What Happens When You Cut Sugar Out Of Your Diet

How much sugar does an American adult consume per day?

An adult in the United States consumes on average 80-120 grams of sugar per day. Keep in mind the recommended daily amount is no more than 30g of sugar. To get a better sense of the situation, let’s look at the bigger picture: 80g per day makes it 560g per week, 2,240g per month, and around 29 kilograms or 63 lbs per year.

Products you wouldn’t think contain sugar but do

After looking at the numbers, you might be thinking: ”there’s no way I eat this much sugar”. Well, let’s take a look at some of the most commonly used products you probably didn’t know contain sugar:

1. Salad Dressing
2. Dairy-free Milk
3. Whole Grain Bagels
4. Store Bought Marinara Sauce
5. Low Fat Yogurt
6. Store Bought Smoothies

But, not all sugar is bad!

We can’t go as far as to say sugar is healthy, but when talking about naturally found sugars in whole foods, they come with minerals, vitamins, protein, and fiber. So, next time you find yourself craving a dessert, consider having a delicious fruit bowl instead.

Is going cold turkey the best way?

The reality is that cutting all sugar out of your diet is nearly impossible. You have to understand that majority of processed foods contain some form of sugar. The best way to change your eating habits is to be mindful of the foods you eat. For example, tossing the table sugar and not adding any extra to things like coffee, tea, cereal, pancakes, sauces, etc. can be a great start. 

We’re sure you’re tired of hearing this, but water really is the best drink you can have! Instead of filling your fridge with different kinds of soda, make yourself a yummy lemonade or a homemade iced tea (without sugar of course).

When it comes to cooking, stay away from canned sauces or frozen fast food, and keep an eye on the food labels when shopping.

Withdrawal symptoms

Eating sugar for a longer period of time alters your brain into becoming tolerant to it, causing your brain asking for more to get the same effect. In other words, sugar is very addicting.

As with overcoming any other kind of addiction, withdrawal symptoms are inevitable. The severity though will be different for everyone. The biggest factor is of course the amount of sugar a person was consuming prior to the diet.

You will likely come across two different kinds of symptoms – mental and physical.

Mental symptoms:

• Feeling depressed
• Feeling anxious
• Troubles falling asleep
• Cravings

Physical symptoms:

• Fatigue
• Headaches
• Nausea
• Dizziness

Benefits of breaking up with sugar

Now that we survived withdrawal symptoms, let’s focus on the positive impact a sugar-free diet will have on you. If your goal is to lose a few extra pounds before the bikini season, you are in luck – just cutting the sugar out of your diet will make the number on your scale go down really fast.

Losing weight is just one of the many perks:

• Slower aging
• You’ll be less likely to catch a cold or a flu bug
• Less inflammation
• Energy boost
• Improved ability to focus
• Healthier teeth
• You’ll feel happier

Have you ever considered cutting sugar out of your diet? Let us know in the comments down below.