Zevia and Weight Control

Two years ago I finally decided I was unhappy being overweight. Sick and tired of, well, being sick and tired. Have you had that a similar revelation? It is one thing to decide, and an all together different thing to do something about it. This time I did, and I am happy to report that 53 pounds later that all has changed.

The diet that I chose to end my struggle with obesity was Jorge Cruise's Belly Fat Cure. That is when I began to see the world through sugar colored glasses. I quickly realized the food I was used to eating is loaded with sugar. Sure, we all know certain foods contain sugar, but I discovered sugar was lurking in even healthy sounding foods. Wheat bread, whole grain cereals, dried fruits, pasta sauces - why do they need added sugar? Or if it isn't loaded with sugar, many foods are full of artificial sweeteners like sucralose, aspartame or saccharine. You would never know this until you read the fine print on the label.

These are things I never took notice of before, but suddenly it was all I saw. When I shop now, I walk down the aisle turning products around to read the labels more closely. First I check the nutrition label and if it passes that test, then I check the ingredients list for those sneaky artificial sweeteners. On the Belly Fat Cure I limit my sugar intake to 5 grams and carbohydrates to 40 grams per meal. That may sound restrictive, but once you get the hang of it and find the right products, you will be wearing sugar colored glasses too.

With this new insight I was thrilled to find Zevia sodas. It is sweetened with a combination of stevia and erythritol. Both are plant based sweeteners that contain no sugar and only a small amount of carbohydrates (7 grams per can). Regular sodas have around 30 grams of sugar and typical diet sodas are sweetened with artificial sweeteners. You can't pick aspartame off of a tree, because it is a chemical made in a lab. I even found a stevia plant at my local farmers market and use its leaves to sweeten my evening tea or dessert.

Through this process of shedding my weight, I discovered it wasn't about the size of my pants (which went from a 14/16 to size 8 and XL to S/M). All along it was really about my health and weight loss was just a side benefit. Although it is a great benefit, no one can argue with that. I have given my children tools for their future. My son, at seven years old, knows the sugar content of all the food in our pantry. He actually checks them himself, with absolutely no prompting from me. Although I'm sure it was learned from my constant example. While my children do not have issues with their weight, I see it as a diabetes prevention program for my whole family. With a family history of both Type I and Type II diabetes, I felt certain I was on my way down that path as well.

This weekend I am running my second Half Marathon and I'm even going to enjoy parts of it. Because I realize my body can do amazing things, things I couldn't even imagine before. And when I drag myself across that finish line, I will be thankful I'm dragging 53 pounds less of me.

Amber Allen-Sauer is a guest contributor for Zevia and the author of the blog Me & Jorge (http://www.meandjorge.com) where she chronicles her weight loss journey. She would like to encourage you to start your own journey back to a healthy body, and enjoy some weight loss along the way.