The Low Sugar Diet Plan: Easy Guide + Recipes

Golden Era bodybuilding legends like Reg Park and Larry Scott were eating low carb, low sugar, high-fat diets before they were popular. They knew what it took to get the classic bodybuilding physique. Plus, there weren’t as many tasty and unhealthy processed foods options available as there are today.

According to the American Heart Association, the average American adult consumes about 77 grams of added sugar daily. Men should limit their sugar intake to 38 grams and women, 25 grams. 

On average, men are eating twice as much, and women three times as much each day than they should.

The hardest part about a low sugar or sugar-free diet is eliminating sugar from your daily life. Many people don’t realize how much sugar is added to processed foods and drinks until they look at the label.

Eating too much sugar in any form is not good for you, and could lead to health issues:

• Obesity
• Type 2 diabetes
• Heart disease
• Elevated blood pressure
• High cholesterol
• Fatty liver disease
• Chronic inflammation
• Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease
• Cavities
• Colon cancer 

Most people choose to adopt a low sugar diet for weight loss. Whatever the reason you choose to reduce your sugar intake, you will see health benefits from it.

Here are some ways you can change your eating and drinking habits to reduce your sugar intake.

Eat Whole Foods

Instead of picking up processed foods, choose whole foods instead. Fruits and vegetables do contain sugar, but your body processes them differently than refined sugar. Plus, fruits and vegetables contain antioxidants, vitamins, and minerals you won’t get from sugar.

Processed foods are stripped of much of their beneficial ingredients during manufacturing. It may be easier to grab an applesauce container to go, but an apple is better and has less sugar.

Always have a snack with you, which could be nuts, seeds, or fruit. Having something on hand will keep you from stopping at a convenience store to grab a snack. 

When shopping for vegetables, fresh or frozen is best. Canned vegetables may be convenient, but they can be packed with added sodium, which has its own set of health problems. 

Canned fruit may also have added sugar, so check the label for sugar content. If you see “no added sugar” or “in own juice” on the front, it’s a better choice than packed in syrup.

To help with shopping, make a “no sugar diet food list” before you go, with good and bad options listed. The American Diabetes Association offers a low sugar foods chart in pdf form, found here.

Know Your Drinks

You’ll also want to check the label on any beverage you’re drinking. Sodas, prepared teas, fruit juices, and sports drinks have high sugar content. Diet sodas don’t contain sugar, but they aren’t good for you either, so it might be time to ditch soda for good.

If you drink fruit juice, it’s better to eat the actual fruit rather than drink a glass of juice. You lose most of the fiber when the fruit is juiced, which helps keep you full longer. 

The rush of sugar can also overload your body, causing it to store more glucose as fat. Studies have also shown drinking fruit juice instead of eating whole fruit increases your risk of type 2 diabetes.

Even if you make better food choices, you could ruin your low sugar diet with the wrong drinks.

Check Nutrition Labels

When you’re grocery shopping, you should always check nutrition labels for products that have them. 

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has recently implemented a change to nutrition labels. Now, manufacturers have to include a separate line item for “added sugar.” 

When reading ingredients, be aware of the different names for sugar:

• Glucose
• Fructose
• Sucrose
• Galactose
• Xylose
• Maltose
• Lactose 

This change will make it easier for you to be a more informed consumer. If you have to eat processed foods, at least now you’re more aware of how much-unneeded sugar is included.

Choose Full-Fat Foods

If you’re looking to lose weight, it seems odd to choose full-fat items instead of low-fat, doesn’t it? Well, let’s compare both items to see how much sugar is included in each.

An eight-ounce whole milk yogurt contains 11.4 grams of sugar and 149 calories. The low-fat version has 33.8 grams of sugar and 208 calories. You could eat the same amount of yogurt but get almost three times the amount of sugar!

The sugar in full-fat dairy products comes from the milk fat and is naturally occurring while the low-fat has added sugar. It may take more time while shopping, but reading the nutrition label can help you make smarter choices.

Avoid the Breakfast Trap

It’s been argued that breakfast is the most important meal of the day. Choose wisely to get your low sugar diet plan off to a great start every day.

Cereal is a common breakfast option because it’s quick, easy, and doesn’t require cooking. But be warned, over 90 percent of cereals in the U.S. contains added sugar. Some can be worse than eating a cookie!

Grits or plain oatmeal are a much better choice and contain little to no sugar to keep your diet on track. You can make either savory or sweet. We will give you some options later in this article, so look for those recipes!

Eat More Protein

Changing your diet can sometimes leave you frustrated and hungry. This is when efforts start to derail and you may go back to old habits.

Studies have found that diets high in protein can help you feel fuller longer and increase weight loss. Being able to sustain your weight loss for a period of time (longer than 12 weeks) can be made easier with more protein.

The longer you can maintain weight loss results, the better your mental wellbeing. If you’re getting discouraged with your weight loss, reduce carbohydrates, and increase your protein.

Choose Sweeteners Wisely

One reason a no sugar or low sugar diet change is so hard is that sugar is addictive. If you’ve been feeding your body added sugar most of your life, then suddenly stop, you go through withdrawals.

For so long, you rewarded your body with sugar. Now, you’re not giving it the same gratification, and it’s not happy with you! Don’t give in to the pressure, because symptoms will pass in about a week as your brain adapts.

If you cannot hold off the craving, choose healthier alternatives instead. Xylitol and erythritol are both naturally occurring sugars from fruit and vegetables and won’t spike your blood sugar. The Stevia rebaudiana plant also provides a sweetener, smartly called stevia, from the leaves of the plant.

Avoid Temptation

Two of the best pieces of advice for success:

• Don’t shop while you’re hungry
• Don’t keep sugar at home

Shopping while hungry usually throws the best-laid plans out the window, even with a well-prepared list. One study found shopping while hungry causes you to choose unhealthy, higher-calorie foods. So, avoid going on an empty stomach and eat before you go so you can stick to your list.

When you’re tired, cranky, and craving sugar, it’s easy to give in when it’s right there, staring at you. Remove the temptation completely by getting rid of it completely from the house.

Keep yourself busy so you don’t think about sugar. Here are some ideas:

• Exercise: Go for a walk or run, hit the gym, do an at-home workout, swim laps.
• Activities: Complete a puzzle, learn a new skill, take a course, play a game with friends or family, take a scenic drive, journal, clean the house.

Now, let’s look at some low sugar and no sugar recipe ideas to help you get your meal plan and grocery list together.

Low Sugar Diet Recipe Ideas

To get you started on the right track for your no or low sugar diet plan, here are some recipe ideas. 

Breakfast

• Oatmeal: Cook with either water or full-fat milk. 
  • Add fresh fruit with higher sugar content for sweetness, like blueberries or apples. 
  • For a savory option, top your oatmeal off with sauteed spinach and an egg.
• Grits: You can cook grits the same way as oatmeal. 
  • Top with a little maple syrup and fruit for a sweet version. 
  • To make it savory, add green onion, salsa, and eggs.
• Smoothie: 
  • Add a banana, a cup of your choice of milk, a tablespoon of natural peanut butter, and a handful of spinach to a blender. 
  • You can also half of an avocado and some protein powder.

Lunch

• Salad: Start out with your favorite greens and add whatever veggies you like. 
  • Add fruit and/or seeds if needed. 
  • Watch for sugar content when choosing a dressing.
• Plated meal: Choose a 3 oz portion of lean meat or seafood, steamed, baked, or grilled.
  •  Add in a cup or more of steamed or grilled vegetables like asparagus, spinach, cauliflower, broccoli.
  • If you want a starch, choose whole grains like brown rice, wild rice, quinoa, or sorghum. 
• Mushroom caps: Instead of a burger, choose a portobello mushroom instead. 
  • Fill the cap with marinara sauce, then top it with sauteed spinach and goat cheese.
  • Dice equal amounts of onion, spinach, roasted red pepper, and tomato. Fill the cap and then bake until done. Sprinkle with a bit of full-fat cheese and broil for a minute to melt the cheese.

Dinner

• Veggie Bake: Cut up your favorite veggies into bite-sized pieces, toss them with oil, and roast at 400 degrees until done. This should take about 30 minutes.
  • Add a protein, like grass-fed beef, shrimp, or chicken in a separate pan to cook with the veggies.
• Stuffed sweet potato: Bake a sweet potato until it gives under pressure. 
  • While the potato is baking, cook some ground turkey with taco seasoning.
  • Open the potato once cooked, fill with turkey meat, and add your favorite toppings (diced onion, salsa, black beans, cheese, sour cream).
• Baked salmon: Get at least a 4 oz portion of salmon and add to an oiled pan on the stove. Cook for a few minutes on the stove per side until done.
  • Cover with garlic and lemon juice, pesto, or dip in your favorite sauce.
  • Add a starch and vegetable to make this a healthy, no sugar meal.

Snacks

• Sunflower seeds
• Nut butter
• Fruit
• Seaweed
• Granola (preferably home-made without added sugar)
• Popcorn
• Pretzels
• Hard-boiled egg

For more healthy no sugar recipe ideas, check out these links.

Final Thoughts

A low sugar diet is a great way to lose weight and improve your health. Grocery shopping may take longer, but the results will be well worth it.

If you’re busy and worry about making the time to cook healthy meals, meal prep once or twice a week. Put together snack-sized portions ahead of time so you can grab and go. Plan out your meals once a week so no matter what comes up, you’re prepared.

Vintage Brawn™ has no sugar and is the perfect addition to your smoothies or other meals for added protein. This great-tasting protein powder will help you build muscle without derailing your low sugar diet.

Do you follow a low sugar or no sugar diet? Has it helped you lose weight? What other health benefits have you seen from eating this way?