30 Grams

I'll start with an two easy questions.

Which food has more sugar in it?
A. Dannon Low Fat Plain Yogurt (6 oz.)
B. Yoplait No Fat Blueberry Yogurt (6 oz.)

Which food has more sugar in it?
A. Post Raisin Bran (the one without extra sugar on the raisins)
B. Kellogg's Raisin Bran (the one with the sugar on the raisins)

No peeking.

The Dannon Plain has 15 grams of sugar in it, while the Yoplait has 17 grams. You'd think the blueberry yogurt would have more, or at least the plain would have far less, but those are the figures.

The trick question was for the raisin bran. Both Post and Kellogg's have 17 grams of sugar in a one cup serving, despite the Kellogg's having sugar on the raisins.

It gets even better. Kellogg's Frosted Flakes have (only?) 15 grams of sugar in a one cup serving. And my personal former favorite, Captain Crunch, has 14 grams. Of course, neither of these cereals has any fiber in them, which is why you're hungry again by 9:30am with these cereals as opposed to 10:15am  with the bran cereals.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture recommends that people eat no more than 30 grams of sugar in a day. If you have yogurt and 1 cup of raisin bran (you'll need more to make it to lunch, trust me), two very healthy foods, you've used up 29 grams by sunrise.

As I've written before, I recently embarked on a health related weight loss program and I'm proud to say that I've lost 40 pounds over the past 6 months. It's a bit humbling to come to terms with the idea that I actually had 40 pounds to lose, but those large meal portions, Devil Dogs and M&M's do add up.

Anyway, since I've been paying great attention to what I'm eating I have been successful at curbing fat, calories and carbohydrates, increasing fiber and my intake of fruits and vegetables.

Sugar, I'm afraid to report, is another matter.

Sugar is everywhere. It's in both plain and fruit yogurt, and in equal numbers in each, apples, carrots, bread and salty snacks. I had a package of Green Giant frozen peas the other day and the ingredients listed both sugar and salt (and baking soda for some reason) in addition to the peas. Why must it be so? And I'm really watching what I eat. If you're not, chances are you're eating far more than you should and are at a risk for diabetes (I will now shut up with the moralizing).

I suppose I could stick with unflavored oatmeal and those bran bud cereals that look like packing material or rabbit droppings (and you know what cereals I'm talking about) while I figure out how to solve this issue. It's somewhat disheartening to try to reform your diet and come up against this wall of sugar.

Suggestions?