Thursday, March 1, 2012

Sugar. Sugar.

























Ill-fitting maternity coat. March 2012.

It's no secret that I love candy.  Sticky candy.  Chewy candy.  Chocolatey candy.  I love it all.  But I know it isn't good for me!  I know what you are going to say... everything in moderation but moderation isn't one of my strong suits.  I have to say, though, as I've gotten older (and as I stopped working so many night shifts) I am much better about the amount of candy that I eat.  A few years back, when I was working straight nights in L.A., I would buy a large box of Hot Tamales and a few Airheads and I would easily eat all of it in one night.  And then I would wash it down with a Diet Rockstar (it's a wonder I am still alive).  And no, I didn't share any of it.  I was a candy-hoarder like that. 

Wondering why I bring this up?  I listened to a very interesting story this morning on NPR about America's addiction to sugar and all of the consequences that addiction brings to our health and our waistlines.  Did you know that the average American consumes 156 pounds of sugar a year?  That is insane.  The thing I liked about the story, though, is that it didn't set out to villainize sugar (there are no bad foods), rather it talked about the amounts we consume and how sugar has been added to practically every processed food item out there to increase it's palatability and it's shelf-life.  We've learned to expect that sweet flavor in everything from sauces to dressings to cereals to our sugary creamer in our morning coffee!

I am really not doing the story justice, so if you are interested, check out this story on NPR.  Totally worth listening to.  And it definitely got me thinking about the amount of sugar I eat and how I can do better by eating less processed crap and more foods in their natural state.  Oh, and less Cadbury Eggs, of course.  That one might be a little difficult for me.  Just sayin'.....

How would you rate your consumption of sugar on a scale of 1 to 10 with 1 being hardly any and 10 being totally-addicted-I-have-to-have-it-all-the-time?  I'm not going to lie... I used to be about an 8 or a 9 on the sugar consumption scale.  It was bad.  But with age has come wisdom and learned moderation so now I'd say I am about a 6.  Not good.  But not bad.  And there is always room for improvement.

And the photo at the top has nothing to do with this blog post... I just found it hilarious that my maternity coat no longer fits and flaps open as I walk, exposing my ginormous belly.  Tune in tomorrow.  I'll post a picture and you'll see what I mean.  Ginormous!

3 comments:

  1. I'm definitely on the upper end of that scale. A seven probably? I mean, my favorite condiment is barbeque sauce - probably because the second ingredient is sugar in some form. I love sweet and salty combos. I crave it all the time and even when it comes to foods in their natural state I will always choose fruit over veggies because it's sweeter. Obviously I have work to do.

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  2. So funny, I just wrote up a recipe post that I'm going to post tomorrow about this very thing. I am a huge fan of sugar. I consume way too much of it. I'd say I'm a 7 also. But I'm trying to be better!

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  3. Bri I think you know from the Malt - O - Meal bag of Tootie Fruites that I'd bring on road trips like 17 years ago that I as well have an issue. River trips are bad because there is nothing better at staving off that afternoon sleep time than some Sour Patch Kids or Hot Tamales! As I've had 6 or 7 cavities each time I go to the dentist (not since I've become an adult) I've tried to cut back, but sheesh! I just love it!

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