Want to Drop Some Pounds? Try Cutting Back on the Sugar!

I saw something posted on Facebook that made me think how much sugar we consume on a daily basis, and you may not be aware that you're putting this much into your body each day.

A bottle of Ketchup was posted on Facebook with another empty ketchup bottle filled with the amount of sugar that's in the ketchup. According to the picture the sugar was almost at the halfway point of the bottle. The reason I say this is sometimes we don't realize how much sugar we consume on an everyday basis. (Btw...the average American eats 71 pounds of ketchup each year)

According to heart.org:

American adults consume an average of 77 grams of sugar per day, more than 3 times the recommended amount for women. This adds up to around 60 pounds of added sugar annually – that’s six, 10-pound bowling balls, folks!

Take moment and think about that for a minute. That's in a year's time...60 pounds of sugar! You wonder why you feel sluggish and your clothes don't fit? I'd say that is the biggest culprit!

The American Heart Association’s recommendations for sugar intake varies for men and women. For men, it should be nine teaspoons of sugar each day. (36 grams) For women, the amount is a little less. According to the American Heart Association (AHA) the total daily consumption of added sugar should be no more than six teaspoons. (25 grams)  Now, not to burst your sweets bubble, but remember a teaspoon is the smallest and teaspoon is the largest.

The AHA goes on to say, "Consider that one 12-ounce can of soda contains 8 teaspoons (32 grams) of added sugar!  There goes your whole day’s allotment in one slurp."

So whether it's ketchup, a soda, fruit juice, a mixed drink, beer or that nutrition bar, you may want to start paying a little more attention to the grams of sugar and consequently, you may start fitting into those jeans you have hidden away in the top of the closet!