Addicted

I must say, I never would have thought I had an addiction. I thought I was a happy, healthy person that enjoyed a treat every now and then. But when Tyson gave me the 21 day challenge, it really hit me. Sugar is literally in everything.

Yesterday, we ran a few errands around town and one of the stops was at Whole Foods. I wandered over to the bulk section and proceeded to look for dried fruit. Did you know that you can eat too much dried fruit, resulting in too much sugar in your system? Crazy. Anyway, I found a few prepackaged containers with bananas, mangos, and pineapple in it. I looked at the ingredients and it said Mangos, Cane Sugar. Really? Each and every one I picked up had the same thing. I found the bulk items and looked at their ingredients. After a lot of searching, I finally found a product I could actually eat. Dried Mangos. $13.99 a pound? FAT CHANCE. I walked away.

Whenever I hear the name Whole Foods, I think of a store that provides healthy alternatives to every time food. Little did I know, a lot of the products that are in WF are actually in our everyday grocery stores. It was a little disappointing to find out how much sugar was in everything. After my hunt in the bulk section, I found myself in front of the protein bars. MMM. They tasted like dirt before my cleanse, and were so bitter or chalky, you would have to pay me big money to eat one. I figured since my cleanse, I would be able to handle them a little better. One of the problems I have is I am allergic to Almonds. Everything that is fitness related has Almonds in it. It's ridiculous. So I have a hard time finding things that fit into my diet and also won't cause me a trip to the hospital. So there I was, standing in front of the protein bars. I start looking at the ingredients. I would get about 2 ingredients in and see 'Sugar.'. REALLY? Even in my protein bars? So I would move on to the next one. 'Honey'. Now, honey isn't bad for you, but we have watched our intake on natural sugars due to the fact that even though it isn't cane sugar, it can still have a negative effect on your body if you have too much. 'Agave'. SERIOUSLY!? Finally, Ty came across one that we found I could have. LARABAR. Ever had one? Honestly, if you have sugar in your regular diet, you will hate them. But, since I've been off sugar for a while, I fell in love with some of the flavors! They sweeten theirs with Dates. I decided to try two out and they were amazing! They are definitely going on my Christmas list.



After WF, we went to Costco. We usually buy our produce in bulk considering we eat so much of it - we don't eat anything that would be 'easy' to cook, because those are always processed. Before we checked out, I went over to the candy section - yes I know, I shouldn't be there' - but I was trying to decide what to get for my weekly treat allowance. I finally walked away and on my way out I spotted BEEF JERKY! Perfect. That's in my diet, all it is is beef that's been dried right? You couldn't be more wrong. The second or third ingredient in each package of jerky was... you guessed it... SUGAR! Are you kidding me? This has been so upsetting for me. Trying to find food that does NOT already have added sugar in it has been one heck of a job. We as Americans and the companies that produce these types of food are embarrassing! We are literally so addicted to sugar that we have it in our protein bars, and in our beef jerky! What's even worse is I was one of those just over a month ago! NO WONDER our entire country is obese.

Bottom line, its discouraging to someone that is trying to eat healthier and have a better lifestyle and not be able to find food that is suitable for them. Now, I'm not a yippee, and I'm definitely not a tree hugger. I just want to be able to find food that doesn't have any added sugar in it! Really though, stop what you are doing, go over to your pantry, and look through the pre-packaged food and tell me what you find WITHOUT sugar in it. *Please note that the word SUGAR is not always on the package. It can be in the form of SUCRALOSE, STEVIA, TRUVIA, ASPARTAME, SUCROSE, HIGH FRUCTOSE CORN SYRUP, ETC.