups is stronger and more concentrated than the high-fructose-made syrups, so you don’t need to use as much.
Margarita Frozen Cocktail
While whipping up a frozen margarita at home isn’t quite as bad as getting it from a bar (400 calories vs. 700), it’s still the worst cocktail for your waistline. Made with a sugar-spiked neon mix and tequila, the summer staple will overload your system with more sugar than you’d find in nine Dunkin’ Donuts Apple n’ Spice Donuts! Other frozen beverages aren’t much better. The average strawberry daiquiri, for example, has about 280 calories and 44 grams of sugar per serving. Not to mention, it’s also 99 percent high fructose corn syrup. Switch to a glass of sparkling wine with muddled strawberries and lemon slices to get your fruity fix for a fraction of the waist-widening sugar grams and calories.
Muffins
Just one commercially prepared blueberry muffin has as many carbs as not one, not two, but five slices of bread! It’s also a fat-and calorie-mine, carrying over 520 calories and a third of the day’s fat in one pastry. And eating half now and “saving the rest for later” is nearly impossible; foods rich in carbs, fat and sugar are downright addicting. A University of Montreal study found that mice who had been fed diets with high levels of those very nutrients displayed withdrawal symptoms and were more sensitive to stressful situations after they were put on a healthier diet. Don’t think you can fix the problem by ordering a “bran muffin.” The minimal fiber inside is no match for the sugar crush. One Dunkin’ Donuts Honey Bran Muffin contains 39 grams of sugar per serving, on par with a donut.
Pie
You knew this holiday-time staple was indulgent, but thanks to all the added sugar and fruit-filled centers, a slice of the dessert manages to serve up more carbs than a bowl of pasta.
Pizza
If you can’t live without pizza, well, you’re not trying very hard. But, really, if you enjoy pizza, at least top your slice with lots of vegetables to boost the fiber profile. At 36 grams of carbohydrate, each slice is like eating a bowl of penne pasta.
Quinoa
Packed with the hunger-busting combo of eight grams of protein and six grams of fiber in just one cooked cup, quinoa is good stuff. Just keep an eye on your portion sizes. A cup contains nearly 40 grams of carbohydrates. Instead of thinking of quinoa as the “main attraction” on your plate, consider it more of a topping. Sprinkle it on top of salads, add it to your omelets or use it in lieu of a sugar-filled granola in Greek yogurt parfaits.
Raisins
This sweet and chewy oatmeal topper carries 34 grams of carbs—just slightly more than a cup of penne—in one tiny single-serve box. Unlike dried fruit, fresh fruit contains water, so it makes for a far more filling snack.
Fat-Free Salad Dressing
Products that boast the claims “low-fat” or “fat free” are usually code for “high in sugar.” When manufacturers take the fat out of food, they make up for the lost flavor with extra salt and sugar, usually about 12 grams of the latter per serving. The fats in salad dressings like Newman’s Own are usually the heart-healthy monounsaturated fats found in olive oils, and there’s no need to take these out. Try Newman’s Own Balsamic Vinaigrette. It tastes sweet but only contains 3 grams of carbs and 1 gram of sugar per 2 tablespoon serving.
White Bread
Packaged white bread can have 4 grams of sugar per slice. That means you’d be eating 8 grams of sugar per sandwich—more sugar than a pack of jelly beans. To make things worse, it is often sweetened with high fructose corn syrup, one of the most flat-belly-threatening forms of sugar on the market. If you typically go with wraps because you think they’re healthier than bread, you’ve got things all wrong. Wraps can have about the same number of carbs as two slices of white bread. What’s more, to keep the big tortilla flexible, manufacturers often add soybean oil and hydrogenated oils. Go with Ezekiel’s sugar-free, sprouted grain loaf. The millet, spelt, lentils and cholesterol-lowering barley lend a natural sweetness and help boost the loaf’s fiber, a nutrient that wards off hunger while keeping the nutrient profile sound. Plus, sprouting grains break down enzyme inhibitors, which helps your body better digest and absorb healthy nutrients from the bread.
Smoothies
Bottled fruit smoothies seem healthful, but if you do a little nutrition facts investigation, you’ll see that they are almost as calorie, carb and sugar heavy as a milkshake. The no-sugar-added bottled varieties by Naked, for example, pack anywhere from 44 to 55 grams of carbs per bottle. Make your own smoothies with protein powder. Check out the recipes in chapter 8.