Sweet Talk – Cheat Meal!

You may say, “Wow! Cori, that’s a lot of sugar! Isn’t that too much sugar?” The easy answer is, yes. It is too much sugar.

To stay true to my goal, I currently need to slow down my metabolism. I hit my goal. Now I need to stop losing body fat. I need to actually maybe even gain a tiny bit of it back. I need “too much sugar.” I also need too much protein, too much fat and too many calories in this meal.

Here’s the surprising bit of knowledge I want you take away from this. It is easy to look at this scrumptious picture of delicious yumminess and to instantly know it is loaded with sugar. It has a staggering 77 grams of sugar in just this one little dessert. That’s a huge amount of sugar! You’re right! That is too much sugar!

You probably hardly ever consume that much sugar all at once, right? Maybe just once in a blue moon. Hardly ever. Almost never. Maybe just on your birthday.

Wait, are you sure?

When we look at something that we emotionally deem “scrumptious,” it’s easy to see it’s loaded with yummy sugar goodness. Because we know it’s full of sugar, it becomes logical to forego it when we have a goal to be healthy and fit. We acknowledge it’s sugar content immediately. We don’t have to even look at the nutrition label. We know.

When we look at something that we emotionally deem “natural” or “healthy” it becomes much harder to look beyond that emotional response to the actual sugar content. It’s much harder to acknowledge that something “healthy” could also be full of sugar. It’s a hard concept for us to understand, let alone admit to ourselves.

Sweet Surprises

Here are some examples of snacks that also have around 80 grams of sugar.

A banana and a glass of organic apple juice with no added sugars.

Wait, I had a banana in my dessert! So does that mean I just said a glass of organic apple juice with no added sugars has the same amount of sugar as 3 scoops of coconut ice cream, 3 strawberries, and a penguino? Yes. That’s exactly what I’m saying.

How big of a glass? Anywhere from 16 to 20 oz., would equal it. How much is that? To put it into terms we all understand:

• 16 oz. = a Starbucks grande
• 20 oz. = a Starbucks venti

A typical personal/individual size bottle of juice is usually around 16 oz. A “serving” on the nutrition label is usually listed as 8 oz. You don’t have to believe me. Look at the nutrition label and add it up.

Well, a protein smoothie with no added sugar must be different, right? Nope. This one has 58 grams of sugar in this one little bottle. No wonder why there’s “no sugar added.” It has to be sweet enough already with almost 60 grams of sugar in it.

Think maybe a different kind of juice that’s not from concentrate would be different? You might be right. A different kind of juice that is not from concentrate may be a little different, but it would still add up to to about 65 grams of sugar for just a little bottle of juice and a banana. That’s the same as if I had 2 scoops of ice cream on my banana split instead of 3.

Sweet Talking Packages

Notice the tricky little marketing blurbs geared towards people who are trying to honestly make healthy choices, but simply may not know what to look for.

This is where I want you, team BPM, to be different from the average consumer. I want you to understand how to look beyond the packaging. Look beyond the marketing. I want you to learn to look inside to the content of the nutrition you put into your body.

“All natural” or “100% juice.” Sounds wholesome. It’s a better choice than soda, for sure. But are those the only 2 choices you have? Soda or juice? No, of course not. There are supermarkets with aisles and aisles of choices. Look for another choice if you are trying to lose body fat.

“No sugar added.” Sounds good! The thing is, there is no sugar added because it’s already loaded with sugar. I think if they added more sugar it would be apple or orange syrup instead of juice, right?

“Organic.” That’s great! But does it really make the sugar content any different? If you have your heart set on an apple or an orange, how about eating the actual organic fruit so at least the sugar is off set by the fiber within the fruit itself. There are other choices out there though. Like vegetables. Complex cards without a bunch of fructose, like oatmeal, potatoes, sweet potatoes. Lean protein in all of it’s wonderful forms. Just saying.

“30 grams of protein per bottle.” That’s wonderful! If only it didn’t have 58 grams of sugar too. It only has half as much protein as it has sugar. Would you buy it if it said that on on the front? “Double the sugar! Half the protein!” No, of course not. The thing is, that is what the bottle says. You just have to turn it around and read it.

Even Sweeter Surprises

Here’s another example of a snack that has even more sugar than what was in my banana split.

Wait, a tiny little Lara Bar and an iced tea? Yes. This has more sugar than my banana split.

Look how tricky this one is. The iced tea says it has only 210 calories per bottle. Sounds good, right? All 210 calories come from pure sugar. A regular iced tea with a little lemon would be fine. Not one with 55 grams of sugar added to it.

The tiny little Lara Bar has 23 grams of sugar in it. So sad. Lara Bars are delicious and wholesome with only a few natural ingredients. Why do they have to be sweeter than two Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups?

At this point now we should all know juice is going to be high in sugar, but this one even surprised me:

This one bottle of Snapple has 92 grams of sugar. One bottle. Yes, it’s a big bottle, but it’s easily drinkable by one hot, thirsty person in a matter of minutes.

The marketing on the bottle looks so wholesome and natural, doesn’t it?

“Naturally flavored.”

Only “100 calories per 8 fl. oz. serving.”

“Made from the best stuff on earth.” I guess that would be sugar. I agree, sugar is pretty darn good. It just might not be good for your particular goal.

The last example I’m giving is my personal favorite. Dried fruit. I still yearn for it. 16 pieces of dried fruit. Any dried fruit would just about do it. Apricots, dates, figs, prunes. It’s such a tiny little bit of food compared to my ginormous banana split, isn’t it? It makes me cry a little.

Being Aware and Just a Little Skeptical

Here’s the thing. I’m not saying fruit, fruit juice, health bars, or protein drinks are bad. I’m just saying I want you to open your eyes and be completely aware of what you are choosing. We can easily be swayed by marketing, or what’s on the outside. I want you look for what’s on the inside.

Ladies, I want you to look at that packaging like it’s a very muscular, tan, fit man with perfectly white, straight teeth and perfectly combed hair. His shoes match his ensemble. His watch is shiny couture. He has dimples. His eyes are a perfect sparkling blue. He smiles at you. He complements your purse and your shoes. He asks for your number. Aren’t you curious? Don’t you want to know what’s really on the inside? Don’t you want to turn him around and look at his ingredients?

Men, I want you to look at that packaging like it’s a gorgeous, tall, fit woman with buxom, pin up style breasts, long legs, a mini skirt, low cut shirt and stiletto heels. She’s wearing bright red lip stick on her perfectly shaped lips. She’s looking at the current score of a hockey/baseball/football game on her phone when she looks up at you and smiles. She tells you the score. She’s a fan of your favorite team. She complements your car. She’s wondering if you might be able to loan her some money because her car broke down. Aren’t you a little skeptical of this woman? Don’t you want to know what she’s really all about? Don’t you wish it was so easy that you could just turn her around and read what was really going on?

I want you to be a healthy skeptic. Not a conspiracy theorist, not an extremist. Just aware, with a touch of healthy skepticism.

It’s not a guessing game. You have the power to choose. You have the power to know what you are choosing. You simply have to look past what shows on the outside. You have to turn the package over. That’s it.

xoxo ~ Cori