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Welcome to the No Added Sugar Challenge!  I'm so excited you're up for this challenge!

So, how exactly will this work?  Each day, you'll track how many grams of added sugar you consume and enter it into the Challenge Runner platform.  The person who has the fewest at the end of the week (maybe someone won't eat ANY added sugars??  Who knows!), is the winner!  Just like with the Step challenge, we'll have multiple winners!

So, what do I mean by "added sugar?"  For the purposes of this challenge, added sugar is any sugar that does not come from a fresh/whole (unprocessed) fruit or vegetable.  So, if you're only eating fruits and veggies for that week, you'll have zero to report each day!  That would be awesome!

Now, for the rest of us (well, at least I know for myself!), your eating habits might look a little different.  Most of us eat at least some foods that come in a package, so we need to read all the labels very carefully!  Every nutrition label will list how many grams of sugar are included, but some are now actually listing separately the number of grams of added sugars!  If it specifically lists the grams of added sugars, that's the number you'll use.  If it only lists total sugar, you'll use that number.  Even if you know some of that sugar comes from fruit, for example, you still have to use the total number because you really don't know how much is added and how much is natural!

Why am I being so strict, you ask?  A couple of reasons!

1. The challenge is only a week long!  You can totally cut back for a week!  You've got this!

2. I'm really trying to encourage us all to eat real, whole foods, not processed and packaged foods!  So, if you're eating a ton of fruits and veggies, you won't have any added sugars to track!

Track your grams of added sugar throughout the day (write it on a little sheet of paper you keep with you, create a note in your phone, what ever works for you!) and then at the end of each of the 7 days of the challenge, you'll come into this platform and enter your grams of added sugar (total for the day - you'll only enter once a day).

Make sure you're looking at every label for everything you eat!  Condiments tend to be a big one, so make sure you're reading the label and the serving size...if the serving size is 2 tablespoons, but you use 4, you need to double your numbers! 

Hopefully seeing how much sugar is in so many of the foods we eat everyday will help us all change our habits for the better!  As always, don't hesitate to reach out with questions!