11 Easy Ways to Cut Your Sugar Intake During the Holidays

Just because the holidays are here doesn’t mean that your healthy eating habits should take a holiday. Adapted from book 60 Seconds to Slim, here are 11 simple ways to cut your sugar intake and still have a great time during the holiday season:

• Bake with coconut sugar instead of white sugar or brown sugar. Coconut sugar contains 3 grams of sugar per teaspoon while white and brown sugars contain 4 grams of sugar per teaspoon. While that might not sound like a lot, throughout the holiday season those saved grams of sugar seriously add up.
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• 1 Eat a healthy meal prior to hitting the parties. Eat the large salad or big plate of veggies prior to heading to that holiday get-together. Not only will you feel fuller you’ll be less likely to overindulge in high-sugar cookies, pastries, and cakes. 
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• 2 Snack on a handful of raw, unsalted almonds or cashews between meals. The protein and fiber will help to keep your blood sugar levels stable which means you’ll have fewer cravings for unhealthy sweets.
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• 3 Drink one alcoholic beverage fewer than you normally would at holiday parties. Not only does this rule of thumb help to reduce your sugar intake it reduces the likelihood of a hangover the next day.
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• 4 Drink a large glass of water before you hit the buffet table or dessert tray. Water makes you temporarily feel full so you’ll be less likely to overeat sweets.
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• 5 Keep a small bottle of stevia in your purse or pocket. Stevia is a naturally sweet herb that doesn’t contain calories. Use a few drops or a tiny amount of the powder in place of sugar in your coffee or tea and you’ll reduce your sugar intake by 4 grams for every teaspoon of sugar you normally take. That adds up from day to day. 
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• 6 Better yet, switch your latte, chai latte, or other specialty coffee or tea drink to a regular coffee or tea. You can still sweeten it with stevia. Just making the switch from a medium-sized (“grande” in Starbucks lingo) Starbucks Eggnog Latte to a similar-sized coffee will save you 48 grams of sugar in a single serving. That’s almost 10 teaspoons of sugar!
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• 7 Eat a real breakfast not just a muffin or other high sugar pastry at your local café on the way to work. Most of these foods are extremely high in sugar and not a good substitute for a real breakfast.
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• 8 Skip the soft drinks. A can of Coke contains 39 grams of sugar, which is a large amount for a single day and an even worse amount for a single beverage.
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• 9 Leave the sports drinks behind. Most sports drinks have between 12 and 40 grams of sugar and often as much as an equivalent size soda. Choose water or coconut water instead.
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• 10 If you’re grabbing a yogurt as part of a healthy diet, pick unflavored Greek yogurt and add your own fruit to it. Many 6 ounce servings of flavored yogurt contain 20 to 26 grams of sugar—as much as many desserts.