You don’t need to fully restrict sugar.
Tis the season for sweets! From Halloween to Christmas, these next many months can be overwhelming for anyone trying to steer clear of sugar. The key is to find balance!
Studio 5 Health Contributor Miki Eberhardt shared ways to treat yourself kindly, without judgment, while still making healthy choices.
By Miki Eberhardt
A challenge by roommates my sophomore year in college to restrict sugar for the semester shaped my approach to sugar. My relationship with sugar prior to this challenge was what I would describe as normal. Not too much, not too little. Here and there. By telling myself I could no longer have any sugar, not surprisingly, I became obsessed with all things sugar. I would take the detour through the bookstore to look at the fudge and chocolate covered cinnamon bears. I would walk down the candy aisle when I did my grocery shopping. I didn’t last more than two weeks and guess what happened after my sad effort to try to not eat any the whole semester? My overall consumption went up. I’ve learned a lot about sugar itself over the years, but also about food behaviors and how those behaviors can best set us up for success.
So, how do I approach sugar now for me and my kids now that I’ve been a dietitian for over 20 years? I give myself permission while also honoring the stewardship and caretaking role I have over this one body I’ve been given.
Often with sugar or other food habits, we might focus on what we must avoid (and I recognize there may be things medically we have to avoid). But how much different the view becomes when we think about what can we include in order to better care for ourselves. What does this look like? Instead of typically focusing on what to take out and restrict, let’s go through five ways I create a healthy approach to sugar.
Eat frequently, eat enough, and eat a variety
One of the most effective ways to cure the sugar dragon is to not skip meals, not under eat, and not cut out food groups–specifically carbs. All of these will cause your body to crave instant energy–sugar! It makes it really hard to just enjoy one cookie when you are overly hungry.
Balance out your meals & snacks
Protein, fat, carbs, and fiber. It’s easier for a small treat to stay small when meals and snacks are balanced with proper nutrition.
Give yourself permission
When external rules, people, plans, or programs control our choices, we tend to push back. So, instead of looking for control, just look to be in charge of your own stewardship. You can see that pleasure and fun are a part of the above pyramid for creating healthy habits and behaviors around eating.
Did you know our guidelines give us the wiggle room of about 180-200 calories from something sweet? About 50 grams of sugar. If you have heart issues, the American Heart Association is a bit more strict, aiming for about 100 calories or about 25 grams of sugar per day. Here are the sugar amounts in a few treats:
- 16g in a Reeses Pumpkin
- 18g in 20 of my favorite Wiley Wallaby Licorice Beans
- 10g in a chocolate chip cookie
- 39g in a regular soda
Choose wisely
If you don’t love it, leave it. This is so much easier to do if you are doing tips 1-3. Here’s an example: On Monday, my son came out to the car after his 7am piano lesson with a homemade chocolate chip cookie on a plate from his piano teacher. I take him right to school from the lesson. He had already had a smoothie and waffle that I made him before his lesson. So, he left the cookie in the car and said he didn’t want it. A cookie didn’t sound good so early in the morning and he mostly just likes his mom’s chocolate chip cookies. He didn’t love it, so he left it. But how would this scenario have changed if he hadn’t had breakfast? Or, if we restricted all sugar in our home? He might’ve secretly eaten it before he ever made it to the car. Giving permission allows everyone the freedom to decide what is really worth it.
Make the memories
Holidays. Vacations. Traditions. Celebrations. “Eat the damn cake,” as written by a woman on her deathbed who spent WAY too much of her young 40 years counting, stressing, pining over everything she ate–as she was dying of breast cancer so young, that was one of her greatest regrets.
Find more nutrition advice from Miki on Instagram, @nutritionbymiki.
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