avoid high fructose corn syrup

I’m doing my best to avoid HFCS. The biggest problem is when I want a soda: do I go for the HFCS or the diet soda? I know diet sodas are really bad for you (and they make me have to pee!), but HFCS is too. It’s a hard decision. I’ve been going the diet route the past few days when I get that urge.

HFCS is scary stuff. It’s super sweet and really bad for your body. I’m going to try to cut it out completely. It’ll mean lots of label reading, but I think I’m prepared for that. It was kind of a wake up call to realize that I got a bottle of gatorade earlier because I was trying to make sure I was rehydrated after cheer camp, and I realized that the second ingredient was high fructose corn syrup! That’s certainly not going to help me rehydrate and re-electrolyze.

will renew my efforts towards this goal as of tomorrow :-)
am in a different country now so it’ll take me a while to suss out all the products!

i’ve been trying to do this since the new year, and included in this goal is giving up sodas. i have had a few sodas since Jan. 1st but i’m trying to abstain completely. i was shocked this week to discover that Rice Crispies and Special K both have HFCS in them! The former isn’t even sweet, the latter is marketed as a diet cereal! My mother finds cereal at the local natural food grocer, i think i’m going to go there and see if they have any Rice Crispy equiv. i also like the flake cereals with granola clusters and dried strawberries in them, though i have to be careful about which brand because some have HFCS in them too. There are so many foods out there that have added sugar or added artificial sweeteners in them and i have no idea why. Why does juice need extra sugar in it? It’s a bit tiring to have to read the label so intensely, and it takes longer shopping, but once i figure out which brands are safe and which are not this will be a lot easier. i’ve already noticed that many foods and drinks that i enjoyed earlier now seem too sweet (i’ve allowed myself to have a taste of them to compare and hold off cravings), especially Coca-Cola. Soon i don’t think i’ll even want to drink those drinks or eat those foods because they won’t taste good to me anymore. i’m already feeling better physically, this week i resume my workouts, it will be interesting to see if i have any better luck losing weight w/o HFCS in my diet anymore.

I’m realizing things that you wouldn’t think to even look at the ingredient list end up having HFCS. I glanced at the yogurt label and was annoyed that the only one at my local grocery store that didn’t have HFCS was the Danon all natural one. I also had bought the Special K with chocolate pieces cereal and to my dismay it also contained HFCS. I’ve tried a few of the Kashi cereals and also found that most Post cereals don’t seem to have HFCS, I haven’t checked them all but the shredded wheat ones are free of it and I believe even the golden grams. The frosted mini wheats made by Kellog had HFCS so I’ve switched to Post. I’m going to look next time I buy condiments for ones without HFCS. I’m wondering if there is any sweet relish and sweet pickles??? I’m already planning on growning and canning a lot of things next summer but that’s still a while away. I am well on my way on this though just because know I am aware of all the things they have added HFCS without our knowledge.

seeing as i didn’t say “completely cut out HFCS”, i think this goal of avoidance is pretty much completed.
of course it is still in my diet, but it is definitely not a regular part.

:]]

I found a white whole grain bread at the grocery store that doesn’t have the HFCS in it. I’ve been trying to drink less soda which is something I need to do anyway. I thought I could drink Jones’ soda but then realized the inverted sugar was pretty much the same thing so back to square one on that. I did find some odd weird soda’s near the Mexican food but haven’t braved trying them yet as they didn’t even have flavors on them. I’m going to see if the Costco’s around here have any of the sugar soda and also check Meijer’s as I recall them having some form of soda on the ethnic isle. I’m also trying to find something to replace soda in general but I think at times it’s just the convenience factor of it being in cans. I don’t have to grab a glass or was it when I’m done just throw the can in the bag to take back to the store. I’m trying water but I’m not a big water drinker I can do maybe one bottle a day.

We stopped buying the following items containing HFCS:

America’s Northwest Three Berry Blend 100% Fruit “Real Fruit” Spread (replaced with Favorit Four Fruit Preserves)

Welch’s Grape Jelly (replaced with Smucker’s Simply Fruit Concord Grape)

Smucker’s Strawberry Jam (replaced with Smucker’s Simply Fruit)

Smucker’s Natural Strawberry Syrup (replaced with Torani Strawberry Syrup)

Hershey’s Chocolate Syrup (replaced with Abuelita Chocolate Syrup and Fox’s U-bet Chocolate Syrup)

Mezzetta Maraschino Cherries (replaced with The Royal Cherry brand)

Ritz Crackers (replaced with Back to Nature Classic Round Crackers)

Wheat Thins (replaced with Back to Nature Crispy Wheats)

Nature Valley Sweet & Salty Nut Granola Bars (We just eat nuts, trail mix or peanut butter creme cookies instead and don’t miss the granola bars)

A couple months ago we were having problems finding white bread and English muffins without HFCS. Some of the brands we looked at then that had HFCS no longer contain it. I also found an organic brand of Frozen Lemonade that is sweetened with white grape juice.

We can easily avoid the HFCS at home, but aren’t as strict when we are away from home. We try to avoid it as much as possible but know that most bread and condiments we eat at a restaurant or someone’s home will most likely contain the HFCS.

I was gonna put this on hold but I really don’t want to. I just had a big amount but don’t want anymore, that’s for sure. Threw the rest of the source in the bin… I feel dizzy!!!

I was so close to just buying whatever yesterday and last night since I’d already “cheated” once… but thankfully common sense prevailed!!!