Gummy Bears

I don't think I have ever met anyone who doesn't love, or at least like Gummy Bears. I love the texture the most, they start off soft and actually become firmer and chewier as you chew them (I know because I just put one in my mouth to describe this!)

Gummy bears, like so many things in life can play tricks on you! Who would think that little, innocent, unassuming gummy bears could be deadly to a diet?  

Deadly?


You betcha!

See that cute little .99 cent bag above? Well, flip it over and look at the back.

 In case you cannot read this, 17 gummy bears (yes, 17) have 140 calories, 31 grams of carbohydrates and 21 grams of sugar.  YIKES!!!

This is more carbohydrate than I eat in any meal (other than post training) and way more sugar, the calories are about half of one meal for me.

All in 17 little gummy bears.....

I caution you to choose wisely and given an option, I would say "don't even have one" 

However, I do feel that gummy bears have a place in life, and can be extremely beneficial. 

Here is my son, Cooper holding a bag that is well over one pound of gummies, I just bought it at Cosentino's.

He doesn't look thrilled only because he doesn't want to be in the blog, but he loves gummy bears!

 

 

I encourage him to eat gummy bears.

 

Huh???


Active teens do not ingest enough carbohydrates to keep them going. I mean REALLY active teens and young adults, not just your average kid.

Cooper plays lacrosse, and sometimes he is playing several hours a day.  It is proven that everyone needs carbohydrates for energy, and often, young adults or very active people just cannot eat right before or in between events, so they need quick acting sources of energy.

Enter the Gummy Bear!

They are a great quick energy source, kids love them and will eat them. If you have a child or teen that plays sports and you worry about them not eating enough to sustain them, give them little bags of gummies to take with them on the sidelines, they will eat them I guarantee it!

Cooper had several friend doing the same thing  last year in outdoor lacrosse, they started feeling tired and popped a few of those colorful friends and everything was back to normal.

Again, if you are a weekend warrior, Figure competitor or general fitness buff- stay away from the gummies, leave them  to your kids.