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Where Is The Sugar Hiding? 'The Truth About Low Fat Foods and How They Can Be Sabotaging Your Weight Loss Pursuit'

By Brian T. Rurak

There is no doubt that sugar is addicting. That is why more and more companies are trying to hide sugar in their food products, especially the low fat ones. They want you addicted so you continue to consume their foods.

Those low fat foods that you search for because they are "good for you" turn out to be something you should be going without. Low fat foods are just some items out there that are actually sabotaging your weight loss efforts even though they want you to believe their product will help you.

Why is sugar in there? Because the fat isn't! Fat is what gives food its flavor. If the food manufacturer removes fat from their product they must put something back in to replace the flavor. More than likely that ingredient is going to be sugar. And they do a great job trying to hide it from you by calling it all sorts of different names as you will see at the end of this report.

Now this doesn't go for just low fat foods but also foods like cereals that are touting the "WHOLE GRAIN" tag on the front of the box luring you into thinking this product is going to be heart healthy and good for you. Just because whole grain is on the box doesn't mean that it still has the whole grain in tact.

These types of cereals will more than likely have a significant amount of sugar because they too need flavor. This is where you need to start becoming an aware consumer and a label reader. Knowing the difference between whole grain, whole wheat, whole wheat flour, enriched whole wheat flour, etc is crucial to understanding what you will be eating and your success.

Both these types of foods plus other items, like condiments and dressings, will also slip extra sugar calories right past you. Here you are thinking you are eating healthy and before you know it, your weight loss pursuit is nothing more than a plateau or possibly weight gain which results in frustration once again.

Now maybe you are thinking the amount they are stating on the ingredient label doesn't appear to be that much. Well I agree, sometimes it doesn't, but so many food items have sugar in them by the time you add it all up you may have consumed an extra 20 teaspoons of sugar per day. That can easily happen every day!

The one thing you must look at also is serving size. A classic example would be cereal where there is maybe 9-12 grams of sugar in a serving. That is about 2 to 3 teaspoons of sugar per serving. But if you notice the serving size might only be a 1/2 cup, on some cereals, that is a lot per serving. Now I have to ask you, do you actually take a measuring cup out for yourself or your child and measure exactly one half cup?

If you are like me, you grab the box, dump it in the bowl and pour the unmeasured milk on top of it, which by the way has natural sugar in it as well as fat if you are using whole milk, and enjoy your bowl of cereal.

So now you could be getting somewhere between 15-20 grams or 4-5 teaspoons of extra sugar into your diet from the cereal and milk alone!!!!! And you have only started your day!!!

Now I could go into why breakfast is the most important part of the day but that would require another special report (keep and eye out for that one). But you and I both know that breakfast is the most important part of the day.

The goal for breakfast, as every other one of your 4-6 meals throughout the day, is to eat a nice supportive meal of lean protein, fibrous carbohydrates and starchy carbs along with some good fats which will break down slowly in your body and keep you satisfied until your next small meal.

If you aren't sure how you can do that because you feel that there just isn't enough time in the day, seek our professional help now by calling or contact us at http://www.t3fitness.com/contactus.html. We can help you win each daily battle so you eventually win the war.

Take a moment to think about this whether you eat breakfast regularly (as you should) or not. On the days you do eat breakfast, are you sometimes hungry in about an hour or so?

If you said yes, there could be two reasons. One, you didn't eat enough to get you to the next meal or two, it's because you ate some processed carbohydrate or something loaded with sugar, which breaks down very quickly and jacks up your blood sugar and insulin levels.

When this happens it basically opens the door for your body to store and hold onto fat that you are hoping to burn off. This can become a terrible cycle completely halting all your chances of reducing your body fat.

Food is basically like a drug when you consume it. It changes your body's chemistry which can be either good or bad. Sugar spikes insulin levels in your body. When insulin levels are elevated, your ability to burn fat is reduced dramatically. Your body WILL hold onto its extra fat for long term survival at rest or during exercise.

If you want to learn how to eat properly and 'Learn the Truth about How To BOOST Your METABOLISM', read one of my other special reports right here on the Fitness Expert Network.

Now hopefully you can clearly see that processed and sugar packed foods are the main culprits of shutting your fat burning ability down. These foods are also very addictive so you begin to crave them. That is when the food manufacturers have you hooked.

Now you are eating more of these low nutritional value foods that are jammed with extra empty calories which EQUALS more weight gain. And the whole time you are thinking "I am EATING HEALTHY"!!

Below is a list of sugars by their names and glycemic response. This should help you identify many of the hidden sugars food.

Become a label reader and be aware what is in your food. If you need help shopping sensibly at the grocery store check out our service of helping you shop smart at http://www.t3fitness.com/services.html

HIGH GLYCEMIC RESPONSE SUGARS:

sucrose, glucose, dextrose, evaporated cane juice, galactose, maltodextrin, corn syrup, dextrin, beet sugar, raw sugar, brown sugar, white sugar, concentrated fruit juice, syrup, sorghum, honey, maple syrup, rapadura and high fructose corn syrup.

LOW GLYCEMIC RESPONSE SWEETENERS:

fructose, stevia, acesulfame potassium sweetener, saccharine and aspartame (in NutraSweet and Equal, but not in sodas). This list in no way endorses the use of these sweeteners.

A quick note: FRUCTOSE vs. HIGH FRUCTOSE CORN SYRUP. Fructose is not the same as high fructose corn syrup. The former is pure fructose with a low glycemic index, whereas high fructose corn syrup is a mixture of 50% fructose and 50% glucose. The glycemic response of high fructose corn syrup is high - about the same as sucrose.

About the Author:

Brian Rurak holds a Masters Degree in Exercise Science and a Bachelors Degree in Physical Education and Health. He is a certified fitness professional thru National Strength and Conditioning Association. He is a published author for a local Women's Health Newspaper and regularly presents health and nutrition seminars to the local university freshman orientation classes. His website is http://www.t3fitness.com