As part of my sugar-conscious challenge to get more energy and feel better about myself, I wrote down my eating schedule for a while. By charting what I eat I could also get a bit of an idea about the amount of sugar I was taking in per day. Because how much sugar per day did I actually ingest? And how much do you think you get?
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I deliberately say 'got' because I have now of course taken up the challenge of Céréal to live more sugar-consciously and I am right in the middle of that. I must admit that I am quite shocked by the amount of sugar per day that I was ingested, while I don't feel like doing so many weird things at all. But because sugar is added to everything, you quickly end up with a lot of sugar cubes per day.
My very first estimate was that I would be ingesting between 10 and 15 sugar cubes a day, but it turns out to be more than 20. Take a look at this video in which I try a sugar quiz.
The University of Wageningen has already conducted a study into the average amount of sugar per day an adult consumes. That turns out to be about 122 grams per day.
Any idea how many sugar cubes 122 grams is? That's about 28 large sugar cubes! That scares you, right? Even though we are now talking about the total amount of sugar per day, consisting of naturally present sugars and added sugars, I think it's a lot.
But you also get used to it quickly. A sandwich with sprinkles, for example… it already contains 6 sugar cubes! Are you a jam lover? Then realize that with a sandwich with jam per day you are already at 23 grams of sugar per day. That's more than 5 sugar cubes! One of my favorite drinks, for example, is a nice glass of orange juice… do you think you are doing it healthy - and in terms of vitamins that is so natural-, but you also work down 7 sugar cubes in no time.
Okay, so I'll list what I eat on a standard day:
When I didn't look at the sugar yet, I thought it wasn't that bad, but now… I have the idea (since the entire Sonja Bakker story) about egg cakes, for example, that they are not that unhealthy at all. But it is only when you look at the sugars that you see that there really is a lot of sugar in it (21 grams in 1 egg cake, that's 4.5 sugar cubes).
Due to the challenge of living a more sugar-conscious life, I now try to pay more attention to what I eat. I don't want to eat less, and I don't want to eat less either. But healthier. And that turns out to be possible!
For example, instead of an egg biscuit, I now take the Céréal coconut biscuits. Not only are they incredibly tasty, but they also contain 0 grams of sugar. And I replace my standard sprinkles (with about 22 grams of sugar per serving) with the chocolate sprinkles from Céréal, which only contains 5 grams of sugar per serving. Or the strawberry jam, also very tasty! (3 grams instead of 20 grams of sugar per serving of my original brand). This is how I go from almost 5 to 1 sugar cube!
By just making these small changes, I save more than 50 grams of sugar per day (that's 11 sugar cubes). Bizarre isn't it?
Changes in your diet don't have to be that big to make a significant difference in how much sugar you consume per day. I think that's a good start. In addition, it also challenges me to become even more inventive, but more about that next time 😉 .
What I'm curious about… if you read how much sugar I ingested per day, are you triggered to start counting yourself? To perhaps pay more attention to your daily sugar intake? I challenge you to join me! Not only is it better for you, it probably makes you feel better too.
This article was created in collaboration with Céréal.
