Sugar Consumption

Source.

In a recent WW meeting, we talked about the recommended daily amount of sugar (this was also included in the weekly pamphlets).  According to the American Heart Association, the recommended daily amount of sugar intake for women is 6 teaspoons.  However, from 2001 to 2004, the average daily intake for Americans was 22 teaspoons! 

I have an enormous sweet tooth.  I figured that the 22 tsp estimate was very close to my day to day consumption of sugar.  So, after reading the pamphlet (last night while on the elliptical - I'm a little behind on them!), I decided that today I would monitor my sugar intake, just to see how it goes. So far today (at the time of writing this post, it's just after 2 PM), I've already had almost 3.6 teaspoons of sugar.  It's probably slightly higher than that because there was one dish where I couldn't calculate the total sugar, since it was a recipe I made. 

Here's some assistance in calculating teaspoons of sugar from the given units of "grams" on the nutrition label.  

1 tsp of white sugar = 4 grams.  

I've had 40.1 grams of total sugar today.  40.1 g / 4 grams per tsp = 3.6 tsp

I found this to be rather interesting.  Plus, this calculation also helped me realize that I will be forgoing the Cherry Coke "break" I have mid-afternoon from now on.  This is what I've had so far today:

• Eggs (0.1 g)
• Sausage (1 g)
• Toast (4 g)
• Jelly (6 g)
• 1/2 Pizza Potatoes serving (recipe - no clue on the sugar content)
• Chick Fil A Nuggets (1 g)
• Chick Fil A Fries (0 g)
• 1 c. Cherry Coke (28 g)

As a side note, I'm not happy with myself that I've eaten Chick Fil A two days in a row.  I had good intentions of eating my lunch today, but it didn't taste good, and I no longer waste calories on food that tastes just mediocre or all together crappy.

So, while tracking sugar intake specifically is not apart of WW (yes, total carbs are, but sugar is a piece of that), it did really help me gain a new perspective on my eating habits.  In other words, that Cherry Coke is not worth the calories/Points+/sugar! 

If you follow WW, do you track any of elements of your food besides just the Points+?  What do you think of these stats from the AHA?  Is this surprising to you?  Do you think you exceed the daily recommendation for your gender?

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Posted by: Tukiyooo Sugar Consumption Updated at : 1:00 PM

Tuesday, November 15, 2011