Let’s talk about sugar. We all love it. Some (many?) of us are addicted to it. I eat too much of it. It’s in everything. It can quickly get out of hand.

I’ve been taking part in a research study about sugar consumption that involves tracking added sugar. So I dusted off my penny system and made some improvements.

The biggest change in my system was looking at sugar over a week instead of one day. I give myself $1.75 to spend on sugar, or 25g per day the recommended maximum of added sugar for women. I’ll add “someone who identifies as a woman.” It’s 36 grams for men or someone who identifies as a man. I think you need to take your size into account here–remember these are guidelines.

I have been tracking since July 1 and I have consistently underspent my sugar allowance by 10-20 grams per week. It was a shock all over again to remind myself of the added sugar in foods. I have become accustomed to eating half or a third of certain things, like a cookie or a protein bar. I have rediscovered dates as a sweet treat. I have been working on reducing sugar in coffee creamer.

My current method is to mix my favorite plant-based creamer with unsweetened plant-based milk, 50/50. Next, I plan to try blending my own with stevia and flavored extracts inspired by this post by TJ’s Taste. Stay tuned!

Sing it with me:

More singing…

And a little more singing…

Header photo by Sharon McCutcheon on Unsplash