Most of us don’t realize the dangers of too much sugar can have serious effects to your fat and weight loss as well as your overall health. If you reduce sugar intake alone at an optimal level, then it can go a long way with achieving health and fat loss results. On the other end of the spectrum, having too low of a sugar intake can be detrimental also. This article will only target what can potentially happen when an individual ingest too much sugar. Please consult with your physician before following any nutritional plan or guidelines.
Why sugar can hurt the body:
While researching and learning about the side effects of sugar I was amazed at how harmful sugar is to our bodies. Sugar can increase risk of heart disease or diabetes, cause tooth decay, and make us gain weight. You may be surprised at how many other bad effects sugar has on our immune system over the long term. When your body is not in optimal shape or condition, then it will be tough to consistently handle or perform an optimal golf swing or a sport specific movement.
Sugar can prevent you from being Healthy and Losing Fat:
If you limit your sugar intake, you will be well on your way to building a lean and healthy body. Clean nutrition will pay dividends in providing energy and endurance within a golf tournament. This will in return help you stay relaxed and focused during your golf swing. Excess sugar intake can seriously prevent you from reaching your weight loss and fitness goals more than just about anything.
Sugar is largely responsible for unwanted weight gain and excess fat. Excess sugar intake leads to obesity for far too many people.
Many of us may have or are currently battling with our energy levels. Sugar actually robs us of energy because it can give us a short-term spike in energy but then we have an energy crash. This can create a vicious cycle where we exercise less, become even more sedentary and gain even more weight.
Excess sugar intake is one of the major reasons why many people don’t realize their goal to lose weight or build a lean, muscular body. You cannot continue to take in excess amounts of sugar and expect to build the body that you desire.
Don’t be fooled when you see food or drinks that say “fat free or “sugar free”. Read how much carbs and sugar it contains. Carbs will eventually convert into sugar to either be used as fuel or stored as fat. Not all carbs are created equal or healthy. Stay away from processed or enriched carbs and sugar as much as possible.
Everyone will be different based on age, weight, and activity level. The general rule for sugar intake is to limit sugar to 25 grams per day for women and about 38 grams per day for men. The general rule for carbohydrate intake will comprise about 40%-60% of your daily intake, and carbs provide 4 calories per 1 gram. For example, I average about 1200-1500 calories per day depending on activity level. You take my daily caloric intake multiply by 40%, and then divide it by 4. My carbohydrate intake will range between 120-150 grams per day. If you read food labels and limit both sugar intake and saturated fat in your diet, then you will see incredible changes in your body.
How Sugar Can be Damaging to your Body and Your Health:
One of the dangers of sugar is that sugar raises your blood sugar levels and can also cause hypoglycemia. Consuming excess sugar can have long term negative effects. It speeds up the aging process, increases your risk of getting cancer, heart problems, contributes to diabetes, slow down muscle recovery, can lead to osteoporosis, hurt your eyesight, and can cause arthritis and inflammation. For you ladies out there concerned about keeping your skin looking young, sugar plays a role in giving you wrinkles and aging your skin.
Benefits of Cutting Sugar from Your Nutrition:
While we’re not suggesting that you never eat sugar (that is extreme), if you adopt a no sugar diet most days of the week, you will see quick fat loss results.
If you limit your sugar intake then you can lower your risk of degenerative diseases, slow the aging process, save on hospital and medical bills, you’ll look better, feel better, perform better and improve the quality of your life.
How to Deal with Sugar Cravings:
We all struggle with food cravings. Don’t beat yourself up if you give in to the craving. You’re human and by beating yourself up over the occasional slip up you’re only going to demotivate and discourage yourself. A little bit here and there is ok.
How to Avoid Eating too Much Sugar:
Consuming too much sugar is habit forming but the habit of eating too much sugar can be broken. Begin by cutting back on sugar a little at a time. Progressively cut back even more until you get to the point where you are consuming very little sugar in your diet. Substitute food, drinks and snacks that contain little to no sugar.
It will get easier and easier to replace good foods for the bad foods over time. You will train yourself to avoid eating too much sugar. Life is too short to never have cakes, cookies, candy bars, beer, and soda pop especially while you’re enjoying the game of golf. Rather, work on slowly cutting back on your sugar intake. The more you cut back on it, the more results you will see with your body and your fitness goals. If you learn the strategies of how to deal with sugar cravings, you will go a long way toward reaching your weight loss and fitness goals.
I hope this helps with your health and fitness, or golf fitness program. For more information please go to http://golfswingfittips.com and connect with us on social media. If you are in the Oklahoma City area and would like to schedule a session, please contact me at http://golfswingfittips.com/contact.
Until next time…. eat healthy and stay physically fit!
About Ha Bui
Speak Your Mind