Are you struggling with cutting down on the sweet stuff? We are all aware that sugar isn’t the best thing for us and we should all cut back. But kicking a sugar habit can be really challenging.
The sweet stuff
Ok, let’s be real here, sugar tastes delicious! We love the stuff, from cakes to ice cream, fizzy drinks, sweets and the more we eat it the more we want! 
There is a reason why we want more and that’s to do with our brain. When you eat sugar, your body starts rapidly producing serotonin and dopamine. These are the happy hormones that make you feel good and sometimes they can make us feel more energetic. We get easily hooked on the sweet stuff precisely because of this feeling that it gives us. There is nothing quite like that first bite of chocolate!
How sugar in our diet affects us?
Now here is the bad stuff. Eating too much sugar can contribute to people having too many calories, which can lead to weight gain. Being overweight increases your risk of health problems such as heart disease, some cancers, and type 2 diabetes. Have you ever eaten too much sugar? Sometimes it’s called a sugar crash, you feel grumpy, tired and quite often you end up with a headache. Too much sugar at one time can leave people feeling really unwell. This is because the body digests processed sugary food really quickly. Unfortunately, it’s all those delicious sweet things that we love.
Tips to cut down your sugar intake
For a healthy, balanced diet, cut down on food and drinks containing free sugars. Free sugars are found in foods such as sweets, cakes, biscuits, chocolate, and some fizzy drinks and juice drinks. Adults really should have no more than 30g of free sugars a day, (roughly equivalent to 7 sugar cubes).
Some simple ways of cutting back
- Stop adding sugar to your tea and coffee
- Replace sugary cereals with wholegrain cereals
- Choose tins of fruit in juice rather than syrup
- Swap sugary squash for the no-sugar-added kind
Sugars also occur naturally in foods such as fruit, vegetables, and milk, but we don’t need to cut down on these types of foods as they are part of a healthy balanced diet. Naturally occurring sugars, as in fruit, don’t have the same negative effects because they’re paired with fiber, which helps slow absorption.
The Diabetes UK website has more tips to help you cut back on your daily intake
Exercise
It’s never too late to start reaping the benefits of exercise. Not only can it make you feel great and energised! It’s one of the best ways to lower and control your blood sugar levels. If you’re worried about starting check with your doctor first. Find something you’ll enjoy doing and stick to it. Walking, dancing, yoga, tennis, badminton, local fitness classes. Google ‘I want to start exercising’ and see what pops up in your community. FLexercise brings communities together and it’s a great way to make friends and exercise at the same time.
If you’re interested in a fitness career and want to bring something special to your community call our Training Manager now on 01513421765