Fruit’s good for you! It has fiber and other nutrients you need. But it also has natural sugar, and some have more than others. For example, one mango has a whopping 46 grams of sugar — not your best choice if you’re trying to watch your weight or how much sugar you eat. Maybe enjoy a couple of slices and save the rest for later.

Grapes

A cup of these has about 23 grams sugar. That’s a lot for something that’s so easy to pop in your mouth. You might eat them more slowly if you slice them in half and freeze them. They’ll be waiting for you as a refreshing summer treat that takes a bit longer to eat. 

Cherries

They’re sweet, and they have the sugar to show for it:  A cup of them has 18 grams. If you fill up a large bowl with them, you can lose track of how many you eat. Measure your snack beforehand so you know exactly how much sugar you’ll get.

Pears

One medium pear has 17 grams of sugar. If you’re trying to cut back, don’t eat the whole thing — just put a few slices in some low-fat yogurt or on top of a salad.

Watermelon

A medium wedge of this summer treat has 17 grams of sugar. As its name suggests, it’s loaded with water, and it has special minerals called electrolytes that are just what your body needs to recharge after some time in the sun. Just keep it to a slice or two.

Figs

Two medium-size ones have 16 grams. If you’re trying to keep an eye on your sugar, maybe slice a couple and spread some goat cheese on them for a protein-rich treat, or use some in a sauce to add some zip to lean meats like skinless chicken.

Bananas

One medium banana has 14 grams sugar. If that seems like more than you bargained for, slice half of it into your morning cereal or smash a small piece in the middle of your peanut butter sandwich.

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We have goals for our relationships, careers, finance and also health. They are expressions of our inner desires or what we want from our lives. Often we write them down to make these goals more concrete and also as reminders to ourselves to keep moving towards our goals.

When it comes to health, we often have fitness and food goals like losing weight, exercising regularly, eating healthier or making better food choices. Losing weight could take months. Exercising regularly could take years while eating healthier and making better food choices are hard to measure.

Before we achieve these goals, we may feel discouraged and give up. To stay on track, we can break down these health goals into smaller and more realistic steps – steps that are easier to measure and track weekly or monthly so that we can see our progress and feel motivated.

For instance, we could set a smaller goal to develop a healthy eating habit such as drinking water instead of sweetened drinks during lunch.

Here are 5 good eating habits which will definitely help us to achieve our food goals. For those of us with diabetes, these healthy eating habits will also help us to control our blood sugar.

#1 Choose Water

Set a goal to drink water instead of sugar-sweetened drinks. To make this more measurable, write down how often you will make this choice e.g. 5 times a week.

#2 Eat Slowly and Mindfully

It takes about 20 minutes for your brain to send out signals that you are full. Eat slowly. Take the extra time to pay attention to what we are eating and how much. To make this more measurable, write down how often you will make an effort to take at least a half hour to finish your meal.

#3 Stick to One Serving

For those of us who love having seconds, eating one serving will help us keep our calorie intake in check. Challenge yourself to stick to one serving and also standard portion sizes.

#4 Eat Fruit and Vegetables

Set a goal to fill half your plate with fruit and vegetables at every meal. Fruit and vegetables are naturally low in saturated and trans fat, and rich in dietary fibre, vitamins and minerals. Or simply set a goal to use My Healthy Plate for all meals.

#5 Swop to Wholegrains

Eating wholegrain foods such as brown rice, wholemeal bread and rolled oats can help reduce the risk of developing heart disease and diabetes. They can also help with weight management because they keep you feeling full longer and reduce the need for snacking. Set a goal to ask for brown rice and make it measurable e.g. ask for brown rice at least 3 times a week at lunch.

These 5 good eating habits take time to develop. Be patient. When we slip up, rather than give up, we should persevere. These changes, no matter how small, make a big difference to our health.

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