Just say no to sugar

We know that we must manage our caloric intake to keep from gaining body fat and generally most people know how to go about doing that. Products have calorie labels and smartphone apps can quickly calculate the amount of calories in whole foods. However, not enough people know the importance of managing our body chemistry.

Upgrade your body chemistry

Our metabolism, which is our internal energy management engine, is impacted by certain chemicals found in foods. Fructose is a chemical that can reek havoc on our metabolism and body chemistry. In nature, sugar only occurs in small, less concentrated amounts so our bodies are not adapted to handle the large, consistent quantities they tend to get from today's processed foods. Sugar has been connected as a casual agent to fat storage, several diseases, energy crashes and behavioral difficulties.

Sugar is the new recreational drug

Our current diets have been artificially pumped up with this delicious and addictive sugar because it is an easy and cheap way to make people like the food being sold. In 1994, the average person consumed 26 pounds of sugar per year and obesity was 10 percent of the population but by 2014 it rose to 150 pounds of sugar per year and obesity has skyrocketed to 30 percent. Did you know that in clinical testing, mice chose sugar over cocaine?

Part of this added sugar binge stemmed from the war against fat that has gone on over the past 20 years. Without the flavor of fats, companies added sugar to compensate and touted them as healthy and natural foods. Companies also tried to hide sugars on ingredient labels calling them a million different names.

The truth is your body doesn't discriminate — some other common foods in our diet just break down into simple sugars anyway, like flours and potatoes. If you tried to avoid these all together with artificial sweeteners you would then create another host of issues. The only way to keep our body chemistry balanced so that you burn fat and sustain a more steady energy is to reduce the amount of sugars in our diets

Eliminate the secret sugars

The American Heart Association recommends that men eat no more than 36 grams of sugar per day and women no more than 20. That's not a lot so you are going to want to save those grams for your favorite sweets. Even if you have been able to avoid the obvious sugars there are a bunch of foods that most people don't think about as sugar sources that we can easily swap for lower sugar options. Below are 10 swaps you can easily make to keep your body clean of the drug like impacts of unhealthy sugars:

1. Switch from non-fat, flavored dairy to 2% plain Greek and then add your own

Milk naturally has lactose, a type of sugar, but it has protein and fat as well to help balance out its sugars, which can be as much as 12-15 grams. When we take all the fat out of yogurt and milk, we create an unbalanced food and when we add flavor (read: sugar) it turns it into a little sugar bomb. Always get plain, allow yourself 2% fat as it will be more filling and go for Greek style, which typically has less lactose sugar and double the protein. Your energy will last so much longer — and remember, fat doesn't make you fat.

2. Switch from bread sandwiches to salads

Changing your lunch from sandwiches to salads alone could drop your body fat a couple of percentages. Bread almost always has sugar and all that flour breaks down into sugar as well. Think of bread as cake and only eat it as a treat, not on the regular. Even whole grain-labeled breads will be mostly non-whole with added sugar.

3. Switch from balsamic vinegar to apple cider vinegar

A big secret is that the balsamic we all switched to in trying to avoid those creamier dressings is actually very sugary. Switch to apple cider vinegar and you get the tang without the blood sugar bump. Be wary of many salad dressings that are packaged for sugar and cheap oils like soybean oil. Always read ingredients.

4. Switch from potatoes/fries to squashes (acorn, butternut, zucchini)

Everyone loves hot French fries or mashed potatoes but its just a different form of sugar to your body chemistry. Squash is an amazing alternative, with tons of sweet flavor and nutrients, but without sugar and empty calories. Just add a little oil, salt and pepper.  Buy a sprializer and turn zucchini into spaghetti.

5. Switch from ketchup/barbeque to herbs or mustards

Ketchup and barbeque sauces are loaded with sugar —  with 8-14 grams per serving, that's pretty much all they are. Just taste them by themselves and it's almost as sweet as frosting. Think about that next time you go to lather your food with condiments. Try using herbs in your cooking so you don't need condiments. When you do crave them, choose condiments that aren't sugar-based like mustard, salsa, oil and hot sauce.

6. Switch from dry fruits (raisins) to fresh fruit (blueberries)

I grew up on Raisin Bran and we thought we were being so healthy not eating Captain Crunch. Well raisins and all dry fruits are highly concentrated sugar bombs, not to mention some processors use added sugar. Instead, add fresh fruits for great flavor with more nutrition and get mixed nuts instead of mixes with dried fruits.

7. Switch from fruit based juices/smoothies to veggie and whey based juices/smoothies

Fruit juice and smoothies like Naked and Odwalla and even fresh vendors are essentially taking a bunch of fruits and concentrating them into one potent sugar cocktail. Yes you get nutrients, but at the cost of your metabolism, energy and insulin spiking. They can have over 60 grams of fructose sugar in one bottle — that's as much as a mountain dew. Yes, it has extra nutrients but your body treats the sugar the same and the fruit is often just the juice, so no fiber. Make your own smarter smoothies and balance it out by using only one fruit and adding vegetables, protein powder and coconut oil.

8. Switch from pastas to whole grain and bean mixes

Pasta is processed flour made into cool shapes, but the body breaks it down to sugar and there is hardly any nutrition at all, just empty calories. Flour is so lacking in nutrition that the government had to step in and force food companies to fortify flour with minerals and even then its not worth it. Go for things that are still in their grain shape, including the most high fiber, high protein grain of them all, beans! (Oh and couscous is a pasta, not a grain y'all.)

9. Switch from jarred sauces to simple seasonings

Look in your pantry and grab a jar of pasta/tomato sauce and read the ingredients and macronutrients. You will almost always see the word sugar and with about 7-10 grams per serving. Either cook with a small amount of sauce or make your own with pure canned tomatoes, oil and herbs. Tomatoes are naturally sweet, so adding sugar is just gluttony.

10. Switch from soda/iced tea/energy drinks to sparkling water with lemon or lime

Everyone knows soda is just sugar water, but so is iced tea in most cases — and don't get me started on energy drinks. The most irritating thing I see in the fitness industry is so-called trainers drinking Monster energy drinks. That stuff is like battery acid, cotton candy and super caffeine all in one can. The name is completely ironic because you will have a spike in energy but then totally crash, leaving you unstable and unfocused. (They should call them Crash Cans!) Sparkling water with some lemon, lime or any fruit juice is so much more thirst quenching and the bubbles give you that feel good factor you desire.

These swaps are simple changes but if you don't start enacting them right now you will forget about them and fall back into your old habits. Habits require a big first push to get the momentum to continue for several weeks until the new choice or behavior sticks. A great way to do this is via an organized cleanse or eating challenge. Whole30 is a 30 day challenge to eat only whole foods and Unite Fitness has a Winter Carb Cleanse starting this coming Monday, which you can enroll online.

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Gavin McKay is the Creator and President of Unite Fitness, a Philadelphia-based fitness studio franchise offering its trademark group training, The UNITE Workout, as well as personal coaching and nutrition programs. Studios are located in Philadelphia and Mt. Laurel, NJ with new studios in the works and regional franchise territories available.

Read more Goal Getter for healthy eating, weight loss and more.