The Sugar Smart Diet: Stop Cravings and Lose Weight While Still Enjoying the Sweets You Love (22 page)
Authors: Anne Alexander,Julia VanTine
Fat (g):
5
Sat Fat (g):
<1
Sodium (mg):
0
Serving of protein:
1 oz
Calories:
48
Protein (g):
7
Carb (g):
1
Fiber (g):
0
Sugar (g):
<1
Fat (g):
2
Sat Fat (g):
1
Sodium (mg):
171
Serving of protein:
¼ cup
Calories:
41
Protein (g):
7
Carb (g):
2
Fiber (g):
0
Sugar (g):
2
Fat (g):
<1
Sat Fat (g):
<1
Sodium (mg):
229
Serving of protein:
1
⁄
8
cup
Calories:
39
Protein (g):
3
Carb (g):
2
Fiber (g):
0
Sugar (g):
<1
Fat (g):
2
Sat Fat (g):
1
Sodium (mg):
35
Serving of protein:
1 oz
Calories:
48
Protein (g):
8
Carb (g):
1
Fiber (g):
0
Sugar (g):
<1
Fat (g):
1
Sat Fat (g):
<1
Sodium (mg):
73
Serving of protein:
¼ cup
Calories:
50
Protein (g):
9
Carb (g):
3
Fiber (g):
0
Sugar (g):
3
Fat (g):
<1
Sat Fat (g):
<1
Sodium (mg):
31
Serving of protein:
1
⁄
3
cup
Calories:
46
Protein (g):
5
Carb (g):
6
Fiber (g):
0
Sugar (g):
6
Fat (g):
<1
Sat Fat (g):
<1
Sodium (mg):
63
Serving of protein:
3 slices
Calories:
48
Protein (g):
7
Carb (g):
1
Fiber (g):
0
Sugar (g):
0
Fat (g):
1
Sat Fat (g):
<1
Sodium (mg):
366
Serving of protein:
2 slices
Calories:
55
Protein (g):
13
Carb (g):
0
Fiber (g):
<1
Sugar (g):
2
Fat (g):
<1
Sat Fat (g):
<1
Sodium (mg):
432
Pick one per day.
Roll 1 small banana in 1½ tablespoons unsweetened coconut flakes.
Nutrition per serving:
152 calories, 2 g protein, 25 g carbs, 4 g fiber, 13 g total sugar, 6 g fat, 6 g saturated fat, 5 mg sodium
Cut ½ pear into 4 wedges and top each with a walnut half and 1 teaspoon crumbled blue cheese.
Nutrition per serving:
151 calories, 4 g protein, 15 g carbs, 3 g fiber, 9 g total sugar, 9 g fat, 3 g saturated fat, 189 mg sodium
Date:
Today’s intention:
Place an X next to the meals and snacks you ate today.
You can mix and match your meals and snacks from Phases 1 and 2.
Boldface
indicates an option added in this phase; an asterisk denotes a recipe that can be found in
Chapter 11
.
Hunger level
____
__ Apple-Cinnamon Oats with Walnuts
__ Apricot-Almond Breakfast Wrap
__ Banana Cream Pie Overnight Oats*
__ Breakfast Quesadilla*
__ Cashew-Coconut Muesli Yogurt
__ Crunchy Almond Yogurt
__ Crustless Mini Broccoli and Cheese Quiche*
__ Loaded Breakfast Potato
__ Mediterranean Scramble
__ Microwave Peanut Butter Oats
__ Mushroom-Quinoa Frittata*
__ On-the-Go Breakfast
__ Picnic Breakfast
__ Sausage-Potato Hash and Eggs*
__ Spicy Avocado Breakfast Bowl
__ Starbucks Spinach & Feta Breakfast Wrap
__ Strawberry-Kiwi Crunch Yogurt
__ Turkey Sausage, Spinach, and Cheddar Wrap
Hunger level
____
__ Barley Risotto with Chicken and Asparagus*
__ Bento Box
__ Blue Cheese, Walnut, Chicken, and Quinoa Salad
__ Broiled Mustard Salmon with Roasted Broccoli and Quinoa
__ Build-Your-Own Meal
__ Chicken Sausage and Veggie Pita Pizza
__ Chipotle Burrito Bowl
__ Cool Cucumber, Tomato, Black Bean, and Barley Salad
__ Crunchy Sesame Chicken and Bulgur Bowl
__ Fast, Hearty Turkey Chili*
__ Fennel Slaw with Salmon and White Beans
__ Fiesta Egg Salad
__ Fish Tacos with Mango-Lime Salsa in Crispy Corn Tortillas*
__ Garlic-y Shrimp ’n’ Grits
__ Grilled Shrimp Salad with Potato, Sunflower Seeds, and Goat Cheese
__ Hearty Lentil Sauté with Bulgur
__ Outback Steakhouse Victoria’s 6-oz Filet
__ Panera Bread Chopped Chicken Cobb with Avocado
__ Penne with Meatballs*
__ Pork Tenderloin with Roasted Pear-Cabbage Medley and Barley*
__ Potato, Pepper, and Chicken Sausage Sauté
__ Roasted Veggie, Bulgur, and Chickpea Salad with Feta Dressing*
__ Spinach and Grapefruit Salad with Wheat Berries and Grilled Chicken
__ Starbucks Hearty Veggie & Brown Rice Salad Bowl
__ Steak and Roasted Baby Potatoes and Carrots
__ Sugar Smart Marinara Sauce*
__ Tangy Mediterranean Tuna Salad
__ Turkey-Veggie Lasagna*
__ Vegetarian Stuffed Portobello*
__Whole Wheat Tuna Pasta Salad over Mixed Greens
Hunger level
____
__ Crudités and Hummus
__ Fruit and Protein Combo What combo?
___________________
__ PB&J Yogurt
__ Turkey and Cheese Wrap
Hunger level
____
__ 1 cup air-popped popcorn with 1 tablespoon Parmesan cheese and 16 almonds
__ 16-Ounce Fat-Free Latte
__Banana-Coconut Roll
__Berry-Veggie Smoothie*
__ Caprese
__ Cashew-Ginger Coconut Muesli
__Chocolate-Cherry Smoothie*
__Creamy Dark Chocolate–Banana-Coconut Pudding*
__ Crunchy Roasted Rosemary Chickpeas*
__ Easy Cinnamon Apple Cobbler*
__ PB Celery and Milk
__ Peachy Ginger All-Fruit Soft Serve*
__ Pear Wedges with Blue Cheese and Walnuts
__ Pumpkin Pie Trail Mix Popcorn
__ Roasted Fennel with Pine Nuts*
__ Roasted Lemon-Ginger Pears with Pecan Yogurt*
__ Tuna-Potato Wrap*
__ Turkey, Cheese, and Veggies
__ Yogurt-Covered Blueberries*
Additional Foods:
Notes:
5.2
POUNDS LOST
AGE:
38
ALL-OVER INCHES LOST:
8.25
SUGAR SMART WISDOM
“Don’t give up! It is tough in the beginning, but worth it in the end.”
LOOKING AT CHRISSIE,
you wouldn’t think that she needed to go on the Sugar Smart Diet, but she was at risk for heart disease. “I developed high blood pressure after the birth of my second son and have been on two medications for the past 5 years to keep it down,” she says. And recently, the number on the scale started rising, too.
Chrissie had been trying to change her diet and began training for a 5-K, hoping she’d drop a few pounds and improve her health numbers, but she wasn’t having any luck. When she heard about the Sugar Smart Diet, she thought, “This is for me!” Instead of randomly trying to cut calories, Chrissie felt like this plan would tackle the root cause of her weight problem: her sweet tooth.
Early on in the program, Chrissie discovered the value of a strong support system. “I was ready to quit when I got an e-mail from a friend reminding me that I could do it,” she says. That, coupled with the realization that Phase 1 was almost over, strengthened Chrissie’s resolve. By the end of the first week, she had more energy and no cravings. “I didn’t realize sugar was making me feel drained,” she said.
From that point on, the plan got easier. “I loved the variety of the meal plans. It helped me to not miss some of the foods and beverages that I had cut out of my diet,” says Chrissie, who was especially fond of the
Orange-Garlic Salmon
and the
Creamy Ricotta, Basil, and Tomato Penne
.
Chrissie turned some of her workouts into quality time with her kids. “I run on the trail and my 5-year-old rides his bike, and I run short distances with my 10-year-old in addition to my longer runs.”
All of her hard work paid off! Her blood pressure went down a total of 16 points—enough for her to get off one of her blood pressure medications. She also cut her total cholesterol 52 points, her LDL (bad) cholesterol 23 points, and her triglycerides 46 points.
Phase 3: Days 19-25
A SPOONFUL OF (NATURAL) SUGAR
I
f you’ve ever tasted pure maple syrup, you know that its flavor is galaxies away from the goo sold in the supermarket next to the pancake mix (which, by the way, is primarily high-fructose corn syrup and caramel color). Likewise, there’s a vast difference between the flavor of a good local honey you might pick up at the farmers’ market and the stuff that fills those bear-shaped bottles. Like fine coffee or tea, these natural sweeteners possess subtle flavors that make each batch unique. They’re special, precious (and expensive) sweet delights. But they still count as added sugar in your diet.
I wanted to make that point clear up front, because while this phase reintroduces good-quality honey and real maple syrup—along with fruit spread, fruit juice (not to drink, but to
use in a dressing, marinade, or sauce), and dried fruit (which, despite its fiber and nutrients, I consider an added sugar because of its concentrated sugar content)—that doesn’t mean you should go crazy. In this phase, you are limited to one meal that contains these intense natural sweeteners per day. The maximum amounts are 1 teaspoon of honey or maple syrup, 2 teaspoons of 100 percent fruit spread, 2 to 3 tablespoons of dried fruit, and fruit juice only as an ingredient in a recipe (no more than ¼ cup per serving). This is to keep your calories in check and to ensure you don’t stir up your sugar cravings. But to your now exquisitely sensitive taste buds, those amounts are plenty.
In this phase, the natural sweeteners are used as ingredients in dishes, not just to give you a sweet hit but to make healthy foods more enjoyable. That’s a really important point. If serving Brussels sprouts with a mustard–maple syrup sauce makes you eat more Brussels sprouts, or drizzling a little honey over fat-free plain yogurt increases your consumption of this protein- and calcium-rich food, you are promoting your health.