Food should not be used as a reward. For example, do not allow fast food or junk food as an incentive for progress or as a prize for making good food choices. Neither should your child be punished for failing to stay with a weight-loss program. Use a phase-in period to gradually introduce the foods that we recommend. Substitute the correct food choices for the unhealthy ones over a period of weeks.

How to Be a Successful Sugar Busters Kid

Consume low- to moderate-glycemic carbohydrates instead of high-glycemic carbohydrates.

Use the glycemic index as your constant guide to choose the foods you eat most frequently. This does not mean that you never can eat a ripe banana (GI 70), or a slice of watermelon (GI 77). (In general as fruits ripen the glycemic index increases.) Eat them as occasional foods or use them as a garnish. We recommend that you choose carbohydrates that have a glycemic index below 70. The lower the better when you are attempting to lose weight. Conversely, you should not consume excessive quantities of low-glycemic carbohydrates at one meal because you will then convert a low-glycemic meal into a high-glycemic meal because of glycemic load. Glycemic load is the product of grams of carbohydrate multiplied by the glycemic index. For example, brown rice has a glycemic index of 55. If you consume 1/2 cup, or 50 grams, of cooked brown rice, the glycemic index will be 55. If you consume 1 cup, or 100 grams, then the glycemic index in effect becomes 110. Therefore, overconsumption of any food is unhealthy.

Avoid the consumption of a high-glycemic food together with a high-fat food.

Both carbohydrates and fats are sources of energy, the fuel for our bodies. The consumption of high-glycemic carbohydrates stimulates a greater insulin release, encourages the storage of sugar as fat, and prevents fat breakdown. The addition of a high-fat food to the high-glycemic food compounds the problem of fat storage because the dietary fat is also stored. An example of this is eating a steak (high-fat food) with a potato (high-glycemic carbohydrate). Consumption of a hamburger and french fries together or corn flakes and whole milk to-gether are also combinations to avoid.

Limit your intake of added sugar to 24 grams or 6 teaspoons a day.

This does not include the natural sugars found in fruit and milk, but the sugars you add to coffee, tea, recipes, and those found in com-mercially prepared foods and drinks. The body does not need added sugar; all the sugar that is needed can be obtained from natural sugars. Remember that just one soft drink contains 39 grams of sugar--more than our total daily recommendation.

Eat three meals and two snacks each day.

It is important to dis-tribute food consumption throughout the day and not overeat at any meal. When overeating occurs, as it usually does at the evening meal, the body goes into a storage mode. Combined with inactivity (sleep) this causes the food to be stored as fat rather than burned as fuel. Most of the cholesterol in the body is manufactured at night during sleep, so also avoid snacking after supper.

Limit portion sizes.

It is a fact that restaurants are enlarging the plate sizes. Soft-drink bottles have also been enlarged from 6 ounces to 20 ounces. What has become the norm in restaurants is becoming the norm in homes. Carefully observe portion sizes on the labels of canned and packaged foods. We suggest that you especially avoid "all you can eat" restaurants and buffets. Why put yourself in this tempting situation?

Avoid all fruit drinks with added sugar. Limit fruit juice to one drink containing 100% fruit juice per day.

Whole fruit is preferable to fruit juice. Whole fruit has more fiber and a lower glycemic index than fruit juice. For example, an orange has a glycemic index of 43, while orange juice has a glycemic index of 57. We think that consumers have become more aware of the difference between drinks that are labeled fruit drinks, yet contain large amounts of sugar and very little fruit, and drinks that contain 100% fruit. Refer to our section on reading labels in Part II for information that will help you to choose packaged foods wisely.

Consume three servings of whole grains a day. Consume 30 to 35 grams of fiber a day.

Whole-grain and fiber-rich foods lower the glycemic index and provide both nutrients and satiety. It is essential that these foods be-come an integral part of our way of eating, because too many children are consuming nutritionally poor carbohydrates. Cakes, cookies, candy, and soft drinks are high in sugar, yet offer little nutrition. These high-glycemic carbohydrates displace healthy foods such as whole grains and fiber in the diet.

Drink water, skim or 1% milk, or unsweetened tea. Avoid all sugar-sweetened soft drinks. Limit diet drinks to one or two per day.

We recommend a drink that is inexpensive, sugarless, healthy, essential, and crystal clear: water. You should drink six to eight glasses of water each day. We can assure you that if you begin substituting water for soft drinks at meals, over time the soft drinks will not be missed. The health benefits of green tea are well known and children can learn to enjoy unsweetened tea. Skim or 1% milk is recommended because of its lower overall fat content and especially because of its lower saturated-fat content. Here again, you will find that it is easy to adjust to low-fat milk.

Avoid fast food and the most frequently consumed problem foods: desserts, candy, white bread, white rice, potatoes, and sweet-ened soft drinks.

Of the overweight children in our survey, 100% consumed fast foods regularly. We recommend that you read Part II of this book to learn how to prepare your own nutritious "fast foods."

Exercise regularly.

Exercise is a very effective way to make insulin more efficient and therefore lower insulin levels. Exercise works in conjunction with the Sugar Busters way of eating to prevent and eliminate fat storage in the body.

Parents should act as advocates.

What has been done to the diets of our children? Quite simply, fiber has been removed; high fat has been replaced with high sugar. Our children sit for hours inactive in front of TVs eating from over-sized plates filled with poor food choices, while they watch commercials that encourage consumption of more of the same. When is the last time you have seen a commercial for spinach or broccoli? So you have to be the producer of infomercials in your home that target appropriate food choices.

Your role as an advocate begins with learning the principles of a healthy way of eating, then phasing in correct food choices, substituting correct choices for poor eating habits, and maintaining an ongoing commitment to the Sugar Busters way of eating. Forget dieting! Sugar Busters is a way of life. This way of life is easier than you may think, but it will not happen for your family without your own dedication and your own spirit of enthusiasm. Present Sugar Busters as a family affair. Unlike many diets, in which parents are on a weight-loss plan eating one way, and the children are eating something else, the Sugar Busters way of eating can (and should) include the whole family. Why shouldn't all family members benefit from good nutrition?