Rule #5, Not SO Sweet!

Reflecting on Rule #4 real quick....Eliminating high-fructose corn syrup was not a very difficult rule. As long as we were making our own food or eating at quality restaurants things seemed to be okay. I was also impressed with us because even though this was our only rule, we continued following some of the past rules unintentionally. I think certain things like eating oatmeal for breakfast or preparing healthy homemade snacks are just becoming habits. I know this rule would not be easy for everyone to follow (I am thinking about my White Shield clients who heard my rule for this week and examined their snack labels to discover that everyone in the room was consuming high-fructose corn syrup....sad) because this artificial sweetener is in a surprisingly large quantity of foods. I would say the main things to watch out for, in terms of high-fructose corn syrup, are any processed foods, bread, ketchup, tomato sauce and sweet drinks. We had fun eating out at a restaurant this week (our first one in ages) and spent quality time at both of our parent's houses (we are fortunate to both have very health-conscious parents--so not eating high-fructose corn syrup with them was simple, well.....actually I haven't talked to Ryan about his experience yet because he is rafting, but I'm assuming).

And now for Week 5!
Rule #5: Avoid foods that have some form of sugar (or sweetener) listed among the top three ingredients
I cannot believe we are approximately 1/12th the way done with our experiment (Ryan--how was my math there?). Previous to starting this experiment I would have classified Rule #5 into the challenging rules category, but I think I have largely weened myself off my sugar addiction! HUGE success. HUGE lifestyle change. A previous reader asked us if we would include natural sugars into this rule. I am thinking that if the food we are eating has a label or a list of ingredients, because it is pre-packaged or homemade, we will follow the rule. If the food does not have a label because it's in it's raw form, such as an orange or apple, then I think it should be safe. However, again, I have not had a chance to speak with Ryan about this because he is somewhere, rafting down a river, enjoying some sunshine and whitewater (MISS YOU RYAN!). Regardless, this should be an interesting week!