There are hidden sugars out there and they are making you fat!

Let’s talk about sugar!  Do you realize how much sugar is in the stuff you eat?  Don’t forget you don’t want to eat more than between 50 and 100 g of carbs in a day to lose weight.

Cereal.  Do you realize how many carbs are in a bowl of cereal?  Even the healthier ones like Special K has 25g of carbs per CUP (measure out a cup, it isn’t a lot!), and then you add milk right?  There are 10g of sugar in one cup of Special K.  That is approximately 4 packets of sugar in your cereal.  Would you go out of your way to eat 4 packets of sugar for breakfast?  So, why eat this cereal?  There is even more in the more sugary cereals!

A cup or 8 ounces of milk, full fat or even skimmed, has about 12 g carbs.  So, if you drink milk, that is also like 4 more packets of sugar.  So, you are basically eating 8 packets of sugar for breakfast.

So, for breakfast you are having about 36g of carbs or MORE, depending on how much you put in your bowl and about 8 plus sugar packets for breakfast.

Then, if you don’t lose weight eating Special K or any other cereal, and you are wondering why–it is because there are a LOT of carbs in cereal and milk.

I don’t eat cereal anymore.

I eat eggs, chicken sausage from Jenny O (available at many stores and in bulk at Costco), turkey bacon, regular bacon.  All of this NO carbs.  I pretty much eat these meats for breakfast daily.

You can buy low carb pancake mix from Lindora.com or Carbessentials.net or Netrition.com  You should work in the carb amount with the rest of your day’s food.  I don’t do these more than twice a week.

I will sometimes eat Lindora’s oatmeal at 19g minus 5 g of carbs, so net 14g  carbs per serving or you can buy some steel cut oatmeal and measure out a small amount to eat.  Steel cut is WAY better for you than instant, because there is more sugar in instant–like 13g (4 sugar packets)  vs. the 1g  (1/3 of ONE sugar packet) of steel-cut oatmeal like in McCanns Oatmeal.  Most regular oatmeal is 25g carbs minus 4g carbs is 21g net carbs. And you can use water in oatmeal.  Yes, it is not as creamy, but you can use a drop or two for taste.

If you must have toast, you can buy the low carb breads by Julian Bakery or look at the carb contents on the loafs.  Do you really want to waste over 15g of carbs on one silly slice of bread?  I would rather have my low carb oatmeal or pancakes or eat the lower carb bread than waste my time on a piece of high carb bread.  Look for high protein bread.  Your body needs protein to burn off the fat.

I eat hard boiled eggs a lot of the time because I am running out the door and I pop it in my mouth.  You can boil them yourself or you can buy them boiled and peeled at stores like Trader Joe’s and Costco!  One egg has about 6g protein and about 3g of protein for bacon.

There are few protein bars that are low in carbs and if you think that Pop Tarts or Granola bars are healthy….well:  Only 2-4g protein.

Pop Tarts:  JUST ONE ranges from 32 to 75g per tart!    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/nutrition-facts-calories/kelloggs-pop-tarts

Granola Bars:  serving size in a packet is two bars totaling about 27g of carbs.

Egg McMuffin:  29g carbs

Juice:  27g carbs in a cup and only 2g protein. SUGAR!  21g of sugar, about 7 sugar packets!  (Give your kids a piece of fruit instead–much less sugar and better for you).

Remember that you still have 3 protein snacks and 2 more meals (lunch and dinner) to go for the day.  So, consider your carbs wisely in the morning.  Could you imagine making an omelet with some veggies thrown in?  What a great way to start your or your family’s day!  Protein, little to no carbs and lots of vitamins and minerals.

Make wise choices and set your day up well!