Do you know how much sugar you consume?

There are lots of day-to-day foods you will come across that may appear “healthy”, but are actually loaded with sugar. The foods will not aid fat loss due to the high calorie content and how they can impact the fat storing hormone - insulin.

Here are a few examples of foods that may be hampering your goals due to the sugar content:

Yogurt: This is a common choice for people as a healthy food option, however, a lot of yogurts - especially the flavoured yogurts - are loaded with sugar; some have even more sugar than ice cream! Check the sugar content, you’re best off going for a natural / plain yogurt, and if you want some flavour, you can add some fruit.

Cereals / cereal bars: Most cereals you see in the supermarkets will be high in sugar, even some of the innocent looking ‘oat pots’. If they have some form of flavouring you can bet there will be added sugar, this also goes for breakfast / granola bars.

Go for plain porridge oats, and if you go for something like muesli, grab the ‘no added sugar’ kind. Remember there are lots of other breakfast options available, like scrambled egg with some veggies, or a scrummy smoothie!

“Low fat” foods: You’ll see lots of these labelled products on the shelves, and although they are low fat, they’ve failed to highlight there is a high sugar content to make up for the lack of fat! So don’t be fooled, spend time looking at the label to make sure it isn’t full of sugar.

Go for natural ingredients with full fat content rather than these products labelled “low fat”. We need fat in the diet, but try to make sure the fat content is under 15g.

Ketchup & Salad dressings:

These are also common purchases, but generally condiments like this will have high sugar content. Of course, you don’t have litres of these products every day, but they all add up in terms of sugar and calories.

You could substitute ketchup for mustard. With dressings, you’ll be better off making your own; there are lots of ideas online for this. If you do purchase a dressing, go for something like vinaigrette due to lower sugar content.

Coffee drinks: A lot of the coffee drinks you buy on the move will have a really high sugar content, meaning high in calories too. If you add sugar to your coffee for your preferred taste then you’re consuming even more! Not only this but your blood sugars will raise, and what goes up must come down, so you’ll likely have a dip later in the day which could also lead to cravings.

Try to go for black coffee, it’s best to get your calories from food rather than drinks! This goes for fizzy drinks too.

Sandwiches: A lot of people go for a sandwich “meal deal” at lunch, as they are convenient and can appear to be a healthy choice. Most of these are high in sugar, they will also be fairly low in protein so won’t necessarily keep you full for long. Try and find 5 minutes in the morning to put a healthy sandwich together, or see if there is a healthier salad option available.

We hope this has been helpful, but if you need any further information on nutrition, you can get in touch with our expert personal trainers in Bristol by calling 0117 403 7600, or email info@efitbristol.co.uk

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